The Words of Gad the Seer
1 In the thirty-first year of Sovereign David in Jerusalem, which is the thirty-eighth year of the reign of David, the word of Yahweh was upon Gad the Seer in the 2nd month, near the stream of Kiḏron, saying:
2 ‘Thus says Yahweh: “Go, gird up your loins like a man, and stand in the middle of the stream, and cry in a great voice: “Wait and hasten, wait and hasten, wait and hasten”, for there is yet a vision for the son of Jesse”.
3 And during the cry your face should turn to the east, east of the city, and spread forth your hands toward heaven’.
4 And I did according to what I had been commanded.
5 And it came to pass when I finished calling that cry, I opened my eyes and saw a yoke of oxen led by a donkey and a camel, coming up from the stream of Kiḏron, the donkey on the right side of the yoke and the camel on the left.
6 And a great voice was going before them like the roll of thunder, crying in a bitter voice, saying:
7 “Seer, Seer, Seer, these are four mixtures that confuse the people of the Master.
8 For the impure and the pure have been mixed, and purity had been put under the hand of impurity; a mixture from Edom to rule over them,
9 to increase power over a righteous doer and thus to betray,
10 to destroy set-apartness, to crown wickedness, to set up matters of impurity in the guise of purity”.
11 And after the voice, came a great shock that shook over the impurity and blew away the donkey and the camel into the moon with the bitter wind.
12 And the moon was opened and looked like a bow, a semi-circle, and both her heads reached the ground.
13 And, lo, the Son came out of Heaven in the shape of a man, with a crown on his head, carrying over his right shoulder, a lamb, rejected and despised.
14 And on the crown on his head three shepherds are seen, shackled with twelve shackles
15 and these shackles were of gold coated with silver. And the voice of the lamb was heard, great and dreadful like the voice of a lion roaring over his prey: “Woe unto me! Woe unto me! Woe unto me! My image has been diminished, my refuge has been lost, my lot and destiny has turned me over to my spoilers, and I was defiled until evening by the touch of impurity”.
16 And it came to pass when the voice of the lamb was over, and, lo, a man dressed in linen came with three branches of vine and twelve palms in his hand.
17 And he took the lamb from the hand of the Son and put the crown on its head, and the vine-branches and palms on his heart.
18 And the man, dressed in linen, cried like a ram’s horn, saying: “What have you here, impurity, and who have you here, impurity, that you have hewed yourself a place in purity, and in my covenant
19 that I have set with the vine-branches and palms’”.
20 And I have heard the lamb’s shepherd saying: “There is a place for the pure, not for the impure, with me, for I am the Kodesh Elohim, and I do not want the impure, only the pure.
21 Though both are creations of My hands, and My eyes are equally open on both.
22 But there is an advantage to the abundance of purity over the abundance of impurity just like the advantage of a man over a shadow.
23 For the shadow does not come except by man, and only by the existence of the man is the shadow given to the tired and exhausted, to pure and impure, this matter is even so.
24 For all gates of intelligence are turned around since the death of the eight branches of the vine.
25 As is found in words of righteousness, in the true book but because of the wanderings of the sheep and their rest and divisions – intelligence is stopped up
26 until I do greatly in keeping favor”.
27 I saw that impurity was driven from the moon and was given to the hand of consuming wrath, ground finely to dust and scattered by the daily wind.
28 And the day burns as a furnace to transfer impurity and to erase the transgressions.
29 And the lamb was put on the Son forever and ever.
30 And the lamb took the peace-offerings sacrifice of the pure that was mixed with the impure and brought it to the altar before El Shaddai, Jealous Master of hosts.
31 And I heard the sound of the song of the lamb, saying:
32 “I shall give thanks unto You, O Yahweh, for though You were angry with me, You relented.
33 For Yahweh is my strength and song, and He is become my redeemer.
34 I will sing unto Yahweh, for He is highly exalted; The horse and his rider He has thrown into the Red Sea.
35 Rise up, Intelligence; Rise up, Power; Rise up, Sovereignty; Rise up, Majesty and Esteem!
36 Rise up to help the Master!
37 For Elohim has saved one who had strayed and obliterated the impurity from the Earth.
38 He fought my fight and brought into the light my righteousness by His help.
39 My help comes from Yahweh who made heaven and earth.
40 Truly, who is like unto You, O Master? Truly, who is like unto You, Esteemed in Set-apartness? – but not in impurity!
41 For You are great over all, raised over all, You spoke and acted.
42 For You declared the end from the beginning, and You sealed everything with Your Word and turned my heart and tormented me.
43 For Your seal is on me, my Master, and these are three branches of vine and twelve palms that are on my heart.
44 You gave me grandeur, You erased vanity to fear man, and You gave me a pure heart forever.
45 For that I will praise You at all times, and thank You among the nations, for You have redeemed me greatly for my Sovereign and did favor to David the anointed and his seed forever and ever’.
46 And I heard a voice crying from heaven, saying:
47 “You are My son, you are My firstborn, you are My first-fruit.
48 Have I not brought you from over Shihor to be my daily delight?
49 But you have thrown my presents away and dressed up the impure with the pure, and that is why all these things happened to you.
50 And who is like unto You, among all creatures on earth? For in your shadow lived all these and by your wounds they were healed!
51 For that consider well that which is before you.
52 And because you have fulfilled the words of the shepherd all the days you have been in the Son and you did not leave them, therefore all this honor shall occur to you’.
53 And I, Gad son of Ahimelech of the Jabez family of the tribe of Judah son of Israel, was amazed by the scene and could not control my spirit.
54 And the one dressed in linen came down to me and touched me, saying: ‘Write these words and seal with the seal of truth for “Yahweh” is My Name, and with My Name you shall bless all the house of Israel for they are a true seed.
55 And you shall go, for yet a little while, before you are gathered quietly to your fathers, and at the end of days you shall see with your own eyes all these, not as a vision but in fact.
56 For in those days they shall not be called Jacob but Israel for in their remnant no iniquity is found for they belong entirely to Yahweh.
57 And these words will be unto you a restorer of life and spirit. And this shall be the token unto you: when you enter the town, you shall find my servant David while he is reading these words from the Book of Covenant:
58 “And yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break My covenant with them; for I am Yahweh their Elohim”.
59 And you shall tell him about the scene you have just seen and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart’.
60 And it came to pass, when I came to the house of David, the Man of Elohim, I found him as the dressed in linen had said, and I told him of all my visions.
61 Then David spoke unto the Master the words of this song, saying: ‘I love You, O Yahweh, my strength’.
62 And to me he said: ‘Blessed are you to the Master that disclosed His secret to your ears’.
63 And I lifted up my voice, saying: ‘Blessed are you to the Master that did not remove His covenant from you, for He is true, and His Word is true, and His seal is true’
2 ‘Thus says Yahweh: “Go, gird up your loins like a man, and stand in the middle of the stream, and cry in a great voice: “Wait and hasten, wait and hasten, wait and hasten”, for there is yet a vision for the son of Jesse”.
3 And during the cry your face should turn to the east, east of the city, and spread forth your hands toward heaven’.
4 And I did according to what I had been commanded.
5 And it came to pass when I finished calling that cry, I opened my eyes and saw a yoke of oxen led by a donkey and a camel, coming up from the stream of Kiḏron, the donkey on the right side of the yoke and the camel on the left.
6 And a great voice was going before them like the roll of thunder, crying in a bitter voice, saying:
7 “Seer, Seer, Seer, these are four mixtures that confuse the people of the Master.
8 For the impure and the pure have been mixed, and purity had been put under the hand of impurity; a mixture from Edom to rule over them,
9 to increase power over a righteous doer and thus to betray,
10 to destroy set-apartness, to crown wickedness, to set up matters of impurity in the guise of purity”.
11 And after the voice, came a great shock that shook over the impurity and blew away the donkey and the camel into the moon with the bitter wind.
12 And the moon was opened and looked like a bow, a semi-circle, and both her heads reached the ground.
13 And, lo, the Son came out of Heaven in the shape of a man, with a crown on his head, carrying over his right shoulder, a lamb, rejected and despised.
14 And on the crown on his head three shepherds are seen, shackled with twelve shackles
15 and these shackles were of gold coated with silver. And the voice of the lamb was heard, great and dreadful like the voice of a lion roaring over his prey: “Woe unto me! Woe unto me! Woe unto me! My image has been diminished, my refuge has been lost, my lot and destiny has turned me over to my spoilers, and I was defiled until evening by the touch of impurity”.
16 And it came to pass when the voice of the lamb was over, and, lo, a man dressed in linen came with three branches of vine and twelve palms in his hand.
17 And he took the lamb from the hand of the Son and put the crown on its head, and the vine-branches and palms on his heart.
18 And the man, dressed in linen, cried like a ram’s horn, saying: “What have you here, impurity, and who have you here, impurity, that you have hewed yourself a place in purity, and in my covenant
19 that I have set with the vine-branches and palms’”.
20 And I have heard the lamb’s shepherd saying: “There is a place for the pure, not for the impure, with me, for I am the Kodesh Elohim, and I do not want the impure, only the pure.
21 Though both are creations of My hands, and My eyes are equally open on both.
22 But there is an advantage to the abundance of purity over the abundance of impurity just like the advantage of a man over a shadow.
23 For the shadow does not come except by man, and only by the existence of the man is the shadow given to the tired and exhausted, to pure and impure, this matter is even so.
24 For all gates of intelligence are turned around since the death of the eight branches of the vine.
25 As is found in words of righteousness, in the true book but because of the wanderings of the sheep and their rest and divisions – intelligence is stopped up
26 until I do greatly in keeping favor”.
27 I saw that impurity was driven from the moon and was given to the hand of consuming wrath, ground finely to dust and scattered by the daily wind.
28 And the day burns as a furnace to transfer impurity and to erase the transgressions.
29 And the lamb was put on the Son forever and ever.
30 And the lamb took the peace-offerings sacrifice of the pure that was mixed with the impure and brought it to the altar before El Shaddai, Jealous Master of hosts.
31 And I heard the sound of the song of the lamb, saying:
32 “I shall give thanks unto You, O Yahweh, for though You were angry with me, You relented.
33 For Yahweh is my strength and song, and He is become my redeemer.
34 I will sing unto Yahweh, for He is highly exalted; The horse and his rider He has thrown into the Red Sea.
35 Rise up, Intelligence; Rise up, Power; Rise up, Sovereignty; Rise up, Majesty and Esteem!
36 Rise up to help the Master!
37 For Elohim has saved one who had strayed and obliterated the impurity from the Earth.
38 He fought my fight and brought into the light my righteousness by His help.
39 My help comes from Yahweh who made heaven and earth.
40 Truly, who is like unto You, O Master? Truly, who is like unto You, Esteemed in Set-apartness? – but not in impurity!
41 For You are great over all, raised over all, You spoke and acted.
42 For You declared the end from the beginning, and You sealed everything with Your Word and turned my heart and tormented me.
43 For Your seal is on me, my Master, and these are three branches of vine and twelve palms that are on my heart.
44 You gave me grandeur, You erased vanity to fear man, and You gave me a pure heart forever.
45 For that I will praise You at all times, and thank You among the nations, for You have redeemed me greatly for my Sovereign and did favor to David the anointed and his seed forever and ever’.
46 And I heard a voice crying from heaven, saying:
47 “You are My son, you are My firstborn, you are My first-fruit.
48 Have I not brought you from over Shihor to be my daily delight?
49 But you have thrown my presents away and dressed up the impure with the pure, and that is why all these things happened to you.
50 And who is like unto You, among all creatures on earth? For in your shadow lived all these and by your wounds they were healed!
51 For that consider well that which is before you.
52 And because you have fulfilled the words of the shepherd all the days you have been in the Son and you did not leave them, therefore all this honor shall occur to you’.
53 And I, Gad son of Ahimelech of the Jabez family of the tribe of Judah son of Israel, was amazed by the scene and could not control my spirit.
54 And the one dressed in linen came down to me and touched me, saying: ‘Write these words and seal with the seal of truth for “Yahweh” is My Name, and with My Name you shall bless all the house of Israel for they are a true seed.
55 And you shall go, for yet a little while, before you are gathered quietly to your fathers, and at the end of days you shall see with your own eyes all these, not as a vision but in fact.
56 For in those days they shall not be called Jacob but Israel for in their remnant no iniquity is found for they belong entirely to Yahweh.
57 And these words will be unto you a restorer of life and spirit. And this shall be the token unto you: when you enter the town, you shall find my servant David while he is reading these words from the Book of Covenant:
58 “And yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break My covenant with them; for I am Yahweh their Elohim”.
59 And you shall tell him about the scene you have just seen and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart’.
60 And it came to pass, when I came to the house of David, the Man of Elohim, I found him as the dressed in linen had said, and I told him of all my visions.
61 Then David spoke unto the Master the words of this song, saying: ‘I love You, O Yahweh, my strength’.
62 And to me he said: ‘Blessed are you to the Master that disclosed His secret to your ears’.
63 And I lifted up my voice, saying: ‘Blessed are you to the Master that did not remove His covenant from you, for He is true, and His Word is true, and His seal is true’
SEFER ELIJAH, or The Hebrew Apocalypse of Elijah
Sefer Elijah or the ‘Book of Elijah’ was first published in an anthology of midrashic texts in Salonika in 1743. This version of the text was subsequently reprinted by Adolph Jellinek, ed., Bet ha-Midrasch: Sammlung kleiner Midraschim und vermischter Abhandlungen aus der jüdischen Literatur (6 vols.; Leipzig, 1853-77; repr., Jerusalem: Bamberger & Wahrmann, 1938), 3:65-68. Another edition based on the version of the work found in Munich Ms. Hebr. 222, a manuscript dating from the fifteenth century containing an anthology of brief midrashim, was prepared by Moses Buttenwieser, Die hebräische Elias-Apokalypse und ihre Stellung in der apokalyptischen Litteratur des rabbinischen Schrifttums und der Kirche (Leipzig: Eduard Pfeiffer, 1897). Even-Shmuel (Midreshey ge’ullah [2d ed.; Jerusalem: Mosad Bialik, 1954], 41-48) publishes an eclectic version which combines and harmonizes the editions of Jellinek and Buttenwieser. The same author has also published a later reworked version that is taken from a Yemenite manuscript of uncertain date. The present translation utilizes Buttenwieser as its base text with frequent reference to the variant renderings found in the edition published by Jellinek.
‘And he lay down and fell asleep beneath a broom-shrub. Then lo, this angel touched him and said, “Get up, eat!”’. Michael, ‘the great prince’ of Israel, revealed this mystery to the prophet Elijah at Mount Carmel; namely, the eschaton and what was scheduled to transpire at the End of Days at the end of the four empires and the things which would take place during the reign of the fourth ruler.
A wind from the Lord lifted me up and transported me to the southern part of the world, and I saw there a high place burning with fire where no creature was able to enter. Then the wind lifted me up and transported me to the eastern part of the world, and I saw there stars battling one another incessantly. Again the wind lifted me up and transported me to the western part of the world, and I saw there souls undergoing a painful judgment, each one in accordance with its deeds.
Then Michael said to me, ‘The appointed time for the End of Days will occur during the reign of a king who will be named Hrmlt. There are some that say that Trmyl’ will be his name.’ R. Simai says Hkšrt will be his name. R. Eleazar says Artaxerxes will be his name. R. Judah b. Betira says Cyrus will be his name. R. Šim‘ōn b. YoÐai says Khusrau will be his name. The halakhah in this case follows R. Šim‘ōn who said ‘Khusrau’ will be his name.
The last king who rules Persia shall come up against the Romans three successive years until he expands his gains against them for twelve months. Three mighty warriors will come up to oppose him from the west, but they will be handed over into his control. Then the lowliest of the kings, the son of a slave woman and whose name is Gīgīt, will confront him from the west. These will be his signs, for Daniel has already foreseen him: his face will be long, there will be a bald patch between his eyes, he will be very tall, the soles of his feet will be high, and his thighs will be thin. At that time he will attack the faithful people, and he will provoke at that time three agitations. All the constellations will be gathered together and move to one place. They will plunder houses and rob fields and strike the orphan and the widow in the bazaar, but if they perform penitence they will be forgiven.
On the twentieth day of Marheshvan, the world will be shaken ‘and the heavens and the earth will quake.’ On the twentieth day of Kislev, all Israel will stand in prayer and clamor before their heavenly Father, and a sword will descend and fall upon the nations of the world, in accordance with what scripture says: ‘The sword kills indiscriminately’. On the twentieth day of Nisan, the first group of exiles will depart from Babylon: they will number eighteen thousand men and women, and not a single one of them will perish. On the twenty-fifth day of Tishri, the second group of exiles will depart from the region of the River Sambatyon: they will number seventeen thousand, but twenty men and fifteen women will be slain from among them. On the twenty-fifth day of the eighth month, the third group of exiles will depart. They will weep and cry out on behalf of their brethren who were slain, and they will cry out in the desert for twenty-five days and not taste any food, living instead ‘on what issues from the mouth of the Lord’. The first group of exiles will not leave Babylon until the second group arrives there, as scripture affirms: ‘Writhe and push out, O daughter of Zion, like a woman giving birth. For you will now go out of the city and dwell in the countryside, and you shall come to Babylon. There you will be rescued; there will the Lord redeem you from the hand of your enemies’.
On the twentieth day of Nisan, a king shall come up from the west, ravaging and horrifying the world. He shall encroach upon ‘the holy beautiful mountain’ and burn it. Most cursed among women is the woman who gave birth to him: that is ‘the horn’ which Daniel foresaw, and that day will be one of torment and battle against Israel.
Demetrius son of Pōryphōs and Anfōlīpōs son of Panfōs will wage a second battle. Accompanying them will be ten myriads of cavalry, ten myriads of foot soldiers, and another ten myriads of troops concealed on ships. On the twentieth day of Ellul, the Messiah will come: his name is Yinnōn. On that same day Gabriel will descend and from the ninth to the tenth hour will destroy from the world ninety-two thousand people. On the twentieth day of Tebet, Mekketz, Qīrtalos, and all the cities allied with them will wage a third battle: a very large nation extending from the great plain unto Jaffa and Ashkelon. On the twentieth day of Shebat, the Messiah will come: angels of destruction will descend and destroy the whole of that multitude, and they will not leave alive a single soul.
It was regarding this time that God spoke about to Abraham: ‘Your progeny are destined to sink to the lowest level, as scripture states: “And you shall be low, and you will speak from the ground”, but afterwards they will be exalted higher than all the nations, as scripture affirms: “and the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth”.’ After this all the Gentile nations will come and prostrate themselves before every Israelite and lick off the dust from their feet, as scripture says: ‘kings will serve as your tutors, while their princesses will be your nurse maids; they will prostrate themselves facedown on the ground to you and lick off the dust from your feet’.
On the twentieth day of Adar, the Messiah will come, and with him will be thirty thousand righteous ones, as scripture attests: ‘Righteousness will be the wrap girdling his loins’. When the nations of the world behold this happening, immediately each one of them will putrefy, both it and its cavalry, as scripture says: ‘and this will be the affliction with which the Lord will strike all the nations.’ At that time the Holy One, blessed be He, will address the nations of the world: ‘Woe to you, o wicked ones, who are alive at the cessation of the four world empires! All of you are to be expelled from the world, one wherein one kor of wheat will yield about nine hundred kors, and there will be analogous fantastic yields for wine and oil. Every tree will bear choice produce and fruits, as scripture states: “and you, o mountains of Israel, will make your branches yield.” And Israel will eat these fruits and rejoice for forty years.
After this the Holy One, blessed be He, will bring up Gog and Magog ‘and all their associates,’ and then all the peoples of the earth will assemble together and surround Jerusalem in order to make war. The Holy One, blessed be He, will come up and do battle with them. The Messiah will arrive, and with his help the Holy One, blessed be He, will wage war on them, as scripture forecasts: ‘then the Lord will go forth and fight with those nations as when He did battle on the day of war’. On that day mountains will quake and hills will shake and walls and towers will collapse. The Holy One, blessed be He, will gather all the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth to feast on their flesh and to drink their blood, as scripture says: ‘the vultures will spend summer upon them, and all the beasts of the earth will spend winter upon them’. Israel will spend seven years burning their weaponry, as scripture states: ‘then the inhabitants of the cities of Israel will go out and set fire to the weaponry and burn it … for seven years’. It also says: ‘The house of Israel will spend seven months burying them in order to purify the land’.
These are the cities which will experience devastation: Jericho, Be’erot, Beth Hōrōn, Sīserīn, Milkah, Arad, Shallūm, Samaria, Beth Migdōl, Tyre, Beth alsawet, Lod, Būz, Beth ‘Aynam, Hamath, Sefar, adashah, Antioch, Alexandria, and ‘Edom.’ But as for all of the cities of Israel, fire and fiery angels will surround them, as scripture affirms: ‘and I will be a wall of fire encompassing it—utterance of the Lord’. Afterwards the final day will come: its duration will be that of forty days. The mountains and hills will shudder and quake, and the earth will cry out against the wicked, saying: ‘In such-and-such a place did so-and-so kill so-and-so,’ as scripture states: ‘the earth will reveal her blood-guilt.’
Elijah said: I beheld the dead taking form and their ‘dust’ being reshaped and made like the forms they had when they were formerly alive so that they might render praise to God, as scripture states: ‘See now that I indeed am He and there is no deity other than Me; I put to death and I resurrect, I sicken and I heal: none can escape from My power’. Also in Ezekiel it says: ‘and I looked, and behold, sinews were upon them’. The ministering angels opened their tombs and injected them with their ‘animating breaths,’ and they revivified. The angels stood them up on their feet. They shoved everyone who merited punishment into a large hollow place two hundred cubits long and fifty cubits wide. The eyes of the righteous will witness the downfall of all those who did not take pleasure in observing the Torah of the Holy One, blessed be He, as scripture states: ‘they will go out and see the corpses of those people who rebelled against Me …’.
Elijah said: I beheld fire and brimstone coming down upon the wicked from heaven, as scripture says: ‘the Lord will rain coals of fire and brimstone upon the wicked’. The Holy One, blessed be He, will move the Temple a great distance from the place of eternal torment so that the righteous will not hear the sound of the cry of the wicked suffering and seek to obtain mercy for them. ‘They will be as if they never were.’
Elijah said: I saw Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the righteous ones in sitting postures, and the land before them was sown with every sort of delightful vegetation. That tree which the Holy One, blessed be He, had prepared was standing in the middle of the garden, as scripture says: ‘and there will grow by the stream on its bank on both sides every kind of fruit tree; their foliage will never wither, nor will their fruit ever fail’. Boats will come ‘from En-gedi as far as’ Eglayim bearing wealth and riches for the righteous ones.
Elijah said: I beheld a great city, both beautiful and glorious, descending from heaven wherein it had been built, as scripture states: ‘The already built Jerusalem, like the city associated to it’, perfectly constructed and with its people dwelling within it. It is situated by three thousand towers, with 20,000 ris separating each tower. Within the span of every ris are 25,000 cubits of emeralds, pearls, and other jewels, as scripture says: ‘I will inlay your battlements with gemstones’.
Elijah said: I saw the houses and the gates of the righteous with their thresholds and door-frames constructed of precious stones. I saw the treasuries of the Temple opened up to their doorways, and among them were Torah and peace, as scripture states: ‘all your children will be instructed by the Lord; your children will have great peace’, and it says: ‘those who love Your Torah have great peace’, and it says: ‘How great is Your beneficence which You have stored up for those who revere You’.
End of Sefer Elijah, may his memory be for a blessing.
The Book of Jannes and Jambres
Paraphrase prepared by Bobby Breslin
The king summoned all his servants, both the wise men and the magicians. After seven days, he was walking about his house and saw that one of the apple trees had flourished and the branches were already providing shade. When he had become aware of this, he ordered one of his magicians, Jannes, to sit under the apple tree.
While Jannes was seated underneath the tree, there was a great earthquake and from heaven came the sound of thunder and a streak of lightning, causing some of the branches of the tree to break off. When Jannes saw what had just occurred, he ran into the library to get his magical tools. When he returned, two people appeared near the tree. Both were clothed in white robes, with the two having their own magical tools. One of the men turned to Jannes and stated that the Lord of the earth and the Overseer of the universe has sent us to lead you away to Hades. From now on Jannes, you will be a companion of the dead. You shall forever be pitied. Then the two men in white said, let there be granted to you, fourteen days in your house and after that the angel of death shall come for you.
When Jannes' brother, Jambres, knew what had transpired, he sent for their mother to join them. When she arrived on the scene, Jannes explained what had just occurred. He said to his mother and brother, "I shall send for you, my mother, and you, my brother, when it is time." He also said to Jambres that Jambres should attend to their mother and to heed her faithfully. Then he approached her and kissed her, fighting back the tears until she had left. He then took leave of his friends, having urged them all to take carafe his mother for him. Then he took his brother with him to Memphis.
While on their journey to Memphis, Jannes handed Jambres a book. He said, "Brother, I am passing this document to you. Keep it secret, and take heed so as not to go forth on the day when the king marches out with the grandees of Egypt against the people of the Hebrews. And also make sure you do not accompany the king on his siege." Then Jannes stated that when I become ill and my soul is being taken, the God from heaven has defeated us. Make sure you summon our mother to me before I perish.
Seven days later, while in Memphis, the brothers were enjoying themselves at a wedding. Jannes stated during this wedding, "Men and brothers, after I took up the position against a certain Hebrew." But before he could finish speaking, emissaries came from the king's palace stating, "come quickly and oppose Moses, the Hebrew, who is performing wonders to the amazement of all."
When Jannes arrived in the palace, he opposed Moses and his brother, Aaron, by doing everything they had done. Then, the fatal disease struck him on the spot, and with a painful ulcer he went to the hedra. After a while, Jannes sent word to the king, that this active power is of the Hebrew God. He said he was unable to defeat this power, and he was on his death bed.
Jannes then called his brother and urged him not to grieve for him because it could be hazardous to him. All our possessions cannot protect us against this power. make ready for the spirit of death to come for me, and after it has come, try to summon me through my spirit. Morning was now approaching and all things being observed, Jannes made an inquiry at what hour did Jambres see the setting of the sun. Then he said, "such is a generation of lying lips and deceitful hearts of the hour of my death. Come and see how it takes," but Jambres said nothing and did not move.
After this occurred, the king of Egypt planned on pursuing the people of the Hebrews, who were now leaving Egypt. The people of Egypt were weeping in this time of sorrow, but Jambres did not. He remembered the oath which he swore to his brother. When Jannes said to him, a hundred thousand people, hundred foals, hundred camels, could not keep these events from happening. The Jambres heard a noise and heard Jannes speak from his bed. Jannes told Jambres that he could not keep Jannes from perishing because Jannes' whole body had been agitated since he opposed Moses.
When Jannes heard of the king's plans, he encouraged all his other friends, just like he did his brother. Then his mother arrived, crying out, "my poor son, Jannes, how is he." When his mother viewed her son, she was amazed at how Jannes appeared. Jannes preferred that his mother would have not seen him like this. His mother approached him so she could kiss him, but he turned away from her. He said to her, "stay back, on account of the fever. I am unable to move and I am in much pain." Then his mother uttered to him, "what can I do for you my son." He replied, "you took the trouble to come and see me in my awful condition, and I am thankful for that. I will go to my grave happy that I was able to see you one last time before I perish." His mother then told him, "I saw the dead and no one resembled you, child. Lie here and you shall be saved." Then his mother realized that Jannes' appearance had been utterly changed, her son was a corpse. His tongue and lips were not moving, Jannes, her son, and Jambres' brother was dead.
Jambres and his mother sat there weeping over their departed loved one. Jambres stated that, "I have been deprived my brother's presence and all the money or possessions could not replace him." The Jambres realized that the spirit of death had not only taken his brother, but also took his mother from this world. He took them both to the tomb of his brother. After having performed the complete funeral rites, he abandoned his mother and brother forever.
Jambres then returned to the apple tree with Jannes' magical books and tools. He performed necromancy and brought up from the netherworld his brother's soul. The soul of Jannes said to his brother, "I your brother did not die unjustly, but indeed justly, and the judgment will go against me. Since I was more clever than all the clever magicians, and opposed the two brothers, Moses and Aaron, who performed great signs and wonders. As a result, I died and was brought from among the living to the netherworld, where there is great burning and the pit of perdition, whence no ascent is possible. Make sure you do good in you life to your children and friends; for in the netherworld, no good exists, only gloom and darkness. After you will have died and entered the netherworld, your abode will be two cubits wide and four cubits long. Those who do not do evil do not enter the netherworld, they are taken to a more pleasant and beautiful place by the Hebrew God.
The sons of Egypt, on account of their actions in life, will be descending to the netherworld also. There is no forgiveness for the actions our people have done to the Hebrews. For the gates of heaven are not for the dumb and evil. We were unable to keep away from corruption in our lives, for Moses knew that we shall descend to Hades when we perish. Our limbs are full of darkness, and hence we are burning in hell, and there is nothing anyone can do.
We, who worshiped idols and carved images, came to destruction with our idols, for neither the idols nor their worshipers does God the king of the earth love. In Hades, no one, not even the kings of Egypt can avoid the wretched one. For those who practiced sorcery, committed perjury, and other sinful actions of the like, would end up here. Not even a king excels, has equality in Hades. For everyone who opposes the God of the earth, the mighty one, cannot avoid the torture of hell. Nothing we do can protect us now from the wrath of the Hebrew God, we are all doomed for the way we lived our lives.
The king summoned all his servants, both the wise men and the magicians. After seven days, he was walking about his house and saw that one of the apple trees had flourished and the branches were already providing shade. When he had become aware of this, he ordered one of his magicians, Jannes, to sit under the apple tree.
While Jannes was seated underneath the tree, there was a great earthquake and from heaven came the sound of thunder and a streak of lightning, causing some of the branches of the tree to break off. When Jannes saw what had just occurred, he ran into the library to get his magical tools. When he returned, two people appeared near the tree. Both were clothed in white robes, with the two having their own magical tools. One of the men turned to Jannes and stated that the Lord of the earth and the Overseer of the universe has sent us to lead you away to Hades. From now on Jannes, you will be a companion of the dead. You shall forever be pitied. Then the two men in white said, let there be granted to you, fourteen days in your house and after that the angel of death shall come for you.
When Jannes' brother, Jambres, knew what had transpired, he sent for their mother to join them. When she arrived on the scene, Jannes explained what had just occurred. He said to his mother and brother, "I shall send for you, my mother, and you, my brother, when it is time." He also said to Jambres that Jambres should attend to their mother and to heed her faithfully. Then he approached her and kissed her, fighting back the tears until she had left. He then took leave of his friends, having urged them all to take carafe his mother for him. Then he took his brother with him to Memphis.
While on their journey to Memphis, Jannes handed Jambres a book. He said, "Brother, I am passing this document to you. Keep it secret, and take heed so as not to go forth on the day when the king marches out with the grandees of Egypt against the people of the Hebrews. And also make sure you do not accompany the king on his siege." Then Jannes stated that when I become ill and my soul is being taken, the God from heaven has defeated us. Make sure you summon our mother to me before I perish.
Seven days later, while in Memphis, the brothers were enjoying themselves at a wedding. Jannes stated during this wedding, "Men and brothers, after I took up the position against a certain Hebrew." But before he could finish speaking, emissaries came from the king's palace stating, "come quickly and oppose Moses, the Hebrew, who is performing wonders to the amazement of all."
When Jannes arrived in the palace, he opposed Moses and his brother, Aaron, by doing everything they had done. Then, the fatal disease struck him on the spot, and with a painful ulcer he went to the hedra. After a while, Jannes sent word to the king, that this active power is of the Hebrew God. He said he was unable to defeat this power, and he was on his death bed.
Jannes then called his brother and urged him not to grieve for him because it could be hazardous to him. All our possessions cannot protect us against this power. make ready for the spirit of death to come for me, and after it has come, try to summon me through my spirit. Morning was now approaching and all things being observed, Jannes made an inquiry at what hour did Jambres see the setting of the sun. Then he said, "such is a generation of lying lips and deceitful hearts of the hour of my death. Come and see how it takes," but Jambres said nothing and did not move.
After this occurred, the king of Egypt planned on pursuing the people of the Hebrews, who were now leaving Egypt. The people of Egypt were weeping in this time of sorrow, but Jambres did not. He remembered the oath which he swore to his brother. When Jannes said to him, a hundred thousand people, hundred foals, hundred camels, could not keep these events from happening. The Jambres heard a noise and heard Jannes speak from his bed. Jannes told Jambres that he could not keep Jannes from perishing because Jannes' whole body had been agitated since he opposed Moses.
When Jannes heard of the king's plans, he encouraged all his other friends, just like he did his brother. Then his mother arrived, crying out, "my poor son, Jannes, how is he." When his mother viewed her son, she was amazed at how Jannes appeared. Jannes preferred that his mother would have not seen him like this. His mother approached him so she could kiss him, but he turned away from her. He said to her, "stay back, on account of the fever. I am unable to move and I am in much pain." Then his mother uttered to him, "what can I do for you my son." He replied, "you took the trouble to come and see me in my awful condition, and I am thankful for that. I will go to my grave happy that I was able to see you one last time before I perish." His mother then told him, "I saw the dead and no one resembled you, child. Lie here and you shall be saved." Then his mother realized that Jannes' appearance had been utterly changed, her son was a corpse. His tongue and lips were not moving, Jannes, her son, and Jambres' brother was dead.
Jambres and his mother sat there weeping over their departed loved one. Jambres stated that, "I have been deprived my brother's presence and all the money or possessions could not replace him." The Jambres realized that the spirit of death had not only taken his brother, but also took his mother from this world. He took them both to the tomb of his brother. After having performed the complete funeral rites, he abandoned his mother and brother forever.
Jambres then returned to the apple tree with Jannes' magical books and tools. He performed necromancy and brought up from the netherworld his brother's soul. The soul of Jannes said to his brother, "I your brother did not die unjustly, but indeed justly, and the judgment will go against me. Since I was more clever than all the clever magicians, and opposed the two brothers, Moses and Aaron, who performed great signs and wonders. As a result, I died and was brought from among the living to the netherworld, where there is great burning and the pit of perdition, whence no ascent is possible. Make sure you do good in you life to your children and friends; for in the netherworld, no good exists, only gloom and darkness. After you will have died and entered the netherworld, your abode will be two cubits wide and four cubits long. Those who do not do evil do not enter the netherworld, they are taken to a more pleasant and beautiful place by the Hebrew God.
The sons of Egypt, on account of their actions in life, will be descending to the netherworld also. There is no forgiveness for the actions our people have done to the Hebrews. For the gates of heaven are not for the dumb and evil. We were unable to keep away from corruption in our lives, for Moses knew that we shall descend to Hades when we perish. Our limbs are full of darkness, and hence we are burning in hell, and there is nothing anyone can do.
We, who worshiped idols and carved images, came to destruction with our idols, for neither the idols nor their worshipers does God the king of the earth love. In Hades, no one, not even the kings of Egypt can avoid the wretched one. For those who practiced sorcery, committed perjury, and other sinful actions of the like, would end up here. Not even a king excels, has equality in Hades. For everyone who opposes the God of the earth, the mighty one, cannot avoid the torture of hell. Nothing we do can protect us now from the wrath of the Hebrew God, we are all doomed for the way we lived our lives.
SEFER ZERUBBABEL, or Apocalypse of Zerubbabel
Translated from the text published by Israel Lévi, “L’apocalypse de Zorobabel et le roi de Perse Siroès,” REJ 68 (1914): 131-44. Lévi’s text was based on that contained in Oxford Ms. 2797, the Sefer ha-Zikronot or so-called Chronicles of Yerahmeel. That manuscript has recently been transcribed and published as Sefer ha-Zikronot hu' Divrey ha-Yamim le-Yerahme'el (ed. Eli Yassif; Tel Aviv: Tel Aviv University, 2001); see pp. 427-35 for Sefer Zerubbabel. In addition, I have also consulted Adolph Jellinek, ed., Bet ha-Midrasch (6 vols.; repr., Jerusalem: Bamberger & Wahrmann, 1938), 2:54-57; S. A. Wertheimer, Batey Midrashot (2 vols.; repr., Jerusalem: Ktav wa-Sefer, 1980), 2:495-505; Yehudah Even-Shmuel, Midreshey ge'ullah (2d ed.; Jerusalem: Mosad Bialik, 1954), 71-88; Cairo Geniza fragments T-S A45.5, 45.7, 45.19, and 45.22 as published in Simon Hopkins, A Miscellany of Literary Pieces from the Cambridge Genizah Collections (Cambridge: Cambridge University Library, 1978). Other manuscript versions of this work are Oxford Ms. Opp. 236a (Bod. Or. 160) fols. 13a-15b; Oxford Ms. Opp. 603 fols. 32b-34; and Oxford Ms. Heb. f27 (2642) fols. 42-43.
The prophetic vision of Zerubbabel ben Shealtiel
This is the word which came to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, future governor of Judah. On the twenty-fourth day of the seventh month, the Lord showed me this spectacle there while I was prostrate in prayer before the Lord my God, experiencing a visionary spectacle which I saw by the river Kebar. And as I was reciting the passage of the ‘Amidah which ends ‘Blessed are You, O Lord, the One Who resuscitates the dead!’, my heart groaned within me, thinking ‘How will the form of the Temple come into existence?’ He answered me from the doors of heaven and said to me, ‘Are you Zerubbabel ben Shealtiel, governor of Judah?’ I responded, ‘I am your servant.’ He answered me and conversed with me just as a person would speak to their friend. I could hear His voice, but I could not see His appearance. I continued to lie prostrate as before, and I completed my prayer. Then I went to my house.
On the eleventh day of the month ’Adar He was speaking with me again there, and he said to me, ‘Are you my servant Zerubbabel?’ I responded, ‘I am your servant.’ He said to me, ‘Come to me! Ask anything and I will tell you!’ I answered and said, ‘What might I ask? That my appointed lifespan be short and my destiny fulfilled?’ He said to me: ‘I will make you live a long life.’ He repeated, ‘May you live a long time!’
A wind lifted me up between heaven and earth and carried me to the great city Nineveh, city of blood, and I thought ‘Woe is me, for my attitude has been contentious and now my life is at great risk!’ So I arose in distress in order to pray and entreat the favor of the name of the Lord God of Israel. I confessed all my transgressions and my sins, for my attitude had been contentious, and I said: ‘Ah Lord! I have acted wrongly, I have transgressed, I have sinned, for my attitude has been contentious. You are the Lord God, the One Who made everything by a command from Your mouth, and Who with a word from Your lips will revivify the dead!’ He said to me, ‘Go to the “house of filth” near the market-district,’ and I went just as he had commanded me. He said to me, ‘Turn this way,’ and so I turned. He touched me, and then I saw a man who was despicable, broken down and in pain.
That despicable man said to me: ‘Zerubbabel!? What business do you have here? Who has brought you here?’ I responded and said: ‘A wind from the Lord lifted me up and carried me to this place.’ He said to me: ‘Do not be afraid, for you have been brought here in order that He might show you and then you in turn might inform the people of Israel about everything which you see.’ When I heard his words, I was consoled and regained my self-composure. I asked him, ‘Sir, what is the name of this place?’ He said to me, ‘This is mighty Rome, wherein I am imprisoned.’ I said to him, ‘Who then are you? What is your name? What do you seek here? What are you doing in this place?’ He said to me, ‘I am the Messiah of the Lord, the son of Hezekiah confined in prison until the time of the End.’ When I heard this, I was silent, and I hid my face from him. His anger burned within him, and when I looked at him again, I became frightened.
He said to me, ‘Come nearer to me,’ and as he spoke to me my limbs quaked, and he reached out his hand and steadied me. ‘Don’t be frightened,’ he said, ‘and let your mind show no fear.’ He encouraged me, and said: ‘Why did you become silent and hide your face from me?’ I said to him: ‘Because you said, “I am the servant of the Lord, His Messiah, and ‘the light of Israel’.”’ Suddenly he appeared like a strong young man, handsome and adorned.
I asked him: ‘When will the light of Israel come?’ And as I was speaking to him, behold, a man with two wings approached me and said to me, ‘Zerubbabel! What are you asking the Messiah of the Lord?’ I answered him and said, ‘I asked when the appointed time for deliverance is supposed to come.’ ‘Ask me,’ he replied, ‘and I will tell you.’ I said to him, ‘Sir, who are you?’ He answered and said, ‘I am Michael, the one who delivered good news to Sarah. I am the leader of the host of the Lord God of Israel, the one who battled with Sennacherib and smote 180,000 men. I am the prince of Israel, the one who fought battles against the kings of Canaan. In the time to come, I will fight the battles of the Lord alongside the Messiah of the Lord—he who sits before you—with the king ‘strong of face’ and with Armilus, the son of Satan, the spawn of the stone statue. The Lord has appointed me to be the commanding officer over his people and over those who love Him in order to do battle against the leaders of the nations.’
Michael, who is also Metatron, answered me saying: ‘I am the angel who guided Abraham throughout all the land of Canaan. I blessed him in the name of the Lord. I am the one who redeemed Isaac and wept for him. I am the one who wrestled with Jacob at the crossing of the Jabbok. I am the one who guided Israel in the wilderness for forty years in the name of the Lord. I am the one who appeared to Joshua at Gilgal, and I am the one who rained down brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah. He placed His name within me: Metatron in gematria is the equivalent of Shadday. As for you, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, whose name is Jeconiah, ask me and I will tell you what will happen at the End of Days.’
Then he said to me: ‘This is the Messiah of the Lord: he has been hidden in this place until the appointed time for his manifestation. This is the Messiah of the lineage of David, and his name is Menahem ben ‘Amiel. He was born during the reign of David, king of Israel, and a wind bore him up and concealed him in this place, waiting for the time of the end.’ Then I, Zerubbabel, posed a question to Metatron, the leader of the host of the Lord. He said to me: ‘The Lord will give a rod for accomplishing these salvific acts to Hephêibah, the mother of Menahem ben ‘Amiel. A great star will shine before her, and all the stars will wander aimlessly from their paths.
Hephêibah, the mother of Menahem ben ‘Amiel, will go forth and kill two kings, both of whom are determined to do evil. The names of the two rulers whom she will slay: Nōph, king of Teman, so named because he will shake his hand toward Jerusalem, is the first one, and the name of the second is ’Isrinan, king of Antioch. This conflict and these signs will take place during the festival of Shavu‘ot in the third month.
The word is true. Four hundred and twenty years after the city and Temple have been rebuilt, they will be destroyed a second time. Twenty years after the building of the city of Rome, after seventy kings corresponding to the seventy nations have ruled in it, when ten kings have finished their reigns, the tenth king will come. He will destroy the sanctuary, stop the daily offering, the ‘saintly people’ will be dispersed, and he will hand them over to destruction, despoiling, and panic. Many of them will perish due to their faithfulness to Torah, but others will abandon the Torah of the Lord and worship Rome’s idols. “When they stumble, a little help will provide assistance”. From the time that the daily offering ceases and the wicked ones install the one whose name is ‘abomination’ in the Temple, at the end of nine hundred and ninety years, the deliverance of the Lord will take place—“when the power of the holy people is shattered”—to redeem them and to gather them by means of the Lord’s Messiah.
The rod which the Lord will give to Hephêibah, the mother of Menahem ben ‘Amiel, is made of almond-wood; it is hidden in Raqqat, a city in the territory of Naphtali. It is the same rod which the Lord previously gave to Adam, Moses, Aaron, Joshua, and King David. It is the same rod which sprouted buds and flowered in the Tent of Meeting for the sake of Aaron. Elijah ben Eleazar concealed it in Raqqat, a city of Naphtali, which is Tiberias. Concealed there as well is a man whose name is Nehemiah ben Hushiel ben Ephraim ben Joseph.’ Zerubbabel spoke up and said to Metatron and to Michael the prince: ‘My lord, I want you to tell me when the Messiah of the Lord will come and what will happen after all this!’ He said to me, ‘The Lord’s Messiah—Nehemiah ben Hushiel—will come five years after Hephêibah. He will collect all Israel together as one entity and they will remain for four years in Jerusalem, where the children of Israel will offer sacrifice, and it will be pleasing to the Lord. He will inscribe Israel in the genealogical lists according to their families. But in the fifth year of Nehemiah and the gathering together of the ‘holy ones,’ Šērōy the king of Persia will attack Nehemiah ben Hushiel and Israel, and there will be great suffering in Israel. Hephêibah—the wife of Nathan the prophet and mother of Menahem ben ‘Amiel—will go out with the rod which the Lord God of Israel will give to her, and the Lord will place “a spirit of dizziness” upon the Persian army, and they will kill one another, each slaying his companion or his countryman. There the wicked one, Šērōy, will die.’
When I heard this, I fell upon my face and said, ‘O Lord! Tell me what Isaiah the prophet meant when he said: “There the calf will graze, and there it will crouch down and finish its branches”?’ He answered me, ‘This calf is Nineveh, the city of blood, which represents mighty Rome.’
I continued asking there about the prince of the holy covenant. He held me close and they brought me to the ‘house of filth’ and scorn. There he showed me a marble stone in the shape of a maiden: her features and form were lovely and indeed very beautiful to behold. Then he said to me, ‘This statue is the wife of Belial. Satan will come and have intercourse with it, and a son named Armilus will emerge from it, whose name in Greek means “he will destroy a nation.” He will rule over all peoples, and his dominion will extend from one end of the earth to the other, and ten letters will be in his hand. He will engage in the worship of foreign gods and speak lies. No one will be able to withstand him, and anyone who does not believe in him he will kill with the sword: many among them will he kill. He will come against the holy people of the Most High, and with him there will be ten kings wielding great power and force, and he will do battle with the holy ones. He will prevail over them and will kill the Messiah of the lineage of Joseph, Nehemiah b. Hushiel, and will also kill sixteen righteous ones alongside him. Then they will banish Israel to the desert in three groups.
But Hephêibah, the mother of Menahem b. ‘Amiel, will remain stationed at the eastern gate, and that wicked one will not enter there, thereby confirming what was written: “but the remainder of the people will not be cut off from the city”. This battle will take place during the month of Av. Israel will experience distress such as there never was before. They will flee into towers, among mountains, and into caves, but they will be unable to hide from him. All the nations of the earth will go astray after him except for Israel, who will not believe in him. All Israel shall mourn Nehemiah b. Hushiel for forty-one days. His thoroughly crushed corpse will be thrown down before the gates of Jerusalem, but no animal, bird, or beast will touch it. Due to the intensity of the oppression and the great distress, the children of Israel will then cry out to the Lord, and the Lord will answer them.’
As I listened to the content of the prophecy of the Lord to me, I became very agitated and got up and went to the canal. There I cried out to the Lord God of Israel, the God of all flesh, and He sent His angel to me while the prayer was still in my mouth before I had finished it. The Lord sent His angel to me, and when I saw him I knew that he was the angel who had spoken with me regarding all the previous matters. I knelt and bowed before him, and he again touched me like he had the first time. He said to me, ‘What’s the matter with you, O Zerubbabel?’ I answered him, ‘Sir, my spirit remains depressed.’
Metatron responded by saying to me: ‘Ask me questions and I will provide you with answers before I depart from you.’ So I again asked him and said to him, ‘My lord Metatron, when will the light of Israel come?’ He answered and said to me, ‘By the Lord Who has sent me and Who has appointed me over Israel, I solemnly swear to reveal to you the Lord’s doings, for the Holy God previously commanded me, “Go to My servant Zerubbabel, and tell him the answers to whatever he may ask of you.”’ Then Michael, who is also Metatron, said to me, ‘Come closer and pay careful attention to everything which I shall tell you, for the word which I am speaking to you is true; it was one spoken by the Living God.’
He said to me: ‘Menahem b. ‘Amiel will suddenly come on the fourteenth day of the first month; i.e., of the month Nisan. He will wait by the Valley of ’Arb’el at a tract which belonged to Joshua b. Jehosadaq the priest, and all the surviving sages of Israel—only a few will remain due to the attack and pillage of Gog and Armilus and the plunderers who despoiled them—will come out to him. Menahem b. ‘Amiel will say to the elders and the sages: “I am the Lord’s Messiah: the Lord has sent me to encourage you and to deliver you from the power of these adversaries!” The elders will scrutinize him and will despise him, for they will see that despicable man garbed in rags, and they will despise him just as you previously did. But then his anger will burn within him, “and he will don garments of vengeance as his clothing and will put on a cloak of zealousness”, and he will journey to the gates of Jerusalem. Hephêibah, the mother of the Messiah, will come and give him the rod by which the signs were performed. All the elders and children of Israel will come and see that Nehemiah b. Hushiel is alive and standing unassisted, and immediately they will believe in the Messiah.’ Thus did Metatron, the leader of the host of the Lord, swear to me: ‘This matter will truly come to pass, for there will be full cooperation between them in accordance with the prophecy of Isaiah, “Ephraim will not envy Judah, nor will Judah antagonize Ephraim”.
On the twenty-first day of the first month, nine hundred and ninety years after the destruction of the Temple, the deliverance of the Lord will take place for Israel. Menahem b. ‘Amiel, Nehemiah b. Hushiel, and Elijah the prophet will come and stand by the Mediterranean Sea and read the prophecy of the Lord. All the bodies of those Israelites who had thrown themselves into the sea while fleeing from their enemies will emerge: a sea-wave will rise up, spread them out, and deposit them alive within the valley of Jehoshaphat near the Wadi Shittim, for there judgment will transpire upon the nations.
In the second month, Iyyar, the congregation of Qorah will reemerge upon the plains of Jericho near the Wadi Shittim. They will come to Moses!, and the cohort of the Qorahites will assemble.
On the eighteenth day of the second month the mountains and hills will quake, and the earth and everything on it will shake, as well as the sea and its contents.
On the first day of the third month those who died in the desert will revive and will come with their families to the Wadi Shittim. On the eighteenth day of the month of Sivan, there will be a mighty earthquake in Eretz Israel.
In Tammuz, the fourth month, the Lord God of Israel will descend upon the Mount of Olives, and the Mount of Olives will split open at His rebuke. He will blow a great trumpet, and every foreign deity and mosque will crumple to the ground, and every wall and steep place will collapse. The Lord will kill all their plunderers, and He will battle those nations “like a warrior fired with zeal”. The Lord’s Messiah—Menahem b. ‘Amiel—will come and breathe in the face of Armilus and thereby slay him. The Lord will place each man’s sword on the neck of his companion and their dead bodies shall fall there. The “saintly people” will come out to witness the Lord’s deliverance: all of Israel will actually see Him equipped like a warrior with “the helmet of deliverance on His head” and clad in armor. He will fight the battle of Gog ha-Magog and against the army of Armilus, and all of them will fall dead in the Valley of ’Arb’el. All of Israel will then issue forth and “despoil their despoilers, looting those who previously plundered them” for seven months. However, some survivors will escape and they will all regroup at Zela‘ ha-Elef: five hundred men, and another one hundred thousand wearing armor. Opposing them will be five hundred from Israel with Nehemiah and Elijah, and you, O Zerubbabel, will be their leader. They will kill all of them: one man will pursue a thousand.
This will be the third battle, for three battles will take place in the land of Israel. One will be waged by Hephêibah with Šērōy the king of Persia, one will be fought by the Lord God of Israel and Menahem b. ‘Amiel with Armilus, the ten kings who are with him, and Gog and Magog, and the third will be at Zela‘ ha-Elef, where Nehemiah b. Hushiel and Zerubbabel will see action. The third battle will take place in the month of Av.
After all this has taken place, Menahem b. ‘Amiel will come, accompanied by Nehemiah b. Hushiel and all Israel. All of the dead will resurrect, and Elijah the prophet will be with them. They will come up to Jerusalem. In the month of Av, during which they formerly mourned for Nehemiah and for the destruction of Jerusalem, Israel will hold a great celebration and bring an offering to the Lord, which the Lord will accept on their behalf. “The offering of Israel will be pleasing to the Lord as it was formerly during her past history”. The Lord will discern the pleasant aroma of His people Israel and greatly rejoice. Then the Lord will lower the celestial Temple which had been previously built to earth, and a column of fire and a cloud of smoke will rise to heaven. The Messiah and all of Israel will follow them to the gates of Jerusalem.
The holy God will stand on the Mount of Olives. Dread at and reverence for Him will be upon the heavens and the uppermost heavens, the entire earth and its deepest levels, and every wall and structure to their foundations. No one will be able to catch their breath when the Lord God reveals Himself before everyone on the Mount of Olives. The Mount of Olives will crack open beneath Him, and the exiles from Jerusalem will come up to the Mount of Olives. Zion and Jerusalem will behold these things and ask: “‘Who bore these to us? … Where have these been?’” Nehemiah and Zerubbabel will then come up to Jerusalem and say to her: “Behold, they are your children whom you bore who went into exile from you. ‘Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!’”
Again I started to question Metatron, leader of the host of the Lord: ‘Sir, show me how far and how wide Jerusalem will extend, along with its architecture.’ He showed me the walls which surrounded Jerusalem—walls of fire—extending from the Great Desert unto the Mediterranean Sea and unto the Euphrates River. Then he showed me the Temple and the structure. The Temple was built on the peaks of five mountains which the Lord had chosen to support His sanctuary: Lebanon, Mount Moriah, Tabor, Carmel, and Hermon. Michael spoke and said to me, ‘At the completion of nine hundred and ninety years for the ruins of Jerusalem is the appointed time for the deliverance of Israel.’ He also continued to interpret for me the message and the vision in accordance with what he had first said to me: ‘If you wish to know, ask! Keep coming back!’
In the fifth year of the week Nehemiah b. Hushiel will come and gather together all Israel. In the sixth year of the week Hephêibah, the wife of Nathan the prophet, she who was born in Hebron, will come and slay the two kings Nōph and ’Esrōgan. That same year the ‘shoot of Jesse’, Menahem b. ‘Amiel, will spring up. Ten kings from among the nations shall also arise, but they will not supply enough rulers to rule for a week of years and a half-week of years, each one ruling for a year. These are the ten kings who will arise over the nations for the week of years: these are their names correlated with their cities and their places. The first king is Sīlqōm and the name of his city is Seferad, which is Aspamia, a distant country. The second king is Hartōmōs, and the name of his city is Gītanya. The third king is Flē’vas, and the name of his city is Flō’yas. The fourth king is Glū’as, and the name of his city is Galya. The fifth king is Ramōshdīs, and the name of his city is Mōdītīka. The sixth king is Mōqlanōs, and the name of his city is Italia. The seventh king is ’Ōktīnōs, and the name of his city is Dōrmīs. The eighth king is ’Aplōstōs from Mesopotamia. The ninth king is Šērōy, the king of Persia.
The tenth king is Armilus, the son of Satan who emerged from the sculpted stone. He will gain sovereignty over all of them. He will come along with the rulers of Qedar and the inhabitants of the East and provoke a battle in the Valley of ’Arb’el, and they will take possession of the kingdom. He will ascend with his force and subdue the entire world. From there in Riblah, which is Antioch, he will begin to erect all the idols of the nations on the face of the earth and to serve their gods, those whom the Lord hates. During those days ‘there will be reward for neither human nor beast’. He will construct four altars, and he will anger the Lord with his wicked deeds. There will be a very terrible and harsh famine upon the surface of the whole land for forty days—their food will stem from the salt-plant; leaves plucked from shrubbery and broom to sustain them. On that day ‘a fountain will flow forth from the Temple of the Lord and fill the Wadi Shittim’.
Now this Armilus will take his mother—the statue from whom he was spawned—from the ‘house of filth’ of the scornful ones, and from every place and from every nation they will come and worship that stone, burn offerings to her, and pour out libations to her. No one will be able to view her face due to her beauty. Anyone who refuses to worship her will die in agony like animals.
This is the mark of Armilus: the color of the hair of his head is similar to gold, and he is green, even the soles of his feet. His face is one span in width, his eyes are deep-set, and he has two heads. He will arise and rule over ’Īmīs, the province of Satan, the father of Belial. All who see him will tremble before him. Menahem will come up from the Wadi Shittim and breathe in the face of Armilus and thereby slay him, just as it is written: ‘he will slay the wicked one with the breath of his mouth’. Israel will take possession of the kingdom; ‘the holy ones of the Most High will receive sovereign power’.
These were the words which Metatron spoke to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, future governor of Judah, while he was still living in exile during the time of the Persian empire. Zechariah ben ‘Anan and Elijah recorded them when the period of exile was completed.
THE STORY OF AHIKAR
WE HAVE in The Story of Ahikar one of the most ancient sources of human thought and wisdom. Its influence can be traced through the legends of many people, including the Koran, and the Old and New Testaments. A mosaic found in Treves, Germany, pictured among the wise men of the world the character of Ahikar. Here is his colorful tale. The date of this story has been a subject of lively discussion. Scholars finally put it down about the First Century when they were proved in error by the original story turning up in an Aramaic papyrus of 500 B. C. among the ruins of Elephantine. The story is obviously fiction and not history. In fact the reader can make its acquaintance in the supplementary pages of The Arabian Nights. It is brilliantly written, and the narrative which is full of action, intrigue, and narrow escape holds the attention to the last. The liberty of imagination is the most precious possession of the writer. The writing divides itself into four phases: (1) The Narrative; (2) The Teaching (a remarkable series of Proverbs); (3) The Journey to Egypt; (4) The Similitudes or Parables (with which Ahikar completes the education of his erring nephew).
CHAP. I.
THE story of Haiqâr the Wise, Vizier of Sennacherib the King, and of Nadan, sister's son to Haiqâr the Sage.
2 There was a Vizier in the days of King Sennacherib, son of Sarhadum, King of Assyria and Nineveh, a wise man named Haiqâr, and he was Vizier of the king Sennacherib.
3 He had a fine, fortune and much goods, and he was skilful, wise, a philosopher, in knowledge, in opinion and in government, and he had married sixty women, and had built a castle for each of them.
4 But with it all he had no child by any. of these women, who might be his heir.
5 And he was very sad on account of this, and one day he assembled the astrologers and the learned men and the wizards and explained to them his condition and the matter of his barrenness.
6 And they said to him, 'Go, sacrifice to the gods and beseech them that perchance they may provide thee with a boy.'
7 And he did as they told him and offered sacrifices to the idols, and besought them and implored them with request, and entreaty.
8 And they answered him not one word. And he went away sorrowful and dejected, departing with a pain at his heart.
9 And he returned, and implored the Most High God, and believed, beseeching Him with a burning in his heart, saying, 'O Most High God, O Creator of the Heavens and of the earth, O Creator of all created things!
10 I beseech Thee to give me a boy, that I may be consoled by him that he may be present at my heath, that he may close my eyes, and that he may bury me.'
11 Then there came to him a voice saying, 'Inasmuch as thou hast relied first of all on graven images, and hast offered sacrifices to them, for this reason thou shalt remain childless thy life long.
12 But take Nadan thy sister's son, and make him thy child and teach him thy learning and thy good breeding, and at thy death he shall bury thee.'
13 Thereupon he took Nadan his sister's son, who was a little suckling. And he handed him over to eight wet-nurses, that they might suckle him and bring him up.
14 And they brought him up with good food and gentle training and silken clothing, and purple and crimson. And he was seated upon couches of silk.
15 And when Nadan grew big and walked, shooting up like a tall cedar, he taught him good manners and writing and science and philosophy.
16 And after many days King Sennacherib looked at Haiqâr and saw that he had grown very old, and moreover he said to him.
17 'O my honored friend, the skilful, the trusty, the wise, the governor, my secretary, my vizier, my Chancellor and director; verily thou art grown very old and weighted with years; and thy departure from this world must be near.
18 Tell me who shall have a place in my service after thee.' And Haiqâr said to him, 'O my lord, may thy head live for ever! There is Nadan my sister's son, I have made him my child.
19 And I have brought him up and taught him my wisdom and my knowledge.'
20 And the king said to him, 'O Haiqâr! bring him to my presence, that I may see him, and if I find him suitable, put him in thy place; and thou shalt go thy way, to take a rest and to live the remainder of thy life in sweet repose.'
21 Then Haiqâr went and presented Nadan his sister's son. And he did homage and wished him power and honor.
22 And he looked at him and admired him and rejoiced in him and said to Haiqâr: 'Is this thy son, O Haiqâr? I pray that God may preserve him. And as thou hast served me and my father Sarhadum so may this boy of thine serve me and fulfill my undertakings, my needs, and my business, so that I may honor him and make him powerful for thy sake.'
23 And Haiqâr did obeisance to the king and said to him, 'May thy head live, O my lord the king, for ever! I seek from thee that thou mayst be patient with my boy Nadan and forgive his mistakes that he may serve thee as it is fitting.'
24 Then the king swore to him that he would make him the greatest of his favorites, and the most powerful of his friends, and that he should be with him in all honor and respect. And he kissed his hands and bade him farewell.
25 And he took Nadan. his sister's son with him and seated him in a parlor and set about teaching him night and day till he had crammed him with wisdom and knowledge more than with bread and water.
CHAP. II.
THUS he taught him, saying: 'O my son! hear my speech and follow my advice and remember what I say.
2 O my son! if thou hearest a word, let it die in thy heart, and reveal it not to another, lest it become a live coal and burn thy tongue and cause a pain in thy body, and thou gain a reproach, and art shamed before God and man.
3 O my son! if thou hast heard a report, spread it not; and if thou hast seen something, tell it not.
4 O my son! make thy eloquence easy to the listener, and be not hasty to return an answer.
5 O my son! when thou hast heard anything, hide it not.
6 O my son! loose not a sealed knot, nor untie it, and seal not a loosened knot.
7 O my son! covet not outward beauty, for it wanes and passes away, but an honorable remembrance lasts for aye.
8 O my son! let not a silly woman deceive thee with her speech, lest thou die the most miserable of deaths, and she entangle thee in the net till thou art ensnared.
9 O my son! desire not a woman bedizened with dress and with ointments, who is despicable and silly in her soul. Woe o thee if thou bestow on her anything that is thine, or commit to her what is in thine hand and she entice thee into sin, and God be wroth with thee.
10 O my son! be not like the almond-tree, for it brings forth leaves before all the trees, and edible fruit after them all, but be like the mulberry-tree, which brings forth edible fruit before all the trees, and leaves after them all.
11 O my son! bend thy head low down, and soften thy voice, and be courteous, and walk in the straight path, and be not foolish. And raise not thy voice when thou laughest for if it were by a loud voice that a house was built, the ass would build many houses every day; and if it were by dint of strength that the plough were driven, the plough would never be removed from under the shoulders of the camels.
12 O m son! the removing of stones with a wise man is better than the drinking of wine with a sorry man.
13 O my son! pour out thy wine on the tombs of the just, and drink not with ignorant, contemptible people.
14 O my son! cleave to wise men who fear God and be like them, and go not near the ignorant, lest thou become like him and learn his ways.
15 O my son! when thou hast got thee a comrade or a friend, try him, and afterwards make him a comrade and a friend; and do not praise him without a trial; and do not spoil thy speech with a man who lacks wisdom.
16 O my son! while a shoe stays on thy foot, walk with it on the thorns, and make a road for thy son, and for thy household and thy children, and make thy ship taut before she goes on the sea and its waves and sinks and cannot he saved.
17 O my son! if the rich man eat a snake, they say,--"It is by his wisdom," and if a poor man eat it, the people say, "From his hunger."
18 O my son! he content with thy daily bread and thy goods, and covet not what is another's.
19 O my son! be not neighbor to the fool, and eat not bread with him, and rejoice not in the calamities of thy neighbors. 1 If thine enemy wrong thee, show him kindness.
20 O my son! a man who fears God do thou fear him and honor him.
21 O my son! the ignorant man falls and stumbles, and the wise man, even if he stumbles, he is not shaken, and even if he falls he gets up quickly, and if he is sick, he can take care of his life. But as for the ignorant, stupid man, for his disease there is no drug.
22 O my son! if a man approach thee who is inferior to thyself, go forward to meet him, and remain standing, and if he cannot recompense thee, his Lord will recompense thee for him.
23 O my son! spare not to beat thy son, for the drubbing of thy son is like manure to the garden, and like tying the mouth of a purse, and like the tethering of beasts, and like the bolting of the door.
24 O my son! restrain thy son from wickedness, and teach him manners before he rebels against thee and brings thee into contempt amongst the people and thou hang thy head in the streets and the assemblies and thou be punished for the evil of his wicked deeds.
25 O my son! get thee a fat ox with a foreskin, and an ass great with its hoofs, and get not an ox with large horns, nor make friends with a tricky man, nor get a quarrelsome slave, nor a thievish handmaid, for everything which thou committest to them they will ruin.
26 O my son! let not thy parents curse thee, and the Lord be pleased with them; for it hath been said, "He who despiseth his father or his mother let him die the death (I mean the death of sin); and he who honoreth his parents shall prolong his days and his life and shall see all that is good."
27 O my son! walk not on the road without weapons, for thou knowest not when the foe may meet thee, so that thou mayst be ready for him.
28 O my son! be not like a bare, leafless tree that doth not grow, but be like a tree covered with its leaves and its boughs; for the man who has neither wife nor children is disgraced in the world and is hated by them, like a leafless and fruitless tree.
29 O my son! be like a fruitful tree on the roadside, whose fruit is eaten by all who pass by, and the beasts of the desert rest under its shade and eat of its leaves.
30 O my son! every sheep that wanders from its path and its companions becomes food for the wolf.
31 O my son! say not, "My lord is a fool and I am wise," and relate not the speech of ignorance and folly, lest thou be despised by him.
32 O my son! be not one of those servants, to whom their lords say, "Get away from us," but be one of those to whom they say, "Approach and come near to us."
33 O my son! caress not thy slave in the presence of his companion, for thou knowest not which of them shall be of most value to thee in the end.
34 O my son! be not afraid of thy Lord who created thee, lest He be silent to thee.
35 O my son! make thy speech fair and sweeten thy tongue; and permit not thy companion to tread on thy foot, lest he tread at another time on thy breast.
36 O my son! if thou beat a wise man with a word of wisdom, it will lurk in his breast like a subtle sense of shame; but if thou drub the ignorant with a stick he will neither understand nor hear.
37 O my son! if thou send a wise man for thy needs, do not give him many orders, for he will do thy business as thou desirest: and if thou send a fool, do not order him, but go thyself and do thy business, for if thou order him, he will not do what thou desirest. If they send thee on business, hasten to fulfill it quickly.
38 O my son! make not an enemy of a man stronger than thyself, for he will take thy measure, and his revenge on thee.
39 O my son! make trial of thy son, and of thy servant, before thou committest thy belongings to them, lest they make away with them; for he who hath a full hand is called wise, even if he be stupid and ignorant, and he who hath an empty hand is called poor, ignorant, even if he be the prince of sages.
40 O my son! I have eaten a colocynth, and swallowed aloes, and I have found nothing more bitter than poverty and scarcity.
41 O my son! teach thy son frugality and hunger, that he may do well in the management of his household.
42 O my son! teach not to the ignorant the language of wise men, for it will be burdensome to him.
43 O my son! display not thy condition to thy friend, lest thou be despised by him.
44 O my son! the blindness of the heart is more grievous than the blindness of the eyes, for the blindness of the eyes may be guided little by little, but the blindness of the heart is not guided, and it leaves the straight path, and goes in a crooked way.
45 O my son! the stumbling of a man with his foot is better than the stumbling of a n with his tongue.
46 O my son! a friend who is near is better than a more excellent brother who is far away.
47 O my son! beauty fades but learning lasts, and the world wanes and becomes vain, but a good name neither becomes vain nor wanes.
48 O my son! the man who hath no rest, his death were better than his life; and the sound of weeping is better than the sound of singing; for sorrow and weeping, if the fear of God be in them, are better than the sound of singing and rejoicing.
49 O my child! the thigh of a frog in thy hand is better than a goose in the pot of thy neighbor; and a sheep near thee is better than an ox far away; and a sparrow in thy hand is better than a thousand sparrows flying; 1 and poverty which gathers is better than the scattering of much provision; and a living fox is better than a dead lion; and a pound of wool is better than a pound of wealth, I mean of gold and silver; for the gold and the silver are hidden and covered up in the earth, and are not seen; but the wool stays in the markets and it is seen, and it is a beauty to him who wears it.
50 O my son! a small fortune is better than a scattered fortune.
51 O my son! a living dog is better than a dead poor man.
52 O my son! a poor man who does right is better than a rich man who is dead in sins.
53 O my son! keep a word in thy heart, and it shall be much to thee, and beware lost thou reveal the secret of thy friend.
54 O my son! let not a word issue from thy mouth till thou hast taken counsel with thy heart. And stand not betwixt persons quarreling, because from a bad word there comes a quarrel, and from a quarrel there comes war, and from war there comes fighting, and thou wilt be forced to bear witness; but run from thence and rest thyself.
55 O my son! withstand not a man stronger than thyself, but get thee a patient spirit, and endurance and an upright conduct, for there is nothing more excellent than that.
56 O my son! hate not thy first friend, for the second one may not last.
57 O my son! visit the poor in his affliction, and speak of him in the Sultan's presence, and do thy diligence to save him from the mouth of the lion.
58 O my son! rejoice not in the death of thine enemy, for after a little while thou shalt be his neighbor, and him who mocks thee do thou respect and honor and be beforehand with him in greeting.
59 O my son! if water would stand still in heaven, and a black crow become white, and myrrh grow sweet as honey, then ignorant men and fools might understand and become wise.
60 O my son! if thou desire to be wise, restrain thy tongue from lying, and thy hand from stealing, and thine eyes from beholding evil; then thou wilt be called wise.
61 O my son! let the wise man beat thee with a rod, but let not the fool anoint thee with sweet salve. Be humble in thy youth and thou shalt be honored in thine old age.
62 O my son! withstand not a man in the days of his power, nor a river in the days of its flood.
63 O my son! be not hasty in the wedding of a wife, for if it turns out well, she will say, 'My lord, make provision for me'; and if it turns out ill, she will rate at him who was the cause of it.
64 O my son! whosoever is elegant in his dress, he is the same in his speech; and he who has a mean appearance in his dress, he also is the same in his speech.
65 O my son! if thou hast committed a theft, make it known to the Sultan, and give him a share of it, that thou mayst be delivered from him, for otherwise thou wilt endure bitterness.
66 O my son! make a friend of the man whose hand is satisfied and filled, and make no friend of the man whose hand is closed and hungry.
67 There are four things in which neither the king nor his army can be secure: oppression by the vizier, and bad government, and perversion of the will, and tyranny over the subject; and four things which cannot be hidden: the prudent, and the foolish, and the rich, and the poor.'
CHAP. III.
THUS spake Haiqâr, and when he had finished these injunctions and proverbs to Nadan, his sister's son, he imagined that he would keep them all, and he knew not that instead of that he was displaying to him weariness and contempt and mockery.
2 Thereafter Haiqâr sat still in his house and delivered over to Nadan all his goods, and the slaves, and the handmaidens, and the horses, and the cattle, and everything else that he had possessed and gained; and the power of bidding and of forbidding remained in the hand of Nadan.
3 And Haiqâr sat at rest in his house, and every now and then Haiqâr went and paid his respects to the king, and returned home.
4 Now when Nadan perceived that the power of bidding and of forbidding was in his own hand, he despised the position of Haiqâr and scoffed at him, and set about blaming him whenever he appeared, saying, 'My uncle Haiqâr is in his dotage, and he knows nothing now.'
5 And he began to beat the slaves and the handmaidens, and to sell the horses and the camels and be spendthrift with all that his uncle Haiqâr had owned.
6 And when Haiqâr saw that he had no compassion on his servants nor on his household, he arose and chased him from his house, and sent to inform the king that he had scattered his possessions and his provision.
7 And the king arose and called Nadan and said to him: 'Whilst Haiqâr remains in health, no one shall rule over his goods, nor over his household, nor over his possessions.'
8 And the hand of Nadan was lifted off from his uncle Haiqâr and from all his goods, and in the meantime he went neither in nor out, nor did he greet him.
9 Thereupon Haiqâr repented him of his toil with Nadan his sister's son, and he continued to be very sorrowful.
10 And Nadan had a younger brother named Benuzârdân, so Haiqâr took him to himself in place of Nadan, and brought up and honored him with the utmost honor. And he delivered over to him all that he possessed, and made him governor of his house.
11 Now when Nadan perceived what had happened he was seized with envy and jealousy, and he began to complain to every one who questioned him, and to mock his, uncle Haiqâr, saying: 'My uncle has chased me from his house, and has preferred my brother to me, but if the Most High God give me the power, I shall bring upon him the misfortune of being killed.'
12 And Nadan continued to meditate as to the stumbling-block he might contrive for him. And after a while Nadan turned it over in his mind, and wrote a letter to Achish, son of Shah the Wise, king of Persia, saying thus:
13 'Peace and health and might and honor from Sennacherib king of Assyria and Nineveh, and from his vizier and his secretary Haiqâr unto thee, O great king! Let there be pence between thee and me.
14 And when this letter reaches thee, if thou wilt arise and go quickly to the plain of Nisrîn, and to Assyria, and Nineveh, I will deliver up the kingdom to thee without war and without battle-array.'
15 And he wrote also another letter in the name of Haiqâr to Pharaoh king of Egypt. 'Let there be peace between thee and me, O mighty king!
16 If at the time of this letter reaching thee thou wilt arise and go to Assyria and Nineveh to the plain of Nisrîn, I will deliver up to thee the kingdom without war and without fighting.'
17 And the writing of Nadan was like to the writing of his uncle Haiqâr.
18 Then he folded the two letters, and sealed them with the seal of his uncle Haiqâr; they were nevertheless in the king's palace.
19 Then he went and wrote a letter likewise from the king to his uncle Haiqâr: 'Peace and health to my Vizier, my Secretary, my Chancellor, Haiqâr.
20 O Haiqâr, when this letter reaches thee, assemble all the soldiers who are with thee, and let them be perfect in clothing and in numbers, and bring them to me on the fifth day in the plain of Nisrîn.
21 And when thou shalt see me there coming towards thee, haste and make the army move against me as an enemy who would fight with me, for I have with me the ambassadors of Pharaoh king of Egypt, that they may see the strength of our army and may fear us, for they are our enemies and they hate us.'
22 Then he sealed the letter and sent it to Haiqâr by one of the king's servants. And he took the other letter which he had written and spread it before the king and read it to him and showed him the seal.
23 And when the king heard what was in the letter he was perplexed with a great perplexity and was wroth with a great and fierce wrath, and said, 'Ah, I have shown my wisdom! what have I done to Haiqâr that he has written these letters to my enemies? Is this my recompense from him for my benefits to him?'
24 And Nadan said to him, 'Be not grieved, O king! nor be wroth, but let us go to the plain of Nisrîn and see if the tale be true or not.'
25 Then Nadan arose on the fifth day and took the king and the soldiers and the vizier, and they went to the desert to the plain of Nisrîn. And the king looked, and lo! Haiqâr and the army were set in array.
26 And when Haiqâr saw that the king was there, he approached and signalled to the army to move as in war and to fight in array against the king as it had been found in the letter, he not knowing what a pit Nadan had digged for him.
27 And when the king saw the act of Haiqâr he was seized with anxiety and terror and perplexity, and was wroth with a great wrath.
28 And Nadan said to him, 'Hast thou seen, O my lord the king! what this wretch has done? but be not thou wroth and be not grieved nor pained, but go to thy house and sit on thy throne, and I will bring Haiqâr to thee bound and chained with chains, and I will chase away thine enemy from thee without toil.'
29 And the king returned to his throne, being provoked about Haiqâr, and did nothing concerning him. And Nadan went to Haiqâr and said to him, 'W’allah, O my uncle! The king verily rejoiceth in thee with great joy and thanks thee for having done what he commanded thee.
30 And now he hath sent me to thee that thou mayst dismiss the soldiers to their duties and come thyself to him with thy hands bound behind thee, and thy feet chained, that the ambassadors of Pharaoh may see this, and that the king may be feared by them and by their king.'
31 Then answered Haiqâr and said, 'To hear is to obey.' And he arose straightway and bound his hands behind him, and chained his feet.
32 And Nadan took him and went with him to the king. And when Haiqâr entered the king's presence he did obeisance before him on the ground, and wished for power and perpetual life to the king.
33 Then said the king, 'O Haiqâr, my Secretary, the Governor of my affairs, my Chancellor, the ruler of my State, tell me what evil have I done to thee that thou hast rewarded me by this ugly deed.'
34 Then they showed him the letters in his writing and with his seal. And when Haiqâr saw this, his limbs trembled and his tongue was tied at once, and he was unable to speak a word from fear; but he hung his head towards the earth and was dumb.
35 And when the king saw this, he felt certain that the thing was from him, and he straightway arose and commanded them to kill Haiqâr, and to strike his neck with the sword outside of the city.
36 Then Nadan screamed and said, 'O Haiqâr, O blackface! what avails thee thy meditation or thy power in the doing of this deed to the king?'
37 Thus says the story-teller. And the name of the swordsman was Abu Samîk. And the king said to him, 'O swordsman! arise, go, cleave the neck of Haiqâr at the door of his house, and cast away his head from his body a hundred cubits.'
38 Then Haiqâr knelt before the king, and said, 'Let my lord the king live for ever! and if thou desire to slay me, let thy wish be fulfilled; and I know that I am not guilty, but the wicked man bas to give an account of his wickedness; nevertheless, O my lord the king! I beg of thee and of thy friendship, permit the swordsman to give my body to my slaves, that they may bury me, and let thy slave be thy sacrifice.'
39 The king arose and commanded the swordsman to do with him according to his desire.
40 And he straightway commanded his servants to take Haiqâr and the swordsman and go with him naked that they might slay him.
41 And when Haiqâr knew for certain that he was to be slain he sent to his wife, and said to her, 'Come out and meet me, and let there be with thee a thousand young virgins, and dress them in gowns of purple and silk that they may weep for me before my death.
42 And prepare a table for the swordsman and for his servants. And mingle plenty of wine, that they may drink.'
43 And she did all that he commanded her. And she was very wise, clever, and prudent. And she united all possible courtesy and learning.
44 And when the army of the king and the swordsman arrived the found the table set in order, and the wine and the luxurious viands, and they began eating and drinking till they were gorged and drunken.
45 Then Haiqâr took the swordsman aside apart from the company and said, 'O Abu Samîk, dost thou not know that when Sarhadum the king, the father of Sennacherib, wanted to kill thee, I took thee and hid thee in a certain place till the king's anger subsided and he asked for thee?
46 And when I brought thee into his presence he rejoiced in thee: and now remember the kindness I did thee.
47 And I know that the king will repent him about me and will be wroth with a great wrath about my execution.
48 For I am not guilty, and it shall be when thou shalt present me before him in his palace, thou shalt meet with great good fortune, and know that Nadan my sister's son has deceived me and has done this bad deed to me, and the king will repent of having slain me; and now I have a cellar in the garden of my house, and no one knows of it.
49 Hide me in it with the knowledge of my wife. And I have a slave in prison who deserves to be killed.
50 Bring him out and dress him in my clothes, and command the servants when they are drunk to slay him. They will not know who it is they are killing.
51 And cast away his head a hundred cubits from his body, and give his body to my slaves that they may bury it. And thou shalt have laid up a great treasure with me.
52 And then the swordsman did as Haiqâr had commanded him, and he went to the king and said to him, 'May thy head live for ever!'
53 Then Haiqâr's wife let down to him in the hiding-place every week what sufficed for him, and no one knew of it but herself.
54 And the story was reported and repeated and spread abroad in every place of how Haiqâr the Sage had been slain and was dead, and all the people of that city mourned for him.
55 And they wept and said: 'Alas for thee, O Haiqâr! and for thy learning and thy courtesy! How sad about thee and about thy knowledge! Where can another like thee be found? and where can there be a man so intelligent, so learned, so skilled in ruling as to resemble thee that he may fill thy place?'
56 But the king was repenting about Haiqâr, and his repentance availed him naught.
57 Then he called for Nadan and said to him, 'Go and take thy friends with thee and make a mourning and a weeping for thy uncle Haiqâr, and lament for him as the custom is, doing honor to his memory.'
58 But when Nadan, the foolish, the ignorant, the hardhearted, went to the house of his uncle, he neither wept nor sorrowed nor wailed, but assembled heartless and dissolute people and set about eating and drinking.
59 And Nadan began to seize the maidservants and the slaves belonging to Haiqâr, and bound them and tortured them and drubbed them with a sore drubbing.
60 And he did not respect the wife of his uncle, she who had brought him up like her own boy, but wanted her to fall into sin with him.
61 But Haiqâr had been cut into the hiding-place, and he heard the weeping of his slaves and his neighbors, and he praised the Most High God, the Merciful One, and gave thanks, and he always prayed and besought the Most High God.
62 And the swordsman came from time to time to Haiqâr whilst he was in the midst of the hiding-place: and Haiqâr came and entreated him. And he comforted him and wished him deliverance.
63 And when the story was reported in other countries that Haiqâr the Sage had been slain, all the kings were grieved and despised king Sennacherib, and they lamented over Haiqâr the solver of riddles.
CHAP. IV.
AND when the king of Egypt had made sure that Haiqâr was slain, he arose straightway and wrote a letter to king Sennacherib, reminding him in it 'of the peace and the health and the might and the honor which we wish specially for thee, my beloved brother, king Sennacherib.
2 I have been desiring to build a castle between the heaven and the earth, and I want thee to send me a wise, clever man from thyself to build it for me, and to answer me all my questions, and that I may have the taxes and the custom duties of Assyria for three years.'
3 Then he sealed the letter and sent it to Sennacherib.
4 He took it and read it and gave it to his viziers and to the nobles of his kingdom, and they were perplexed and ashamed, and he was wroth with a great wrath, and was puzzled about how he should act.
5 Then he assembled the old men and the learned men and the wise men and the philosophers, and the diviners and the astrologers, and every one who was in his country, and read them the letter and said to them, 'Who amongst you will go to Pharaoh king of Egypt and answer him his questions?'
6 And they said to him, 'O our lord the king! know thou that there is none in thy kingdom who is acquainted with these questions except Haiqâr, thy vizier and secretary.
7 But as for us, we have no skill in this, unless it be Nadan, his sister's son, for he taught him all his wisdom and learning and knowledge. Call him to thee, perchance he may untie this hard knot.'
8 Then the king called Nadan and said to him, 'Look at this letter and understand what is in it.' And when Nadan read it, he said, 'O my lord! who is able to build a castle between the heaven and the earth?'
9 And when the king heard the speech of Nadan he sorrowed with a great and sore sorrow, and stepped down from his throne and sat in the ashes, and began to weep and wail over Haiqâr.
10 Saying, 'O my grief! O Haiqâr, who didst know the secrets and the riddles! woe is me for thee, O Haiqâr! O teacher of my country and ruler of my kingdom, where shall I find thy like? O Haiqâr, O teacher of my country, where shall I turn for thee? woe is me for thee! how did I destroy thee! and I listened to the talk of a stupid, ignorant boy without knowledge, without religion, without manliness.
11 Ah! and again Ah for myself! who can give thee to me just for once, or bring me word that Haiqâr is alive? and I would give him the half of my kingdom.
12 Whence is this to me? Ah, Haiqâr! that I might see thee just for once, that I might take my fill of gazing at thee, and delighting in thee.
13 Ah! O my grief for thee to all time! O Haiqâr, how have I killed thee! and I tarried not in thy case till I had seen the end of the matter.'
14 And the king went on weeping night and day. Now when the swordsman saw the wrath of the king and his sorrow for Haiqâr, his heart was softened towards him,, and he approached into his presence and said to him:
15 'O my lord! command thy servants to cut off my head.' Then said the king to him: 'Woe to thee, Abu Samîk, what is thy fault?'
16 And the swordsman said unto him, 'O my master! every slave who acts contrary to the word of his master is killed, and I have acted contrary to thy command.'
17 Then the king said unto him. 'Woe unto thee, O Abu Samîk, in what hast thou acted contrary to my command?'
18 And the swordsman said unto him, 'O my lord! thou didst command me to kill Haiqâr, and I knew that thou wouldst repent thee concerning him, and that he had been wronged, and I hid him in a certain place, and I killed one of his slaves, and he is now safe in the cistern, and if thou command me I will bring him to thee.'
19 And the king said unto him. 'Woe to thee, O Abu Samîk! thou hast mocked me and I am thy lord.'
20 And the swordsman said unto him, 'Nay, but by the life of thy head, O my lord! Haiqâr is safe and alive.'
21 And when the king heard that saying, he felt sure of the matter, and his head swam, and he fainted from joy, and he commanded them to bring Haiqâr.
22 And he said to the swordsman, 'O trusty servant! if thy speech be true, I would fain enrich thee, and exalt thy dignity above that of all thy friends.'
23 And the swordsman went along rejoicing till he came to Haiqâr's house. And he opened the door of the hiding-place, and went down and found Haiqâr sitting, praising God, and thanking Him.
24 And he shouted to him, saying, 'O Haiqâr, I bring the greatest of joy, and happiness, and delight!'
25 And Haiqâr said to him, 'What is the news, O Abu Samîk?' And he told him all about Pharaoh from the beginning to the end. Then he took him and went to the king.
26 And when the king looked at him, he saw him in a state of want, and that his hair had grown long like the wild beasts' and his nails like the claws of an eagle, and that his body was dirty with dust, and the color of his face had changed and faded and was now like ashes.
27 And when the king saw him he sorrowed over him and rose at once and embraced him and kissed him, and wept over him and said: 'Praise be to God! who hath brought thee back to me.'
28 Then he consoled him and comforted him. And he stripped off his robe, and put it on the swordsman, and was very gracious to him, and gave him great wealth, and made Haiqâr rest.
29 Then said Haiqâr to the king, 'Let my lord the king live for ever! These be the deeds of the children of the world. I have reared me a palm-tree that I might lean on it, and it bent sideways, and threw me down.
30 But, O my Lord! since I have appeared fore thee, let not care oppress thee! And the king said to him: 'Blessed be God, who showed thee mercy, and knew that thou wast wronged, and saved thee and delivered thee from being slain.
31 But go to the warm bath, and shave thy head, and cut thy nails, and change thy clothes, and amuse thyself for the space of forty days, that thou mayst do good to thyself and improve thy condition and the color of thy face may come back to thee.'
32 Then the king stripped off his costly robe, and put it on Haiqâr, and Haiqâr thanked God and did obeisance to the king, and departed to his dwelling glad and happy, praising the Most High God.
33 And the people of his household rejoiced with him, and his friends and every one who heard that he was alive rejoiced also.
CHAP. V.
AND he did as the king commanded him, and took rest for forty days.
2 Then he dressed himself his gayest dress, and went riding to the king, with his slaves behind him and before him, rejoicing and delighted.
3 But when Nadan his sister's son perceived what was happening, fear took hold of him and terror, and he was perplexed, not knowing what to do.
4 And when Haiqâr saw it he entered into the king's presence and greeted him, and he returned the greeting, and made him sit down at his side, saying to him,
'O my darling Haiqâr! look at these letters which the, king of Egypt sent to us, after he had heard that thou wast slain.
5 They have provoked us and overcome us, and many of the people of our country have fled to Egypt for fear of the taxes that the king of Egypt has sent to demand from us.
6 Then Haiqâr took the letter and read it and understood its contents.
7 Then he said to the king. 'Be not wroth, O my lord! I will go to Egypt, and I will return the answers to Pharaoh, and I will display this letter to him, and I will reply to him about the taxes, and I will send back all those who have run away; and I will put thy enemies to shame with the help of the Most High God, and for the Happiness of thy kingdom.'
8 And when the king heard this speech from Haiqâr he rejoiced with a great joy, and his heart was expanded and he showed him favor.
9 And Haiqâr said to the king: 'Grant me a delay of forty days that I may consider this question and manage it.' And the king permitted this.
10 And Haiqâr went to his dwelling, and he commanded the huntsmen to capture two young eaglets for him, and they captured them and brought them to him: and he commanded the weavers of ropes to weave two cables of cotton for him, each of them two thousand cubits long, and he had the carpenters brought and ordered them to make two great boxes, and they did this.
11 Then he took two little lads, and spent every day sacrificing lambs and feeding the eagles and the boys, and making the boys ride on the backs of the eagles, and he bound them with a firm knot, and tied the cable to the feet of the eagles, and let them soar upwards little by little every day, to a distance of ten cubits, till they grew accustomed and were educated to it; and they rose all the length of the rope till they reached the sky; the boys being on their backs. Then he drew them to himself.
12 And when Haiqâr saw that his desire was fulfilled he charged the boys that when they were borne aloft to the sky they were to shout, saying:
13 'Bring us clay and stone, that we may build a castle for king Pharaoh, for we are idle.'
14 And Haiqâr was never done training them and exercising them till they had reached the utmost possible point of skill.
15 Then leaving them he went to the king and said to him, 'O my lord! the work is finished according to thy desire. Arise with me that I may show thee the wonder.'
16 So the king sprang up and sat with Haiqâr and went to a wide place and sent to bring the eagles and the boys, and Haiqâr tied them and let them off into the air all the length of the ropes, and they began to shout as he had taught them. Then he drew them to himself and put them in their places.
17 And the king and those who were with him wondered with a great wonder: and the king kissed Haiqâr between his eyes and said to him, 'Go in peace, O my beloved! O pride of my kingdom! to Egypt and answer the questions of Pharaoh and overcome him by the strength of the Most High God.'
18 Then he bade him farewell, and took his troops and his army and the young men and the eagles, and went towards the dwellings of Egypt; and when he had arrived, he turned towards the country of the king.
19 And when the people of Egypt knew that Sennacherib had sent a man of his Privy Council to talk with Pharaoh and to answer his questions, they carried the news to king Pharaoh, and he sent a party of his Privy Councillors to bring him before him.
20 And he came and entered into the presence of Pharaoh, and did obeisance to him as it is fitting to do to kings.
21 And he said to him: 'O my lord the king! Sennacherib the king hails thee with abundance of peace and might, and honor.
22 And he has sent me, who am one of his slaves, that I may answer thee thy questions, and may fulfill all thy desire: for thou hast sent to seek from my lord the king a man who will build thee a castle between the heaven and the earth.
23 And I by the help of the Most High God and thy noble favor and the power of my lord the king will build it for thee as thou desirest.
24 But, O my lord the king! what thou hast said in it about the taxes of Egypt for three years--now the stability of a kingdom is strict justice, and if thou winnest and my hand hath no skill in replying to thee, then my lord the king will send thee the taxes which thou hast mentioned.
25 And if I shall have answered thee in thy questions, it shall remain for thee to send whatever thou hast mentioned to my lord the king.'
26 And when Pharaoh heard that speech, he wondered and was perplexed by the freedom of his tongue and the pleasantness of his speech.
27 And king Pharaoh said to him, 'O man! what is thy name?' And he said, 'Thy servant is Abiqâm, and I a little ant of the ants of king Sennacherib.'
28 And Pharaoh said to him, 'Had thy lord no one of higher dignity than thee, that he has sent me a little ant to reply to me, and to converse with me?'
29 And Haiqâr said to him, 'O my lord the king! I would to God Most High that I may fulfil what is on thy mind, for God is with the weak that He may confound the strong.'
30 Then Pharaoh commanded that they should prepare a dwelling for Abiqâm and supply him with provender, meat, and drink, and all that he needed.
31 And when it was finished, three days afterwards Pharaoh clothed himself in purple and red and sat on his throne, and all his viziers and the magnates of his kingdom were standing with their hands crossed, their feet close together, and their heads bowed.
32 And Pharaoh sent to fetch Abiqâm, and when he was presented to him, he did obeisance before him, and kissed the ground in front of him.
33 And king Pharaoh said to him, 'O Abiqâm, whom am I like? and the nobles of my kingdom, to whom are they like?'
34 And Haiqâr said to him, 'O my lord the kin I thou art like the idol Bel, and the nobles of thy kingdom are like his servants.'
35 He said to him, 'Go, and come back hither to-morrow.' So Haiqâr went as king Pharaoh had commanded him.
36 And on the morrow Haiqâr went into the presence of Pharaoh, and did obeisance, and stood before the king. And Pharaoh was dressed in a red color, and the nobles were dressed in white.
37 And Pharaoh said to him 'O Abiqâm, whom am I like? and the nobles of my kingdom, to whom are they like?'
38 And Abiqâm said to him, 'O my lord! thou art like the sun, and thy servants are like its beams.' And Pharaoh said to him, 'Go to thy dwelling, and come hither to-morrow.'
39 Then Pharaoh commanded his Court to wear pure white, and Pharaoh was dressed like them and sat upon his throne, and he commanded them to fetch Haiqâr. And he entered and sat down before him.
40 And Pharaoh said to him, 'O Abiqâm, whom am I like? and my nobles, to whom are they like?'
41 And Abiqâm said to him, 'O my lord! thou art like the moon, and thy nobles are like the planets and the stars.' And Pharaoh said to him, 'Go, and to-morrow be thou here.'
42 Then Pharaoh commanded his servants to wear robes of various colors, and Pharaoh wore a red velvet dress, and sat on his throne, and commanded them to fetch Abiqâm. And he entered and did obeisance before him.
43 And he said, 'O Abiqâm, whom am I like? and my armies, to whom are they like?' And he said, 'O my lord! thou art like the month of April, and thy armies are like its flowers.'
44 And when the king heard it he rejoiced with a great joy and said, 'O Abiqâm! the first time thou didst compare me to the idol Bel, and my nobles to his servants.
45 And the second time thou didst compare me to the sun, and my nobles to the sunbeams.
46 And the third time thou didst compare me to the moon, and my nobles to the planets and the stars.
47 And the fourth time thou didst compare me to the month of April, and my nobles to its flowers. But now, O Abiqâm! tell me, thy lord, king Sennacherib, whom is he like? and his nobles, to whom are they like?'
48 And Haiqâr shouted with a loud voice and said: 'Be it far from me to make mention of my lord the king and thou seated on thy throne. But get up on thy feet that I may tell thee whom my lord the king is like and to whom his nobles are like.'
49 And Pharaoh was perplexed by the freedom of his tongue and his boldness in answering. Then Pharaoh arose from his throne, and stood before Haiqâr, and said to him, 'Tell me now, that I may perceive whom thy lord the king is like, and his nobles, to whom they are like.'
50 And Haiqâr said to him: 'My lord is the God of heaven, and his nobles are the lightnings and the thunder, and when he wills the winds blow and the rain falls.
51 And he commands the thunder, and it lightens and rains, and he holds the sun, and it gives not its light, and the moon and the stars, and they circle not.
52 And he commands the tempest, and it blows and the rain falls and it tramples on April and destroys its flowers and its houses.'
53 And when Pharaoh heard this speech, he was greatly perplexed and was wroth with a great wrath, and said to him: 'O man! tell me the truth, and let me know who thou really art.'
54 And he told him the truth. 'I am Haiqâr the scribe, greatest of the Privy Councillors of king Sennacherib, and I am his vizier and the Governor of his kingdom, and his Chancellor.'
55 And he said to him, 'Thou hast told the truth in this saying. But we have heard of Haiqâr, that king Sennacherib has slain him, yet thou dost seem to be alive and well.'
56 And Haiqâr said to him, 'Yes, so it was, but praise be to God, who knoweth what is hidden, for my lord the king commanded me to be killed, and he believed the word of profligate men, but the Lord delivered me, and blessed is he who trusteth in Him.'
57 And Pharaoh said to Haiqâr, 'Go, and to-morrow be thou here, and tell me a word that I have never heard from my nobles nor from the people of my kingdom and my country.'
CHAP. VI.
AND Haiqâr went to his dwelling, and wrote a letter, saying in it on this wise:
2 From Sennacherib king of Assyria. and Nineveh to Pharaoh king of Egypt.
3 'Peace be to thee, O my brother! and what we make known to thee by this is that a brother has need of his brother, and kings of each other, and my hope from thee is that thou wouldst lend me nine hundred talents of gold, for I need it for the victualing of some of the soldiers, that, I may spend it upon them. And after a little while I will send it thee.'
4 Then he folded the letter, and presented it on the morrow to Pharaoh.
5 And when he saw it, he was perplexed and said to him, 'Verily I have never heard anything like this language from any one.'
6 Then Haiqâr said to him, 'Truly this is a debt which thou owest to my lord the king.'
7 And Pharaoh accepted this, saying, 'O Haiqâr, it is the like of thee who are honest in the service of kings.
8 Blessed be God who hath made thee perfect in wisdom and hath adorned thee with philosophy and knowledge.
9 And now, O Haiqâr, there remains what we desire from thee, that thou shouldst build as a castle between heaven and earth.'
10 Then said Haiqâr, 'To hear is to obey. I will build thee a castle according to thy wish and choice; but, O my lord I prepare us lime and stone and clay and workmen, and I have skilled builders who will build for thee as thou desirest.'
11 And the king prepared all that for him, and they went to a wide place; and Haiqâr and his boys came to it, and he took the eagles and the young men with him; and the king and all his nobles went and the whole city assembled, that they might see what Haiqâr would do.
12 Then Haiqâr let the eagles out of the boxes, and tied the young men on their backs, and tied the ropes to the eagles' feet, and let them go in the air. And they soared upwards, till they remained between heaven and earth.
13 And the boys began to shout, saying, 'Bring bricks, bring clay, that we may build the king's castle, for we are standing idle!'
14 And the crowd were astonished and perplexed, and they wondered. And the king and his nobles wondered.
15 And Haiqâr and his servants began to beat the workmen, and they shouted for the king's troops, saying to them, 'Bring to the skilled workmen what they want and do not hinder them from their work.'
16 And the king said to him, 'Thou art mad; who can bring anything up to that distance?'
17 And Haiqâr said to him, 'O my lord! how shall we build a castle in the air? and if my lord the king were here, he would have built several castles in a single day.'
18 And Pharaoh said to him, 'Go, O Haiqâr, to thy dwelling, and rest, for we have given up building the castle, and to-morrow come to me.'
19 Then Haiqâr went to his dwelling and on the morrow he appeared before Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said, 'O Haiqâr, what news is there of the horse of thy lord? for when he neighs in the country of Assyria and Nineveh, and our mares hear his voice, they cast their young.'
20 And when Haiqâr heard this speech he went and took a cat, and bound her and began to flog her with a violent flogging till the Egyptians heard it, and they went and told the king about it.
21 And Pharaoh sent to fetch Haiqâr, and said to him, 'O Haiqâr, wherefore dost thou flog thus and beat that dumb beast?'
22 And Haiqâr said to him, my lord the king! verily she has done an ugly deed to me, and has deserved this drubbing and flogging, for my lord king Sennacherib had given me a fine cock, and he had a strong true voice and knew the hours of the day and the night.
23 And the cat got up this very night and cut off its head and went away, and because of this deed I have treated her to this drubbing.'
24 And Pharaoh said to him, 'O Haiqâr, I see from all this that thou art growing old and art in thy dotage, for between Egypt and Nineveh there are sixty-eight parasangs, and how did she go this very night and cut off the head of thy cock and come back?'
25 And Haiqâr said to him, 'O my lord! if there were such a distance between Egypt and Nineveh how could thy mares hear when my lord the king's horse neighs and cast their young? and how could the voice of the horse reach to Egypt?'
26 And when Pharaoh heard that, he knew that Haiqâr had answered his questions.
27 And Pharaoh said, 'O Haiqâr, I want thee to make me ropes of the sea-sand.'
28 And Haiqâr said to him, "O my lord the king! order them to bring me a rope out of the treasury that I may make one like it.'
29 Then Haiqâr went to the back of the house, and bored holes in the rough shore of the sea, and took a handful of sand in his hand, sea-sand, and when the sun rose, and penetrated into the holes, he spread the sand in the sun till it became as if woven like ropes.
30 And Haiqâr said, 'Command thy servants to take these ropes, and whenever thou desirest it, I will weave thee some like them.'
31 And Pharaoh said, 'O Haiqâr, we have a millstone here and it has been broken and I want thee to sew it up.'
32 Then Haiqâr looked at it, and found another stone.
33 And he said to Pharaoh 'O my lord! I am a foreigner: and I have no tool for sewing.
34 But I want thee to command thy faithful shoemakers to cut awls from this stone, that I may sew that millstone.'
35 Then Pharaoh and all his nobles laughed. And he said, 'Blessed be the Most High God, who gave thee this wit and knowledge.'
36 And when Pharaoh saw that Haiqâr had overcome him, and returned him his answers, he at once became excited, and commanded them to collect for him three years' taxes, and to bring them to Haiqâr.
37 And he stripped off his robes and put them upon Haiqâr, and his soldiers, and his servants, and gave him the expenses of his journey.
38 And he said to him, 'Go in peace, O strength of his lord and pride of his Doctors! have any of the Sultans thy like? give my greetings to thy lord king Sennacherib, and say to him how we have sent him gifts, for kings are content with little.'
39 Then Haiqâr arose, and kissed king Pharaoh's hands and kissed the ground in front of him, and wished him strength and continuance, and abundance in his treasury, and said to him, 'O my lord! I desire from thee that not one of our countrymen may remain in Egypt.'
40 And Pharaoh arose and sent heralds to proclaim in the streets of Egypt that not one of the people of Assyria or Nineveh should remain in the land of Egypt, but that they should go with Haiqâr.
41 Then Haiqâr went and took leave of king Pharaoh, and journeyed, seeking the land of Assyria and Nineveh; and he had some treasures and a great deal of wealth.
42 And when the news reached king Sennacherib that Haiqâr was coming, he went out to meet him and rejoiced over him exceedingly with great joy and embraced him and kissed him and said to him, 'Welcome home: O kinsman! my brother Haiqâr, the strength of my kingdom, and pride of my realm.
43 Ask what thou would'st have from me, even if thou desirest the half of my kingdom and of my possessions.'
44 Then said Haiqâr unto him, 'O my lord the king, live for ever! Show favor, O my lord the king! to Abu Samîk in my stead, for my life was in the hands of God and in his.'
45 Then said Sennacherib the king, 'Honor be to thee, O my beloved Haiqâr! I will make the station of Abu Samîk the swordsman higher than all my Privy Councillors and my favorites.'
46 Then the king began to ask him how he had got on with Pharaoh from his first arrival until he had come away from his presence, and how he had answered all his questions, and how he had received the taxes from him, and the changes of raiment and the presents.
47 And Sennacherib the king rejoiced with a great joy, and said to Haiqâr, 'Take what thou wouldst fain have of this tribute, for it is all within the grasp of thy hand.'
48 And Haiqâr mid: 'Let the king live for ever! I desire naught but the safety of my lord the king and the continuance of his greatness.
49 O my lord! what can I do with wealth and its like? but if thou wilt show me favor, give me Nadan, my sister's son, that I may recompense him for what he has done to me, and grant me his blood and hold me guiltless of it.'
50 And Sennacherib the king said, 'Take him, I have given him to thee.' And Haiqâr took Nadan, his sister's son, and bound his hands with chains of iron, and took him to his dwelling, and put a heavy fetter on his feet, and tied it with a tight knot, and after binding him thus he cast him into a dark room, beside the retiring-place, and appointed Nebu-hal as sentinel over him to give him a loaf of bread and a little water every day.
CHAP. VII.
And whenever Haiqâr went in or out he scolded Nadan, his sister's son, saying to him wisely:
2 'O Nadan, my boy! I have done to thee all that is good and kind and thou hast rewarded me for it with what is ugly and bad and with killing.
3 'O my son! it is said in the proverbs: He who listeneth not with his ear, they will make him listen with the scruff of his neck.'
4 And Nadan said, 'For what cause art thou wroth with me?'
5 And Haiqâr said to him, 'Because I brought thee up, and taught thee, and gave thee honor and respect and made thee great, and reared thee with the best of breeding, and seated thee in my place that thou mightest be my heir in the world, and thou didst treat me with killing and didst repay me with my ruin.
6 But the Lord knew that I was wronged, and He saved me from the ware which thou hadst set for me, for the Lord healeth the broken hearts and hindereth the envious and the haughty.
7 O my boy! thou hast been to me like the scorpion which when it strikes on brass, pierces it.
8 O my boy! thou art like the gazelle who was eating the roots of the madder, and it add me to-day and to-morrow they will tan they hide in my roots."
9 O my boy! thou hast been to who saw his comrade naked in the chilly time of winter; and he took cold water and poured it on him.
10 O my boy! thou hast been to me like a man who took a stone, and threw it up to heaven to stone his Lord with it. And the stone did not hit, and did not reach high enough, but it became the cause of guilt and sin.
11 O my boy! if thou hadst honored me and respected me and hadst listened to my words thou wouldst have been my heir and wouldst have reigned over my dominions.
12 O my son! know thou that if the tail of the dog or the pig were ten cubits long it would not approach to the worth of the horse's even if it were like silk.
13 O my boy! I thought that thou wouldst have been my heir at my death; and thou through thy envy and thy insolence didst desire to kill me. But the Lord delivered me from thy cunning.
14 O my son! thou hast been to me like a trap which was set up on the dunghill, and there came a sparrow and found the trap set up. And the sparrow said to the trap, "What doest thou here?" Said the trap, "I am praying here to God."
15 And the lark asked it also, "What is the piece of wood that thou holdest?" Said the trap, "That is a young oak-tree on which I lean at the time of prayer."
16 Said the lark: "And what is that thing in thy mouth?" Said the trap: "That is bread and victuals which I carry for all the hungry and the poor who come near to me."
17 Said the lark: "Now then may I come forward and eat, for I am hungry?" And the trap said to him, "Come forward." And the lark approached that it, might eat.
18 But the trap sprang up and seized the lark by its neck.
19 And the lark answered and said to the trap, "If that is thy bread for the hungry God accepteth not thine alms and thy kind deeds.
20 And if that is thy fasting and thy prayers, God accepteth from thee neither thy fast nor thy prayer, and God will not perfect what is good concerning thee."
21 O my boy! thou hast been to me as a lion who made friends with an ass, and the ass kept walking before the lion for a time; and one day the lion sprang upon the ass and ate it up.
22 O my boy! thou hast been to me like a weevil in the wheat, for it does no good to anything, but spoils the wheat and gnaws it.
23 O my boy! thou hast been like a man who sowed ten measures of wheat, and when it was harvest time, he arose and reaped it, and garnered it, and threshed it, and toiled over it to the very utmost, and it turned out to be ten measures, and its master said to it: "O thou lazy thing! thou hast not grown and thou hast not shrunk."
24 O my boy! thou hast been to me like the partridge that had been thrown into the net, and she could not save herself, but she called out to the partridges, that she might cast them with herself into the net.
25 O my son! thou hast been to me like the dog that was cold and it went into the potter's house to get warm.
26 And when it had got warm, it began to bark at them, and they chased it out and beat it, that it might not bite them.
27 O my son! thou hast been to me like the pig who went into the hot bath with people of quality, and when it came out of the hot bath, it saw a filthy hole and it went down and wallowed in it.
28 O my son! thou hast been to me like the goat which joined its comrades on their way to the sacrifice, and it was unable to save itself.
29 O my boy! the dog which is not fed from its hunting becomes food for flies.
30 O my son! the hand which does not labor and plough and which is greedy and cunning shall be cut away from its shoulder.
31 O my son! the eye in which light is not seen, the ravens shall pick at it and pluck it out.
32 O my boy! thou hast been to me like a tree whose branches they were cutting, and it said to them, "If something of me were not in your hands, verily you would be unable to cut me."
33 O my boy! thou art like the cat to whom they said: "Leave off thieving till we make for thee a chain of gold and feed thee with sugar and almonds."
34 And she said, "I am not forgetful of the craft of my father and my mother."
35 O my son! thou hast been like the serpent riding on a thorn-bush when he was in the midst of a river, and a wolf saw them and said, "Mischief upon mischief, and let him who is more mischievous than they direct both of them."
36 And the serpent said to the wolf, "The lambs and the goats and the sheep which thou hast eaten all thy life, wilt thou return them to their fathers and to their parents or no?"
37 Said the wolf, "No." And the serpent said to him, "I think that after myself thou art the worst of us."
38 O my boy! I fed thee with good food and thou didst not feed me with dry bread.
39 O my boy! I gave thee sugared water to. drink and good syrup, and thou didst not give me water from the well to drink.
40 O my boy! I taught thee, and brought thee up, and thou didst dig a hiding-place for me and didst conceal me.
41 O my boy! I brought thee up with the best upbringing and trained thee like a tall cedar; and thou hast twisted and bent me.
42 O my boy! it was my hope concerning thee that thou wouldst build me a fortified castle, that I might be concealed from my enemies in it, and thou didst become to me like one burying in the depth of the earth; but the Lord took pity on me and delivered me from thy cunning.
43 O my boy! I wished thee well, and thou didst reward me with evil and hatefulness, and now I would fain tear out thine eyes, and make thee food for dogs, and cut out thy tongue, and take off thy head with the edge of the sword, and recompense thee for thine abominable deeds.'
44 And when Nadan heard this speech from his uncle Haiqâr, he said: 'O my uncle! deal with me according to thy knowledge, and forgive me my sins, for who is there who hath sinned like me, or who is there who forgives like thee?
45 Accept me, O my uncle! Now I will serve in thy house, and groom thy horses and sweep up the dung of thy cattle, and feed thy sheep, for I am the wicked and thou art the righteous: I the guilty and thou the forgiving.'
46 And Haiqâr said to him, 'O my boy! thou art like the tree which was fruitless beside the water, and its master was fain to cut it down, and it said to him, "Remove me to another place, and if I do not bear fruit, cut me down."
47 And its master said to it, "Thou being beside the water hast not borne fruit, how shalt thou bear fruit when thou art in another place?"
48 O my boy! the old age of the eagle is better than the youth of the crow.
49 O my boy! they said to the wolf, "Keep away from the sheep lest their dust should harm thee." And the wolf said, "The dregs of the sheep's milk are good for my eyes."
50 O my boy! they made the wolf go to school that he might learn to read and they said to him, "Say A, B." He said, "Lamb and goat in my bell"
51 O my boy! they set the ass down at the table and he fell, and began to roll himself in the dust and one said, "Let him roll himself, for it is his nature, he will not change.
52 O my boy! the saying has been confirmed which runs: "If thou begettest a boy, call him thy son, and if thou rearest a boy, call him thy slave."
53 O my boy! he who doeth good shall meet with good; and he who doeth evil shall meet with evil, for the Lord requiteth a man according to the measure of his work.
54 O my boy! what shall I say more to thee than these sayings? for the Lord knoweth what is hidden, and is acquainted with the mysteries and the secrets.
55 And He will requite thee and will judge, betwixt me and thee, and will recompense thee according to thy desert.',
56 And when Nadan heard that speech from his uncle Haiqâr, he swelled up immediately and became like a blown-out bladder.
57 And his limbs swelled and his legs and his feet and his side, and he was torn and his belly burst asunder and his entrails were scattered, and he perished, and died.
58 And his latter end was destruction, and he went to hell. For he who digs a pit for his brother shall fall into it; and he who sets up traps shall be caught in them.
59 This is what happened and what we found about the tale of Haiqâr, and praise be to God for ever. Amen, and peace.
60 This chronicle is finished with the help of God, may He be exalted! Amen, Amen, Amen.