Ch. I.-III.
THE PALESTINIAN TARGUM
On The
SEPHER HADDEBARIM
or Deuteronomy
SECTION OF THE TORAH
TITLE DEBARIM.
I. These are the words
of admonition[1] which Mosheh
spake with all Israel. He gathered them together to him while they were beyond
the Jordan, and answered and said to them:
Was it not in the
wilderness at the mountain of Sinai that the law was given to you? and in the
plains of Moab you were made to understand how many miracles and signs the Holy
One, blessed be He, had wrought for you, from the time that you passed over the
border of the Weedy Sea, where He made for you a way for every one of your
tribes. But you declined from His word, and wrought provocation before Him, in
Pharan, on account of the words of the spies, and put together lying words
against Him, and murmured about the manna, which He had made to come down for
you, white from the heavens; in Hazeroth you demanded flesh, and made
yourselves deserving to perish from the midst of the world, but for the memory,
on your behalf, of the merit of your righteous fathers, the tabernacle of
ordinance, and the ark of the covenant, and the holy vessels which you had
covered with pure gold, and made atonement for you on account of the sin of the
golden calf. It is a journey of eleven days (only) from Horeb by the way of
Mount Gebal unto Rekem Giah; but because you declined and provoked the Lord to
displeasure, you have been retarded forty years.
And it was at the end
of forty years, in the eleventh month, the month of Shebat, on the first of the
month, that Mosheh spake with the sons of Israel according to all that the Lord
had given him commandment for them.
[JERUSALEM. These are
the words which Mosheh, spake with all Israel, reproving them, while as yet
they were situate beyond the Jordan. Mosheh answering said to them: Was it not
in the wilderness at Mount Sinai, that the law was given to you? and on the
plains of Moab was shown you what miracles and mighty acts the Word of the Lord
had wrought on your behalf. When you stood by the Weedy Sea, the sea was
divided before you, and there were made twelve ways[2] of one way, (a
path) for each tribe. Yet you provoked Him at the sea, and rebelled at the Sea
of Suph. On account of the matter of the spies who had been sent from the
wilderness of Pharan, the decree (came forth) against you, that you should not
enter into the land of Israel; and for that of the manna, of which you said, Our
soul is afflicted with this bread, whose eating is too light, the serpents were
let loose upon you; and in Hazeroth, where your carcasses fell on account of
the flesh, and concerning the calf that you had made, He would have spoken in
His Word to destroy you, had He not been mindful of the covenant which He sware
to your fathers, Abraham, Izhak, and Jakob, and of the tabernacle of ordinance
which you had made unto His name, and the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and
of your burnt sacrifices in the midst (of the tabernacle and the ark) which you
covered with purified gold. A journey of eleven days is it from Mount Horeb by
way of Mount Gebal unto Rekem Giah; yet, because you sinned and provoked anger
before Him, you have been delayed, and have been journeying for forty years.
And it was at the end of forty years.]
After He had smitten
Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Heshbon, and Og the king of Mathnan,
who dwelt at Astarvata in Edrehath, beyond Jordan, in the land of Moab, began
Mosheh to speak the words of this law, saying: The Lord our God spake with us
(and not I, of my own mind) in Horeb, saying: It is enough for you, and hath
been profitable for you until this time (during) which you have received the
law, and have made the tabernacle and its vessels, and appointed your princes
over you; but now it would be evil for you to tarry longer at this mount. Turn
you, and journey to Arad and Hormah, and go up to the mountain of the Amorites;
and to the dwelling‑places of Ammon, Moab, and Gebala, in the plains of
the forests, in mountain and valley, and by the south on the shore of the sea,
Ashkelon and Kiserin, the land of the Kenaanite unto Kaldohi, and Lebanon, the
place of the mountain of the sanctuary, to the great river, the River Phrat.
See, I have given up the inhabitants of the land before you; nor shall it be
needful to carry arms; go in and possess the land, and appoint the allotters,
and divide it, even as the Lord sware to your fathers, to Abraham, Izhak, and
Jakob, that He would give it unto them and their sons after them.
And I spake to you at
that time, saying: We will not leave you with but one judge, for I am not able
to bear you alone. The Word of the Lord our God hath multiplied you; and,
behold, you are to‑day as the stars of heaven for multitude. The Lord God
of your fathers increase you a thousand fold on account of this my benediction,
and bless you beyond numbering as He hath said unto you. But how can I alone
sustain the labour, your sensuality, your evil thoughts, your words of strife,
your offering one shekel for two? Present, then, from among you wise men,
prudent in their thinking, men of wisdom, by your tribes, and I will appoint
them to be chiefs over you. And you answered me and said: The thing that thou
hast spoken it is right for us to do. So I took the chiefs of your tribes, and
moved them kindly with words; wise men, masters of knowledge, but prudent in
their thoughts, I found not;[3] and I
appointed them chiefs over you, rabbans of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties;
twelve thousand rabbans of tens, six myriads, officers of your tribes. And I
charged your judges at that time with the orders of judgments, saying: So hear
your brethren that one may not (be permitted to) speak all his words, while
another is compelled to cut his words short; and so hearken to their words, as
that it may be impossible for you not to judge them, and deliver judgment in
truth, and to resolve (a matter) completely between a man and his brother, and
between him who hireth words of litigation. You shall not have respect to
persons in a judgment; you shall hear little words as well as great ones, nor
be afraid before the rich man and the ruler; for a judgment is from before the
Lord, and He seeth every secret. But the thing that is too hard for you bring
to me, and I will hear it. And at that time I taught
you all the Ten Words which you are to practise about judgments of money, and
judgments of life.
And we journeyed from
Horeb, and came through all that great and fearful desert, where you saw
serpents like boughs, and loathsome scorpions darting at you like arrows, on
the way of the mountain of the Amoraah, as the Lord our God had commanded us,
and came to Rekem Giah. And I said to you, Ye are come to the mountain of the
Amoraah, which the Lord our God will give to us. Behold, the Lord our God hath
given you the land; arise and possess it, as the Lord your God hath told you;
fear not, nor be dismayed (broken). And all of you came to me in a body, and
said, We will send men before us to examine the land for us, and bring us back
word by what way we shall go up to it, and the cities we should enter. And the
thing was proper in my eyes; and I took from you twelve chosen men, one man for
a tribe, and they turned and went up into the mountain, and came to the stream
of Ethkela, and explored it. [JERUSALEM. And they prepared and went up into the
mountain, and came to the stream of the Grapes, and surveyed it.] And they took
in their hands of the produce of the land and brought to us. And they returned
us word; and Kaleb and Jehoshua said, The land which the Lord our God hath
given us is good. But you were not willing to go up, but believed the words of
the ten wicked ones, and rebelled against the Word of the Lord your God. And
you cried in your tents, taking your sons and your daughters to your breasts,
saying, Woe to you, ye stricken ones! to‑morrow ye will be slain. Why
hath the Lord hated us, to have brought us out of the land of Mizraim, to
deliver us into the hand of the Amorites to destroy us? How shall we go up? Our
brethren have dissolved our hearts, saying, The people are greater and mightier
than we; their cities are vast and walled to the height of heaven, and we saw
there also the sons of Ephron the giant.
And I said to you, Be
not broken down, nor be afraid of them: the Word of the Lord your God who goeth
before you will Himself fight for you, according to all that He did for you in
Mizraim before your eyes. And in the desert, where thou sawest burning serpents
full of deadly venom, the Lord thy God bare thee with the glorious clouds of
His Shekinah, as a man carrieth his child, all the way that you went, until you
have come to this place. But in this thing you believed not in the Word of the
Lord your God, who led before you in the way[4] to prepare for
you the place of your encampments, in the pillar of fire by night to light you
in the way you should go, and in the pillar of the cloud by day. And the voice
of your words was heard before the Lord, and He was displeased, and did make
oath saying, If any one of the men of this evil generation shall see the good
land which I covenanted to give unto their fathers, except Kaleb bar Jephunneh,
who shall see it, and to whom I will give the good land, the land of Hebron
through which he walked, and to his children, because he hath followed with
integrity the fear of the Lord. Against me also was there displeasure before
the Lord on your account, saying, Thou too art not to go in thither; Jehoshua
bar Nun, who ministereth in thy house of instruction, he is to go in thither:
strengthen him, for he is to make Israel possess it. But your little ones, of
whom you said, They will be for prey, and your children, who as yet know not
between good and evil, they shall go in thither: I will give it to them, and
they shall possess it for an inheritance. As for you, turn, and go (back) into
the wilderness by the way of the Weedy Sea. Then answered you, and said to me,
We have sinned before the Lord ; we will go up and fight according to all that
the Lord our God commanded us. And you girded on every man his arms, and began
to ascend the mountain. But the Lord said to me, Say to them, Go not up, nor
prepare for battle, for My Shekinah goeth not among you; that you be not
crushed before your enemies. And I spake with you, but you would not obey but were
rebellious against the Word of the Lord, and did wickedly, and went up to the
mountain. And the Amoraah who dwelt in that mountain came out to meet you, and
pursued you, as they drive away and destroy hornets, and smote you from Gebal
unto Hormah. [JERUSALEM. And they chased you as bees are chased, and slew you
in Gebal unto destruction.] And you returned, and wept before the Lord: but the
Lord would not receive your prayers, nor hearken to your words. So you abode in
Rekem many days, according to the days that you abode.
II. And turning we
journeyed into the wilderness, by the way of the Sea of Suph, as the Lord had
bidden me, and we compassed Mount Gebal many days. And the Lord spake to me,
saying: It is enough for you to have dwelt about this mountain: turn you to the
north, and command the people, saying, You are to pass by the border of your
brethren, the children of Esau, who dwell in Gebala, and they will be afraid of
you; be very heedful therefore; provoke them not; for of their land I have not
given you as much as the sole of the foot; for I have given Mount Gebal an
inheritance unto Esau on account of the honour which he did unto his father.
You shall buy fresh provision of them for silver, that you may eat, and water
shall you buy with silver, to drink. Be careful that you vex them not : for the
Lord your God hath blessed you in all the works of your hands, he hath supplied
your wants in thy journeying in the great wilderness; these forty years hath
the Word of the Lord your God been your helper; you have not wanted anything.
So we passed by our
brethren the sons of Esau, who dwell in Gebala, from Elath and the fortress of
Tarnegola and turned and went by the way of the wilderness of Moab [JERUSALEM.
So we passed by our brethren the sons of Esau, who dwell in Gebala, by the way
of the plain from Elath and from the fortress of Tarnegola, and we turned and
went by the way of the wilderness of Moab.] And the Lord spake to me, saying:
Thou shalt not aggrieve the Moabaee, nor make war against them; for I have not
given you their land to inherit, because I have given Lachaiath for a
possession to the children of Lot. The Emthanaia dwelt in it of old, a people
great and many, and mighty as the giants. The giants[5] who dwelt in
the plain of Geyonbere were also reputed as the giants who perished in the
Flood; but the Moabites called them Emethanee[6]. And in Gebala
dwelt the Genosaia in old times, and the Beni Esau drave them out and destroyed
them, and dwelt in their place; as did Israel in the land of their inheritance,
which the Lord gave to them. Now arise, and pass over the stream of Tarvaja.
And we crossed the stream of Tarvaja. And the days in which (from the time) we
came from Rekem Giah till we crossed the stream of Tarvaja, were thirty and
eight years, until all the generation of the men of war were wasted out from
the camp, as the Lord had sworn to them. But a plague also from the Lord had
scourged them to consume them from the host, until they were brought to an end.
And when all the men
of war, the makers of the high places, were consumed by dying out of the host,
the Lord spake with me, saying: You are this day to pass the border of Moab
towards Lechaiath. But coming near over against the children of Ammon, you are
not to vex, nor provoke them to war; for I have not given you the land of the
Beni Ammon for a possession: I have given it an inheritance to the children of
Lot, for the sake of Abraham's righteousness. That also was accounted a land of
giants; in old time the giants dwelt in it, and the Ammonites called them
Zimthanee, a people great and mighty as giants: but the Word of the Lord
destroyed them, and drave them out before them, and they dwelt in their place;
as He did for the Beni Esau who dwell in Seir: for He destroyed the Horaee
before them, and drave them out, and they dwell in their place to this day. And
the rest of the escaped of the Kenaanah which dwelt in the cities of Dephia to
Gaza, the Kapotkaee who came out of Kapotkaia destroyed them, and dwelt in
their place. Arise, take your journey, and pass over the river Arnona; behold,
I have delivered into your hands Sihon the king of Heshbon and the Amoraah, and
his land: begin to drive them out, and to provoke him to wage war. To‑day
I will begin to put thy terror and fear upon the faces of all the peoples which
are under the whole heavens who shall hear the report of thy virtue, that the
sun and moon have stood still, and have ceased from speaking (their) song for
the space of a day and a half, standing still in their habitation until thou
hadst done battle with Sihon; and they will shiver and tremble before thee.
And I sent messengers
from Nehardea, which is by the wilderness of Kedemoth, to Sihon king of the
Amorites, with words of peace, saying, I would pass through thy land; by the
way which is the beaten road will I go; I will not turn aside to do thee harm
on the right hand or the left. I will buy fresh provision with silver, to eat,
and thou shalt give me water for silver, to drink; I will only pass through: as
the Beni Esau, who dwell in Gebal, and the Moabaee, who dwell in Lechaiath have
done to me, until the time that I pass over the Jordan into the land which the
Lord our God giveth us. But Sihon the king of Heshbon was not willing to allow
us to pass through his borders; for the Lord our God had hardened the form of
his spirit, and made his heart obstinate, to deliver him into thy hand as at
this day. And the Lord said to me, See, within the space of a sun and a moon I
have begun to deliver Sihon and his country into thy hand; begin thou to cast him
out, to inherit his land.
And Sihon came out to
meet us, he and all his people, to do battle at Jehaz. And the Lord our God
delivered him up before us, and we smote him, and his children, and all his
people. And we subdued all his cities at that time, and destroyed all the
towns, the men, women, and children, we left none to escape; only the cattle
took we for prey and the spoil of the towns which we subdued. From Aroer, on
the bank of the river Arnona, and the city which is built in the midst of the
river, even unto Gilead, there was no city too strong for us, the Lord our God
gave all of them up before us. Only to the land of the children of Ammon we
went not nigh, nor to any place on the river Jobeka, nor to the cities of the
mountain, according to all that the Lord our God had commanded us.
III. ANd turning, we
went up by the way of Mathnan: and Og the king of Mathnan came out to meet us,
he and all his people, to give battle in Edrehath. And the Lord said to me,
Fear him not; for into thy hand I have delivered him, and all his people, and
his land; and thou shalt do to him as thou hast done to Sihon king of the
Amoraah, who dwelt in Heshbon. [JERUSALEM. When Mosheh saw that wicked one, he
trembled before him, and said, Is not this he who did scoff at our father
Abraham and Sarah, and said to them, Ye are like trees planted by a fountain of
water, but ye bear no fruit? Therefore did the Holy One, blessed be He, and let
His Name be glorified, cause him to wait, and prolong him many years alive, to
show to him the generations, because He would deliver him into the hands of his
(Abraham's) children: therefore the Word of the Lord said to Mosheb, Be not
afraid of him, for into thy hand have I given him up, and all his people, and
his land, and thou shalt do to him as thou hast done to Sihon. king of the
Amoraee, who dwelt in Heshbon.] And the Lord our God gave up into our hands Og
the king of Mathnan, and all his people; and we smote him till no remnant
remained to him. And we subdued all his cities at that time, there was no city
which we took not from them, sixty cities, the whole boundary of Targona[7], the kingdom
of Og in Mathnan. All these cities were fortified, surrounded with high walls,
shut up with gates and bars; besides open towns very many. [JERUSALEM. All these cities were fortified, surrounded
with high walls, with gates and bars.] And we utterly destroyed their cities:
as we did to Sihon king of Heshbon, so destroyed we with every city the men,
women, and children. But all the cattle, and the prey of the cities, we made a
spoil for ourselves. And at that time we took from the power of the two kings
of the Amorites the land beyond the Jordan, from the streams of Arnona unto
Mount Hermon. The Sidonaee call Hermon the fruit‑producing Mount,[8] but the
Amoraee call it the Snowy Mountain,[9] because the
snownever ceases from it either in summer or winter. [JERUSALEM. The Sidonaee call Hermon the fruit‑producing land, but the Amoraee
call it the land which multiplies the fruits of the tree.] All the cities of
the plain, and all Gilead, and all Mathnan, unto Selukia and Edrehi, cities of
the kingdom of Og in Mathnan. For only Og king of Mathnan remained of the remnant
of the giants who perished in the deluge. Behold, his bedstead was a bedstead
of iron; behold, it is placed in the archive‑house in Rabbath, of the
Beni Ammon, nine‑cubits its length, and four cubits its breadth, in the
cubit of his own (stature). [JERUSALEM. Is it not placed in the citadel of the
Beni Ammon ?] And this land which we took in possession at that time, from
Aroer unto the border of the river, and half of Mount Gilead, and the cities, I
have given to the tribe of Reuben and Gad; but the remaining part of Gilead,
and all Mathnan, the kingdom of Og, I have given to the half tribe of Menasheh;
all the limit of the region of Targona, and all Mathnan, which is called the
land of the giants.
And Jair bar Menasheh
took the whole limit of the region of Targona, unto the limit of Korze and
Antikiros, [JERUSALEM. All the limit of Atarkona, unto the limit of the city of
Aphikeras,] and called them by his own name Mathnan, the towns of Jair, unto
this day. But I gave Gilead to Makir. To the tribe Reuben and the tribe Gad
have I given from Gilead to the river Arnona, half of the valley and its limit,
unto the stream of Jubeka on the limit of the children of Ammon, the plain
also, the Jordan, the boundary from Genesar to the sea of the plain, and the
city of Tebaria, which is by the Sea of Salt, the limit of the outflow of
waters from the heights of the east. [JERUSALEM. The plain, the Jordan, and the
limit from Ginosar to the sea of the plain, the Sea of Salt, under the place of
the pouring forth of ashes from the east.] And I commanded you, the tribe of
Reuben, and of Gad, and the half tribe of Menasheh, at that time, saying: The
Lord your God hath given this land to you to possess it; but you are to go over
armed before your brethren, every one girded for the host. Only your wives,
your children, and your cattle, (for I know that you have much cattle,) shall
abide in your cities which I have given you, until the time when the Lord will
have given rest to your brethren as to you, that they also may possess that
land which the Lord your God hath conferred upon you; then shall you return
every one to his inheritance which I have given you.
And I instructed
Jehoshua at that time, saying: Thine eyes have seen all that the Lord thy God
hath done to these two kings; so will the Lord do unto all the kingdoms to
which thou art passing over. Fear them not, for the Word of the Lord your God
fighteth for you.
Pgs. 569-583
Ch. 3-7
SECTION XLV.
VAETHCHANAN.
And I sought mercy at
that time from before the Lord, saying: I supplicate compassion before Thee, 0
Lord God: Thou hast begun to show unto Thy servant Thy greatness and the power
of Thy mighty hand; for Thou art God, and there is none beside Thee; for Thy
glory dwelleth in the heavens on high, and Thou rulest upon the earth; there is
none who can work according to Thy working or Thy power. [JERUSALEM. And I
prayed and sought mercy in that hour, said Mosheh, saying: I supplicate
compassion before Thee, 0 Lord God; Thou hast begun.] Let me, I pray, pass over
and see the good land that is beyond Jordan, that goodly mountain on which is
builded the city of Jerusalem, and Mount Lebanon, where the Shekinah will
dwell. But the Lord was displeased with me on your account, and received not my
prayer; but the Lord said to me: Let it be enough for thee; speak not before Me
again of this matter: go up to the head of the mountain, and lift up thine eyes
to the west, to the north, to the south, and to the east, and behold with thy
eyes, for thou shalt not pass over this Jordan. But instruct Jehoshua,
strengthen and confirm him; for he shall go over before this people, and give
them the inheritance of the land which thou seest. And we dwelt in the valley,
weeping for our sins, because we bad been joined with the worshippers of the
idol of Peor. [JERUSALEM. And we dwelt in the valley weeping for our guilt, and
confessing our sins, for that we had been joined with the worshippers of the
idol of Baal Peor.]
IV. And now, Israel,
hear the statutes and judgments which I teach you to do, that you may live, and
go in and inherit the land the Lord God of your fathers giveth you. Ye shall
not add to the words that I teach you nor diminish them, but keep the
commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.
Your eyes have seen
what the Word of the Lord hath done to the worshippers of the idol Peor: for
all the men who went astray after the idol Peor, the Lord thy God hath
destroyed from among you; but you who have cleaved to the worship of the Lord
your God are alive all of you this day. See, I teach you statutes and
judgments, as the Lord God hath taught me, that you may so do in the land which
you are entering to possess it. So shall you observe and perform the law; for
it it is your wisdom and understanding in the sight of the peoples, who will
hear all these statutes, and will say: How wise and intelligent is this great
people! For what people so great, to whom the Lord is so high in the Name of
the Word of the Lord? But the custom of (other) nations is to carry their gods
upon their shoulders, that they may seem to be nigh them; but they cannot hear
with their ears, (be they nigh or) be they afar off; but the Word of the Lord
sitteth upon His throne high and lifted up, and heareth our prayer what time we
pray before Him and make our petitions. [JERUSALEM. For what people is so
great, who hath God so nigh to it as the Lord our God is, in every hour that we
cry unto Him, and He answereth us?] And what people have statutes and right
judgments according to all this law which I order before you this day? Only take
heed to yourselves and diligently keep your souls, lest you forget the things
which you beheld with your eyes at Sinai, and that they depart not from thy
heart all the days of thy life, and you may teach them to your children, and to
your childrens children; and that you may make yourselves pure in your
transactions thereby, as in the day when you stood before the Lord your God at
Horeb, at the time when the Lord said to me: Gather the people before Me, that
they may hear My words, by which they shall learn to fear before Me all the
days that they remain upon the earth, and may teach their children. And you
drew near, and stood at the lower part of the mount, and the mountain burned
with fire, and its flame went up to the height of the heavens, with darkness,
clouds, and shadows. And the Lord spake with you on the mountain from the midst
of the fire: you heard the voice of the word, but you saw no likeness, but
only a voice speaking. And He proclaimed to you His covenant which He commanded
you to perform; Ten Words which He wrote upon sapphire tablets.
And the Lord commanded
me at that time to teach you the statutes and judgments, that you may do them
in the land which you pass over to possess. Keep then your souls diligently;
for you saw no likeness on the day when the Lord spake with you in Horeb from
the midst of the fire. Be admonished, lest you corrupt your works, and make to
you an image or likeness of any idol, the likeness either male or female of any
beast of the earth, of any winged bird that flieth in the air in the expanse of
heaven, of any reptile on the ground, or of any fish in the waters under the
earth. [JERUSALEM. The likeness of any fishes which are in the waters under the
earth.] And lest, when you lift up your eyes to the height of the heavens, and
gaze at the sun, or the moon, and the principal stars of all the hosts of the
heavens, you go astray, and adore and serve them; for the Lord your God hath by
them distributed (or divided) the knowledge of all the peoples that are under
the whole heavens.[1] For you hath the Word of the Lord taken for His portion, and
hath brought you out from the iron furnace of Mizraim to be unto Him a people
of inheritance as at this day. [JERUSALEM. To be a people beloved as a treasure
in this day.]
But against me was
displeasure before the Lord on account of your words, because you had murmured
for the water; and He sware that I should not pass the Jordan, nor go into the
land which the Lord your God giveth you to inherit. But I must die in this
land; I am not to pass over Jordan; but you will pass over and possess the
inheritance of that good land. Beware, then, that you forget not the covenant
of the Lord your God which He hath confirmed with you, or make to you an image,
the likeness of any thing of which the Lord your God hath commanded that you
should not make it. For the Word of the Lord your God is a consuming fire; the
jealous God is a fire, and He avengeth Himself in jealousy. [JERUSALEM. For the
Lord your God is a consuming fire; the jealous God is a fire, and He avengeth
Himself in jealousy.]
If, when thou wilt
have begotten children and children's children, and wilt have grown old in the
land, you corrupt your works, and make to you an image or any likeness, and do
that which is evil before the Lord to provoke Him; I attest against you this
day the sworn witnesses of the heavens and the earth, that perishing you will
perish swiftly from the land to possess which you pass the Jordan: you will not
lengthen out days upon it, but will be utterly destroyed. And the Lord will
scatter you among the Gentiles, and you will remain as a little people with the
nations among whom the Lord will disperse you in captivity. And there will you
be constrained to serve the worshippers of idols, the work of men's hands, of
wood and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell. But if there you
seek to return to the fear of the Lord your God, you shall find mercy, when you
seek before Him with all your heart and with all your soul. When you suffer
oppression, and all these things come upon you in the end of the days, and you
be converted to the fear of the Lord your God, and obey His Word; for the Lord
our God is a merciful God; He will not forsake you, nor destroy you, nor forget
the covenant of your fathers which He sware unto them.
For ask now the
generations which have been from the days of the beginning, which have been
before thee from the day when the Lord created man upon the earth, from one end
of the heavens to the other, whether so great a thing as this hath been, or any
like to it hath been heard? Hath it ever been that a people should hear the
voice of the Word of the Lord, the Living God, speaking from the midst of fire,
as you heard, and remained alive? Or, as the wonder which the Lord hath
wrought, revealing Himself to separate a people to Himself from among another
people, by signs, by miracles, by portents, by the victories of ordered battles,
by an uplifted arm, and by great visions, like all that the Lord our God hath
done for us in Mizraim, and your eyes beholding? [JERUSALEM. Or what is the
people or kingdom that hath heard?. . . . . Or the signs which the Word of the
Lord hath wrought, coming to announce (that He would separate) to Himself a
people from among a people ?] Unto thee have these wonders been shown, that
thou mayest know that the Lord is God, and there is none beside Him. He made
you hear the voice of His Word from the heavens on high, to give you discipline
by His doctrine, and showed thee upon earth His great fire, and made thee hear
His words from the midst of the flame. And because He loved thy fathers Abraham
and Izhak, therefore hath He pleasure in the children of Jakob after him, and
hath brought you in His lovingkindness and power from Mizraim, to drive out
nations greater and stronger than you from before you, and give you their land
to inherit as at this day. Know therefore to‑day, and set your heart upon
it, that the Lord is God, whose Shekinah dwelleth in the heavens above, and
reigneth on the earth beneath, neither is there any other beside Him. Therefore
observe His covenant, and the commandments which I command you this day, that
He may do good to you and to your children after you, and that you may have
continuance upon the land which the Lord your God giveth you for all days.
And now, behold,
Mosheh set apart three cities beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise, that the
manslayer who had killed his neighbour without intention, not having hated him
yesterday or before, may flee, and escape into one of those cities, and be
spared alive. [JERUSALEM. Who had slain his neighbour unawares,[2] but had not entertained enmity toward him yesterday or
before.] Kevatirin the wilderness, in the plain country, for the tribe of
Reuben, and Ramatha in Gilead for the tribe of Gad, and Dabera in Mathnan for
the tribe of Menasheh. This is the declaration of the law which Mosheh set in
order before the sons of Israel [JERUSALEM. This is the declaration of the law
which Mosheh set before the sons of Israel,] and the statutes and judgments
which Mosheh spake with the sons of Israel at the time when they had come out
of Mizraim. And Mosheh delivered them beyond Jordan over against Beth Peor, in
the land of Sihon king of the Amoraee, who dwelt in Heshbon, whom Mosheb and
the sons of Israel smote when the had come out of Mizraim. And they took
possession of his land and the land of Og, king of Mathnan, the two kings of
the Amoraee, who were beyond the Jordan, eastward, from Aroer on the bank of
the river Arnon to the mountain of Saion, which is the Snowy Mount; [JERUSALEM.
From Lechaiath, on the side of the river Arnona, unto the mountain whose fruits
are delivered, which is the Snowy Mount;] and all the plain beyond Jordan,
eastward, unto the sea that is in the plain under the spring of the heights.
V. And Mosheh called
all Israel, and said to them: Hear, Israel, the statutes and judgments that I
speak before you this day, to learn them, and observe to perform them. The Lord
our God confirmed a covenant with us in Horeb: not with our fathers did the
Lord confirm this covenant, but with us, who are all of us here this day alive
and abiding. Word to word did the Lord speak with you at the mountain from the
midst of the fire. I stood between the Word of the Lord and you at that time,
to declare to you the Word of the Lord, because you were afraid before the
voice of the Word of the Lord, which you heard from the midst of the fire;
neither did you go up to the mountain while He said : Sons of Israel, My
people, I am the Lord your God, who made and led you out free from the land of
Mizraim, from the house of the bondage of slaves. Sons of Israel, My people, no
other god shall you have beside Me. You shall not make to you an image or the
likeness of anything which is in the heavens above, or in the earth below, or
in the waters under the earth: thou shalt not worship them or do service before
them; for I am the Lord your God, a jealous and avenging God, taking vengeance
in jealousy; remembering the sins of wicked fathers upon rebellious children to
the third generation and to the fourth of them that hate Me, when the children
complete to sin after their fathers; but keeping mercy and bounty for a
thousand generations of the righteous who love Me and keep My mandates and My
laws. Sons of Israel, My people, no one of you shall swear by the Name of the
Word of the Lord your God in vain: for the Lord, in the day of the great
judgment, will not acquit any one who shall swear by His Name in vain. Soils of
Israel, My people, observe the day of Sabbath, to sanctify it according to all
that the Lord your God hath commanded. Six days you shall labour and do all
your work, but the seventh day (shall be for) rest and quiet before the Lord
your God; ye shall do no work, neither you, nor your sons, nor your daughters,
nor your servants, nor your handmaids, nor your oxen, your asses, nor any of
your cattle, nor your sojourners who are among you; that your servants and
handmaids may have repose as well as you. And remember that you were servants
in the land of Mizraim, and that the Lord your God delivered and led you out
with a strong hand and uplifted arm; therefore the Lord thy God hath commanded
thee to keep the Sabbath day. Sons of Israel, My people, be every one mindful
of the honour of his father and his mother, as the Lord your God hath commanded
you, that your days may be proIonged, and it may be well with you in the land
which the Lord your God giveth you. Sons of Israel, My people, you shall not
murder, nor be companions or participators with those who do murder, nor shall
there be seen in the congregations of Israel (those who have part) with
murderers; that your children may not arise after you, and teach their own to
have part with murderers; for because of the guilt of murder the sword cometh
forth upon the world.
Sons of Israel, My
people, you shall not be adulterers, nor companions of, or have part with,
adulterers; neither shall there be seen in the congregations of Israel (those
who have part) with adulterers, and that your children may not arise after you,
and teach theirs also to be with adulterers; for through the guilt of
adulteries the plague cometh forth upon the world. Sons of Israel, My people,
you shall not be thieves, nor be companions nor have fellowship with thieves,
nor shall there be seen in the congregations of Israel (those who have
part)with theives; for because of the guilt of robberies famine cometh forth on
the world. Sons of Isreal, My people, you shall not bear false witness, nor be
companions or have fellowship with the bearers of false testimony;neither shall
there be seen in the congregations of Isreal those who (have part) with false
witnesses; for because of the guilt of false witnesses the clouds arise, but
the rain does not come down, and dearth cometh on the world. Sons of Israel, My
people, you shall not be covetous, nor be companions or have fellowship with
the covetous; neither shall there be seen in the congregations of Israel any
who (have part) with the covetous; that your children may not arise after you,
and teach their own to be with the covetous. Nor let any one of you desire his
neighbour's wife, nor his field, nor his servant, nor his handmaid, nor his ox,
nor his ass, nor anything that belongeth to his neighbour; for because of the
guilt of covetousness the government (malkutha) seizeth upon men's
property to take it away, and bondage cometh on the world.
These words spake the
Lord with all your congregation at the mount, from the midst of the fiery cloud
and tempest, with a great voice which was not limited; and the voice of the
Word was written upon two tables of marble, and He gave them unto me. But when
you had heard the voice of the Word from the midst of the darkness, the
mountain burning with fire, the chiefs of your tribes and your sages drew nigh
to me, and said, Behold, the Word of the Lord our God hath showed us His
glorious Shekinah, and the greatness of His excellency, (tushbachteih, His
magnificence,) and the voice of His Word have we heard out of the midst of
the fire. This day have we seen that the Lord speaketh with a man in whom is
the Holy Spirit, and he remaineth alive. But now why should we die? For this
great fire will devour us; if we again hear the voice of the Word of the Lord
our God, we shall die. For who, of all the offspring of flesh, hath heard the
voice of the Word of the Living God speaking from amid the fire as we, and hath
lived? Go thou nigh, and hear all that the Lord our God shall say, and speak
thou with us all that the Lord our God will say to thee, and we will hearken
and will do. And the voice of your words was heard before the Lord when you
spake with me, and the Lord said to me, All the words of this people which they
have spoken with thee are heard before Me; all that they have said is good. O
that the disposition of their heart were perfect as this willingness is to fear
Me and to keep all My commandments all days, that it may be well with them and
with their children for ever! [JERUSALEM. O that they may have this good
heart!] Now therefore be separate from thy wife, that with the orders above
thou mayest stand before Me, and I will speak with thee the commandments,
statutes, and judgments, which thou shalt teach them to perform in the land
that I give you to inherit. And now observe to do as the Lord your God hath
commanded you; decline not to the right hand or to the left. Walk in all the
way which the Lord your God commandeth you, that you may live and do well, and
lengthen out days in the land you shall inherit.
VI. And this is the
declaration of the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments which the Lord
your God hath commanded (me) to teach you to perform in the land to which you
pass over to inherit; that thou mayest fear the Lord thy God, and keep all His
statutes and precepts which I command thee; thou, thy son, and the son of thy
son, all the days of thy life; and that thou mayest prolong thy days. Hearken
then, Israel, to keep and to do, that it may be well with thee, and you may
increase greatly, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath spoken to thee, (that) He
will give thee a land whose fruits are rich as milk, and sweet as honey.
[JERUSALEM. A land producing good fruits, pure as milk, sweet and tasty as
honey.]
It was, when the time
came that our father Jakob should be gathered out of the world, he was anxious
lest there might be an idolater among his sons. He called them, and questioned
them, Is there such perversity in your hearts? They answered, all of them
together, and said to him: HEAR, ISRAEL OUR FATHER: THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE
LORD! Jakob made response, and said, Blessed be His Glorious Name for ever and
ever. [JERUSALEM. When the end had come to our father Jakob, that he should be
taken up from the world, he called the twelve tribes, his sons, and gathered
them round his couch. Then Jakob our father rose up, and said to them., Do you
worship any idol that Terah the father of Abraham worshipped? do you worship
any idol that Laban (the brother of his mother) worshipped? or worship you the
God of Jakob? The twelve tribes answered together, with fulness of heart, and
said, Hear now, Israel our father: The Lord our God is one Lord. Jakob
responded and said, May His Great Name be blessed for ever!]
Mosheh the prophet
said to the people of the house of Israel, Follow after the true worship of
your fathers, that you may love the Lord your God with each disposition of your
hearts, and also that He may accept your souls, and the (dedicated) service of
all your wealth; and let these words which I command you this day be written
upon the tables of your hearts. And thou shalt unfold them to thy children, and
meditate upon them when thou art sitting in your houses, at the time when you
are occupied in secret chambers, or in journeying by the way; at evening when
you lie down, and at morn when you arise. And you shall bind them as written
signs upon thy left hand, and they shall be for tephillin upon thy forehead
over thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the pillars, and affix them in
three places, against the cupboard[3], upon the posts of thy house, and on the right hand of thy
gate, in thy going out.
And when the Lord thy
God hath brought thee into the land which he promised to Abraham, Izhak, and
Jakob, thy fathers, to give thee cities great and goodly which thou didst not
toil in building, houses also, filled with all good, which thou wast not
occupied in filling, and hewn cisterns in hewing which thou didst not labour,
vineyards and olives with planting which thou wast not wearied; and when thou
hast eaten. and art satisfied, beware lest you forget the fear of the Lord your
God, who delivered and led you out free from the land of Mizraim, from the
house of the affliction of slaves; but fear the Lord your God, and worship
before Him, and swear by the Name of the Word of the Lord in truth. You shall
not go after the idols of the Gentiles, the idols of the peoples who are round
about you: for the Lord our God is a jealous God, and an Avenger, whose
Shekinah dwelleth in the midst of you; lest the anger of the Lord your God be
kindled against you, and He quickly destroy you from the face of the earth.
Sons of Israel, my people, be warned not to tempt the Lord your God as you
tempted Him in the ten temptations; keeping keep the commandments of the Lord
your God, and His testimonies and statutes which He hath commanded you; and do
what is good and right before the Lord, that it may be well with you, and ye
may go in, and possess by inheritance the good land which the Lord covenanted
to your fathers; that He may drive out all thy enemies before thee, as the Lord
hath said.
When thy son, in time
to come, shall ask thee, saying, What are the testimonies, statutes, and
judgments which the Lord our God hath commanded you? then shall you say to your
sons, We were servants to Pharoh in Mizraim, and the Word of the Lord brought
us out of Mizraim with a mighty hand; and the Word of the Lord wrought signs,
great wonders, and sore plagues on Mizraim and on Pharoh and all the men of his
house, which our eyes beheld; but us He led forth free to bring us in and give
us the land which He sware to our fathers. And the Lord commanded us to perform
all these statutes, that we may fear the Lord our God for good to us in all
days, that He may preserve us alive as at the time of this day; and (the reward
of ) righteousness will be reserved for us in the world to come, if we keep all
these commandments to perform them before the Lord our God, as He hath
commanded us.
VII. When the Lord thy
God shall bring thee into the land to which thou wilt come to possess it, and
He will make many peoples to go out from before thee, the Hittites,
Girgashites, Amorites, Kenaanites, Perizites, Hivites, and Jebusites, seven
nations more numerous and strong than thou., and the Lord your God will deliver
them up before you, then shall you blot them out and utterly consume them by
the curse of the Lord. You shall strike no covenant with them, nor have pity
upon them. You shall not intermarry with them; your daughters you shall not
give to their sons, nor take their daughters for your sons; for whosoever
marrieth with them is as if he made marriage with their idols. [JERUSALEM. You
shall not be commixed with them.] For their daughters will lead your sons away
from My worship to serve the idols of the Gentiles; so will the anger of the
Lord be kindled against you, and He will destroy you suddenly. But this shall
you do to them : you shall destroy their altars, break their statues in pieces,
cut down their groves for worship, and burn the images of their idols with
fire. For you shall be a holy people before the Lord your God, as the Lord your
God hath taken pleasure in you, that you may be a people more beloved before
Him than all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. Not because You were
more excellent than all other peoples hath the Lord had pleasure in you and
chosen you, but because you were poor in spirit, and more humble than all the
nations. Therefore, because the Lord had mercy on you, and would keep the
covenant He had sworn with your fathers, He led you out free with a mighty
hand, and redeemed you from the house of the affliction of slaves, from the
hand of Pharoh king of Mizraim. Know therefore that the Lord your God is a
Judge, strong and faithful, keeping covenant and mercy with them who love Him
and keep His commandments unto a thousand generations, and who repayeth to them
who hate Him the reward of their good works in this world, to destroy them (for
their evil works) in the world to come; neither delayeth He (to reward) His
enemies, but while they are alive in this world He payeth them their
recompense. [JERUSALEM. And he repayeth them who hate Him for their little
deeds of good which are in their hands in this world, to destroy them in the
world to come; nor doth He delay to render to them that hate Him the reward of
the slight works that are in their hands in this world.] Observe therefore the
mandates, the statutes, and judgments which I command you, to perform them.
Pgs. 584-595
Ch. 7-11
SECTION XLVI.
If you receive these
judgments, and observe and perform them, then will the Lord your God keep with
you the covenant and the lovingkindness which He sware to your fathers. And He
will love, bless, and multiply you, and will bless the children of your wombs,
the fruit of your ground, your corn, wine, and oil, the herds of your oxen, and
the flocks of your sheep, on the land which He sware to your fathers to give
you. More blessed will you be than all peoples; there shall not be among you
barren men or women, nor thy cattle (be wanting) in wool, or milk, or
offspring. And the Lord will put away from thee all the diseases and evil
plagues that He sent upon Mizraim which thou hast known; He will not put them
upon you, but will send them forth upon all your enemies. And thou shalt
consume all the nations which the Lord thy God giveth up to thee; thine eye
shall not spare them nor their idols, because they would be a stumblingjblock
to thee. Neither say in thy heart, These nations are greater and stronger than
I am: how shall I be able to drive them out? Be not afraid of them; remember
the work of power which the Lord thy God wrought upon Pharoh and all the
Mizraee; the great miracles which thou didst see with thine eyes, the signs and
wonders, the strength of the mighty hand, and the victory of the uplifted arm,
when the Lord your God led you out free: so will the Lord your God do unto all
the peoples before whom thou art afraid. Moreover, the Lord your God will send
the plague of biting hornets among you, until they who have remained shall
perish and disappear before you. Therefore be not downjbroken before them, for
the Shekinah of the Lord your God is among you, the Great and Fearful God.
But the Lord your God
will make these nations depart from before thee by little and little. You may
not destroy them at once, lest the beasts of the field multiply against you,
when they have come to devour their carcases. But the Lord your God will give
them up before you, and will trouble them with great trouble, until they shall
be consumed [JERUSALEM. And shall trouble them with great trouble, till the
time that they shall be destroyed.] And He will deliver their kings into your hands,
and you shall destroy their names from remembrance under the whole heavens: not
a man shall stand before you until you have destroyed them. You shall burn
their images with fire, nor desire the silver and gold that may be upon them,
nor take them, lest through them you offend, for they are an abomination before
the Lord your God. Neither may you bring their abominable idols or their
servicejvessels into your houses, that you be not accursed as they but you
shall utterly loathe them as a loathsome reptile, and abhor them altogether,
because they are accursed.
VIII. Every
commandment which I command you this day, observe ye to do, that you may live,
and multiply, and go in and inherit the land which the Lord sware to your
fathers. And remember all the way by which the Lord your God hath led you these
forty years in the wilderness, to humble and try you, to know whether you will
keep His commandments or not. And He humbled thee and let thee hunger, and fed
thee with the manna which thou knewest not, nor thy fathers had known, that He
might make thee to know that man liveth not by bread only, but by all that is
created by the Word of the Lord doth man live. [JERUSALEM. That by manna only.]
Your raiment hath not waxen old upon your bodies, and your feet have not gone
without covering these forty years. But you know with the thoughts of your
hearts, that as a man regardeth his child, so the Lord your God hath regarded
you. Keep, therefore, the commandments of the Lord your God, to walk in the
ways that are right before Him, and to fear Him. For the Lord your God bringeth
you into a land whose fruits are celebrated, a land whose streams flow in clear
waters, from sweet fountain springs, and depths that dry not up, issuing forth
among the vales and mountains; a land producing wheat and barley, and
growing vines from which cometh out wine sweet and ripe, and a land which
yieldeth figs and pomegranates, a land whose olive trees make oil, and whose
palms give honey; a land where, without poverty, you may eat bread and want
nothing; a land whose sages will enact decrees unalloyed as iron, and whose
disciples will propound questions weighty as brass.[JERUSALEM. A land from
whose olive trees they make oil, and from whose palms they make
honey......whose stones are, pure as iron, and whose hills are firm as brass.]
Be mindful, therefore,
in the time when you will have eaten and are satisfied, that you render
thanksgiving and blessing before the Lord your God for all the fruit of the
goodly land which He hath given you, lest you forget the fear of the Lord your
God, and keep not His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes, which I
command you this day; lest, when you shall have eaten and are satisfied, and
you have builded pleasant houses to dwell in, and your oxen and sheep are
multiplied, and silver and gold are increased to you, and all things you have
are multiplied, your heart be lifted up, and you forget the fear of the Lord
your God, who brought you out free from the land of Mizraim, from the house of
the affliction of slaves; who led thee in mercy through that great and fearful
desert, a place abounding in burning serpents and scorpions with stings, a
place where there is thirst but no water; but (where) He brought thee forth
water out of the hard rock, and fed thee in the desert with manna which thy
fathers knew not, to humble thee and to prove thee, that He may do thee good in
thine end.
Beware that you say
not in your heart, Our strength and the might of our hands have obtained us all
these riches; but remember the Lord your God ; for He it is who giveth thee
counsel whereby to get wealth; that He may confirm the covenant which He sware
to your fathers at the time of this day. For it shall be that if you forget the
fear of the Lord your God, and go after the idols of the Gentiles, to serve and
worship them, I testify against you this day, you will surely perish; as the
peoples which the Lord your God disperseth before you, so will you perish,
because you were not obedient to the Word of the Lord your God.
IX. Hear, Israel: you
are this day (about) to pass Jordana to enter in and possess (the country of)
nations greater and stronger than you, and cities many, and fortified to the
height of heaven. A people (are they) strong and tall as the giants whom you know,
and of whom you have heard (say), Who can stand before the sons of the giants?
Know, therefore, tojday that the Lord your God, whose glorious Shekinah goeth
before you, whose Word is a consuming fire, will destroy them and drive them
out before you; so shall you drive them out, and destroy them quickly, as the
Lord your God hath said to you. Speak not in your heart when the Lord your God
hath driven them away from before you saying, For the sake of my righteousness
hath the Lord brought me in to inherit this land; for on account of the sins of
these people the Lord driveth them out before you. Not for your righteousness,
or the integrity of your heart, will you be brought in to possess their land,
but for the sins of these people the Lord your God driveth them away before
you; and that the Lord may establish the word which He sware to Abraham, Izhak,
and Jakob, your fathers. Know, therefore, that it is not on account of your
merit that the Lord your God giveth you this glorious land to possess it; for a
hardjnecked people are you. Be mindful and forget not how you have provoked
unto anger, before the Lord in the wilderness, from the day that you went out
of the land of Mizraim until you came to this place, and have been perverse
before the Lord. (Even) at Horeb you provoked the Lord to anger, so that there
was wrath before the Lord against you, to destroy you. When I had gone up to
the mountain to receive the tables of marble, the tables of the covenant which
the Lord had made with you, and I tarried on the mountain forty days and forty
nights, I ate no bread, I drank no water; and the Lord gave to me the two
tables of marble inscribed by the finger of the Lord, and upon which was
written according to all the words which the Lord spake with you on the mount
from the midst of the fire in the day of the assembling of the congregation.
But at the end of the forty days and nights, when the Lord gave to me the two
tables of marble, the tables of the covenant, the Lord said to me, Arise, go
down quickly from hence, for the people who are called by thy name, whom I led
forth from the land of Mizraim, have corrupted their way; they have soon gone
aside from the way that I commanded them on Sinai, saying, Make not to you a
likeness or image; for they have made for themselves a molten (form). And the
Lord spake to me saying, the sin of this people is revealed before Me, and
behold this people is hard-necked: desist from thy prayer to Me, that I may
destroy them, and blot out their name from under the heavens; and I will make
of thee a people stronger and greater than they.
And I prepared and
went down from the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire; and the two
tables of the covenant were upon my two hands. And I saw, and, behold, you had
sinned before the Lord your God; you had made for you a molten calf, and had
quickly declined from the way which the Lord had commanded to you. And taking
the two tables, I cast them from my two hands and broke them; and you looked on
while the tables were broken and the letters[1]
fled away. [JERUSALEM. And I took both the tables and cast them down.] But I
prayed for mercy as at the first before the Lord; forty days and forty nights I
ate no bread, nor drank water, for all your sin whereby you had sinned in doing
what was evil before the Lord to provoke Him to anger.
At that time five
destroying angels were sent from the Lord to destroy Israel, Wrath, Burning,
Relentlessness, Destruction, and Indignation; but when Mosheh the Rabban of
Israel heard, he went and made memorial of the great and glorious Name, and
called. And Abraham, Izhak, and Jakob arose from their tomb, and stood in
prayer before the Lord; and forthwith three of them were restrained, and two of
them, Wrath and Burning, remained. But Mosheh (yet) supplicated mercy, and were
also restrained ; and he digged a grave in the land of Moab and buried them, in swearing by the great and tremendous Name; for
so it is written: For I was afraid before the anger with which the Lord was
angry with you to destroy you, and the Lord received my prayer at that time
also.
But against Aharon was
there great displeasure before the Lord, (so that) He would destroy him; but I
prayed for Aharon also at that time. And your sin, the calf which you had made,
I took, and burned it in fire, and crushed it well with crushing until I had
bruised it into dust; and I threw the dust into the stream that descended from
the mountain
And at the place of
Burning, and that of the Temptation, and at the Graves of Desire [JERUSALEM.
And at the Graves of Desire] you provoked to anger before the Lord. And at the
time when the Lord sent you from Rekem Giah, saying: Go up and take possession
of the land which I have given you, then were you perverse with the Word of the
Lord your God, and would not believe Him, nor be obedient to His Word. You have
been perverse before the Lord from the day that I have known you.
And I bowed down in
prayer before the Lord for the forty days and nights in which I was prostrate
in supplication, because the Lord had said He was about to destroy you. And I
prayed before the Lord, and said: I implore mercy before Thee, 0 Lord God, that
Thou wouldst not destroy Thy people and Thy heritage which Thou hast redeemed
by Thy power, and led forth from Mizraim by the strength of Thy mighty hand.
Remember Thy servants Abraham, Izhak, and Jakob, nor regard Thou the hard heart
of this people, nor their wickedness, nor their sin: lest the inhabitants of
the land from whence Thou hast led us say, that power failed before the Lord to
bring them into the land of which Thou hast told them, and that because Thou
didst hate them, therefore didst Thou lead them out to kill them in the wilderness.
But they are Thy people and Thy heritage, whom Thou didst bring out by Thy
great power, and with Thy uplifted arm.
X. At that time did
the Lord say to me: Hew thee two tables of marble according to the form of the
first; and ascend before Me into the mountain, and make thee an ark of wood.
And I will write upon the tables the words which were upon the former ones,
which thou didst break with thy entire strength; and thou shalt put them within
the ark. And I made an ark of sitta wood, and hewed two marble tables according
to the form of the first, and went up into the mountain, having the two tables
in my hand. And He wrote upon the tables according to the former writing, the
Ten Words which the Lord spake with you from the mount in the midst of the fire
on the day that the congregation was gathered together, and the Lord gave them
to me. And I turned and came down from the mountain, and put the tables into
the ark which I had made, and there are they laid up (hidden) as the Lord
commanded me.
And the children of
Israel journeyed from the villages of the wells of the Beni Jahakan to Mosera[2].
There Amalek, who reigned in Arad, and who had heard that Aharon was dead, and
that the Cloud of Glory had gone up, (came and) fought with them. And those of
Israel who were distressed by that war sought to go back into Mizraim, and
returned (towards it) six journeys; (but) the sons of Levi followed after them,
and slew eight families of them, and the remainder returned. Of the sons of
Levi also four families were slain. And they said one to another, What hath
been the cause of this slaughter? Because we have been remiss in the mourning
for Aharon the Saint. Therefore all the children of Israel observed there a
mourning for Aharon's death; and there was he buried, and Elazar his son
ministered in his stead. Thence they
journeyed to Gudgod, and from Gudgod to Jotbath, a land flowing with streams of
water. At that time the Lord distinguished the tribe of Levi, because they had
been zealous (even) to slay for His honour; that they should bear the ark of
the Lord's covenant, and stand before the Lord to minister unto Him and to
bless in His Name until this day. Therefore the tribe of Levi hath not a
portion or inheritance with his brethren; the gifts which the Lord giveth him
are his inheritance, as the Lord your God hath spoken to him. But I stood in
the mount praying and interceding as in the former days (of the) forty days and
nights, and the Lord received my prayer at that time also, and the Lord would
not destroy you. And the Lord said to me, Arise, go, lead forth the people,
that they be brought in, and possess the land which I promised to their fathers
to give them.
And now, Israel, what
doth the Lord your God require of you, but that you fear the Lord your God, to
walk in all the ways that are right before Him, and that you love Him, and
serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, to keep the
commandments of the Lord and His statutes which I command you this day, that it
may be well with you ? Behold, the heavens, and the heavens of the heavens, are
be Lord's your God, and the hosts of angels are in them to minister before Him,
and the earth, and whatsoever is therein. Only the Lord had pleasure in your
fathers, and because He would love you He hath had favour to their children
after them, as you, above all the nations upon the face of the earth, at the
time of this day. Put away folly, therefore, from your heart, and be not
stiffjnecked any more; for the Lord thy God is God, the Judge, and the Monarch
of kings, a Great God, mighty and terrible, before whom there is no respect of
persons, and who taketh no bribe; He doeth judgment for the orphan and widow,
and hath compassion upon the stranger to give him food and raiment. Have pity
then (yourselves) upon the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of
Mizraim. Revere the Lord your God, and worship before Him, and cleave closely
to His fear, and swear by His Name. He is your praise, and He is your God, who
hath done for thee these great and mighty acts which thou hast beheld with thy
eyes. With seventy souls your fathers went down into Mizraim, and now hath the
Lord your God set you as the stars of the heavens for multitude.
XI. Therefore shall
you love the Lord your God, and diligently observe His Word, His statutes, and
His judgments always. And know you this day, for (I speak) not with your
children who have not known or seen the instruction of the law of the Lord your
God, nor His greatness, nor His mighty hand, nor His uplifted arm, or His signs
and works which He wrought in Mizraim, on Pharoh king of Mizraim, and on all
the inhabitants of his land; what He did also to the hosts of Mizraim, to their
horses and chariots, when He made the waters of the Red Sea to overwhelm their
faces when they followed after you, when the Lord destroyed them unto this
day's time; and what He hath done to you in the wilderness till the time that
you came to this place; and what He did unto Dathan and Abiram the sons of
Eliab bar Reuben, when the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them up with
the men of their house, and all their substance, in the midst of all Israel:
for with your eyes have you seen all the great work of the Lord which He hath
wrought. Therefore shall you keep all the precepts which I command you this
day, that you may be strengthened, and go in, and inherit the land to possess
which you go over; and that your days may be multiplied upon the land which the
Lord sware to your fathers to give it to them and their children; a land whose
fruits are rich as milk, and sweet as honey. For the land to which thou goest
in to possess it is not like the land of Mizraim, from whence you have come, in
which thou didst sow thy seed, and water it thyself as a garden of herbs; but
the land which you pass over to inherit is a land of mountains and valleys: it
drinketh water from the rain that cometh down from the heavens; it is a land
which the Lord your God inquireth after by His Word, that He may bless it
evermore; [JERUSALEM. A land which the Lord your God inquireth after
continually.] the eyes of the Lord your God look upon it from the beginning of
the year to the year's end. And it shall be that if you diligently obey My
commandments which I command you this day, to love the Lord your God, and to
serve Him with all your heart, and with all your soul, then will I give you the
rain of your land in its time, the early in Marchesvan, and the latter in
Nisan, that you may gather in your corn, your wine., and your oil. I will give
herbage also in thy field for thy cattle, that thou mayest eat and have enough.
Take heed to
yourselves, lest you be led away by the imagination of your heart, and turn
aside to serve the idols of the Gentiles, and worship them, and the Lord's
anger be provoked against you, and He shut up the clouds of heaven, and let not
the rain come down, and the earth yield no provender, and you perish soon from
off the glorious land which the Lord shall give you. But lay these my words
upon your heart, and upon your soul, and bind them, written upon tephillin, as
a sign upon the upper part (wrist?) of your left hands, and let them be for
tephillin over thy forehead between thy eyes. And thou shalt teach them to thy
children to study them when you are sitting in your house with your kindred,
and when you are walking in the way, and in the evening when you lie down, and
in the morning when you arise. [JERUSALEM. And when you repose, and when you
rise up.] And you shall write them upon parchment[3],
upon the posts, and affix them to three (things), against thy chest,[4]
against the pillars of thy house, and against thy gates: that your days and the
days of your children may be multiplied on the land which the Lord sware to
your fathers to give you, as the number of the days that the heavens abide over
the earth.
For if you diligently
keep every commandment that I command you to do it, to love the Lord your God,
and walk in all the ways that are right before Him, and cleave unto His fear,
then will the Word of the Lord drive out all these nations from before you, and
you shall possess the heritage of nations greater and stronger than yourselves.
Every place where the sole of your foot shall tread will be yours, from the
wilderness and the mountain; (among) your mountains shall be the house of the
sanctuary, and from the great river, the River Phrat, unto the ocean sea, whose
waters are (old as) the creation, on the western side shall be your limit. Not
a man will be able to stand before you; but the Lord your God will set the fear
and dread of you upon the faces of all the inhabiters of the land that you
tread upon, as it hath been told you. [JERUSALEM. Not a ruler nor a prince
shall stand before you; but your terror and your fear.]
Pgs. 596-609
Ch. 11-16
TARGUM OF PALESTINE
SECTION XLVII.
REEH.
MOSHEH the prophet said: Behold, I have this
day set in order before you a Blessing and its contrary:[1] the Blessing, if you will be obedient to the commandments of
the Lord your God which I command you this day; and its contrary, if you will
not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, [JERUSALEM. And their contraries, if you will not hearken.] but will go
astray from the path which I have taught you this day, in turning aside after
the idols of the nations whom thou hast not known. And it shall be, when the
Lord your God will have brought you to the land into which you are going, to
possess it, you shall place six tribes upon the mountain of Gerizim, and six
tribes on the mountain of Ebal. They who recite the blessings shall turn their
faces towards Mount Gerizim, and they who recite the curses shall turn their
faces towards Mount Ebal. Are they not situated beyond Jordan by the way of the
sunset, in the land of the Kenaanah, who dwell in the plain over against
Gilgela by the side (of the place) of the vision of Mamre? For you are to pass
over Jordan to enter and possess the land which the Lord your God giveth you,
and you will hold and will dwell therein. Look well, therefore, that you perform
all the statutes and judgments that I have set before you this day.
XII. These are the
statutes and judgments which you are to observe to do in the land which the
Lord God of your fathers giveth you to inherit all the days that you live upon
the earth. You shall utterly destroy all the places in which the people (whose
land) you will possess have worshipped their idols, upon the high mountains and
hills, and under every tree of beautiful form. You shall lay their altars in
ruin, break down their pillars, burn their abominations with fire, and utterly
destroy the images of their gods, and abolish their names from that place.
Not so may you do to
blot out the inscription of the Name of the Lord your God. But in the land
which the Word of the Lord your God will choose out of all your tribes for His
Shekinah to dwell there, unto the place of His Shekinah shall you have
recourse, and come thither, and bring your sacrifices and consecrated
oblations, your tythes, the separation of your hands, your vows, your voluntary
offerings, and the firstlings of your herds and flocks. And you shall there eat
before the Lord your God, and rejoice in all that you put your hand unto, you
and your households, in which the Lord your God will have blessed you.
It will not be lawful
for you to do (there) as we do here to‑day, whatever any one thinks fit
for himself; for you are not yet come to the Sanctuary, to the dwelling of
Peace, and to the inheritance of the land which the Lord your God will give
you. But when you have passed over Jordan and dwell in the land which the Lord
your God will give you to inherit, and He hath given you repose from all your
enemies round about, then shall you build the house of the Sanctuary, and
afterward shall dwell securely. And to the place which the Word of the Lord
will choose to make His Shekinah to dwell there, shall you bring all your
oblations, firstlings, and tythes, which I command you; there shall you offer
your sacrifices and hallowed victims, there eat your tythes and the separation
of your hands, and all your goodly
vows which you may have vowed before the Lord. And you shall rejoice before the
Lord your God, you and your sons and
daughters, your servants and handmaids, and the Levite who is in your cities,
for he hath no portion or inheritance with you.
Beware lest you offer
your sacrifices in any place which thou mayest see; but in the Place which the
Lord will choose in the inheritance of one of your tribes, there shall you
offer your sacrifices and do whatever I command you. Nevertheless, after every
wish of your soul, you may kill and eat flesh according to the blessing of the
Lord your God, which He will give you in all your cities; they who are unclean
so as not to be able to offer holy things, and they who are clean that they may
offer holy things, may eat of it alike, as the flesh of the antelope or of the
hart. Only be careful to pour out the blood upon the ground like water. It will
not be lawful for you to eat the tenths of your corn, or wine, or oil, or the
firstlings of your herd or flock, nor any of the vows that you have vowed, or
freewill offerings, or the separation of your hands in your cities; but you
shall eat it before the Lord your God, in the place which the Lord your God
will choose; you, and your sons and daughters, and your handmaids, and the
Levites who are in your cities; and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God,
in all that thou puttest thine hand unto. Beware that thou aggrieve[2] not the Levite all your days in which you dwell in your land.
When the Lord your God will have enlarged your border, as He hath said unto
you; and thou sayest, I would eat flesh, because thy soul may desire to eat
flesh, thou mayest eat flesh according to all thy desire. But if the place
which the Lord your God will have chosen that His Shekinah may dwell there be
too far off, then may you eat of your herds and flocks which the Lord your God
shall give you, as I have com&endash;manded you, in your cities you may
eat, according to all the desire of your soul: as the flesh of the antelope or
hart so may you eat it; he who is unclean that he may not offer holy things,
and he who is clean that he may offer them, may eat of it alike. [JERUSALEM. He
who is restrained from holy things, and he who is clean for holy things, may
eat alike.] Only put a strong restraint upon your desires, that you eat no
blood; for the blood is the subsistence of the life. You may not, with the
flesh, eat blood, in which is the subsistence of life: you shall not eat it,
you shall pour it out upon the ground like water: eat it not, that it may be
well with you, and with your children after you, while you do that which is right
before the Lord. Nevertheless, animals which are your consecrated tenths, and
your votive offerings, you shall take and bring to the place which the Lord
will choose; and thou shalt do (with them) according to the rite of thy burnt
offerings, (and offer) the flesh and the blood upon the altar of the Lord thy
God: the blood of the rest of thy holy oblations shall be poured out at the
altar of the Lord thy God, but of the flesh it is lawful to eat.
Observe and obey all
these words that I command you, that it may be well with you and with your
children after you for ever, while you do that which is good and right before
the Lord your God. When the Lord your God shall have cut off the nations among
whom you go, and have expelled them from before you, and you inherit and dwell
in their land, beware that you stumble not after their idols when they shall
have been destroyed before you, or lest you seek after their idols, saying, How
did these peoples worship their gods, that we may worship as they did? So shall
you not do in serving the Lord your God; for whatever is abominable and hateful
to Him have they done to their idols; for even their sons and daughters they have bound and burned with fire unto
their idols. Whatsoever I command you, that shall you observe to do; ye shall
not add to it nor diminish from it.
XIII. When there may
arise among you a false prophet or a dreamer of a profane dream, and he give
you a sign or a miracle, and the sign or the miracle come to pass, (yet)
because he spake with you, saying, Let us go after the gods of the peoples whom
thou hast not known, and worship them, you shall not hearken to the words of
that lying prophet, or his who hath dreamed that dream; for the Lord your God (thereby)
trieth you, to know whether you will love the Lord your God with all your heart
and with all your soul. You shall walk after the service of the Lord your God,
and Him shall you fear, and keep His commandments, hearken to His word, pray
before Him, and cleave unto His fear. And that prophet of lies, or that dreamer
of dreams, shall be slain with the sword, because he had spoken perversity
against the Lord your God who brought you out from the land of the Mizraee, and
redeemed you from the house of the affliction of slaves to make you to go
astray from the path which the Lord your God hath commanded you to walk in: so
shall you bring down the doers of evil among you.
When thy brother, the
son of thy mother, when even the son of thy father, or thy own son or thy
daughter, or thy wife who reposeth with thee, or thy friend who is beloved as
thy soul, shall give thee evil counsel, to make thee go astray, speaking out
and saying, Let us go and worship the gods of the Gentiles, which neither thou
nor thy fathers have known; or the idols of the seven nations who are near you
round about, or of the rest of the nations who are far away from you, from one
end of the earth to the other; you shall not consent to them, nor hearken to
him, neither shall your eye spare him or have compassion, nor shall you hide
him in secret; but killing you shall kill him; your hand shall be the first
upon him to slay him, and afterwards the hand of all the people; and you shall
stone him that he die; because he sought to draw them away from the fear of the
Lord thy God, who brought you out free from the land of Mizraim, from the house
of the affliction of slaves. And all Israel will hear and be afraid, and never
more do according to that evil thing among you. [JERUSALEM. When thy brother,
the son of thy mother, thy son, thy daughter, or the wife who reposeth with
thee, shall turn thee away.]
When, in one of your
cities which the Lord your God will give you to dwell in, you hear it said that
(certain) men of pride are drawing back from the doctrine of the Lord your God,
or that even sages of your rabbins have gone forth and led away the inhabitants
of their city, saying, Let us go and worship the gods of the nations which you
have not known: then search you out, and examine with witnesses, and make good
inquiry; and, behold, if the thing be true and certain that this abomination
hath been really done among you, you shall smite the inhabitants of that city
with the edge of the sword, to destroy it utterly and whatever is therein, even
its cattle, with the edge of the sword. You shall gather all its spoil into the
midst of the street, and burn the city with fire, together with the whole of
the spoil, before the Lord your God; and it shall be a desolate heap for ever,
never to be builded again: that the Lord may be turned from the fierceness of
His anger, and may show His mercy upon you, and love you, and multiply you, as
He hath sworn to your fathers. So be ye obedient to the Word of the Lord your
God, to keep all His commandments which I command you this day, that you may do
what is right before the Lord your God.
XIV. As beloved
children before the Lord your God, you shall not make lacerations in your
flesh, nor make bare the crown of the hair over your foreheads on account of
the soul of the dead. [JERUSALEM. You are beloved children before the Lord your
God; you shall not make divers wounds for strange worship, nor cause baldness
above your forehead to mourn for a person who is dead.] For you are to be a
holy people before the Lord your God: the Lord your God hath chosen you to be a
people more beloved than all the peoples who are upon the face of the earth.
You may not eat of any thing that for you is abominable.
These are the animals
which you may eat: oxen, and lambs of the ewes, such as are not blemished
(unclean), and kids of the goats unmixed with what are unclean. Harts and
antelopes and fallow deer, rock goats and reems, wild oxen and pygargs;[3] and every animal that hath the divided hoof, and horns, and
that cleaveth the cleft, bringing up the cud among animals, that you may eat.
[JERUSALEM. Which bringeth up the cud among animals, that may you eat.] But of
these you may not eat that bring up the cud, or of those who (only) have the
hoof divided, the cast thing (embryo) which hath two heads or a double back,
things which are not to be perpetuated in the same species (i.e. as a
species); nor the camel, the hare, or the coney, because they chew the cud, but
do not divide the hoof; they are unclean to you. [JERUSALEM. Because they bring
up the cud, but have not the hoof divided.] The swine, because, though he hath
the hoof divided, and there is none produced that like him divideth (the hoof),
and yet cheweth not the cud, is unclean to you; of their flesh you shall not
eat, nor touch their dead bodies. But this you may eat, of all that are in the waters,
whatever hath fins to move, as by flying, and scales upon its skin; and though
(some of which) may fall away, yet if there remain on under its jaw, another
under its fin, and another under its tail, that you may eat.[4] But whatever hath neither fins nor scales you may not eat; it
is unclean to you. Every bird which hath a vesicle or crop which may be picked
away,[5] and which (bird) is longer than a finger, and not of the
rapacious kind, you may eat. But these are they which you may not eat: the
eagle, the ossifrage, the osprey, the daitha (lammer geyer?) white or black,
which is a bird of prey, a kind of vulture.[6] [JERUSALEM. 12. And these are they of which you may not eat;
the eagle, and the sea eagle (ossifrage), and the osprey. 13. And the rook, the
heron also, and the vulture after his kind.] And every raven after his kind;
and the owl, and nighthawk, and the cuckoo, and the falcon after his kind; the
great owl, and the sea gull (catcher of fish from the sea), and the night owl,
and the cormorant[7] white or black, and the pica, and the stork white or black
after its kind, and the heathcock, and the bat, [JERUSALEM. And the white
daitha, and the ibis according to his kind, and the heathcock, and the bat,]
and all flies (bees) and wasps, and all worms of vegetables and pulse, which come
away from (materials of) food and fly as birds, are unclean to you, they may
not be eaten; but any clean beast you may eat. You shall not eat of anything
that is unclean through the manner of its death;[8] you may give it to the uncircumcised stranger who is in your
cities to eat it, or sell it to a son of the Gentiles; for you are a holy
people before the Lord your God. It shall not be lawful for you to boil, much
less to eat, flesh with milk when both are mixed together.
Be mindful to tythe
your fruitage of whatsoever cometh forth, and which you gather in from the
field year by year; not giving the fruit of one year for the fruit of another.
[JERUSALEM. My people of the house of Israel, tything you shall tythe all the
produce of your seed, of that which you sow upon the face of the field and
gather in the produce of each year. Israel, My people, it is not lawful for you
to tythe and eat the fruit of one year along with the fruit of (another) year.]
And the second tythe you shall eat before the Lord your God in the place which
He will choose to make His Shekinah to dwell there; the tenths of your corn,
your vines, and your oil, and likewise the firstlings of your oxen and sheep,
that you may learn to fear the Lord your God all the days. And if the way be
too great for you to be able to carry the tenth, because the place which the
Lord thy God will choose for His Shekinah to dwell there is too distant from
you, when the Lord thy God shall have blessed thee, then thou mayest make
exchange for it into silver, and bind the sum in thy band, and proceed to the
place which the Lord thy God shall choose, and give the silver for any thing
that thy soul pleaseth, of oxen, sheep, wine new or old, or whatever thy soul
desireth; and you shall eat there before the Lord your God and rejoice, you and
the men of your house. And the Levite who is in your cities forsake not, for he
hath not a portion or a heritage with you. At the end of three years you shall
bring forth all the tenths of your produce for that year, and lay them up in
your cities. And the Levite, because he hath no part or heritage with you, and
the stranger, the orphan, and the widow who are in your cities, shall come and
eat and be satisfied; that the Lord your God may bless you in all the works of
your hands that you do.
XV. At the end of
seven years you shall make a Release. And this is the indication of the custom
of the Release: Every man who is master of a loan, who lendeth to his
neighbour, shall give remission. He shall not have power to coerce his
neighbour in demanding his loan, nor of his brother, a son of Israel; because
the beth din hath published the Release before the Lord. From a son of the
Gentiles thou mayest exact, but the lawful right (dina) which is thine
with thy brother thou shalt release with thine hand. If you will only be
diligent in the precepts of the law, there will be no poor among you; for,
blessing, the Lord will bless you in the land which the Lord your God will give
you for a possession to inherit; if, obeying, you will only obey the Word of
the Lord your God, to observe and do all these commandments which I command you
this day. For the Lord your God blesseth you, as He saith to you (that) you
shall take from many nations, but they will not take from you; and you will
have power over many nations, but they shall not have power over you. But if
you be not diligent in the precepts of the law, and there be among you a poor
man in one of thy cities of the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou
shalt not harden thy heart, nor hold back thy hand from thy poor brother; but
thou shalt open thy hand to him, and lend to him according to the measure of
his want through which he is in need. Beware lest there be a word in thy proud
heart, saying: The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand, and your eye
become evil toward your poor brother, so as to be not willing to give to him,
and he cry against you to the Lord, and there be guilt upon you. Giving you
shall give to him, nor shall your heart be evil when you give to him; for on
account of this matter the Lord your God will bless you in all your works that
you put your hands unto. But forasmuch as the house of Israel will not rest in
the commandments of the law, the poor will not cease in the land: therefore I
command you, saying: You shall verily open your hands toward your neighbours,
to the afflicted around you, and to the poor of your country. [JERUSALEM. Giving
thou shalt give to him, nor let your looks be evil at the time you give to him.
If Israel would keep the precepts of the law, there would be no poor among
them; but if they will forsake the precepts of the law, the poor shall not
cease from the land: therefore I command you, saying: You shall verily open
your hands to your poor brethren, and to the needy who will be in your land.]
If your brother, a son
of Israel, or if a daughter of Israel, be sold to you, he shall serve you six
years; and when the seventh comes, thou shalt send him from you free. And when
thou lettest him go away from thee at liberty, thou shalt not send him away
empty. Comforting thou shalt comfort him out of your flocks, your floors, and
your wine presses; as the Lord hath blessed you ye shall give to him.
[JERUSALEM. Thou shalt furnish him.] And be mindful that you were servants in
the land of Mizraim, and that the Lord your God set you free; therefore I
command you to‑day that you do this thing.
But if he say to thee,
I will not go out from thee, because I love thee and the men of thy house, and
because it hath been good for him to be with thee, then thou shalt take an awl,
and bore (or apply) it through his ear, and that to the door of the house of judgment,
and he shall be thy serving servant until the Jubilee. And for thy handmaid
also thou shalt write a certificate of release, and give it to her. It must not
be a hardship in thy eyes when thou sendest him away from thee; for double the
hire of an hireling hath he been of service to thee six years; and on his
account the Lord thy God hath blessed thee in all that thou hast done.
Every firstling male
that cometh of thy herd and flock thou shalt consecrate before the Lord thy
God. Thou shalt not work with the firstlings of your herd, nor shear the
firstlings of your flocks; you shall eat thereof before the Lord your God from
year to year, in the place which the Lord will choose, you and the men of your
houses. But if there be any spot in it, if it be lame or blind, or have any
blemish, you shall not sacrifice it before the Lord your God: you may eat it in
your cities; he who is unclean, (so) that he may not approach to holy things,
and he who being clean may approach the holy, may alike (eat), as the flesh of
the antelope or hart.[9] Only you shall not eat the blood; you shall pour it out upon
the ground like water.
XVI. Be mindful to
keep the times of the festivals, with the intercalations of the year, and to
observe the rotation thereof: in the month of Abiba to perform the pascha
before the Lord your God, because in the month of Abiba the Lord your God
brought you out of Mizraim; you shall eat it therefore by night. But you shall
sacrifice the pascha before the Lord your God between the suns; and the sheep
and the bullocks on the morrow,[10]
on that same day to rejoice in the feast at the place which the Lord will
choose to make His Shekinah to dwell there. You shall not eat leavened bread
with the pascha; seven days you shall eat unleavened bread unto His Name, the unleavened
bread of humiliation; for with haste you went forth from the land of Mizraim;
that you may remember the day of your out going from the land of Mizraim all
the days of your life. Take heed that in the beginning of the pascha there be
no leaven seen among you within all your borders for seven days; and that none
of the flesh which you sacrifice in the evening of the first day remain till
the morning. It will not be allowed you to eat the pascha in (any) one of your
cities which the Lord your God giveth to you; but in the place which the Lord
your God will choose to make His Shekinah to dwell,there shall you sacrifice
the pascha; and in the evening at the going down of the sun you may eat it
until the middle of the night, the time when you began to go out of Mizraim.
And you shall dress and eat it in the place which the Lord your God will
choose, and in the early morn (if need be) thou mayest return from the feast,
and go to thy cities. On the first day thou shalt offer the omer, and eat
unleavened cakes of the old corn; but in the six remaining days you may begin
to eat unleavened cakes of the new corn,[11]
and on the seventh day you shall assemble with thanksgiving before the Lord
your God; no work shall you perform.
Seven weeks number to
you; from the time when you begin to put the sickle to the harvest of the field
after the reaping of the omer you shall begin to number the seven weeks. And
you shall keep with joy the Festival of Weeks before the Lord your God, after
the measure of the freewill offerings of your hands, according as the Lord your
God shall have blessed you. And you shall rejoice with the joy of the feast
before the Lord your God, you and your sons, your daughters, your servants and
handmaids, the Levites who are in your cities, and the stranger, the orphan,
and the widow who are among you, at the place which the Lord your God will
choose where to make His Shekinah to dwell. Remember that you were servants in
Mizraim; so shall you observe and perform these statutes.
The Feast of
Tabernacles you shall make to you seven days, when you will have completed to
gather in the corn from your threshing floors, and the wine from your presses.
And you shall rejoice in the joy of your feasts with the clarinet and flute,
you and your sons and daughters, your handmaids, the Levite, the stranger, the
orphan, and the widow, who are in your cities. Seven days you shall keep the
feast before the Lord your God in the place which the Lord will choose, because
the Lord your God will have blessed you in all your provision, and in all the
work of your hands, and so shall you be joyful in prosperity.
Three times in the
year shall all your males appear before the Lord your God in the place that He
will choose; at the Feast of the Unleavened, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the
Feast of Tabernacles; nor must you appear before the Lord your God empty of any
of the requirements; every one after the measure of the gifts of his hands,
according to the blessing which the Lord your God hath bestowed upon you.
[ p. 608] with the
pascha; seven days you shall eat unleavened bread unto His Name, the unleavened
bread, of humiliation; for with haste you went forth from the land of Mizraim;
that you may remember the day of your outgoing from the land of Mizraim all the
days of your life. Take heed that in the beginning, of the pascha there be no
leaven seen among you within all your borders for seven days; and that none of
the flesh which you sacrifice in the evening of the first day remain till the
morning. It will not be allowed you to eat the pascha in (any) one of your
cities which the Lord your God giveth to you; but in the place which the Lord
your God will choose to make His Shekinah to dwell, there shall you sacrifice
the pascha; and in the evening at the going down of the sun you may eat it
until the middle of the night, the time when you began to go out of Mizraim.
And you shall dress and eat it in the place which the Lord your God will
choose, and in the early morn (if need be) thou mayest return from the feast,
and go to thy cities. On the first day thou shalt offer the omer, and eat
unleavened cakes of the old corn; but in the six remaining days you may begin
to eat unleavened cakes of the new corn and on the seventh day you shall
assemble with thanksgiving before the Lord your God; no work shall you perform.
Seven weeks number to
you; from the time when you begin to put the sickle to the harvest of the field
after the reaping of the omer you shall begin to number the seven weeks. And
you shall keep with joy the Festival of Weeks before the Lord your God, after
the measure of the freewill offerings of your hands, according as the Lord your
God shall have blessed you. And you shall rejoice with the joy of the feast
before the Lord your [p. 609] God, you and your sons, your daughters, your
servants and handmaids, the Levites who are in your cities, and the stranger,
the orphan, and the widow who are among you, at the place which the Lord your
God will choose where to make His Shekinah to dwell. Remember that you were
servants in Mizraim; so shall you observe and perform these statutes.
The Feast of
Tabernacles you shall make to you seven days, when you will have completed to
gather in the corn from your threshing floors, and the wine from your presses.
And you shall rejoice in the joy of your feasts with the clarinet and flute,
you and your sons and daughters, your handmaids, the Levite, the stranger, the
orphan, and the widow, who are in your cities. Seven days you shall keep the
feast before the Lord your God in the place which the Lord will choose, because
the Lord your God will have blessed you in all your provision, and in all the
work of your hands, and so shall you be joyful in prosperity.
Three times in the
year shall all your males appear before the Lord your God in the place that He
will choose; at the Feast of the Unleavened, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the
Feast of Tabernacles; nor must you appear before the Lord your God empty of any
of the requirements; every one after the measure of the gifts of his hands,
according to the blessing, which the Lord your God hath bestowed upon you.
SECTION XLVIII.
SHOPHETIM.
UPRIGHT judges and
efficient administrators you shall appoint in all your cities which the Lord
your God [p. 610] will give you for your tribes, and thev shall judge the
people with true judgment. [JERUSALEM. Judges and administrators.] You shall
not set judgment aside, nor respect persons, nor take a gift, because a gift
blindeth the eyes of the wise who take it; for it perverteth them to
foolishness, and confuseth equitable words in the mouth of the judges in the
hour of their decision [JERUSALEM. You shall not go astray in judgment., nor
respect persons, nor take the wages of mammon; for a bribe blindeth the eyes of
the wise, and depraveth their right words in the hour of their judgment.]
Upright and perfect judgment in truth shalt thou follow, that you may come to
inherit the land which the Lord your God will give you. As it is not allowed
you to plant a grove by the side of the Lord's altar, so is it not allowed you
to associate in judgment a fool with a wise judge to teach that which you are
to do. As it is not for you to erect a statue, so are you not to appoint to be
a governor a proud man, whom the Lord your God doth abhor.
XVII. You shall not
sacrifice before the. Lord your God a bullock or lamb which hath any blemish or
evil in it, or which is torn or rent; for that is abominable before the Lord
your God.
If there be found
among you in one of your cities that the Lord your God will give you a man or
woman who doth what is evil before the Lord your God in transgressing His
covenant, and, following after evil desire, shall serve the idols of the
Gentiles, and worship them, or the sun, or the moon, or all the host of the
heavens, which I have not commanded; and it be told you, and you hear and make
inquiry by witnesses fairly; and, behold, if this word be true and certain,
that such abomination is wrought among you, then you shall bring forth that man
or woman who hath done this evil thing, [p. 611] unto the gate of your house of
judgment, the man or the woman, and you shall stone them that they die. Upon
the word of two witnesses or of three he shall die who is guilty of death ;
they shall not be put to death on the word of one witness. The bands of the
witnesses shall be first upon him to kill him, and afterward the hands of all
(any of) the people; and so shall you bring down the evil doer among you.
If there be with you
an extraordinary matter for judgment between unclean and clean blood, cases of
life or of money, or between a plague of leprosy or of the scall, with words of
controversy in your beth din, then you shall arise and go up to the place which
the Lord your God will choose; and you shall come to the priests of the tribe
of Levi, and to the judge who will be in those days, and inquire of them, and
they will show you the process of judgment. Then shall you do according to the
word of the custom of the law that they will show you at the place the Lord
will choose, and observe to do whatsoever they teach you. [JERUSA.LEM. When a
matter is too occult for you, in setting judgment in order between the blood of
murder and innocent blood, between leprosy and the scall, with words of
contention in your cities, then shall you arise and go up to the place which
the Lord your God will choose.] According to the word of the law that they will
teach you, and the manner of judgment they pronounce, you shall do. You shall
not turn aside from the sentence they will show you, to the right or to the
left. And the man who will act with presumption, and not obey the judge or the
priest who standeth there to minister before the Lord your God, that man shall
be put to death; so shalt you put down the doer of evil from Israel, and all
the people will hear, and be afraid, and not do wickedly again.
When you enter the
land which the Lord your God [p. 612] giveth you, and possess, and dwell in it,
and you say, Let us appoint a king over us, like all the nations about me, you
shall inquire for iustruction before the Lord and afterward appoint the king
over you: but it will not be lawful to set over you a foreign man who is not of
your brethren. Only let him not increase to him more than two horses, lest his
princes ride upon them, and become proud, neglect the words of the law, and
commit the sin of the captivity of Mizraim; for the Lord hath told you, By that
way ye shall return no more. Neither shall he multiply to him wives above
eighteen, lest they pervert his heart; nor shall he increase to him silver or
gold, lest his heart be greatly lifted up, and he rebel against the God of
heaven. And it shall be that if he be steadfast in the commandments of the law
he shall sit upon the throne of his kingdom in security. And let the elders
write for him the section (pharasha) of this law in a book before the priests
of the tribe of Levi ; and let it be at his side, and he shall read it all the
days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, to keep all the
words of this law, and all these statutes to perform them: that his heart may
not be arrogant toward his brethren, nor decline from the precepts to the right
or the left, and that his days may be prolonged over his kingdom, his and his
sons' among Israel.
XVIII. The priests of
the tribe of Levi will have no part or inheritance with their brethren: they
shall eat the oblations of the Lord as their portion, but an inheritance in
field or vineyard they will not have among their brethren. The twenty and four
gifts of the priesthood which the Lord will give to him are his heritage; as He
said to him, And this shall be the portion belonging to the priest from the
people, from them who offer sacrifices, whether bullock or lamb [p. 613] they
shall give to the priest the right shoulder, the lower jaw, the cheeks, and the
maw; the firsts of your corn, wine, and oil, the first of the fleece of your
sheep, as much as a girdle measureth shall you give to him: because the Lord
thy God hath chosen him out of all thy tribes to stand and minister in the Name
of the Lord, him, and his sons, all the days.
And when a Levite may
come from one of your cities out of all Israel where he hath dwelt, and come
with all the obligation of his soul's desire to the place which the Lord will
choose, then he shall minister in the Name of the Lord his God as all his
brethren the Levites who minister there before the Lord. Portion for portion
equally shall they eat, besides the gifts of the oblations which the priests do
eat, which Elazar and Ithamar your fathers have given them to inherit.
[JERUSALEM. And the allowance of his sale which they sell to him according to
the fathers.]
When you have entered
the land which the Lord your God giveth you, ye shall not learn to do after the
abominations of those nations. None shall be found among you to make his sons
or daughters pass through the fire, nor who enchant with enchantments, or
inspect serpents, nor observe divinations and auguries, or make (magical) knots
and bindings of serpents and scorpions or any kind of reptile, or who consult
the oba, the bones of the dead or the bone Jadua, or who inquire of the manes.
[JERUSALEM. No one shall be found among you to make his son or daughter pass
through the fire, to enchant with enchantments, to inspect serpents, or to
observe divinations and auguries; or any who use, (magical) knots, or are
binders of snakes, [p. 614] scorpions, or any kinds of reptiles, or are
consulters of oba, or who bring up the manes, or seek to learn from the dead.]
For every one who doeth these is an abomination before the Lord; and because of
these abominations the Lord driveth them out before you. Ye shall be perfect in
the fear of the Lord your God. For these nations which thou art about to
dispossess have listened to inspectors of serpents and enchanters. [JERUSALEM.
To inspectors of serpents and to users of enchantments have they hearkened.]
But you are not to be like them the priests shall inquire by Urim and Thummim
and a Right Prophet will the Lord your God give you; a Prophet from among you
of your brethren like unto me, with the Holy Spirit will.the Lord your God
raise up unto you; to Him shall you be obedient. According to all that you
begged before the Lord your God in Horeb on the day of the assembling of the
tribes to receive the law, saying, Let us not again bear the Great Voice from
before the Lord our God, nor behold again that great fire, lest we die: and the
Lord said to me, That which they have spoken is right; I will raise up unto
them a Prophet from, among their brethren in whom shall be the Holy Spirit, as
in thee; and I will put My Word of prophecy in his mouth, and he shall speak
with them whatsoever I command him; and the man who will not hearken to the
words of My prophecy which shall be spoken in My Name, My Word shall take
vengeance upon him. But the false prophet who doeth wickedly in speaking a
thing in My Name, when I have not commanded him to speak, or who shall speak in
the name of the gods of the Gentiles., that prophet shall be slain with the
sword. And if thou shalt say in your thoughts, How shall we know the word which
the Lord hath not spoken? When a [p. 615] false prophet speaketh in the Name of
the Lord, and the thing doth not come to pass, or be not confirmed, it is a
word which the Lord hath not spoken; the false prophet spake it in presumption;
fear him not.
XIX. When the Lord
your God shall have destroyed the nations whose land the Lord your God giveth
you, and you possess them, and dwell in their cities and houses, three cities
shall you set apart within your land which the Lord your God giveth you to
inherit. You shall prepare a high road, and divide your limit which the Lord
your God bestoweth upon you, that any manslayer may flee thither. And this is
the regulation for the manslayer who fleeth thither that he may live: Whoever
shall have killed his brother without intention, he not having kept enmity
against him yesterday, or the day before, (as for example) if any one goeth
with his neighbour into the thicket to cut wood, and he driveth his hand with
the axe to cut wood, and the iron flieth apart from the haft and lighteth on
his neighbour that be die, he may flee to one of those appointed cities, and.
save his life. [JERUSALEM. He who may go with his neighbour into the thicket to
cut wood, and exerting himself with the axe to cut the wood, the iron separate
from the.handle, and fall upon his neighbour that he die, be may flee into one
of those cities, and live.] Lest the avenger of blood follow after him his
heart boiling within him on account of his grief, and apprehend him, if the way
be long, and take his life, though he is not guilty of the judgment of death,
because he had not enmity against him in time past. [JERUSALEM. Because his
heart is boiling and be meeteth.] Therefore I command you to-day that you set
apart for you three cities.
And if the Lord your
God enlarge your border, as He hath sworn to your fathers, and give you all the
[p. 616] land which He Hath sworn to your fathers to give, then shall you keep
all this commandment which to-day I command you to do, that thou mayest love
the Lord thy God, and walk in the ways which are right before Him all days; and
you shall add yet three cities to those thre ; that innocent blood may not be
shed in your land which the Lord your God giveth you to inherit, and the guilt
of the judgment of death may not be upon you.
But if a man with
enmity against his neighbour shall lay wait for him in secret, to destroy his
life, and he die, then should he flee into one of those cities, the sages of
his cities shall send and take him thence, and give him up into the band of the
pursuer for blood, and he shall be put to death. Your eye shall not spare him,
but you shall put away shedders of innocent blood from Israel, that it may be
well with you.
You shall not remove
the boundary mark of your neighbours which the predecessors did set for the
limit in your possession of inheritance in the land which the Lord your God
giveth you to inherit.
The testimony of one
(witness) shall not be valid against a man for any crime (regarding the taking)
of life, or guilt concerning money, or any sin with which one may be charged
with sinning; but, by the Word of the Lord, (to insure) retribution upon secret
crimes, (while) one witness may swear to deny what hath been attested against
him, the sentence shall be confirmed upon the mouth of two witnesses, or of
three.
When false witnesses
stand up against a man to testify wrong things against him, then the two men
between whom lies the subject of contention shall stand in the presence of the
Lord, before the priests and judges who will be in those days: and the judges
shall question the witnesses of their times fairly; and, [p. 617] behold, false
testimony is in the mouth of the witnesses; they have borne false witness
against their brother. And so shall you do unto them as they had devised to do
against their brother, and you shall put down the doers of evil from among you.
And the wicked who remain will hear and be afraid, and not add to repeat an
evil thing like this among you. Your eye shall not spare; life for life, the
value of an eye for an eye, the value of a tooth for a tooth, the value of a
hand for a hand, the value of a foot for a foot.
XX. When you go forth
to battle against your enemies, and see horses and chariots, and peoples proud,
overbearing, and stronger than you, fear them not; for all of them are
accounted as a single horse and a single chariot before the Lord your God,
whose Word will be your Helper; for He brought you free out of the land of
Mizraim. And at the time that you draw nigh to do battle, the priest shall
approach and speak with the people, and say to them, Hear, Israel, you draw
near this day to fight against your adversaries; let not your heart be moved,
be not afraid, tremble not, nor be broken down before them: for the Shekinah of
the Lord your God goeth before you to fight for you against your enemies, and
to save you.
And the officers shall
speak with the people, saying: Who is the man who hath builded a new house, and
hath not set fast its door-posts to complete it? let him go and return to his
house, lest through sin he be slain in the battle, and another man complete it.
Or, what man hath planted a vineyard, and hath not redeemed it from the priest
[JERUSALEM. And hath not redeemed it] to make it common? let him go and return
to his house, lest sin be the occasion of his not redeeming it, but he be slain
in the battle, and another make it common. And what man hath betrothed a [p.
618] wife, but not taken her? let him go and return to his house, lest sin
prevent him from rejoicing with his wife and he be slain in the battle, and
another take her. Yet more shall the officers speak to the people, and say, Who
is the man who is afraid on account of his sin and whose heart is broken? let
him go and return to his house, that his brethren be not implicated in his
sins, and their heart be broken like his. And when the officers shall have
finished to speak with the people, they shall appoint the captains of the host
at the head of the people.
When you come nigh to
a city to make war against it, then you shall send to it certain to invite it
to peace; and if they answer you with words of peace, and open their gates to
you, all the people whom you find therein shall be tributaries, and serve you.
[JERUSALEM. And if it answer thee with words of peace, and open the gates to
you, all the people whom you find.] But if they will not make peace, but war,
with you, then you shall beleaguer it. And when the Lord your God will have
delivered it into your hand, then may you smite every male thereof with the
edge of the sword. But the women, children, and cattle, and whatever is in the
city, even all the spoil, you shall seize, and eat the spoil of your enemies
which the Lord your God giveth you. Thus shall you do to all cities that are
remote from you, which are not of the cities of these seven nations; but of the
cities of these peoples, which the Lord your God giveth you to inherit, ye
shall not spare alive any breathing thing: for destroying ye shall destroy
them, Hittites, Amorites, Kenaanites, Pherizites, Hivites, and Jebusites, as
the Lord your God hath commanded you; that they may not teach you to do after
their abominations with which they have served their idols, and you sin before
the Lord your God. [p. 619]
When you beleaguer a
city all the seven days to war against it, to subdue it on the Sabbath, you
shall not destroy the trees thereof by bringing against them (an instrument of)
iron; that you may eat its fruit, cut it not down; for a tree on the face of
the field is not as a man to be hidden (put out of sight) before you in the
siege. But the tree that you know to be a tree not making fruit to eat, that
you may destroy and cut down. And you shall raise bulwarks against the city which
maketh war with you, until you have subdued it.
XXI. If a mail be
found slain upon the ground, unburied, in the land which the Lord your God
giveth you to inherit, lying down, and not hanged on a tree in the field, nor
floating on the face of the water; and it be not known who did kill him: then
two of the sages shall proceed from the chief court of judgment, and three of
thy judges, and shall measure to the surrounding cities which lie on the four
quarters from the (spot where) the dead man (is found); and the city which is
nearest to the dead man, being the suspected one, let the chief court of
justice take means for absolution (or disculpation). Let the sages, the elders
of that city, take an heifer from the herd, not commixed, an heifer of the year,
which hath not been wrought with nor hath drawn in the yoke: and the sages of
that city shall bring the heifer down into an uncultivated field, where the
ground hath not been tilled by work, nor sowed; and let them there behead the
heifer from behind her with an axe (or knife, dolch) in the midst of the field.
And the priests the sons of Levi shall draw near; for the Lord your God hath
chosen them to minister to Him, and to bless Israel in His Name, and according
to their words to resolve every judgment, and in any plague of leprosy to shut
up, and pronounce concerning it; and all the elders of the city lying nearest
to the dead man shall wash their
[p. 620] hands over
the heifer which hath been cut off in the field, and shall answer and say: It
is manifest before the Lord that this hath not come by our hands, nor have we
absolved him who shed this blood, nor have our eyes beheld. [JERUSALEM. Nor
have our eyes seen who it is who hath shed it.] And the priests shall say: Let
there be expiation for thy people Israel, whom Thou, O Lord, hast redeemed, and
lay not the guilt of innocent blood upon Thy people Israel; but let him who
hath done the murder be revealed. And they shall be expiated concerning the
blood; but straightway there will come forth a swarm of worms from the
excrement of the heifer, and spread abroad, and move to. the place where the
murderer is, and crawl over him: and the magistrates shall take him, and judge
him. So shall you, O house of Israel, put away from among you whosoever
sheddeth innocent blood, that you may do what is right before the Lord.
SECTION XLIX.
TITSE.
WHEN you go out to war
against your enemies, and the Lord your God shall deliver them into your hands,
and you take some of them captive: if you see in the captivity a woman of fair
countenance, and you approve of her, and would take her to you to wife; then
thou shalt take her into thy house, and let her cut off the hair of her head,
pare her nails, and put off the dress of her captivity, and, dipping herself,
become a proselyte in thy house, and weep on account of the idols of the house
of her father and mother. And thou shalt [p. 621] wait three months to know
whether she be with child; and afterwards thou mayest go to her, endow her, and
make her thy wife.
But if thou hast no
pleasure in her, then thou mayest send her away, only with a writing of
divorce: but thou shalt in no wise sell her for money, nor make merchandise of
her, after thou hast had intercourse with her. [JERUSALEM. If thou hast no
pleasure in her, thou mayest send her away with power over herself; but thou
shalt in no wise sell her for money, nor make merchandise of her; because thy
power over her is given up.]
If a man have two
wives, and one is beloved and the other hated, and they bear him sons, both the
beloved and the hated (wife), and the first-born son be of the hated, it shall
be in the day that he deviseth to his sons the inheritance of the wealth that
may be his, he shall not be allowed to give the birthright portion to the son
of the beloved, over the head of the son of the hated wife, to whom the
birthright belongs; but (let him acknowledge) the birthright of the son of her
who is disliked, and all that belongeth to it, to give him the double portion
of all that may be found with him, because he is the beginning of his strength,
and to him pertaineth the birthright.
If a man hath a son
depraved and rebellious, who will not obey the word of his father or of his
mother, and who, when they reprove him, will not receive admonition from them;
his father and mother shall take him, and bring him before the sages of the
city at the door of the court of justice in that place, and say to the sages of
the city, We had transgressed the decree of the Word of the Lord; therefore was
born to us this son, who is presumptuous and disorderly; he will not hear our
word, but is a glutton and a drunkard. And it [p. 622] shall be that if he
brought to fear and receive instruction, and beg that his life may be spared,
you shall let him live; but if he refuse and continue rebellious, then all the
men of his city shall stone him with stones that he die; and so shall you put
away the evil doer from among you, and all Israel will hear, and be afraid.
When a man hath become
guilty of the judgment of death, and is condemned to be stoned, and they
afterwards hang him on a beam, [JERUSALEM. And you hang him on a beam,] his
dead body shall not remain upon the beam, but he shall be certainly buried on
the same day; for it is execrable before God to hang a man, but that his guilt
gave occasion for it; and because he was made in the image of God, you shall
bury him at the going down of the sun, lest wild beasts abuse him, and lest you
overspread your land, which the Lord your God giveth you to possess, with the
dead bodies of criminals.
XXII. Thou shalt not
see thy brother's ox or his lamb going astray, and estrange thy knowledge from
them; thou shalt certainly restore them to him. But if knowledge of thy brother
is not thine, if thou knowest him not, thou shalt bring it into thy house, and
it shall be supported by thee till the time that thou hast sought out thy
brother, and thou shalt restore it to him. So shalt thou do with his ass, with
his garment, and with any lost thing of thy brother's. If thou find, it is not
lawful for thee to hide it from him; thou shalt cry it, and restore it.
[JERUSALEM. And so shalt thou do with his ass, and with his robe.] Thou shalt
not see thy brother's ass nor his ox thrown on the way, and turn thy eyes from
them; thou shalt verily lift it up for him. [JERUSALEM. Thou shalt forgive what
may be in thy heart against him, thou shalt deliver and lead it.]
Neither fringed robes
nor tephillin which are the ornaments of a man shall be upon a woman; neither
[p. 623] shall a man shave himself so as to appear like a woman; for every one
who doeth so is an abomination before the Lord thy God.
If thou find the nest
of a clean bird before thee in the way, in a tree, or upon the ground, in which
there are young ones or eggs, and the mother sitting upon the young ones or
eggs, thou shalt be sure to send the mother away, but thou mayest take the
young for thyself that it may be well with thee in this world, and that thou
mayest prolong tby days in the world to come.
When thou buildest a
new house, thou shalt make a surrounding fence to thy roof, that it may not be
the occasion of blood guilt by the loss of life at thy house, by any one
through heedlessness falling therefrom. [JERUSALEM. Then thou shalt make a
parapet to thy roof, that the guilt of innocent blood shedding may not be set
upon thy house.]
You shall not sow your
vineyard with seeds of dif ferent kinds, lest thou be chargeable with burning
the mixed seed that you have sown and the produce of the vine. You shall not
plough with an ox and an ass nor with any animals of two species bound
together. You shall not clothe nor warm yourselves with a garment combed
(carded) or netted, or interwoven with woollen and linen mixed together.
Ncvertheless on a robe of linen thread you may be permitted to make fringes of
woollen upon the four extremities of your vestments with which you dress in the
day. [JERUSALEM. Fringes of threads shall you make upon the four edges of your
vestments with which you dress.]
If a man take a wife
or virgin and go unto her, but afterwards dislike her, and bring upon her words
of calumny in an evil report against her, and say, I took this woman, and lay
with her, but found not the witnesses for her; then the father and mother of the
[p. 624]
damsel may have
licence from the court of judgment to produce the linen with the witnesses of
her virginity, before the sages of the city, at the door of the beth din. And
the father of the damsel shall say to the sages, I wedded my daughter to this
man to be his wife; but after lying with her he hath hated her; and, behold, he
hath thrown upon her occasion of words, saying: I have not found the witnesses
of thy daughter's (virginity) but these are my daughter's witnesses; and they
shall spread the linen before the sages of the city; and the sages shall take
that man, scourge him, and fine him a hundred shekels of silver, and give to
the father of the damsel, because he had brought out an evil report against an
upright virgin of Israel; and she shall be his wife, nor shall he have power to
put her away all his days. But if that word be true, and the witnesses of
virginity were not found with the damsel then shall they bring her forth to the
door of her father's house, and the men of that city shall stone her with
stones that she die; for she bad wrought dishonour in Israel in bringing the
ill fame of whoredom against her father's house; and so shall they put away the
evil doer from Israel. [JERUSALEM. But if this word be true, and the damsel's
witnesses are not found, they shall bring that damsel from the door of her
father's house, and the people shall stone her.]
If a man be found
lying with another's wife, both of them shall be put to death; the mail who
hath lain with the woman, and the woman. Even if she be with child, they shall
not wait till she is delivered, but in the same hour they shall put them to
death by strangulation with the napkin, and cast away the evil doer from
Israel.
If a damsel a virgin
is betrothed to a man, and another man find her in the city, and lie with her,
they [p. 625] shall bring forth both of them to the door of the beth din of
that city, and stone them with stones that they die; the damsel because she did
not cry out in the city, and the man because he lay with his neighbour's wife;
and you shall put away the evil doer from among you. But if a man find a damsel
in the wilderness, and do violence to her and lie with her, the man only shall
die who lay with her, for the damsel is not guilty of death; but her husband
may put her away from him by a bill of divorcement; for as when a man lieth in
wait for his neighbour and taketh his life, so is this matter: he found her
upon the face of the field ; the betrothed damsel cried out for help, but there
was no one to deliver her.
If a man find a damsel
who is not betrothed, and seize and lie with her, and they be found, then the
man who lay with her shall give to her father, as a fine for her dishonour,
fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be hiswife, because he humbled her, nor
shall be have power to put her away by divorcement all his days.
XXIII. A man should
not take a wife who is bowed down (or violated), or who hath had intercourse
with his father, much less his father's wife, nor disclose the skirt that
covereth his father. He who is castrated is not fit to take a wife from the
congregation of the Lord's people. He who is born of fornication, or who hath
upon him the evil mark which is set upon the unclean Gentiles, is not fit to
take an upright wife from the congregation of the people of the Lord; nor unto
the tenth generation shall it be fit for him to enter into the congregation of
the Lord. Neither an Ammonite nor a Moabite man is fit to take a wife from the
congregation of the Lord's people, nor unto the tenth generation shall they
take a wife from the congregation of the people of the Lord, because they met
you not with bread and water in the way when you came from Mizraim, but [p.
626] hired against you Bileam bar Beor from Petho Chelmaya, which is built in
the land of Aram upon the Phrat, to curse you; but the Lord your God would not
hearken unto Bileam, but turned in his mouth curses into blessings, because the
Lord your God loveth you. Ye shall not seek their peace or, their prosperity
all your days, because, if even they become proselytes, they will entertain
enmity in their hearts for ever. You shall not abhor an Edomite when he cometh
to be a proselyte, for he is your brother; nor shall you abhor a Mizraite,
because you were dwellers in their land. The children who are born to them in
the third generation shalt be fit to take wives from thepeople of the
congregation of the Lord.
When you go forth in
hosts against your enemies, beware of every evil thing, of strange worship,
the, exposure of the shame, and the shedding of innocent blood. Should there be
a man among you who is unclean from accidents of the night, let him go without
the camp, and come not among the tents. But at evening time let him wash with
water, and on the going down of the sun he may come within the camp.
[JERUSALEM. And at evening let him bathe with water.] Let a place be prepared
for thee without the camp where thou mayest shed the water of thy feet, and
insert a blade with your weapon in the place oil which you bind your swords,
and in thy sitting without thou shalt dig with it, and do what thou needest
there, and turn and cover it. For the Shekinah of the Lord thy God walketh in
the midst of thy camp to save you, and to deliver your enemies into your hands
; therefore shall the place of your camps be holy, and nothing impure be seen
in it, that His Shekinah go not up from you.
Thou shalt not deliver
up a stranger into the hand of [p. 627] the worshipper of idols; (the
sojourner) who hath escaped to be among you shall be under the protection of My
Shekinah ; for therefore he hath fled from,his idolatry. Let him dwell with
you, and observe the commandments among you; teach him the law, and put him in
a school in the place that he chooseth in one of your cities: employ (or, have
business. with) him, that he may do well, and trouble him not by words.
You shall not profane
your daughters to make them harlots; nor shall any man of Israel debase himself
by fornication. You shall not bring a gift of the hire of an harlot, nor the
price of a dog to offer it in the sanctuary of the Lord your God for any vow,
much less as any of the oblations; for they are abominable, both of them,
before the Lord your God. [JERUSALEM. There shall not be a harlot among the
daughters of the house of Israel, nor a whoremonger among the sons of Israel.
You shall not bring the hire of an harlot, nor the price of a dog.]
Thou shalt not make
usury of that which is thine from thy neighbour upon the loan which thou
lendest, either of money, or food, or any thing by which thou mayest make
usury. To a son of the Gentiles thou mayest lend for usury, but to thy brother
thou shalt not lend for usury; that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all that
thou puttest thine hand un to, in the land into which thou art entering to
possess it.
When you vow a vow
before the Lord your God, delay not to fulfil it in (one of) the three
festivals; for the Lord your God requiring will require it. And in the oblation
there shall not be any fault or blemish, for in the prescription of the Lord of
the world it is so ordained. And thou shalt not be guilty of keeping back
(delaying) thy vow: though, if you refrain from vowing, it will not be sin in
you, the oath which goeth from [p. 628] your lips you shall confirm. The
precepts of integrity you shall verily perform, but that which is not right to
do ye shall not do; and according as you have vowed shall you fulfil; sin
offerings, trespass offerings, burnt sacrifices, and consecrated victims shall
you present before the Lord your God, and bring the libations and the gifts of
the sanctuary of which you have spoken (in promises), and alms for the poor
which your lips have declared. When thou hast come for hire into thy
neighbour's vineyard, thou mayest eat there as thou wilt, till thou art satisfied;
but thou mayest not put any into thy basket. When you go to work for hire in
the field of thy neighbour, thou mayest gather with thy hands, but thou art
nolt to put forth the sickle upon thy neighbour's corn (for thyself).
XXIV. When a man hath
taken a wife and gone unto her, if she hath not favour in his eyes because he
findeth the thing that is wrong in her, then he may write her a bill of divorce
before the court of justice, and put it into her power, and send her away from
his house. And departing from his house she may go and marry another man. But
should they proclaim from the heavens about her that the latter husband shall
dislike her, and write her a bill of divorce, and put it into her power to go
from his house; or should they proclaim about him that lie the latter husband
shall die: it shall not be in the power of the first husband who dismissed her
at the beginning to return and take her to be with him as his wife, after that
she hath been defiled; for that is an abomination before the Lord: for the
children whom she might bear should not be made abominable, or the land which
the Lord your God giveth you to inherit become obnoxious to the plague. [p.
629]
When a man hath taken
a new wife a virgin lie shall not go forth with the army, lest anything evil
befall him; he shall be at leisure in his house one year, and rejoice with his
wife whom he hath taken.
A man shall not take
the millstones, lower or upper, as a pledge; for they are necessary in making
food for every one. [JERUSALEM. You shall not take the upper and lower
millstones for a pledge; for the pledge is a necessary of life.] Neither shall
a man join bridegrooms and brides by magical incantations ; for what would be
born of such would perish. [JERUSALEM. Nor shall there be unlawful conjoinments
of bridegrooms and brides; for what such produce is denied the life of the
world to come.]
Then a man is found
stealing a person of his brethren of the sons of Israel, making merchandise of
him, and selling him, that man shall die by strangulation with the napkin; and
you shall put away the evil doer from among thee.
Take heed that you cut
not into flesh in which there is an ulcer; but make careful distinction between
the plague of leprosy and ulceration; between the unclean and clean, according
to all that the priests of the tribe of Levi shall teach you: whatever, they
prescribe to you be observant to perform. Be mindful that no one contemn his
neighbour, lest he be smitten: remember that which the Lord your God did to
Miriam, who contemned Mosheh for that which was not in him, when she was
smitten with leprosy, and you were delayed in the way when coming out of
Mizraim.
When a man hath lent
any thing to his neighbour upon a pledge, he shall not enter into his house to
take his pledge; he shall stand in the street, and the man to [p. 630] whom
thou hast made the loan shall bring out the pledge to thee into the street. If
the man be poor, thou shalt not have his pledge all night with thee; as the sun
goeth down, thou shalt return the pledge, that he may lie in his garment and
may bless thee; and to thee it shall be righteousness, for the sun shall bear
the witness of thee before the Lord thy God. [JERUSALEM. Thou shalt certainly
return the pledge to him as the sun goeth down, that he may sleep in his garment,
and may bless thee and to thee it shall be righteousness before the Lord thy
God.]
You shall not be hard
upon your neighbours, or shift (or decrease) the wages of the needy and poor
hireling of thy brethren, or of the strangers who sojourn in your land, in your
cities. In his day thou shalt pay him his hire. Nor let the sun go down upon
it; because he is poor, and he hopes (for that hire) to sustain his life: lest
he appeal against thee before the Lord, and it be guilt in thee. [JERUSALEM.
You shall not wilfully keep back the wages of the poor and needy of your
brethren. In his day thou shalt pay his wages, nor let the sun go down upon
them; for he is poor, and by means of his hire he sustaineth his life: that he
may not cry against thee before the Lord: so beware that it become not guilt in
you.]
Fathers shall not die
either by the testimony or for the sin of the children, and children shall not
die either by the testimony or for the sin of the fathers: every one shall die,
by proper witnesses, for his own sin. Thou shalt not warp the judgment of the
stranger, the orphan, or the widow, nor shall any one of you take the garment
of the widow for a pledge, that evil neighbours rise not and bring out a bad
report against her when you return her pledge unto her. And remember that [p.
631] you were bondservants in the land of Mizraim, and that the Word of the
Lord your God delivered you from thence; therefore have I commanded you to
observe this thing.
When you have reaped
your harvests in your fields, and have forgotten a sheaf in the field, you
shall not return to take it; let it be for the stranger, the orphan, and the
widow, that the Word of the Lord your God may bless you in all the works of
your hands. When you beat your olive trees, you shall not search them after
(you have done it); for the stranger, the orphan, and widow, let it be.
[JERUSALEM. When you beat your olive trees, search them not afterward; let them
be for the stranger, the orphan, and the widow.] When you gather in your
vineyard, you shall not glean the branches after you; they shall be for the
stranger, the orphan, and widow. [JERUSALEM. When you gather vour vines, search
not their branches afterwards let them be for the stranger and the widow.] So
remember that you were bondservants in the land of Mizraim; therefore I command
you to do this thing.
XXV. If there be a
controversy, between two men, then they shall come to the judges, and they
shall judge them, and give the decision (or outweighing of) righteousness to
the innocent, and of condemnation to the guilty. And if the wicked deserve
stripes, the judge shall make him lie down, and they shall scourge him in his
presence by his judgment, according to the measure of his guilt. [JERUSALEM.
And if it be needful to scourge the guilty, the judge shall make him lie down,
and they shall smite him in his presence, according to the measure of his
guilt, by number.] Forty (stripes) may be laid upon him, but with one less
shall he be beaten, (the full number) shall not be completed, lest he should
add to smite him beyond those thirty and [p. 632] nine, exorbitantly, and he be
in danger ; and that thy brother may not be made despicable in thy sight.
You shall not muzzle
the mouth of the ox in the time of his treading out; [JERUSALEM. Sons of Israel,
My people, you shall not muzzle the ox in the hour of his treading;] nor the
wife of the (deceased) brother, who would be mated with one smitten with an
ulcer, and who is poorly related, shalt thou tie up with him.
When brethren from the
(same) father inhabit this world at the same time, and have the same
inheritance, the wife of one of them, who may have died, shall not go forth
into the street to marry a stranger; her brother-in-law shall go to her, and
take her to wife, and become her husband. And the first-born whom she beareth
shall stand in the inheritance in the name of the deceased brother, that his
name may not be blotted out from Israel. But if the man be not willing, to take
his sister-in-law, then shall his sister-in-law go up to the gate of the beth
din before five of the sages, three of whom shall be judges and two of them
witnesses, and let her say before them in the holy language: My husband's
brother refuseth to keep up the name of his brother in Israel, he not being
willing to marry me. And the elders of his city shall call him and speak with
him, with true counsel; and he may rise up in the house of justice, and say in
the holy tongue, I am not willing to take her. Then shall his sister-in-law
come to him before the sages, and there shall be a shoe upon the foot of the
brother-in-law, a heeled sandal whose lachets are tied, the latchets at the
opening of the sandal being fastened; and he shall stamp on the ground with his
foot; and the woman shall arise and untie the latchet, and draw off the sandal
from his foot, and afterward spit before him, as much spittle as may be seen
[p. 633] by the sages, and shall answer and say, So is it fit to be done to the
man who would not build up the house of his brother. And all who are standing
there shall exclaim against him, and call his name in Israel the House of the
Unshod. [JERUSALEM. And his name in Israel shall be called the House of him
whose shoe was loosed, and who made void the law of Yeboom. ]
While men are striving
together, if the wife of one of them approach to rescue her husband from the
hand uf him who smiteth him, and putting forth her hand layeth hold of the
place of his shame, you shall cut off her hand; your eyes shall not pity.
[JERUSALEM. If she put forth her hand, and lay hold by the place of his shame.]
You shall not have in
your bag weights that are deceitful; great weights to buy with, and less
weights to sell with. Nor shall you have in your houses measures that deceive;
great measures to buy with, and less measures to sell with. [JERUSALEM. You
shall not have in your houses measures and measures; great .ones for buying
with, and small ones to sell with.] Perfect weights, and true balances shalt
thou have, perfect measures and scales that are true shall be yours, that your
days may be multiplied on the land which the Lord your God giveth you. For
whosoever committeth these frauds, every one who acteth falsely in trade, is an
abomination before the Lord.
Keep in mind what the
house of Amalek did unto you in the way, on your coming up out of Mizraim; how
they overtook you in the way, and slew every one of those among you who were
thinking to go aside from My Word; the men of the tribe of the house of Dan, in
whose hands were idols (or things. of strange worship), and the clouds overcast
them, and they of the [p. 634] house of Amalek took them and mutilated them,
and they were cast up: but you, O house of Israel, were faint and weary from
great servitude of the Mizraee, and the terrors of the waves of the sea through
the midst of which you had passed. Nor were the house of Amalek afraid before
the Lord. [JERUSALEM. Who overtook you in the way, and slew among you those who
were thinking to desist from My Word, the cloud overcast him, and they of the
house of Amalek took him and slew him. But you, people of the sons of Israel,
were weary and faint; nor were they of the house of Amalek afraid before the
Lord.] Therefore, when the Lord hath given you rest from all your enemies round
about in the land that the Lord Your God giveth you to inherit for a
possession, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under the heavens; but
of the days of the King Meshiha you shall not be unmindful.
SECTION L.
THABO.
XXVI. AND when you
have entered into the land, which the Lord thy God giveth you for an
inheritance, and you possess and dwell in it; you shall take of the earliest
first fruits which are ripe at the beginning of all the produce of the ground
which thou ingatherest from the land which the Lord your God hath given you,
and put them into a basket, and go unto the place which the Lord your God will
choose that His Shekinah may dwell there. And you shall put crowns upon the
baskets, hampers, and paper cases, and bring them to the priest appointed to be
the chief priest in those days, and shall say to him : We acknowledge this day
before the Lord thy God that we have come into
Pgs. 634-650
ch. 26-29
SECTION L.
THABO.
XXVI. And when you
have entered into the land which the Lord thy God giveth you for an
inheritance, and you possess and dwell in it; you shall take of the earliest
first fruits which are ripe at the beginning, of all the produce of the ground
which thou ingatherest from the land which the Lord your God hath given you,
and put them into a basket, and go unto the place which the Lord your God will
choose that His Shekinah may dwell there. And you shall put crowns upon the
baskets, hampers, and paper cases, and bring them to the priest appointed to be
the chief priest in those days, and shall say to him: We acknowledge this day
before the Lord thy God that we have come into the land which the Lord sware
unto our fathers to give us. [JERUSALEM. And thou shalt come to the priest who
will be appointed the chief priest in those days, and say to him: We give glory
and thanks this day before the Lord thy God, that we have come into the land
which the Word of the Lord did covenant unto our fathers to give us.] And the
priest shall receive the basket of early fruits from thy hand, and take, bring,
uplift, and lower it, and afterward lay it down before the altar of the Lord
your God. And you shall respond, and say before the Lord your God:
Our father Jakob went
down into Aram Naharia at the beginning, and (Laban) sought to destroy him; but
the Word of the Lord saved him out of his hands. And afterwards went he down
into Mizraim and sojourned there, a few people; but there did he become a great
people, and mighty and many. But the Mizraee evil‑treated and afflicted
us, and laid heavy bondage upon us. But we prayed before the Lord our God, and
the Lord hearkened to our prayers, our affliction and our travail; and our
oppression was manifest before Him. And the Lord brought us out of Mizraim with
a mighty hand and uplifted arm, and with great visions, signs, and wonders, and
brought us into this place, and gave us this land, a land of fruits rich as
milk and sweet as honey. Now, therefore, behold, I have brought the early
firstlings of the fruit of the land which thou hast given me, 0 Lord.
And thou shalt lay
them before the Lord thy God, and worship, and rejoice in all the good which
the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou and the men of thy house, and enjoy and eat,
you, the Levites and the sojourners who are among you.
When you make an end
of tything all the tenths of your produce in the third year, which is the year
of release, you shall give the first tenth to the Levites, the second tenth,
which is the tythe of the poor, to the stranger, the orphan, and widow, that
they may eat in your cities, and be satisfied. [JERUSALEM. When you finish
tything all the tenths of your produce in the third year, which is the year of
the tythe for the poor, you shall give the first tenth to the Levites, and the
poor's tenth to the stranger, the orphan, and widow, that they may eat in your
cities, and be satisfied.] But the third tenth you shall bring up, and eat
before the Lord thy God, and thou shalt say:
Behold, we have set
apart the consecrations from the house, and have also given the first tenth to
the Levites, the second tenth to the strangers, the fatherless, and the widow,
according to the commandment which Thou hast commanded me. I have not
transgressed one of Thy commandments, nor have I forgotten. I have not eaten of it in the days of my
mourning, nor separated from it for the unclean, neither have I given of it a
covering for the soul of the dead: [1] we have hearkened to the voice of the Word of the Lord; I have
done according to all that Thou hast commanded me. [JERUSALEM. We have not
eaten thereof in (our) mourning, nor separated therefrom for the unclean, nor
given of it for the defiled soul; for we have obeyed the voice of the Word of
the Lord our God; we have done according to all that Thou hast commanded us.]
Look down from heaven, from the habitation of the glory of Thy holiness, and
bless Thy people Israel, and the land which Thou hast given to us, as Thou
didst swear unto our fathers, a land of fruits rich as milk and sweet as honey.
[JERUSALEM. Look down, we beseech Thee, from the heavens, the habitation of Thy
glory and Thy holiness, and bless Thy people Israel, and the land which Thou
hast given us, as Thou didst swear unto our fathers (to give us a land)
producing good fruits, pure as milk, sweet and delicious as honey.]
This day doth the Lord
our God command you to perform these statutes and judgments, which you shall
observe and do with all your heart and with all your soul. The Lord have you
confessed with one confession in the world this day; for so it is written,
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord; that He may be thy God, and that
thou mayest walk in the ways that are right before Him, and keep His statutes,
commandments, and judgments, and be obedient unto His Word. And the Word of the
Lord doth acknowledge (or honour) you with one acknowledgment in the world this
day; as it is written, Who is as Thy people Israel, a peculiar people upon the
earth, to be to Him a people beloved, as He hath said unto you, and that you
may obey all His commandments? [JERUSALEM. You have chosen the Word of the Lord
to be King over you this day, that He may be your God. But the Word of the Lord
becometh the King over you for His Name's sake, as over a people beloved as a
treasure, as He hath spoken to you, that you may obey all His commandments.]
And He will set you on high, and exalt you above all the peoples He hath made
in greatness, and with a name of glory and splendour, that you may be a holy
people before the Lord your God, as He hath spoken.
XXVII. And Mosheh and
the elders of Israel instructed the people, saying: Observe all the
commandments which I command you this day. And it shall be on the day that you
pass over the Jordana into the land which the Lord your God giveth you, that
you shall erect for you great stones, and plaster them with lime; and thou
shalt write upon them all the words of this
law, when you go over to enter the land which the Lord your God giveth you, a
land whose fruits are rich as milk and producing honey, as the Lord God of your
fathers hath said to you. When you pass over Jordana, you shall erect the
stones that I command you on the mountain of Ebal, and plaster them with lime;
and you shall build there an altar before the Lord your God, an altar of stone,
not lifting up iron upon it. With perfect stones ye shall build an altar to the
Lord your God, and offer sacrifices upon it before the Lord your God. And you
shall immolate the consecrated victims, and eat there, and rejoice before the
Lord your God. And upon the stones you shall write all the words of this law
with writing deeply (engraven) and distinct, which shall be read in one
language, but shall be interpreted in seventy languages. [JERUSALEM. And you
shall write upon the stones all the glorious words of this law in writing deep
and plain, to be well read, and to be interpreted in seventy tongues.]
And Mosheh and the
priests, the sons of Levi, spake with all the people, saying: Listen, O Israel,
and hear: This day are you chosen to be a people before the Lord your God.
Hearken, therefore, to the Word of the Lord your God, and perform His
commandments which I command you to‑day. And Mosheh instructed the people
that day, saying: These tribes shall stand to bless the people on the mountain
of Gerezim when you have passed the Jordan,‑Shemeon, Levi, Jehudah,
Issakar, Joseph, and Benjamin; and these tribes shall stand (to pronounce) the
curses on the mountain of Ebal,‑Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulon, Dan, and
Naphtali. And the Levites proclaimed and said to every man of Israel with a
high voice: Six tribes shall stand on Mount Gerezim, and six on Mount Ebal; and the ark, the priests, and
Levites in the midst. In blessing they shall turn their faces towards Mount
Gerezim, and say:
Blessed shall be the
man who maketh not an image or form, or any similitude which is an abomination
before the Lord, the work of the craftsman's hand, and who placeth not such in
concealment. In cursing, they shall turn their faces toward Mount Ebal, and
say: Accursed be the man who maketh an image, figure, or any similitude which
is an abomination before the Lord, the work of the craftsman's hand, or who
placeth such in concealment. And all of them shall respond together, and say,
Amen. Accursed is he who contemneth the honour of his father or his mother. And
all of them shall answer together, and say, Amen. Accursed is he who shall
transfer the boundary of his neighbour. And all of them shall answer together,
and say, Amen. Accursed is he who causeth the pilgrim, who is like the blind,
to wander from the way. And all of them shall answer together, and say, Amen.
[JERUSALEM. Six tribes of them shall stand on Mount Gerezim, and six tribes on
Mount Ebal. And the ark, with the priests and Levites in the midst. And all
Israel, here and there, turning their faces towards Mount Gerezim, shall open
their mouth in benediction: Blessed be the man who hath not made an image, or a
figure, or any similitude which the Lord hateth, and which is an abomination
before Him, (being) the work of man's band, and who bath not hidden such. But
in pronouncing the curses let them turn their faces toward Mount Ebal, and say:
Accursed be the man who shall make an image, or figure, or any similitude which
the Lord hateth and which is an abomination to Him, the work of man's hands; or
the man who hath concealed such. And all the people shall answer them,
and say, Amen. Accursed be the man who changeth the bound mark. Accursed
be the man who maketh the wayfarer, who is like the blind, to wander
from the way. And all the people shall answer, and say, Amen.] Accursed be he who perverteth the
judgment of the stranger, the widow, and the fatherless. And all shall answer
together, and say, Amen. Accursed is he who lieth with his father's wife,
because he uncovereth his father's skirt. And all shall answer together, and
say, Amen. Accursed is be who lieth with a beast. And all shall answer
together, and say, Amen. Accursed is he who lieth with his sister, the daughter
of his father or mother. And all shall answer together, and say, Amen. Accursed
is he who shall lie with his mother‑in‑law. And all shall answer
together, and say, Amen. [JERUSALEM. Accursed is he who lieth with his mother‑in‑law.
And all shall answer together, and say, Amen.] Accursed is he who attacketh his
neighbour with slander in secret. And all shall answer together, and say, Amen.
Accursed is he who receiveth hire to kill and to shed innocent blood. And all
shall answer together, and say, Amen.
The twelve tribes,
each and every, shall pronounce the blessings altogether, and the curses
altogether. In blessing, they shall turn their faces (in pronouncing) word by
word towards Mount Gerezim, and shall say: Blessed is the man who confirmeth
the words of this law to perform them. In cursing, they shall turn their faces
towards Mount Ebal, and say: Accursed is the man who confirmeth not the words
of this law to perform them. And all shall answer together, and say, Amen.
These words were
spoken at Sinai, and repeated in the tabernacle of ordinance, and (again) the
third time on the plains of Moab, in twelve sentences (words), as the word of
every tribe; and each several commandment (was thus) ratified by thirty and six
adjurations.
XXVIII. And it shall
be, if you will diligently hearken to the Word of the Lord your God, to observe
and perform all the commandments which I command you this day, that the Lord
your God will set you on high, and exalt you above all the nations of the earth;
and all these blessings shall come upon you, and abide with you, for that you
will have hearkened to the Lord your God.
Blessed shall you be
in the city, and blessed in the field. Blessed shall be the offspring of your
womb, the fruits of your ground, the oxen of your herd, and the flocks of your
sheep. Blessed shall be the basket of your first fruits, and the first cakes of
your flour. Blessed shall you be in your coming in to your houses of
instruction, and blessed shall you be when you go out to your affairs.
[JERUSALEM. Blessed shall you be in the baskets of your first fruits, and in
your wheaten cakes. Blessed shall you be when you go in to your houses of
instruction, and blessed when you go out of them.] The Word of the Lord will
cause your enemies who rise up against you to hurt you, to be broken before
you. By one way they will come out to fight against you, but seven ways they
shall be dispersed, I fleeing before
you. The Lord will command the blessing upon you in your treasuries, and on all
that you put your hands unto, and will bless you in the land which the Lord
your God giveth you. The Word of the Lord will establish you to be a holy
people before Him, as He hath said unto you, when you keep the commandments of
the Lord your God, and walk in the ways that are right before Him. And all the
nations of the earth will see that the Name is written by (His own) appointment
on the tephillin that are upon thee, and will be afraid of thee. And the Word
of the Lord will make thee to abound in good, in the offspring of thy womb, and
the increase of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which the Lord hath promised to thy
fathers.-- Four keys are in the hand of the Lord of all the world, which He
hath not delivered into the hands of any secondary power:[2] the key of life, and of the tombs, and of food, and of rain;
and thus did Mosheh the prophet speak:-- The Lord will open to you His good
treasure which is with Him in the heavens, and will give you the rain of your
land in its season; the early in Marchesvan, and the latter in Nisan; and will
bless you in all the works of your hands; and you will lend to many peoples,
but shall have no need to borrow. And the Word of the Lord will appoint you to
be kings and not subjects,[3] and to be ennobled and not abased, when you have hearkened to
the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you this day to keep and
perform. Decline not from any of these words that I teach you to‑day
either to the right or the left, in walking after the idols of the Gentiles to serve
them.
When Mosheh the
prophet began to pronounce the words of threatening the earth trembled, the
heavens were moved, the sun and moon were darkened, the stars withdrew their
beams, the fathers of the world cried from their sepulchres, while all creatures
were silent, the very trees waved not their branches. The fathers of the world
answered and said, Woe to our children should they sin, and bring these
maledictions upon them; for how will they bear them? lest destruction be
executed on them, and no merit of ours protect, and there be no man to stand
and intercede on their behalf! Then fell the Bath‑kol from the high
heavens, and said, Fear not, ye fathers of the world; if the merit of all
generations should fail, yours shall not; and the covenant which I have
confirmed with you shall not be annulled, but will (still) overshadow them.
Mosheh the prophet
answered and said, Whomsoever I threaten I threaten conditionally, saying, If
you hearken not to the Word of the Lord your God in neither observing nor doing
all my commandments and statutes which I command you this day, then shall all
these maledictions come upon and cleave unto you.
Accursed shall you be
in the city and in the field. Accursed shall be the basket of your first
fruits, and the first cakes of your flour. Accursed the children of your wombs,
the fruits of your ground, the oxen of your herds, and the sheep of your
flocks. Accursed shall you be in your going into the houses of your theatres,
and the places of your public shows, to make void the words of the law; and
accursed shall you be in your coming out to your worldly affairs. The Word of
the Lord will send forth curses among you to curse your wealth, and confusion
to confound your prosperity, and vexation with all that you put your hands to
do, until He hath undone you, and you perish soon on account of the wickedness
of your doings when you have forsaken My worship. The Word of the Lord will
make the pestilence to cleave to you, to consume you from off the land which
you are going to inherit. The Word of the Lord will smite you with abscess and
inflammation, and fire in the bones that will burn up the marrow, and with
fearful imaginations in the thoughts of the heart; and with the naked sword,
and with blasting, and the jaundice of Macedonia, which shall follow you to
your beds, until you are destroyed.
And the heavens above
you shall be as brass which sweateth,[4] but that will not yield you any dew or rain; and the ground
under you be as iron which sweateth not. nor maketh green the trees, nor
yieldeth spiceries, fruits, nor herbs. After the rain which cometh down on the
earth, the Lord will send a wind that shall drive dust and ashes upon the
herbage of your fields; and calamity will fall upon you from the heavens, until
you are consumed.
The Word of the Lord
will cause you to be broken before your enemies: by one way you will go out to
battle, but by seven ways shall you flee confounded before them, to become an
execration in all the kingdoms of the earth. And your carcases will be cast out
to be meat for all the fowls of the sky, and for the beasts of the earth, and
no one will scare them away from your corpses. [JERUSALEM. And no one shall
drive them away.] And the Word of the Lord will smite you with the ulcers with
which the Mizraee were smitten, and with haemorrhoids that blind the sight, and
with blotches, and with erysipelas,[5] from which you will not be able to be healed. [JERUSALEM. The
Word of the Lord will smite you with the ulcer of Mizraim, and with
haemorrhoids, and with the blotch, and with scurvy, which cannot be healed.]
The Word of the Lord will smite you with fearfulness which bewildereth the
brain, and with blindness and stupor of heart. And you will seek good counsel
for enlargement from your adversities, but there will be none among you to show
the truth, so that you will grope in darkness like the blind who have none
passing by the road to see how to direct them in the way; nor shall you prosper
in your ways, but be oppressed and afflicted all the days, without any to
deliver.
Thou wilt betroth a
wife, but another man will have her; thou wilt build a house, but not dwell in
it; thou wilt plant a vineyard, but not make it common. Your oxen will be
killed, you looking on, but without eating of them; your asses will be taken
away from before you, but they will not be returned; your sheep will be
delivered over to your enemies, and there will for you be no deliverance;
your sons and daughters will be given up to another people, and your eyes see
it, and grow dim because of them from day to day; and in your hand will be no
good work by which you may prevail in prayer before the Lord your Father who is
in heaven, that He may save you. [JERUSALEM. Your sons and daughters shall be
delivered unto another people, while your eyes behold and fail on account of
them all the day; nor will you have the good works to give satisfaction unto
God, that He might redeem you.] The fruitage of your ground, and of all your
labour, will a people whom thou hast not known devour, and thou shalt be
oppressed and trodden down all the days. And you will be maddened by the vengeance,
and shaken by the sight of your eyes that you will see. The Word of the Lord
will smite you with a sore ulcer in the knees, because you bent (them) in the
matter of the transgression; and in the legs, by which you ran into it; for if you be not converted to
the law you cannot be saved, but will be beaten by it from the sole of your
feet unto the crown of your bead.
The Lord will make you
and your king whom you may set over you to go away among a people that neither
you nor your fathers have known; and you will carry tribute to peoples who
worship idols of wood and stone. And if the thought of your heart be to worship
their idols, you shall be for astonishment, for proverbs and tales, among the sons
of the Gentiles where the Lord will have scattered you.
You will carry much
seed into the field, but gather in little, for the locust shall eat it.
[JERUSALEM. You will carry out,
but collect little, for the locust will devour it.] You will plant vineyards
and till them, but will not drink the wine nor press out the vintage, because
the worm will have consumed it. You will have olive trees in all your borders,
but will not be anointed with oil, for your olive trees will fail. [JERUSALEM.
But with oil you will not be anointed, for the bloom of your olive trees shall
be destroyed.] You will beget sons and daughters, but they will yield you no
advantage, for they shall go into captivity. All the trees and fruits of your
land the locusts will destroy. [JERUSALEM. Robbers shall take possession of the
trees and the fruits of your land.] The uncircumcised who dwelleth among you
will rise above you with ascension upon ascension, but you will go downwards by
descent after descent. He will lend to you, but you will not lend to him; he
will be the master, and you the servant.
And all of these
curses will come upon you, and will follow and cleave to you until you have
perished, because you would not hearken to the Word of the Lord your God, to
observe His commandments and statutes which He had commanded you. And they will
be upon you for signs and portents, and upon your children for ever; for that
you would not serve before the Lord your God cheerfully, with rightness of
heart for the abundance of all good. But you will serve your enemies whom the
Word of the Lord will send against you, in hunger, thirst, nakedness, and the
want of every good; and they will put an iron yoke upon your necks until it
hath worn you away. The Word of the Lord will cause a people to fly upon you
from afar, from the ends of the earth, swift as an eagle flieth; a people whose
language thou wilt not understand; a people hard in visage, who will not
respect the old nor have pity on the young. [JERUSALEM. A people hard in
visage, who will not respect the aged nor have mercy on the children.] And they
will consume the increase of your cattle and the fruit of your ground till you are wasted away; for they
will leave you neither corn, oil, wine, herds, nor flocks, until the time that
they have destroyed you. And they will shut you up in your cities until they
have demolished your high walls whereby you trusted to be saved in all your
land; for they shall besiege you in all your cities, in the whole land which
the Lord your God gave you. And the children of your wombs shall be consumed;
for you will eat them in the famine, even the flesh of your sons and daughters,
whom the Lord your God did give you, by reason of the anguish and oppression
wherewith your enemies shall oppress you. The man who is gentle and refined
among you will look with evil eyes upon his brother, and the wife who reposeth
on his bosom, and upon the rest of his children who remain. He will not give to
one of them of the flesh of his children which he eateth, because nothing
remaineth to him in the anguish and straitness with which I will straiten you
in all your cities. She who is delicate and luxurious among you, who hath not
ventured to put the sole of her foot upon the ground from tenderness and
delicacy, will look with evil eyes upon the husband of her bosom, upon her son
and her daughter, and the offspring she hath borne; for she will eat them in
secret, through the want of all things, by reason of the anguish and oppression
with which your enemies shall oppress you in your cities. [JERUSALEM. The man
who is gentle and most tender among you will look with evil eyes upon his
brother, and on the wife of his youth, and on the rest of his children who
remain. She who is tender and delicate among you, who hath not attempted to
walk with her feet upon the ground from delicacy and tenderness, will look with
evil eyes on the husband of her youth, and on her son and her daughter.]
If you observe not to
perform all the commands of this law written in this book, to reverence this
glorious and fearful Name, The Lord your God, the Word of the Lord will hide
the Holy Spirit from you, when the plagues come upon you and your children,
great and continuous plagues which will not leave you, and grievous and
continual evils that will grow old upon your bodies; and will turn upon you all
the woes which were sent upon the Mizraee before which thou wast afraid, and
they shall cleave to you; and evils also that are not written in the book of
this law will the Word of the Lord stir up against you until you are consumed.
And you who were as the stars of heaven for multitude will be left a few
people, because you hearkened not to the Word of the Lord your God. And as the
Word of the Lord rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you, so will
He rejoice (in sending) against you strange nations to destroy and make you
desolate, and you shall be uprooted from the land which you are going to
possess. And the Lord will disperse you among all nations, from one end of the
earth to the other, and you shall be tributaries to the worshippers of idols of
wood and stone which neither thou nor thy fathers have known. And if your mind
be divided to worship their idols, He will send (that) between you and those
nations that you shall have no repose or rest for the sole of your feet, and
will give you there a fearful heart which darkens the eyes and wears out the
soul. And your life will be in suspense; you will be in dread day and night,
and have no assurance of your life. In the morning you will say, O that it were
evening! for afflictions will make the hours of the day longer before you; and
at evening you will say, O that it were morning! for afflictions will make the
hours of the night longer before you, because of the terror of your heart; for
you will be in stupor by a vision of your eyes, which you will see for
punishment, and be terrified.
And the Word of the
Lord will bring you captive to Mizraim in ships through the Sea of Suph, by the
way you passed over, of which I said to you, No more shall you see it.
[JERUSALEM. And the Word of the Lord will cause you to return into Mizraim in
galleys,[6] by the way of which I said to you, Ye shall see it no more.]
And there will you be sold to your enemies, at the beginning for a dear price,
as artificers, and afterward at a cheap price, as servants and handmaids, until
you be worthless and (be consigned) to unpriced labour, and there be none who
will take you.[7]
XXIX. These are the
words of the covenant which the Lord commanded Mosheh to ratify with the
children of Israel in the land of Moab, besides that covenant which He ratified
with them at Horeb.
And Mosheh called to
all Israel, and said to them: You have seen all the plagues which the Word of
the Lord wrought in the land of Mizraim on Pharoh and all his servants, and all
the inhabitants of that land; those great temptations, signs, and wonders which
you saw with your eyes. And the Word of the Lord hath given you a heart not to
forget, but to understand; eyes, not to blink, but to see; ears, not to be
stopped, but to listen with: yet you have forgotten the law with your heart,
and have blinked with your eyes, and have stopped your ears, unto the time of
this day. And I have led you forty years in the wilderness; your garments have
not become old upon your bodies, nor your shoes worn away from your feet. You
have not eaten leavened bread, nor drunk wine new or old; and My law hath been
diligently delivered in your schools, that you might be occupied therein, and
you might know that I am the Lord your God. And you came to this place; and
Sihon king of Heshbon and Og king of Mathnan came out to meet us in battle
array, and we smote them, and subdued their land, and gave it for an
inheritance to the tribe of Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Menasheh. Keep,
therefore, the words of this covenant and perform it, that you may have
prosperity in all that you do. [JERUSALEM. And you shall keep the words of this
covenant and perform them, that you may prosper in all that you do.]
Pgs. 650-655
Ch.29-30
SECTION LI.
NITSTSABIM.
MOSHEH the prophet
said: I have called you not in secret, but while standing this day all of you
before the Lord your God; the princes of your sanhedrin, the chiefs of your
tribes, your elders and your officers, all men of Israel, your little ones,
your wives, and your sojourners who are in your camps, from the hewer of your
wood to the filler of your water, that you may enter into the covenant of the
Lord your God, and may have in remembrance the oath which the Lord your God
doth ratify with you this day: [JERUSALEM. Your little ones, wives, and
sojourners within your camps, from the hewer of your wood to the filler of your
water, that you may not transgress the covenant of the Lord your God, nor the
oath which He confirmeth with you this day:] that you may stand to‑day
before Him a purified people; and that He may be a God to you, as He hath
spoken to you, and as He did swear unto Abraham, Izhak, and Jakob.
And not with you only
do I ratify this covenant, and attest this adjuration; but all the generations
which have arisen from the days of old stand with us to‑day before the
Lord our God, and all the generations which are to arise unto the end of the
world, all of them stand with us here this day. [JERUSALEM. All the generations
which have arisen from the days of old until now stand with thee to‑day
before the Lord your God, and all the generations which are to arise after us
stand also here with us to‑day.] For you know the number of the years
that we dwelt in the land of Mizraim, and the mighty works which were wrought
for us among the nations through which you have passed. You have seen their
abominations, and their idols of wood and stone which they have set forth in
the streets, and the idols of silver and gold that they have placed with
themselves in the houses, shutting the doors after them lest they should be
stolen. Beware, then, lest there be among you now or hereafter a man, woman,
family, or tribe, whose heart may be turned away to wander any day from the
service of the Lord our God to worship the idols of those nations; or lest
there be among you the error which striketh root (in them) whose heart
wandereth after his sin; for the beginning of sin may be sweet, but its end is
bitter as the deadly wormwood; [JERUSALEM. You have seen their hateful things
and their abominations, the idols of wood and stone, of silver and gold; idols
of wood and stone set forth in the streets, but those of silver and gold kept
with themselves in the house because they were afraid they would be stolen. . .
. . . . Lest there be among you man or woman, family or tribe, whose heart is
turned away this day from the Lord our God to go and worship the idols of these
people, or there be a man among you whose heart pondereth upon sin, which is
like a root struck into the earth; for its beginning may be sweet as honey, but
its end will be bitter as the deadly wormwood;] or it be that when he heareth
the words of this curse he become reprobate in his heart, saying: I shall have
peace, though I go on in the strength of the evil desires of my heart: so that
he will add presumption to the sins of ignorance. It will not be pleasing to
the Lord to forgive him; for the Lord's anger and indignation will wax hot
against that man, and all the words of the curses written in this book will
rest upon him, and the Lord will blot out the memorial of his name from under
the heavens. And the Lord will separate him unto evil, from all the tribes of
Israel, according to all the maledictions of the covenant which are written in
this book. And the generations of your children who will arise after you, and
the stranger who will come from a far‑off land, when they see the plagues
of that land, and the afflictions which the Lord will have sent upon it, the
whole land burnt with brimstone, salt, and fierce heat, no longer fit for
sowing, nor productive of a blade of any springing herbage; ruined, as Sedom
and Amorah, Admah and Zeboim, were overthrown by the Word of the Lord in His
wrath and indignation; then all people will say, Why hath the Lord done so unto
this land? What meaneth the strength of this great anger? And they will say,
Because they forsook the covenant of the Lord, the God of their fathers, which
He made with them when He brought them out of the land of Mizraim. But they
went after their evil desires, and served the gods of the Gentiles, and
worshipped gods which they had not known nor had any part with. And the anger
of the Lord waxed strong against this land, to bring upon it all the curses
written in this book. And the Lord hath made them to wander forth from their
country with anger, indignation, and wrath, and hath cast them into captivity
in another land until this day.
The secret things are
manifest before the Lord our God, and He will take vengeance for them; but the
things that are revealed are delivered unto us and to our children for ever, to
perform by them the thing that is right, for the confirmation of all the words
of this law.
XXX. And it will be,
when all these words of blessings, or their contraries, which I have set in
order before you shall have come upon you, you will be converted in your hearts
to return unto My fear, in all the dispersions (among) the nations where the
Lord will have scattered you. The upright of you will be favoured with a
blessed repentance; and though you have sinned, yet shall your repentance come
up unto the glorious throne of the Lord your God, if you will hearken to His
Word according to all that I have commanded you this day, you, and your
children, with all your heart and with all your soul. And His Word will accept
your repentance with favour, and will have mercy upon you, and He will gather
you again from all the nations whither the Lord your God had scattered you.
Though you may be dispersed unto the ends of the heavens, from thence will the
Word of the Lord gather you together by the hand of Elijah the great priest,
and from thence will He bring you by the hand of the King Meshiha. And the Word
of the Lord your God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed
by inheritance, and you shall possess it, and He will bless you and increase
you more than your fathers. And the Lord your God will take away the
foolishness of your heart, and of your children's heart; for He will abolish
evil desire from the world, and create good desire, which will give you the
dictate to love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul, that your lives
may flow on for evermore. And the Word of the Lord your God will send these
curses upon your enemies who have oppressed you in your captivities, and such
as have hated and persecuted, to destroy you. But you shall return, and be
obedient to the Word of the Lord, and do all His commandments that I command
you this day. And the Lord your God will make you to abound in good; for you
shall prosper in all the works of your hands, in the offspring of thy womb, the
increase of thy cattle, and the produce of your land, for good; for the Word of
the Lord will return, to rejoice over you, to bless you, as He rejoiced over
your fathers, if you will hearken to the Word of the Lord your God in keeping
His commandments and statutes which are written in the book of this law, when
you have returned to the fear of the Lord your God with all your heart and with
all your soul.
For this commandment
which I command you to‑day is not hidden from you, nor afar off. It is
not in the heavens, that thou shouldst say, Who will ascend for us into heaven,
and bring it to us to make us hear, that we may do it? Neither is it beyond the
great sea, that thou shouldst say, Who will go beyond the sea for us, and fetch
it for us to make us hear, that we may do it? For the Word is nigh you, in your
schools;[1] open your mouth, that you may meditate on it; purify your
hearts, that you may perform it. Behold, I have set before you this day the way
of life, wherein is the recompense of the reward of good unto the righteous,
and the way of death, wherein is the retribution of the wages of evil unto the
wicked. [JERUSALEM. The law is not in the heavens, that thou shouldst say, O
that we had one like Mosheh the prophet to ascend into heaven, and bring it to
us, and make us hear its commands, that we may do them! Neither is the law
beyond the great sea, that thou shouldst say, O that we had one like Jonah the
prophet, who could descend into the depths of the sea, and bring it to us, and
make us hear its commands, that we may do them! For the word is very nigh you,
in your mouth, that you may meditate upon it, and in your hearts, that you may
perform it. See, behold, I have set before you this day the way of life, which
is the path of the good, and the way of death, which is the path of the evil.]
For I teach you to‑day to love the Lord your God, and to walk in the ways
that are right before Him, and to keep His commandments, statutes, and
judgments, and live and multiply; that the Lord your God may bless you in the
land into which you are entering to possess it. But if you think in your heart
that you will not obey, but will go astray to worship the idols of the nations,
and serve them, I proclaim to you this day, that you will perish, and will not
prolong your days on the land to which you are to pass over the Jordan to
possess it. I attest this day, not only you, who are to pass away from this
world, but the heavens and the earth, that I have set before you life and
death, blessing and its reverse. Choose therefore the way of life, even the
law, that you and your children may live the life of the world to come; that
you may love the Lord thy God, to obey His Word, and keep close unto His fear;
for the law in which you occupy yourselves will be your life in this world,[2] and the prolongment of your days in the world that cometh; and
you shall be gathered together at the end of the scattering,[3] and dwell upon the land which the Lord sware to your fathers,
to Abraham, Izhak, and Jakob, to give it unto them.
Pgs. 655-659
ch. 31-32
SECTION LII.
VAIYELEK.
XXXI. AND Mosheh went
into the tabernacle of the house of instruction,[1] and spake these words unto all Israel, and said to them: I am
the son of a hundred and twenty years this day. I am no more able to go out and
come in, and the Word of the Lord hath said to me: Thou shalt not go over this
Jordan. The Lord your God, and His Shekinah, will go over before you. He will
destroy those nations, and you shall possess them. Jehoshua also will go before
you, as the Lord hath said. And the Lord will execute judgment on them, as He
did on Sihon and Og kings of the Amoraee, and the people of their land, whom He
destroyed. And the Word of the Lord will deliver them up before you, and you
shall do to them according to all the commandment that I have commanded you. Be
strong, then, and of good courage, fear not, nor be dismayed before them; for
the Shekinah of the Lord your God will be the Leader of you, He will not
forsake nor be far from you.
And Mosheh called
Jehoshua from among the people, and said to him: Be thou strong, and of good
courage; for thou art appointed to go with this people to the land which the
Word of the Lord sware to your fathers to give them, and thou art to divide it
among them. And the Shekinah of the Word of the Lord will go before thee, and
His Word will be thy helper; He will not forsake nor be far from thee; fear
not, nor be dismayed.
And Mosheh wrote this
law, and delivered it to the priests the sons of Levi, who bare the ark of the
Lord's covenant, and to all the sages of Israel. And Mosheh commanded them,
saying: At the end of seven years in the time of the year of remission at the
feast of Tabernacles, when all Israel cometh to appear before the Lord your
God, in the place that He will choose, you shall read this law before all
Israel while they listen. Assemble the people, the men, that they may learn,
the women, that they may hear instruction, the children, that they may partake
the benefit (reward) of those who bring them, and your sojourners who are in
your cities, that they may behold the majesty of the law, and be reverent all
of them before the Word of the Lord your God, and observe to do all the words
of this law. Let their children also, who know not, hear, and learn to fear the
Lord your God all the days that you live in the land to inherit which you pass
over Jordan.
Unto three of the just
was it told that the time of their death was drawing nigh, and that they should
not attain to the days of their fathers; and each of them had been appointed a
prince in his days; Jakob our father, David the king, and Mosheh the prophet;
for thus it is written: And the Lord said unto Mosheh, Behold, thy day
approacheth when thou must die. Call Jehoshua, and stand both of you in the
tabernacle of ordinance, that I may give him charge. And Mosheh and Jehoshua
went, and stood in the tabernacle of ordinance. And the glorious Shekinah of
the Lord revealed itself at the tabernacle in the pillar of the Cloud, and the
pillar of the Cloud stood over the door of the tabernacle, and Mosheh and
Jehoshua stood without. And the Lord said to Mosheh, Behold, thou wilt lie down
in the dust with thy fathers, and thy soul shall be treasured in the treasury
of eternal life with thy fathers: but this wicked people will rise up and go
astray after the idols of the nations among whom they come, and will forsake My
worship, and change My covenant which I have made with them. [JERUSALEM. They
will forsake, and will profane the statutes I have confirmed with them.] Then
My anger will be kindled against them in that day, and I shall abhor them, and
remove My Shekinah from them, and they will become a prey, and many evils and
troubles shall befall them. And they will say at that time, with adjuration, Is
it not because the Shekinah of my God dwelleth not among me, that all these
evils have befallen me? But I will indeed remove My Shekinah from them at that
time, until they have dwindled away, to receive the punishment of their sins
for all the evil they have wrought, because they turned themselves after the
idols of the nations. And now, write you this hymn, and teach the children of
Israel; put it upon their lips, that this hymn may be before them, for a
witness against the children of Israel. For I will bring them into the land
which I promised to their fathers, (a land) producing milk and honey, and they
will eat and be satisfied: but (after that they have) waxen fat they will turn
away to the idols of the Gentiles and worship them; so will they provoke Me to
anger, and abolish My covenant. And when these many evils and troubles shall
come upon them, then will this hymn bear witness to them for a testimony; for it
is revealed before Me that it will not be forgotten on the lips of their
children: for their evil disposition to which they are yielding to‑day,
even before I bring you into the promised land, is known to Me.
And Mosheh wrote this
hymn, and taught the children of Israel. And He commanded Jehoshua bar Nun,
saying: Be strong and of good courage; for thou art to bring the sons of Israel
into the land I have promised to them, and My Word shall be thy Helper. And
when Mosheh had finished to write the words of this law upon parchment[2] to complete them, [JERUSALEM. When Mosheh had completed to
write the glorious words of this law until they were finished,] he commanded
the Levites who bare the ark of the Lord's covenant, saying: Take the book of
this law, and put it into a chest on the right side of the ark of the covenant
of the Lord your God, that it may be for a testament to you. For your rebellion
is revealed before me, and the obduracy of your neck. Behold, while I am yet
alive among you to‑day ye are rebellious before the Lord; but how much
more when I am dead! [JERUSALEM. How much more when I am dead!] Gather together
to me all the sages of your tribes and your officers, and I will speak all
these words in their hearing, and will call heaven and earth to bear witness
against them. For I know that after my death corrupting you will corrupt your
works, and go astray from the way I have commanded you, and that evil will
befall you in the end, because you will do what is wrong before the Lord in
provoking Him to anger. And Mosheh spake in the hearing of all the congregation
of Israel the words of this hymn until they were ended.
Pgs. 659-672
Ch. 32
SECTION LIII.
HAAZINU.
XXXII. And when the
last end of Mosheh the prophet was at hand, that he should be gathered from
among the world, he said in his heart: I will not attest against this people
with witnesses that taste of death in this world, behold, I attest against them
with witnesses which do not taste of death in this world, and whose destination
is to be renewed in the world to come. Isaiah the prophet, when he prophesied
in the congregation of Israel, attributed hearing to the heavens, and
attentiveness to the earth; because (in his case) earth was nearest and heaven
more remote: but Mosheh the prophet, when he now prophesied in the congregation
of Israel, attributed hearing to the earth, and attentiveness to the heavens;
because (in his case) heaven was nearest and earth more remote; for so it is written, Attend, ye heavens,
and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. My doctrine shall smite the rebellious like heavy rain; but shall be enjoyed with pleasantness
by those who receive instruction, as the dew: my words shall be like the
downfalling rain of the wind that breathes upon the grass in the month of
Marchesvan, and as the droppings of the latter rain which water the springing
herbage of the earth in Nisan.
[JERUSALEM. When the
end of Mosheh came that he should be removed from the world, he said: Behold, I
testify in this world a thing which tasteth not of death; so will I attest
against them the heavens and earth which taste not of death in this world, but
whose end is to be consumed in the world that cometh. For so he explained, and
said: Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and consider the earth beneath; for the
heavens shall dissolve like smoke, and the earth fade away as a garment; but I
have prepared to create new heavens and a new earth. Isaiah the prophet, when
he prophesied in the congregation of Israel, because he was remote from the
heavens and nearest the earth, attributed hearing to the heavens, and attention
to the earth: for so be explaineth, and saith: Hear, O heavens, and listen, O
earth; for the Word of the Lord hath spoken. Mosheh the prophet, &c. (as
above.) The doctrine of my law shall be sweet to the children of Israel as the
rain, the word Of my mouth will be received by them with pleasantness as the
dew, as the wind which breathes upon the herb, and as the drops of the latter
rain that descend and water the herbage of the ground in Nisan.]
Woe to the wicked who
make memorial of the Holy Name with blasphemies. Wherefore Mosheh, who was the
Doctor of Israel, would not permit himself to pronounce the Holy Name until he
had dedicated his mouth at the beginning of his hymn with eighty and five
letters, making twenty and one words, and afterwards be spake: In the Name of
the Lord I invoke you, O house of Israel, to ascribe glory and greatness before
our God. [JERUSALEM. Mosheh the
prophet said: Woe to the wicked who make memorial of the Holy Name with
blasphemies. For it is not possible even to one of the highest angels to utter
that Name rightly until that they have said, Holy, Holy, Holy thrice. And from
them did Mosheh learn not to utter that Name openly until he should have
dedicated his mouth with twenty‑one words which consist of eighty-five
letters;[1] and so explained he and said: Hear, ye heavens, and I will
speak; for it is the Name of the Lord. Mosheh the prophet said: O people of
Israel, I invoke you, in the Name of the Lord, to give glory, praise, and
highest exaltation unto God.]
Mosheh the prophet
said: When I ascended the mountain of Sinai, I beheld the Lord of all the
worlds, the Lord, dividing the day into four portions; three hours employed in
the law, three with judgment, three in making marriage bonds between man and
woman, and appointing to elevate or to abase, arid three hours in the care of
every created thing: for so it is written: The Mighty One whose works are
perfect, for all His ways are judgment, a faithful God before whom no iniquity
comes forth, pure and upright is He. [JERUSALEM. (The same words to) three hours, uniting the marriage yoke of the
husband to the wife . . . . a faithful God and true; falsehood is not before
Him; He is just and upright in judgment.]
The beloved children
have corrupted their good works, a blemish is found upon them; a perverse
generation which have altered their works; so shall the order of this world's
judgment be altered upon them. [JERUSALEM. The children have corrupted their
works, and not them only, but themselves also: they have so corrupted that the
spot is upon them; a depraved and perverse generation which changeth its order
of this world shall be changed upon it.]
Can you indeed so requite the Name of the Word of
the Lord, O foolish people, and receive the law, yet not be made wise? Is He
not your Father who bought[2] you, who created you and established you? [JER. Do you return
this before the Lord, O people foolish and unwise? Is He not your Father who is
in heaven, who bought you? He created and founded you.] Remember the days of
old; consider the years of every generation; read the books of the law, and
they will teach you, and the books of the prophets, and they will tell you.
[JER. Be mindful of the days, the days of old, consider the years of one
generation and another; ask your fathers who are greater in the law than you,
and they will teach you, the sages, and they will tell you.] When the Most High
made allotment of the world unto the nations which proceeded from the sons of
Noach, in the separation of the writings and languages of the children of men
at the time[3] of the division, He cast the lot among the seventy angels, the
princes of the nations with whom is the revelation to oversee the city, even at
that time He established the limits of the nations according to the sum of the
number of the seventy souls of Israel who went down into Mizraim. [JER. When
the Most High divided the nations by lot, and distinguished the languages of
the children of men, He appointed the bounds of the peoples according to the
number of the tribes of the Beni Israel.]
And when the holy
people fell to the lot of the Lord of all the world, Michael opened his lips
and said: Let the good portion of the Name of the Lord's Word be with Him.
Gabriel opened his lips with thanksgivings, and said, Let the house of Jakob be
the lot of His inheritance. [JER. Because the Lord's portion are His people,
and the house of Jakob the lot of His inheritance.] He found them dwelling in
the wilderness, in the solitude, the place of howling demons and thorns, the place
of thirsting; He overspread them with His seven glorious clouds; He taught them
His law; He kept them as the Shekinah keepeth the apple of His eye. [Jer. He
found them wandering in a desert land, in the solitude of a howling wilderness;
He threw over them clouds of glory; His Shekinah taught them the Ten Words,
watched over them, and kept them as the apple of His eye.] As an eagle stirreth
up and careth for his nest, and hovereth over his young, so did His Shekinah
stir up the tents of Israel, and the shadow of His Shekinah overspread them;
and as an eagle outstretcheth his wings over his young ones, beareth them and
carrieth them upon his wings, so bare He them and carried them, and made them
dwell upon the strong places of the land of Israel. [JER. As an eagle stirreth
up his nest, and carefully spreadeth out his wings, and taketh and beareth them
with the strength of his wings.] The Word of the Lord made them to dwell in His
land, nor suffered any among them to be the followers of strange worship. [JER.
The Lord alone caused them to dwell, and none were among them who served with
strange worship.] He made them to dwell in the strong places of the land of
Israel,
and gave them to eat
of the goodly produce of His field, and nourished them with the honey of its
fruits which grow even upon the rocks with the oil of its olive trees, and from
branches (growing) out of the rocks. [JER. He made them ride upon the high
places of the earth, and gave them to eat of royal delicacies, and nourished
them with honey out of the rock, and with oil from their olives (growing) out
of the flinty stone of the rock.] He gave them rich butter of kine from the
spoil of their kings, and the fat of the firstlings of the sheep from the prey
of their sultans, with the choice rams and goats of the flocks of Mathnan.
Mosheh the prophet said: If the people of Israel will observe the precepts of
the law, it is foretold that their wheat granary shall be like the kidneys of
oxen, and that from one bunch of grapes shall come forth a kor of red wine.
[JER. Tender oxen and choice flocks, goodly fatlings, rams bred in Batenaia,
and goats, with the richest of the wheat. Mosheh the prophet said: If the
children of Israel will observe the precepts of the law . . . . from one bunch
they shall drink a cup of wine.]
But the house of
Israel grew rich and wicked; they prospered much and possessed wealth,
and forsook the worship of Eloah who created them, and provoked Him to anger
who redeemed them. They moved Him to jealousy with strange worship, by their
abominations they made Him angry. They sacrificed to idols, resembling devils,
in whom there is no profit, to idols which they had not known, new gods lately
made, with which your fathers had nothing to do; But the adorable Strong One
who created you have you forgotten; of the word of Eloha who strengthened you
so often[4] have you been forgetful. And when it was manifest before the
Lord, He was wroth, provoked thereto by His beloved children who were called
upon His Name son and daughters. [JER. But the house of Jeshuron ate and
kicked; they became rich, and rebelled; they prospered, got wealth, and forsook
the Word of God who had created them, and refused to worship the Almighty who
had redeemed them. They provoked Him to anger with their idols, by their
abominations they made Him wroth They sacrificed to demons in whom is no
stability,[5] idols which they had not known, lately formed, which your
fathers remembered not. The Almighty who created you ye have forgotten, and
have forsaken the Word of God who gave you to be, and made you so many refuges.
And it was manifest before the Lord, and He was angry, because the beloved
children had provoked Him, even they who were beloved by Him as sons and
daughters.] And He said, I will take away from them the favour of My
countenance; it will be seen what will be the end; for they are a perverse
generation, children who have not faith. They have made Me jealous by that
which is not God, they have angered Me by their vanities: I also will provoke
them to jealousy by a people which hath not been a people, by the foolish
Babylonian people will I provoke them. [JER. And He said, I will surely turn
away the favour of My countenance from them; I will see what will be in their
latter end; for they are a perverse generation, children in whom is no faith.
They have moved Me to jealousy by their idols in which there is nothing
whatever, they have provoked Me by their abominations; but I also will move
them to jealousy by a people which is not a people, by a foolish nation will I
anger them.] For an east wind strong as fire shall go out before Me, and blaze
in the might of My anger, and burn to the lowest hell; it shall consume the
land with its produce, and set the foundations of the mountains in flame. [JER.
For a fire shall come forth in the hour of My wrath, and burn to the lowest
hell, devouring the earth and its fulness, and setting in flame the foundations
of the hills.] And when they dwell in Babel they will serve their idols; for I
have spoken in My Word to array calamities against them, the plague‑arrows
of My vengeance to destroy them, I will make them go into captivity in Media
and Elam, in the captivity of Babel, the house of Agag who are like demons
gaping with famine, and to corpses devoured by birds, and to stricken evil
spirits of the noon, to Lillin and to spirits big with evil. And the Javanaee
(Greeks) who bite with their teeth like wild beasts will I send against them,
and will shake them by the hand of the Syrians venomous as basilisks, the
serpents of the dust. [JER. I have spoken in My Word to bring evil upon them,
the arrows of My vengeance will I send among them: gaping with famine, devoured
by unclean fowl, filled with evil spirits, even the teeth of the four kingdoms,
which are like wild beasts,[6] will I send among them, with the poison of serpents, the
reptiles of the earth.] A people who will come from beyond the land of Israel
shall consume them with the stroke of the sword, and those who are left in the
land of Israel will I throw into the terror of death, in the chambers here and
there where they sleep; their young men shall perish, their maidens, their sucklings,
with their men and their elders. [JER. In the street the sword will devour
them; in the chambers where they sleep, the terrors of death; their young men
and maidens, their infants and aged men.] I have spoken in My Word to withhold
from them My Holy Spirit; I will make them weak; as a man who reaps his field
leaveth but one upon the ground, so will I abolish their memory from the book
of the genealogy of mankind; [JER. I have spoken in My Word to bring wrath upon
them, and to cause their memorial to fail from among men;] but for the wrath of
the enemy, and that their oppressors would glorify themselves against Me, and
say, Our hand hath taken vengeance upon our adversaries, and all this hath not
been decreed by the Lord; for they are a people lost to good counsel and void
of understanding. O that they were intelligent in the law, and that they
understood what they will become in their latter end! How will one foe pursue a
thousand of them, and two put ten thousand of them to flight, unless He who is
their strength deliver them, and the Lord avenge them! [JER. But that the wrath
of the enemy would wax strong, that they could not prevail against their foes;
and that they may not say, Our hand hath avenged us on our adversaries, and it
hath not been done by the Lord; for this people perish by evil counsels, and
they are void of understanding. If Israel were but wise, learning the law they
would understand what shall be in their latter end. When Israel was diligent in
the law, and observed the commandments, one of them chased a thousand, and two
of them put ten thousand to flight; but because they have sinned and vexed the
Almighty to anger, He hath left them to the hand of their enemies.]
For the idols of the
Gentiles are not as He who is the Strength of Israel; for the Strength of
Israel, when they have sinned, bringeth punishment upon them; but when they
stretch forth their hands in prayer, He answereth and delivereth them. But, the
idols of the peoples of strange worships are of no use: but because we have
provoked Him, and have not returned to His service, our adversaries are our
witnesses and our judges. [JER. For the confidence of the nations is not as our
confidence; but because we have sinned and provoked Him to anger, our
adversaries are made our judges.] For the works of this people are like the
works of the people of Sedom, and their evil counsels like those of the people
of Amorah; their wicked thoughts are as serpents heads; bitter therefore to
them is their punishment which maketh desolate. Behold as the bitterness of
serpents when they come forth from their wines, (?) so shall be the bitter cup
of the curse which they are to drink in the day of their punishment, and cruel
as the head of asps. [JER. For the works of this people are like those of the
people of Sedom, and their thoughts like those of the people of Amorah: their
evil works make them desolate, and become bitter to them. For the poison of
this people is like that Of serpents what time they drink wine, and their
malice like the head of asps and cruel reptiles.] Are not their secret works all
known before Me? Sealed and laid up Are they in My treasury! Vengeance lies
before Me, and I will recompense them at the time when their foot shall move to
the captivity; for the day of their destruction is coming near, and the evil
which is prepared for them maketh haste. [JER. Is not this the cup of
punishment, mixed and ordained for the wicked, sealed in My treasuries for the
day of the great judgment? Vengeance is mine: I am He who repayeth; in the time
when the foot of the righteous is moved; for the day of destruction for the
wicked is nigh the fire of Gehinam. is prepared for them, and their punishment
girdeth itself to come upon them.]
For the Word of the
Lord adjudgeth in His mercy the jundgement of His people Israel, and for the
evil He hath appointed upon His servants there shall be repentance before Him;
for He knoweth that in the time when they have sinned the stroke of their
enemies will be heavy upon them, and help have passed away from their hands,
and the faithful will have failed with their good works and be scattered and
forsaken. And the enemy will say, Where is the fear of Israel, their Strength
in whom they confided, who ate the fat of their sacrifices, and drank the wine
of their libations? Let Him now rise up and help you, let Him shield you by His
Word. [JER. For the Lord Himself will adjudge the judgment of the people of the
children of Israel, and comfort His righteous servants; for it is manifest
before Him that the hand of the righteous will waver, and that they will be
forsaken and cast down, with none to help or support them. For the Gentiles
will say, Behold, the God of Israel is strong in whom they put their trust;
they brought before Him the fat of their sacrifices, and the wine of their
libations; let Him who (once) was over them as a shield rise up now and deliver
them.]
When the Word of the
Lord shall reveal Himself to redeem His people, He will say to all the nations:
Behold now, that I am He who Am, and Was, and Will Be, and there is no other
God beside Me: I, in My Word, kill and make alive; I smite the people of the
Beth Israel, and I will heal them at the end of the days; and there will be
none who can deliver them from My hand, Gog and his armies whom I have permitted
to make war against them. [JER. See now that I in My Word am He, and there is
no other God beside Me. I kill the living in this world, and make alive the
dead in the world that cometh; I am He who smiteth, and I am He who healeth;
and there is none who can deliver from My hand.] I have lifted My hand with an
oath to heaven, and have said, As I exist, I will not abolish My oath for ever.
If I whet my sword, as lightning it will
prevail in the judgment of My hand. I will return retribution on them who afflict
My people, and repay to their enemies the hire of their wickedness. I will make
My arrows drunk with the blood of their slain, and the captivity of their hosts
shall be the punishment of My people's foes. [JER. For I have uplifted My hand
with an oath to heaven, and said, I live, and My Word subsisteth for ever: If I
whet My sword as lightning, My right hand will prevail in judgment. I will
render punishment upon the adversaries of My people, I will repay them for
their evil deeds. I will make My arrows drunk with their blood, and My sword
shall consume their flesh; with the blood of the destroyers of My people, their
captives, and the chieftains of their hosts.]
Rejoice, ye nations,
(and) ye people of Beth Israel; for the blood of His servants which was shed,
He hath avenged. He hath kept (in mind) and returned just vengeance upon His
adversaries, and by His Word will He make Atonement for His land, and for His
people. [JER. Let the nations give praise before Him, let the people of Beth
Israel glorify Him; for He bath made inquisition for the trouble of His
righteous servants, and brought vengeance upon His enemies; for the sins of His
people He smote the land; but He will make Atonement for the land, and for His
people.]
And Mosheh came from
the tabernacle of the house of instruction, and spake all the words of this
hymn, in the hearing of the people, he and Jehoshua bar Nun. And Mosheh made an
end of speaking all these words with all Israel, and said to them: Apply your
heart to all the words with which I bear witness to you this day, that you may
dictate them to your children, so that they may observe and do all the words of
this law. For there is no vain word in the law, unless to them who transgress
it; for it is your life, and by this word you will prolong days upon the land
that you pass over Jordan to inherit. [JER. And Mosheh came and spake all the
praise of the words of this hymn in the hearing of the people, be and Hoshea
bar Nun. And Mosheh ended speaking all these words with all Israel, and said to
them: Set your heart unto all the words with which I bear witness to you this
day, and which you shall teach your children, that they may observe and do all
the glorious words of this law. For it is not a vain word to you, because it is
your life, and by this word you will multiply days upon the land that you pass
over Jordan to inherit.]
And the Lord spake
with Mosheh on the seventh of the month Adar, on the same day,
saying, It was when
the Word of the Lord had said to him, Go up to this mount Ibraee,
the mountain of Nebo,
and he thought in his heart, and said, Perhaps this up‑going will
be like that to Mount
Sinai; and he said, I will go and sanctify the people; but the Word of
the Lord said to him,
Not so at all, but, Go thou up and view the land of Kenaan, which I
have given to the
children of Israel for an inheritance. And thou shalt sleep in the mountain
to which thou goest
up, and be gathered to thy people, even thou, as Aharon thy brother hath slept
in the mountain of Omanos, and hath been gathered unto his people. Mosheh at
once opened his mouth in prayer, and said, Lord of all the world, I entreat
that I may not be as a man who had one only son, who being in captivity, he
went and redeemed him with great price; he taught him wisdom and art, espoused
him to a wife, planted for him a royal bower, builded him a marriage house,
prepared for him the bed, invited his companions, baked his bread, slew his
victims, and mixed his wine; yet, when the time came for his son to make glad
with his wife, and the guests were about to consecrate the feast; then was that
man required to go to the house of judgment, before the king and be Punished
with the judgment of death; neither would the delay to execute his sentence
that he might see the happiness of his son. So have I laboured for this people;
I have led them by Thy Word out of Mizraim, and builded for this people; I have
taught them Thy law builded for them the tabernacle to Thy Name; but now that
the time hath come to pass the Jordan, I am punished with death! Let it please
Thee to withhold from me this sentence until I have passed the Jordan,
to see the good of Israel before I die. The Lord of the world answered him, and
said: Because thou didst prevaricate with My Word In the midst of the children
of Israel, at the Waters of Contention at Rekem in the desert of Zin, and didst
not sanctify Me among them; therefore thou mayest look over against it, but
shalt not enter into the land that I give unto the children of Israel. [Jer.
Because you were rebellios towards the Name of My Word, among the Beni Israel,
at the Waters of Contention in Rekem in the desert of Zin; forasmuch as you did
not sanctify Me in the midst of them, therefore thou mayest look over against
it, but shalt not enter into the land which I give to the children of Israel.]
Pgs. 672-685
Ch. 33-34
SECTION LIV.
VEZOTH HABBERAKAH.
XXXIII. AND this is
the order of the Benedictions wherewith Mosheh the Prophet blessed the children
of Israel before he died. And he said:
The Lord was revealed
at Sinai to give the law unto His people of Beth Israel, and the splendour of
the glory of His Shekinah arose from Gebal to give itself to the sons of Esau:
but they received it not. It shined forth in majesty and glory from mount
Pharan, to give itself to the sons of Ishmael; but they received it not. It
returned and revealed itself in holiness unto His people of Beth Israel, and
with Him ten thousand times ten thousand holy angels. He wrote with His own
right hand, and gave them His law and His commandments, out of the flaming
fire. [JERUSALEM. This is the Benediction wherewith Mosheh the prophet of the
Lord blessed the children of Israel before be should be gathered, and he said:
The Lord was revealed from Sinai to give the law unto His people of Beth
Israel. He arose in His glory upon the mountain of Seir to give the law to the
sons of Esau; but after they found that it was written therein, Thou shalt do
no murder, they would not receive it. He revealed Himself in His glory oil the
mountain of Gebala, to give the law to the sons of Ishmael; but when they found
that it was written therein, Ye shall not be thieves, they would not receive
it. Again did He reveal Himself upon Mount Sinai, and with Him ten thousands of
holy angels; and the children of Israel said, All that the Word of the Lord
hath spoken will we perform and obey. And He stretched forth His hand from the
midst of the flaming fire, and gave the Law to His people.]
And whatever hath
befallen to the nations (hath been done) because He loved His people of Beth
Israel, and all of them He hath called to be saints, to stand in the place of
His sanctuary. And when they observed the precepts of the law, they were
conducted at the foot of Thy glorious Cloud, they rested and encamped according
to the dictate of the Word. The sons of Israel said, Mosheh commanded us the
law, and gave it for an heritage to the tribes of Jakob. And he was king in
Israel: when the chiefs of the people were gathered together, the tribes of
Israel were obedient to him. [JER. Is it not all manifest and known before Him,
that neither the sons of Esau nor of Ishmael would receive the law?
Nevertheless, because He loved His people of Beth Israel as myriads of the holy
angels, though He brought upon them many corrections, they rested not, nor
desisted from the doctrine of the law; and, behold, they were conducted and
brought on at the foot of His Cloud, and went forward and encamped according to
His Word. The sons of Israel said, Mosheh commanded us the law: he gave it for
an inheritance and possession to the congregation of the house of Jakob. And a
king shall arise from the house of Jakob, when the heads of the people are
gathered together: unto Him shall the tribes of Israel be obedient.]
Let Reuben live in
this world, nor die the second death which the wicked die in the world to come;
and let his youths be numbered with the young men of his brethren of Beth
Israel. [JER. Let Reuben live in this world, nor die the second death which the
wicked the in the world to come; and let his youths be with the men in number.]
And this is the
benediction of the tribe of Jehudah, conjoined with the portion and benediction
of his brother Shemeon; and thus he spake: Receive, O Lord, the prayer of
Jehudah when he goeth forth unto war, and bring Thou him back from war unto his
people in peace. Let his hand take vengeance on his enemies, and be Thou his
help and support against his foes. [JER. And this is the benediction with which
Mosheh the prophet blessed the tribe of Jehudah, and he said: May the Word of
the Lord hearken to the prayer of Jehudah, and bring him back to his people
from battle. May his hand avenge him upon his enemies, and be Thou a help and a
support against his foes.]
And Mosheh the prophet
blessed the tribe of Levi and said, With Perfections and Lights hast Thou robed
Aharon, the man whom Thou didst find devout before Thee, whom Thou didst try in
the temptation, and he was sincere, and didst prove at the Contention Waters in
Rekem, and he was found faithful. The tribe of Levi go forth to the service of
the tabernacle, and separate themselves from their dwellings, saying of their
fathers and mothers, I have not regarded them and of their brethren, Since we
were of thirty years we have not known them or their children, for that they
abide twenty years in their charge according to Thy Word, and keep the service
of the holy covenant. Apt are they in teaching the orders of Thy judgments to
them of Beth Jakob, and Thy law to them of Beth Israel. Their brethren the
priests put incense on the censers to restrain the plague in the day of Thy
wrath, and offer up the burnt sacrifice with acceptance at Thy altar. Bless
Lord, the sacrifice of the house of Levi, who give the tenth of the tenth; and
the oblation of the hand of Elijah the priest, which he will offer on Mount
Karmela, receive Thou with acceptance: break the lons of Achab his enemy, and
the neck of the false prophets who rise up against him, that the ene. mies of
Johanan the high priest[1] may not have a foot to stand. [JER. And Mosheh the prophet blessed the tribe of Levi, and said: With
the Uraia and Tummaia hast thou clothed Aharon the saint, whom Thou didst try,
and he was steadfast in the temptation, and whom Thou didst prove at the Waters
of Contention in Rekem, and he was found faithful. For of the tribe of Levi it
may be said, He respected not the face of his own father and mother in the
judgment of Tamar, and knew not his brother in the matter of the (golden) calf,
nor towards his own children was he moved with mercy, in the work of Zimri; for
they have kept the word of Thy mouth, and have been ready (to fulfil) the
decree of Thy law. Apt are they to teach the orders of Thy judgments to them of
Beth Jakob, and the decree of Thy law to the congregation of the tribes of
Israel. They put the goodly aromatic incense (on the censer) to restrain Thy
anger, and offer the perfect sacrifice with acceptance at Thy altar. Bless,
Lord, the substance of the tribe of Levi, and receive with favour the oblation
of his hand; break Thou the loins of his enemies, that his adversaries may
fall, and rise nomore.]
Mosheh the prophet
blessed the tribe of Benjamin, and said: The beloved of the Lord shall abide in
safety with Him, He will protect him all the days, and His Shekinah will dwell
within his borders. [JER. Mosheh the prophet of the Lord blessed the tribe of
Benjamin, and said: The beloved of the Lord shall abide with confidence by Him,
He will protect him all the days, and within his borders will dwell the glory
of the Shekinah of the Lord.]
And Mosheh the prophet
of the Lord blessed the tribe of Joseph, and said: The land of Joseph shall be
blessed from before the Lord. From the bounty of the heavens shall it have
goodly fruit, from the dew and the rain that come down from above, and from the
bounty of the founts of the deep which rise up and flow and with good fruitage
to water the herbage from beneath, age and produce that the earth maketh
perfect by the aid (bringing out) of the sun, and with the bounty of the
firstfruits of the trees which the ground yieldeth in the beginning of month
after month, and with the good through the birthright ordained ness of the
mountain tops, him at the beginning by the benediction of the fathers who
resemble the mountains, and with the goodness of the hills whose produce
faileth not, which was given him in heritage by the benedictions of the mothers
of old, Who resemble the hills; and with the goodness of the excellent fruits
of the earth and its fulness and the favour towards him of Eloah who revealed
Himself to Mosheh at the bush in the glory of His Shekinah: let all these
blessings be combined, and be made a diadem of grandeur for the head of Joseph,
and for the brow of the man who was chief and ruler in the land of Mizraim, and
was the glory and honour of his brethren. The birthright had belonged to
Reuben, but was taken from him and given to Joseph at the beginning; from
thence comes the splendour of his glory and praise. For as it may not be that a
man should work the ground with the firstling of his herd, so are not the
children of Joseph to be reduced to servitude among the kingdoms; and as the
reema pusheth with his horns the beasts of the wilderness, so will the sons of
Joseph predominate together among the peoples in all the ends of the earth.
Myriads will be slain in Gulgela by Hoshea bar Nun who hath arisen from the
house of Ephraim, and thousands of the Midyance by Gideon bar Yoash who will be
of the tribe of Menasheh. [JER. And Mosheh the prophet of the Lord blessed the
tribe of Joseph, and said: Blessed be the laud of Joseph, before the Lord, with
the blessing of the dew and the rain that come down from the heavens above,
with the blessings of the fountains of the deep which well up from the earth
beneath. Bounteous produce will it yield from the good provision of the sun;
and will ripen its first fruits at the beginning of month and month. It
aboundeth in fruitfulness for the righteousness sake of Abraham, Izhak, and
Jakob, the holy fathers who are like the mountains, and for the merit of Sarah,
Revekah, Rahel, and Leah, the four mothers who are like the hills. It bringeth
forth richly from the excellence of the earth and its fulness, and by the good
will of Him who caused the glory of His Shekinah to dwell in the bush. Let all
these blessings come and be a crown upon the head of Joseph, and upon the brow
of the man who ruled in the land of Mizraim, and was the brightness of his
brothers glory. The birthright, kingdom, and honour are Joseph's: for as it
may not be that one should work with the firstling among cattle, nor bring the
horns of the reema into servitude; but as the ox and the reema push with their
horns, so this people, the sons of the tribe of Joseph, going out to battle
against their enemies, will slaughter kings and princes. Myriads of the Amoraah
will be slain by Jehoshua bar Nun, who is of the tribe of the Beni Ephraim;
thou sands of the Midyanee will be slain by Gideon bar Yoash, who is of the
tribe of the Beni Menasheh.]
And Mosheh the prophet
blessed the tribe of Zebulon, and said: Rejoice, O house of Zebulon, in your
going forth for your commerce, and you, O house of Issakar, in the tabernacles
of your schools. Many peoples shall pray at the mountain of the sanctuary,
thither will they bring their oblations of truth: for they dwell by the side of
the great sea, they are nourished with (its) dainties; and they take the shell‑fish
and dye with its blood in purple the threads of their vestments; and from the
sands make mirrors and vessels of glass; for the treasures of their coasts are
discovered to them. [JER. Mosheh the prophet of the Lord blessed the tribe of
Zebulon, and said: Rejoice, O ye of the house of Zebulon, when you go out upon
your commerce; and ye of the house of Issakar, rejoice, when you come in unto
your houses of learning. Behold, this people of the house of Zebulon will come
up together to the mountain of the sanctuary to offer true oblations; for they
eat the revenue of the seas, and the treasures hidden in the sands are
disclosed unto them.]
Mosheh the prophet of
the Lord blessed the tribe of Gad, and said: Blessed be He who hath made wide the
border of Gad. He reposeth as a lion in his habitation; but when he goeth out
to battle against his adversaries, he slayeth kings and rulers, and his
slaughtered ones are known from all the slain, for he striketh off the arm with
the crown (of the head). And he saw that the land was good, and took his
portion among the first; for there was a place strown with precious stones and
pearls; for there is the place where Mosheh the prophet is hidden, who, as he
went in and out at the head of the people in this world, will go in and out in
the world that cometh; because he wrought righteousness before the Lord, and
taught the orders of the judgments to the house of Israel his people. [JER. And
Mosheh the prophet of the Lord blessed the tribe of Gad, and said: Blessed is
he who hath made wide the border of Gad. He reposeth and inhabiteth as a lion
and a lioness; nor will there be any kingdom or people who can stand before
him; and when he goeth forth in war against his enemies his slaughtered are
known among the slain by the head being cut away unto the arm. And he saw at
the beginning that a place had been prepared there for a sepulchre, a place
strown with precious stones and pearls, where Mosheh the prophet, the scribe of
Israel, was to be hidden, (who,) as he went in and out at the head of the
people in this world, so will he go in and oat in the world to come; because he
wrought righteousness before the Lord, and taught the orders of the judgments
to the sons of Israel.]
And Mosheh the prophet
of the Lord blessed the tribe of Dan, and said: The tribe of Dan is like a
lion's whelp, his land is watered by the streams that flow from Mathnan, and
his border cometh unto Batania. [JER. And Mosheh the prophet of the Lord
blessed the tribe of Dan, and said: The tribe of Dan is like a lion's whelp,
and his land is watered from Batanea.]
And Mosheh the prophet
of the Lord blessed the tribe of Naphtali, and said: Naphtali is satisfied with
favour, and hath delight in the fishes of the sea which falleth within his
portion; and he will be replete with blessings in the fruits of the vale of
Genesareth which hath been given him from the Lord; he shall inherit the water
of Sopheni, and the sea of Tebaria. [JER. And Mosheh the prophet of the Lord
blessed the tribe of Naphtali, and said: Naphtali shall be satisfied with
favour, and be filled with blessings from the Lord; he will have possession to
the west of the sea of Genesareth, and to the south.]
And Mosheh the prophet
of the Lord blessed the tribe of Asher, and said: Blessed is Asher of the sons
of Jakob. He will be acceptable to his brethren, and will supply them with
provender in the years of release: his border will produce many olives yielding
oil, enough for him to bathe in it even his feet. The tribe of Asher be sound[2] as iron, and their feet‑strong as brass in walking on
the stony rocks; and as the days of their youth so shall they be strong in
their age. [JER. And Mosheh the prophet of the Lord blessed the tribe of Asher,
and said: Asher will be blessed of the children; he will be acceptable to his
brethren, in the release of the land, for his ground shall produce oil like
water. Behold, this people of Beth Asher are sound as iron and strong as brass;
as the days of their youth so will be the days of their age.]
There is no God like
the God of Israel, whose Shekinah and Chariot dwell in the heavens. He will be
your helper. He sitteth on His glorious throne in His majesty, in the expanse
of the heavens above. The habitation of Eloha is from eternity; by the arm of
His power beneath the world is upborne. He will scatter your adversaries before
you, and will say by His Word, Destroy them. And Isreal shall dwell safely as
of old according to the benediction with which Jakob their father did bless
them, for whose righteousness sake He will cause them to inherit the good land
that yieldeth corn and wine; the heavens also above them will drop with the
dews of blessing, and the rains of lovingkindness. Happy are you, 0 Israel: who
of all the nations are like you, a people saved in the Name of the Word of the
Lord? He is the shield of your help, and His sword, the strength of your
excellency. And your enemies shall be found liars against you from terror, and
you shall tread upon the necks of their kings. [JER. There is none like the God
of Israel, whose glorious Shekinah dwelleth in the heavens, and His magnificence
in the high expanse. In His abode hath His Shekinah dwelt before they were, and
under His power He bringeth[3] the world; and He driveth out your enemies before you, and
saith in His word, Let them be destroyed. But Israel shall dwell safely by
themselves according to the benediction with which Jakob did bless them, in the
land yielding wine and oil, The heavens also above you are bidden to send down
upon you the dew and the rain. O Israel, happy are you! Who is as you, a people
saved before the Lord, the shield of your help, the guardian of your armies,
and the trusty sword of your pre‑eminence? Your enemies are to be
scattered before you; but you, O Beth Israel, while you give diligence in the
law, and keep the commandments, shall tread upon the necks of their kings.]
XXXIV. And Mosheh went up from the plains of Moab to the mountain of Nebo, to
the summit of the height which is over against Jericho; and the Word of the
Lord showed him all the strong ones of the land, and the mighty acts which
would be done by Jeptha of Gilead, and the victories of Shimeon bar Manoah of
tribe of Dan; and the thousand princes of Beth Naphtali who would gather with
Barak, and the kings who would be slain by Jehoshua bar Nun of the tribe of
Ephraim, and the deeds of strength to be wrought by Gideon bar Yoash of the
tribe of Menasheh, and all the kings of Israel, and of the kingdom of Beth
Jehudah, who would have dominion in the land until the latter sanctuary should
be destroyed. And the king of the south who will combine with the king of the
north to destroy the inhabitants of the land and the Ammonites and Moabites,
the dwellers in the plain, who will oppress Israel, and the captives of
Elijah's disciples who will be dispersed from the plain of Jericho, and the
captives of Elisha's disciples who will be dispersed from the city of palm
trees by the hand of their brethren of Beth Israel, two hundred thousand men;
and the affliction of generation after generation, and the punishment of
Armalgos the wicked,[4] and the battle of Gog, when in the time of that great
tribulation Michael will rise up to deliver by his arm.[5] [JER. And Mosheh went up from the plain of Moab to the
mountain of Nebo, to the summit. of the height which is over against Jericho;
and the Lord showed him the whole land of Gilead unto Dan of Kesavan, and the
whole land of Naphtali and Ephraim and Manasheh, and all the land of Jehudah
to. the outer sea, and the south, and the plain of the vale of Jericho, the
city which cultivateth palms, which is Zeir.]
And the Lord said to
him, This is the end of the word concerning the land,[6] and this is the land which I covenanted unto Abraham, to
Izhak, and to Jacob, saying, I will give it unto your children. I grant thee to
see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not pass over to it.
Mosheh, the Rabban of
Israel, was born on the seventh day
of the month Adar, and on the seventh day of Adar he was gathered from the
world. A voice fell from heaven, and thus spake: Come, all ye who have entered
into the world, and behold the grief of Mosheh, the Rabban of Israel, who hath
laboured, but not to please himself, and who is ennobled with four goodly
crowns: the crown of the Law is his, because he brought it from the heavens
above, when there was revealed to him the Glory of the Lord's Shekinah, with
two thousand myriads of angels, and forty and two thousand chariots of fire.
The crown of the Priesthood bath been his in the seven days of the peace
offerings. The crown of the kingdom they gave him in possession from heaven: he
drew not the sword, nor prepared the war horse, nor gathered he the host. The
crown of a good name he possesseth by good works and by his humility. Therefore
is Mosheh, the servant of the Lord, gathered in the land of Moab, by the kiss
of the Word of the Lord.
Blessed be the Name of
the Lord of the world, who hath taught us His righteous way. He hath taught us
to clothe the naked, as He clothed Adam and Hava; He hath taught us to unite
the bridegroom and the bride in marriage, as He united Hava to Adam. He bath
taught us to visit the sick, as He revealed Himself to Abraham when he was ill,
from being circumcised; He hath taught us to console the mourners, as He
revealed Himself again to Jakob when returning from Padan, in the place where
his mother had died. He hath taught us to feed the poor, as He sent Israel
bread from heaven; He hath taught us to bury the dead by (what He did for)
Mosheh; for He revealed Himself in His Word, and with Him the companies of
ministering angels. Michael and Gabriel spread forth the golden bed, fastened
with chrysolites, gems, and beryls, adorned with hangings of purple silk, and
satin, and white linens. Metatron, Jophiel, and Uriel, and Jephephya, the wise
sages, laid him upon it, and by His Word He conducted him four miles, and
buried him in the valley opposite Beth Peor; that Israel, as oft as they look
up to Peor, may have the memory of their sin; and at sight of the burying place
of Mosheh may be humbled: but no man knoweth his sepulchre unto this day.
[JER. Spake Mosheh the
prophet: The Word of the Lord said unto me, This is the land which I have sworn
unto Abraham, to Izhak, and to Jakob, saying, Unto the children of thy children
will I give it. Behold it with thine eyes, but thou, shalt not pass over unto
it. And Mosheh, the servant of the Lord, died there in the land of the Moabaee,
according to the mouth of the decree of the Word of the Lord. And He buried him
in a valley in the land of the Moabaee, opposite to the idol Peor; nor knoweth
any one his sepulchre unto this day.] Mosheh was a son of a hundred and twenty
years when be died; the orbs of his eyes were not darkened, nor had his teeth
passed away. [JER. Mosheh was the son of a hundred and twenty years in the time
that he died; his eyes were not darkened, nor had the brightness of his face
faded away.]
And the children of
Israel wept for Mosheh in the plains of Moab thirty days; and the days of
weeping in the mourning for Mosheh were completed on the eighth of the month of
Nisan. And on the ninth of Nisan the people of Beth Israel prepared their vessels
and set their cattle in order, and passed over the Jordan on the tenth of
Nisan. And the manna ceased for them on the sixteenth of Nisan. They found
manna to eat thirty-seven days after the death of Mosheh, for the sake of his
righteousness. [JER. And the children of Israel wept for Mosheh in the plains
of Moab thirty days; and so were fulfilled the days of weeping in mourning for
Mosheh.]
But Jehoshua bar Nun
was filled with the Spirit of wisdom; for Mosheh had laid his hands upon him;
and the children of Israel received instruction from him, and did as the Lord
had commanded (by) Mosheh.
But no prophet hath
again risen in Israel like unto Mosheh, because the Word of the Lord had known
him to speak with him word for word, in all the signs, and wonders, and
manifestations which the Word of the Lord sent him to perform in the land of
Mizraim upon Pharoh, and all his servants, and all the people of his land; and
in all the strength of the Mighty Hand by which he bare the rod whose weight
was forty savin and that divided the sea, and smote the rock; and in all the
solemn things which Mosheh did when he received the two tables of sapphire
stone, whose weight was forty savin, and carried both of them in his bands in
the sight of all Israel. [JER. And Jehoshua bar Nun was filled with the Spirit
of Wisdom: for Mosheh had laid his hands upon him; and the children of Israel
hearkened unto him, and did as the Word of the Lord had commanded Mosheh. But
no prophet hath arisen yet in Israel as Mosheh, whom the Word of the Lord knew,
(speaking with him word for word,) in all the miracles, and wonders, and
distinguishing signs which the Word of the Lord sent him to perform in the land
of Mizraim, on Pharoh, and all his servants, and all his land; and in all the
Mighty Hand, and all the great manifestations which Mosheh did in the sight of
all Israel.
END OF THE TARGUM OF
PALESTINE ON THE TORAH.
BLESSED BE THE LORD,
THE GOD OF ISRAEL, FOR EVER AND EVER, AND LET THE WHOLE EARTH BE FILLED WITH
HIS GLORY.
[1] According to Seder Olam, high priest in the region of
Jehooshaphat.
[2] Or, "cleat, unalloyed."
[3] Or, "conducteth."
[4] Armillos, i.e., Antichrist. Vide the Midrash, Sepher
Zerubabel.
[5] Ezek. xxxviii.; Dan. xii
[6] Sepha de miltha be arah.
[1] The Hebrew text of verses 1-3, to the word shem
inclusive
[2] Or, "possessed."
[3] "Age or generation." The dispersion at Babel
[4] Or, "who so often gave you refuges."
[5] Or, "subsistence."
[6] Dan. vii.
[1] Beth ulphana.
[2] Gevila, which signifies also "freestone."
[1] Be-beth medreashkun.
[2] Or, "age."
[3] Or,
"captivity."
[1] Vide Addenda.
[2] Tiphsera, "a victory."
[3] Hedistin, "plebeians."
[4] Mezia, root, zua, sudavit, but also contremuit,
precussus -est. (Query.)
[5] Or, "prurigo."
[6] Be-libranaia.
[7] Or, "and there be none to bring in."
[1] Chiluphah, “its alternative;” root, chalaph, “to
change.”
[2] Mehal, “to inquire, be false or perverse with.”
[3] Ditzin, “springers.”
[4] Fishes are clean when they have at least two scales and one
fin.- Mishna, Cholin, iv.
[5] Every bird which hath a crop, and of which the internal coat
of the stomach may be readiy peeled of is clean.-Ib.,iii.,6.
[6] Or, “which is an ibu, a daitha after its kind.”
[7] Query, pelican.
[8] Or, “that is corrupted in the slaughtering of it.”
[9] That is, as any of the clean animals which were not permitted
to be sacrificed at the alter.
[10] Num. xxviii. 19.
[11] The consecrated harvest sheaf having been
offered on the preceeding day.
[1]
Vide Palest. Targ. on Exodus xxxii.
[2]
Compare the Samaritan text.
[3]
Or, rolls,” megiltha.
[4]
Tekey, theca.
[1] That is, according to some Jewish commentators, He has
revealed Himself to the Gentiles mediately, by the display of His works,
but to Isreal immediately by His word. Compare the next clause.
[2] Beketuph, “by, or over, the shoulder.”
[3]Or, “repository,” tekey, i.e. theca.
[1] Or, “reproof.”
[2] Or, “streets.”
[3] Lo ashkachith.
[4] Compare Glossary, p 16.
[5] Gibbaraia. Heb., Rephaim.
[6] Or, Emthanee, “Formidable.”
[7] Trachonitis, “rough or rocky.”
[8] Or, “the mount whose productions are fruit.”
[9] Tor Talga. So the present Arab name Jebel
Thelj.