28. For these are they whom the and Ahuzzath one of his friends, and Lord chose in days of old, and took Pichol the captain of his host, went as the lot of his inheritance from to him and they bent and bowed amongst all the nations of the earth down before him to the ground, and the kings of the earth; and who 36. And they requested of him to is there that stretched his hand supplicate for them, and he prayed against them with impunity, of whom to the Lord for them, and the Lord their God was not avenged? was intreated of him and he healed 29. Surely thou knowest that them. when Abraham went down to Egypt, 37. Jacob also, the plain man, was Pharaoh, the former king of Egypt, delivered through his integrity from saw Sarah his wife, and took her for the hand of his brother Esau, and a wife, because Abraham said, she is the hand of Laban the Syrian his my sister, for he was afraid, lest the mother's brother, who had sought his men of Egypt should slay him on life; likewise from the hand of all account of his wife. the kings of Canaan who had come 30. And when the king of Egypt together against him and his children had taken Sarah then God smote him to destroy them, and the Lord delivand his household with heavy plagues, ered them out of their hands, that until he restored unto Abraham his they turned upon them and smote wife Sarah, then was he healed. them, for who had ever stretched 31. And Abimelech the Gerarite, forth his hand against them with imking of the Philistines, God punished punity? on account of Sarah wife of Abraham, in stopping up every womb from man to beast. 38. Surely Pharaoh the former, thy father's father, raised Joseph the son of Jacob above all the princes of the land of Egypt, when he saw his wisdom, for through his wisdom he rescued all the inhabitants of the land from the famine. 32. When their God came to Abimelech in the dream of night and terrified him, in order that he might restore to Abraham Sarah whom he had taken, and afterward all the peo- 39. After which he ordered Jacob ple of Gerar were punished on ac- and his children to come down to count of Sarah, and Abraham prayed Egypt, in order that through their to his God for them, and he was in-virtue, the land of Egypt and the treated of him, and he healed them. land of Goshen might be delivered 33. And Abimelech feared all this from the famine. evil that came upon him and his people, and he returned to Abraham his wife Sarah, and gave him with her many gifts. 34. He did so also to Isaac when he had driven him from Gerar, and God had done wonderful things to him, that all the water courses of Gerar were dried up, and their productive trees did not bring forth. 35. Until Abimelech of Gerar, 40. Now therefore if it seem good in thine eyes, cease from destroying the children of Israel, but if it be not thy will that they shall dwell in Egypt, send them forth from here, that they may go to the land of Canaan, the land where their ancestors sojourned. 41. And when Pharaoh heard the words of Jethro he was very angry with him, so that he rose with shame to Midian, his land, and took Joseph's stick with him. from the king's presence, and went thrown into the water, for by this canst thou wipe away their name, for none of them, nor of their fathers, were* tried in this manner. 42. And the king said to Job the Uzite, what sayest thou Job, and what is thy advice respecting the Hebrews? 43. So Job said to the king, behold all the inhabitants of the land are in thy power, let the king do as it seems good in his eyes. 50. And the king heard the words of Balaam, and the thing pleased the king and the princes, and the king did according to the word of Balaam. 51. And the king ordered a proclamation to be issued and a law to be made throughout the land of Egypt, saying, every male child born to the Hebrews from this day forward shall be thrown into the water. 44. And the king said unto Balaam, what dost thou say, Balaam, speak thy word that we may hear it. 45. And Balaam said to the king, of all that the king has counselled 52. And Pharaoh called unto all against the Hebrews will they be his servants, saying, go now and seek delivered, and the king will not be throughout the land of Goshen where able to prevail over them with any the children of Israel are, and see that every son born to the Hebrews shall be cast into the river, but daughter you shall let live. counsel. every 46. For if thou thinkest to lessen them by the flaming fire, thou canst not prevail over them, for surely 53. And when the children of their God delivered Abraham their Israel heard this thing which Phafather from Ur* of the Chaldeans; raoh had commanded, to cast their and if thou thinkest to destroy them male children into the river, some with a sword, surely Isaac their of the people separated from their father was delivered from it, and a wives and others adhered to them. ram was placed in his stead. 54. And from that day forward, 47. And if with hard and rigor-when the time of delivery arrived to ous labor thou thinkest to lessen those women of Israel who had rethem, thou wilt not prevail even in mained with their husbands, they this, for their father Jacob served went to the field to bring forth there, Laban in all manner of hard work, and they brought forth in the field, and prospered. and left their children upon the field and returned home. 48. Now therefore, O King, hear my words, for this is the counsel which is counselled against them, by which thou wilt prevail over them, and from which thou shouldst not depart. 55. And the Lord who had sworn to their ancestors to multiply them, sent one of his ministering angels which are in heaven to wash each child in water, to anoint and swathe 49. If it please the king let him it and to put into its hands two order all their children which shall smooth stones from one of which it be born from this day forward, to be sucked milk and from the other honey, and he caused its hair to which Abraham was put, and from which God grow to his knees, by which it might * Had any miraculous escape from water. * It was stated before that was a fire in delivered him. cover itself, to* comfort it and to cleave to it, through his compassion for it. CHAPTER LXVIII. 1. And it was at that time the spirit 56. And when God had compas- of God was upon Miriam the daughsion over them and had desired to ter of Amram the sister of Aaron, multiply them upon the face of the and she went forth and prophecied land, he ordered his earth to receive about the house, saying, behold a them to be preserved therein till the son will be born unto us from my time of their growing up, after which father and mother this time, and he the earth opened its mouth and will save Israel from the hands of vomited them forth and they sprout- Egypt. ed forth from the city like the herb 2. And when Amram heard the of the earth and the grass of the words of his daughter, he went and forest, and they returned each to his took his wife back to the house, after family and to his father's house, and he had driven her away at the time they remained with them. when Pharaoh ordered every male child of the house of Jacob to be thrown into the water. 57. And the babes of the children of Israel were upon the earth like the herb of the field, through God's grace to them. 3. So Amram took Jochebed his wife, three years after he had driven her away, and he came to her and she conceived. 58. And when all the Egyptians saw this thing, they went forth, each to his field with his yoke of oxen and 4. And at the end of seven months his ploughshare, and they ploughed from her conception she brought it up as one ploughs the earth at seed forth a son, and the whole house was time. filled with great light as of the light of the sun and moon at the time or their shining. 59. And when they ploughed they were unable to hurt the infants of the children of Israel, so the people increased and waxed exceedingly 60. And Pharaoh ordered his officers daily to go to Goshen to seek for the babes of the children of Israel. 5. And when the woman saw the child that it was good and pleasing to the sight, she hid it for three months in an inner room. 6. In those days the Egyptians conspired to destroy all the Hebrews 61. And when they had sought there. and found one, they took it from its 7. And the Egyptian women went mother's bosom by force, and threw to Goshen where the children of it into the river, but the female child Israel were, and they carried their they left with its mother; thus did young ones upon their shoulders, the Egyptians do to the Israelites their babes who could not yet speak. all the days. 8. And in those days, when the women of the children of Israel brought forth, each woman had hidden her son from before the Egyptians, that the Egyptians might not know of their bringing forth, and Imight not destroy them from the land. 9. And the Egyptian women came 18. And Bathia lifted up her eyes to Goshen and their children who to the river, and she saw the ark upcould not speak were upon their on the water, and sent her maid to shoulders, and when an Egyptian fetch it. woman came into the house of a 19. And she opened it and saw the Hebrew woman her babe began to cry. child, and behold the babe wept, and 10. And when it cried the child she had compassion on him, and she that was in the inner room answered said, this is one of the Hebrew chilit, so the Egyptian women went and dren. told it at the house of Pharaoh. 11. And Pharaoh sent his officers to take the children and slay them; thus did the Egyptians to the Hebrew women all the days. 12. And it was at that time, about three months from Jochebed's concealment of her son, that the thing was known in Pharaoh's house. 13. And the woman hastened to take away her son before the officers came, and she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein, and she laid it in the flags by the river's brink. 14. And his sister Miriam stood afar off to know what would be done to him, and what would become of her words.* 15. And God sent forth at that time a terrible heat in the land of Egypt, which burned up the flesh of man like the sun in his circuit, and it greatly oppressed the Egyptians. 16. And all the Egyptians went down to bathe in the river, on account of the consuming heat which burned up their flesh. 17. And Bathia, the daughter of Pharaoh, went also to bathe in the river, owing to the consuming heat, and her maidens walked at the river side, and all the women of Egypt as well. * Her prophecy, mentioned in v. 1. 20. And all the women of Egypt walking on the river side desired to give him suck, but he would not suck, for this thing was from the Lord, in order to restore him to his mother's breast. 21. And Miriam his sister was at that time amongst the Egyptian women at the river side, and she saw this thing and she said to Pharaoh's daughter, shall I go and fetch a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she nurse the child for thee? may 22. And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, go, and the young woman went and called the child's mother. 23. And Pharaoh's daughter said to Jochebed, take this child away and suckle it for me, and I will pay thee thy wages, two bits of silver daily; and the woman took the child and nursed it. 24. And at the end of two years, when the child grew up, she brought him to the daughter of Pharaoh, and he was unto her as a son, and she called his name Moses, for she said, because I drew him out of the water 25. And* Amram his father called his name Chabar, for he said, it was *These different names arise from a Rabbinical torture of a genealogical account in 1 Chronicles, ch. 4. v. 18, which has nothing to do with the birth of Moses, only a woman's name, Bathia, daughter of Pharaoh, whom Mered took, and by a similarity of name to the great Pharaoh king of Egypt, as if no private person could be called so, they imagined it must have been Mo + Walked about in respectful attendance on ses the adopted son of king Pharaoh's daughter. Bathia. The same story is in the Talmud. for him that he associated with his 2. And the children of Esau sent wife whom he had turned away. to Pethor, which is upon the river, 26. And Jochebed his mother called his name Jekuthiel, because, she said, I have hoped for him to the Almighty, and God restored him un to me. 27. And Miriam his sister called him Jered, for she descended after him to the river to know what his end would be. 28. And Aaron his brother called his name Abi Zanuch, saying, my father left my mother and returned to her on his account. 29. And Kehath the father of Amram called his name Abigdor, because on his account did God repair the breach of the house of Jacob, that they could no longer throw their male children into the water. 30. And their nurse called him Abi Socho, saying, in his tabernacle was he hidden for three months, on account of the children of Ham.* 31. And allt Israel called his name Shemaiah, son of Nethanel, for they said, in his days has God heard their cries and rescued them from their oppressors. 32. And Moses was in Pharaoh's house, and was unto Bathia, Pharaoh's daughter, as a son, and Moses grew up amongst the king's children. and they fetched from there a young man of beautiful eyes and comely aspect, whose name was Saul, and they made him king over them in the place of Samlah.. 3. And Saul reigned over all the children of Esau in the land of Edom for forty years. 4. And when Pharaoh king of Egypt saw that the counsel which Balaam had advised respecting the children of Israel did not succeed, but that still they were fruitful, multiplied and increased throughout the land of Egypt, 5. Then Pharaoh commanded in those days that a proclamation should be issued throughout Egypt to the children of Israel, saying, no man shall diminish any thing of his daily labor. 6. And the man who shall be found deficient in his labor which he performs daily, whether in mortar or in bricks, then his youngest son shall be put in their place. 7. And the labor of Egypt strengthened upon the children of Israel in those days, and behold if one brick was deficient in any man's daily labor, the Egyptians took his youngest boy by force from his mother, and put him into the building in the place of the brick which his father had left wanting. 8. And the men of Egypt did so to all the children of Israel day by day, all the days for a long period. 9. But the tribe of Levi did not at that time work with the Israelites their brethren, from the beginning, for the children of Levi knew the cunning of the Egyptians which they exercised at first toward the Israelites. |