Part 29

Then Moses said, “My brother, what dost thou feel?”

“I feel nothing but the cloud that envelopes me,” answered he.

After a little pause, Moses said again, “My brother, what dost thou feel?”

He answered feebly, “The cloud surrounds me and bereaves me of all joy.”

And the soul of Aaron was parted from his body. And as it went up Moses cried once more, “Alas, my brother! what dost thou feel?”

And the soul replied, “I feel such joy, that I would it had come to me sooner.”

Then cried Moses, “Oh thou blessed, peaceful death! Oh, may such a death be my lot!”

Moses and Eleazer came down alone from the mountain, and the people wailed because Aaron was no more. But the coffin of Aaron rose, borne by angels, in the sight of the whole congregation, and was carried into heaven, whilst the angels sang: “The priest’s lips have kept knowledge, have spoken truth!”[574]

The Mussulman story is not quite the same.

One version is that both Moses and Aaron ascended Hor, knowing that one of them was to die, but uncertain which, and they found a cave, and a sarcophagus therein with the inscription on it, “I am for him whom I fit.”

Moses tried to lie down in it, but his feet hung out; Aaron next entered it, lay down, and it fitted him exactly.

Then Gabriel led Moses and the sons of Aaron out of the cave, and when they were again admitted Aaron was dead.[575]

Another version is this: God announced to Moses that he would call Aaron to Himself. Then Moses took his brother from the camp, and they went into the desert, till they came to a tree. When Aaron saw the shadow, he said, “O my brother, whose tree is this?”

Moses said, “God alone knows.”

Then spake Aaron, “I am weary, and the shadow is cool; suffer me to repose a little while under the tree.”

Moses said, “Lie down, my brother; and may thy rest be sweet.”

Aaron lay down, and Moses sat beside him till he died.

Then suddenly the tree, the shadow, and Aaron vanished; and Moses returned alone to the Israelites. They were angry with him, that he had not brought back Aaron, and they took up stones against him. But Moses cried to the Lord, and the Lord showed them Aaron on a bed, and he was dead; and the people looked, and wondered, and wept: then said a voice from heaven, “God hath taken him.” The people bewailed him many days.[576]

14. THE DEATH OF MOSES.

When the time came for Moses to die, the Lord called Gabriel to Him, and said, “Go and bring the soul of My servant Moses to Paradise.”

The angel Gabriel answered in astonishment, “Lord, Lord, how can I venture to give death to that man, the like of whom all generations of men have not seen?”

Then the Most High called to Him Michael, and said, “Go and bring the soul of My servant Moses to Paradise.”

The angel Michael answered in fear, “Lord, Lord, I was his instructor in heavenly lore! How can I bear death to my pupil?”

Then the Most High called to Him Sammael, and said, “Go and bring the soul of My servant Moses to Paradise.”

The angel Sammael flushed red with joy. He clothed himself in anger, and grasped his sword, and rushed down upon the holy one. But he found him writing the incommunicable name of God, and he saw his face shine with divine light. Then he stood irresolute, and his sword sank with the point to earth.

“What seekest thou?” asked Moses.

“I am sent to give thee death,” answered the trembling angel. “All mortals must submit to that.”

“But not I,” said Moses, “at least from thee; I, consecrated from my mother’s womb, the discloser of divine mysteries, the mouthpiece of God, I will not surrender my soul into thy hand.”

Then Sammael flew away.

But a voice fell from heaven, “Moses, Moses, thine hour is come!”

“My Lord,” answered Moses, “give not my soul into the hands of the Angel of Death.”

Then the Bath-kol, the heavenly voice, fell again, “Be comforted. I myself will take thy soul, and I myself will bury thee.”[577]

Then Moses went home, and knocked at the door. His wife Zipporah opened; and when she saw him pale and trembling, she inquired the reason.

Moses answered, “Give God the praise. My hour of death is come.”

“What! must a man who has spoken with God die like ordinary mortals?”

“He must. Even the angels Gabriel, Michael, and Israfiel must die; God alone is eternal, and dies not.”

Zipporah wept, and swooned away.

When she recovered her senses, Moses asked, “Where are my children?”

“They are put to bed, and are asleep.”

“Wake them up; I must bid them farewell.”

Zipporah went to the children’s bed and cried, “Arise, poor orphans! arise, and bid your father farewell; for this is his last day in this world, and the first in the world beyond.”

The children awoke in terror, and cried, “Alas! who will pity us when we are fatherless? who will stand protector on our threshold?”

Moses was so moved that he wept. Then God said to him, “What mean these tears? Fearest thou death, or dost thou part reluctantly with this world?”

“I fear not death, nor do I part reluctantly with this world; but I lament these children, who have lost their grandfather Jethro and their uncle Aaron, and who now must lose their father.”

“In whom then did thy mother confide, when she cast thee in the bulrush ark into the water?”

“In Thee, O Lord.”

“Who gave thee power before Pharaoh? who strengthened thee with thy staff to divide the sea?”

“Thou, O Lord.”

“Who led thee through the wilderness, and gave thee bread from heaven, and opened to thee the rock of flint?”

“Thou, O Lord.”

“Then canst thou not trust thy orphans to Me, who am a father to the fatherless? But go, take thy staff, and extend it once more over the sea, and thou shalt have a sign to strengthen thy wavering faith.”

Moses obeyed. He took the rod of God in his hand, and he went down to the sea-beach, and he lifted the rod over the water. Then the sea divided, and he saw in the midst a black rock. And he went forward into the sea till he reached the rock, and then a voice said to him, “Smite with thy staff!” And he smote, and the rock clave asunder, and he saw at its foundations a little cavity, and in the cavity was a worm with a green leaf in its mouth. The worm lifted up its voice and cried thrice, “Praised be God, who doth not forget me, though I, a little worm, lie in loneliness here! Praised be God, who hath nourished and cherished even me!”

When the worm was silent, God said to Moses: “Thou seest that I do not fail to consider and provide for a little worm in a rock of which men know not, far in the depths of the sea; and shall I forget thy children, who know Me?”

Moses returned with shame to his home, comforted his wife and children, and went alone to the mountain where he was to die.[578]

And when he had gone up the mountain, he met three men who were digging a grave; and he asked them, “For whom do you dig this grave?”

They answered, “For a man whom God will call to be with Him in Paradise.”

Moses asked permission to lend a hand to dig the grave of such a holy man. When it was completed, Moses asked, “Have you taken the measure of the deceased?”

“No; we have quite forgotten to do so. But he was of thy size; lie down in it, and God will reward thee, when we see if it be likely to suit.”

Moses did so.[579]

The three men were the three angels Michael, Gabriel, and Sagsagel. The angel Michael had begun the grave, the angel Gabriel had spread the white napkin for the head, the angel Sagsagel that for the feet.

Then the angel Michael stood on one side of Moses, the angel Gabriel on the other side, the angel Sagsagel at the feet, and the Majesty of God appeared above his head.

And the Lord said to Moses, “Close thine eyelids.” He obeyed.

Then the Lord said, “Press thy hand upon thy heart.” And he did so.

Then God said, “Place thy feet in order.” He did so.

Then the Lord God addressed the spirit of Moses, and said, “Holy soul, my daughter! For a hundred and twenty years hast thou inhabited this undefiled body of dust. But now thine hour is come; come forth and mount to Paradise!”

But the soul answered, trembling and with pain, “In this pure and undefiled body have I spent so many years, that I have learned to love it, and I have not the courage to desert it.”

“My daughter, come forth! I will place thee in the highest heaven beneath the Cherubim and Seraphim who bear up My eternal throne.”

Yet the soul doubted and quaked.

Then God bent over the face of Moses, and kissed him. And the soul leaped up in joy, and went with the kiss of God to Paradise.

Then a sad cloud draped the heavens, and the winds wailed, “Who lives now on earth to fight against sin and error?”

And a voice answered, “Such a prophet never arose before.”

And the Earth lamented, “I have lost the holy one!”

And Israel lamented, “We have lost the Shepherd!”

And the angels sang, “He is come in peace to the arms of God!”[580]

But the Mussulmans narrate the last scene differently.

They say that the Angel of Death stood over Moses, as he lay in the grave, and said, “Prophet of God, I must take thy soul.”

“How wilt thou take it?”

“From thy mouth.”

“Thou canst not, for my mouth hath spoken with God.”

“Then from thine eyes.”

“Thou canst not, for my eyes have seen the uncreated Light of God.”

“Then from thy ears.”

“Thou canst not, for my ears have heard the Voice of God.”

“Then from thy hands.”

“Thou canst not, for my hands have held the diamond tables, on which was engraven the Tora.”

Then God bade the Angel of Death obtain from Rhidwan, the porter of Paradise, an apple from the garden, and give it to Moses to smell.

Moses took the apple out of the hand of the Angel of Death, and smelt at it; and as he smelt thereat, the angel drew his soul forth at his nostrils.

None know where is the grave of Moses, save Gabriel, Michael, Israfiel, and Azrael, for they buried him and defend his grave to the Judgment Day.[581]

By Nebo’s lonely mountain, On this side Jordan’s wave, In a vale in the land of Moab There lies a lonely grave. And no man knows that sepulchre, And no man saw it e’er, For the angels of God upturned the sod, And laid the dead man there.

That was the grandest funeral That ever passed on earth; But no man heard the trampling, Or saw the train go forth— Noiselessly as the daylight Comes back when night is done, And the crimson streak on Ocean’s cheek Grows into the great sun;

Noiselessly as the spring-time Her crown of verdure weaves, And all the trees on all the hills Open their thousand leaves; So without sound of music, Or voice of them that wept, Silently down from the mountain’s crown The great procession swept.

And had he not high honour— The hill-side for a pall, To lie in state, while angels wait With stars for tapers tall; And the dark rock-pines, like tossing plumes, Over his bier to wave, And God’s own hand in that lonely land To lay him in the grave?[582]

Once when the Persian Empire was at the summit of its power, an attempt was made to discover the body of Moses. A countless host of Persian soldiers was sent to search Mount Nebo. When they had reached the top of the mountain, they saw the sepulchre of Moses distinctly at the bottom. They hastened to reach the valley, and then they clearly distinguished the tomb of Moses at the summit. Thus, whenever they were at the top, they saw it at the foot; and when they were at the foot, it appeared at the top; so they were forced to abandon the prosecution of their search.[583]

The incident of the contention of Michael with Satan for the body of Moses mentioned by S. Jude is contained in the apocryphal “Assumption of Moses,” now lost, but which has been quoted by Origen and other Fathers.

Footnote 453:

The early portion of the life of Moses has been elaborated from Rabbinic sources by Dr. B. Beer. Unfortunately he died before the work was completed, and it has been published as a fragment by his friend, G. Wolf. It extends only as far as his marriage with Zipporah. (Leben Moses nach Auffassung der Jüdischen Sage, von Dr. B. Beer; ein Fragment. Leipzig, 1863.) It is, for the most part, compiled from the Sepher Hajasher, or Book of Jasher.

Footnote 454:

Yaschar, pp. 1241-53. The history of Zepho is quite a romance, too long for insertion here.

Footnote 455:

Yaschar, pp. 1248, 1249; 1253, 1254.

Footnote 456:

Ibid., p. 1255.

Footnote 457:

Midrash, fol. 51; Yaschar, p. 1157.

Footnote 458:

Midrash Jalkut, fol. 52; Yaschar, pp. 1257-9.

Footnote 459:

The curious passages, Isaiah vii. 15, 22, may allude to this tradition.

Footnote 460:

Moses’s life was shortened because he brought water out of the rock contrary to God’s command (Numb. xxvii. 14), striking the rock instead of speaking to it.

Footnote 461:

Beer, pp. 112-6.

Footnote 462:

Some authorities say that Jochebed, when thrust away, married Eliphazan, the son of Parnach (Numb. xxxiv. 25), and bare him two sons, Eldad and Medad (Numb. xi. 25); but others, with more probability, assert that she married Eliphazan after the death of Amram. (Yaschar, p. 1259.)

Footnote 463:

Yaschar, p. 1260.

Footnote 464:

Targum of Palestine, i. p. 446.

Footnote 465:

Rabboth, fol. 118a.

Footnote 466:

Exod. xv. 1.

Footnote 467:

The Arabic name for her is Asia; Yaschar, p. 1261.

Footnote 468:

Targum of Palestine, i. p. 446; Yaschar, p. 1261.

Footnote 469:

Midrash, fol. 51.

Footnote 470:

Midrash, fol. 51; Yaschar, p. 1262.

Footnote 471:

Midrash, fol. 52; Yaschar, p. 1263.

Footnote 472:

According to another version, it was Jethro who advised that the child should be proved with the basins of rubies and coals. (Rabboth, fol. 118 b; Yaschar, pp. 1263, 1264.)

Footnote 473:

Exod. iv. 10.

Footnote 474:

Beer, pp. 26-42. Abulfaraj says that Jannes and Jambres were the tutors of Moses in his youth (Hist. Dynast., p. 17).

Footnote 475:

Yaschar, p. 1265.

Footnote 476:

Yaschar, p. 1265.

Footnote 477:

Yaschar, p. 1263.

Footnote 478:

Parascha of R. Solomon Jaschi, on Exod. ii. 12; also Targums of Palestine and Jerusalem, i. p. 447; Yaschar, pp. 1265, 1266.

Footnote 479:

Pirke R. Eliezer, c. 40; Rabboth, fol. 119a; Yaschar, p. 1266.

Footnote 480:

This illustrates the passage 2 Kings ix. 13.

Footnote 481:

Midrash, fol. 52; Yaschar, pp. 1265-1274.

Footnote 482:

These were two of his seven names.

Footnote 483:

It may be noticed in this as in several other instances, such as those of Rebekah and Rachel, the Rabbis have invented stories to explain the circumstance of the damsels watering the flock, which they supposed derogated from their dignity. This indicates the late date of these traditions, when the old pastoral simplicity was lost.

Footnote 484:

Pirke R. Eliezer, c. 40; Yaschar, p. 1274.

Footnote 485:

The Targum of Palestine, “ten years;” i. p. 448.

Footnote 486:

Beer, pp. 42-62; Pirke R. Eliezer. The Targum of Palestine says the rod was in the chamber of Jethro, not in the garden; i. p. 448. Yaschar, pp. 1277, 1278.

Footnote 487:

Rabbot., fol. 120 a. It is possible that our Blessed Lord’s parable of the Good Shepherd may contain an allusion to this popular and beautiful tradition.

Footnote 488:

Gen. iii. 4. It was the angel Zagnugael who appeared and spoke to him from the bush. (Targum of Palestine, i. p. 449; Abulfeda, p. 31.)

Footnote 489:

Exod. iv. 14.

Footnote 490:

Tabari, i. c. lxxiii. p. 24.

Footnote 491:

Midrash, fol. 54.

Footnote 492:

Targum of Palestine, i. p. 460.

Footnote 493:

Yaschar, p. 1280.

Footnote 494:

Tabari, p. 326.

Footnote 495:

Some say that Pharaoh entreated Moses to spare him for the sake of Asia (Bithia), and that at the mention of his name Moses was softened. (Weil, p. 159.)

Footnote 496:

In Arabic, Risam and Rijam; and Shabun and Gabun, in Persian.

Footnote 497:

Midrash, fol. 56. The Targums say that the enchanters turned the water of Goshen into blood, so that there was no water to the Israelites as to the Egyptians; i. p. 462.

Footnote 498:

Midrash, fol. 55.

Footnote 499:

Targum of Palestine, i. p. 463.

Footnote 500:

Venomous insects (Kalma), gnats (Kinnim). See Wisdom xvi. 1, 3.

Footnote 501:

Targums, i. 464.

Footnote 502:

Targums, i. p. 467.

Footnote 503:

Ibid., i. p. 471.

Footnote 504:

Yaschar, p. 1283.

Footnote 505:

Tabari, i. p. 338.

Footnote 506:

Weil, p. 165.

Footnote 507:

Talmud, Sota. fol. 13.

Footnote 508:

Targum of Palestine, i. p. 478.

Footnote 509:

Targums, i. p. 475.

Footnote 510:

Ibid., i. p. 485.

Footnote 511:

Targum of Jerusalem, i. p. 488; Yaschar, p. 1287.

Footnote 512:

Exod. xiv. 13, 14.

Footnote 513:

Koran, Sura xxvi. v. 63.

Footnote 514:

Weil, p. 168; see also Midrash, fol. 176.

Footnote 515:

Exod. xv. 21.

Footnote 516:

Tabari, p. 350.

Footnote 517:

Ibid. i. p. 355.

Footnote 518:

Both the Rabbis and the Mussulmans lay the blame, not on Aaron, but on another. The Rabbis say it was Micah who made the calf; the Mussulmans call him Samiri. (Weil, p. 170.)

Footnote 519:

Targum of Palestine, i. p. 552.

Footnote 520:

Tabari, i. p. 362.

Footnote 521:

Targum of Palestine, ii. p. 685.

Footnote 522:

Pirke R. Eliezer, c. 45.

Footnote 523:

Weil, pp. 172, 173.

Footnote 524:

Koran, Sura vii. v. 139.

Footnote 525:

Tabari, i. p. 364.

Footnote 526:

Ibid., i. c. lxxv.

Footnote 527:

Targum of Palestine, i. p. 561.

Footnote 528:

Jalkut Rubeni, fol. 117, col. 1.

Footnote 529:

Jalkut Rubeni, fol. 107, cols. 2, 3.

Footnote 530:

Ibid., fol. 107, col. 3.

Footnote 531:

Tabari, i. p. 371; also Midrash, fol. 30.

Footnote 532:

Parascha R. Bechai, fol. 116.

Footnote 533:

Talmud, Tract. Hajada, fol. 12, col. 2.

Footnote 534:

Talmud, Tract. Joma, fol. 75, col. 1.

Footnote 535:

This is sanctioned by Scripture: “_Thou feddest Thine own people with angels’ food, and didst send them from heaven bread prepared without their labour, able to content every man’s delight, and agreeing to every taste._” (Wisdom, xvi. 20.)

Footnote 536:

Talmud, Tract. Joma, fol. 75, col. 1; Schemoth Rabba, fol. 115, col. 4.

Footnote 537:

To this tradition perhaps David refers, Ps. xxiii. 5, lxxviii. 19.

Footnote 538:

Targum of Palestine, i. pp. 499, 500.

Footnote 539:

Jalkut Shimoni, fol. 73, col. 4.

Footnote 540:

Targum of Palestine, i. pp. 501, 502.

Footnote 541:

Tabari, i. p. 393.

Footnote 542:

Koran, Sura ii. v. 54.

Footnote 543:

Tabari, i. p. 394; but also Deut. viii. 4, Nehemiah ix. 21.

Footnote 544:

1 Cor. x. 4.

Footnote 545:

Tabari, i. p. 373.

Footnote 546:

See my “Curious Myths of the Middle Ages,” article on S. George. I have no doubt whatever that El Khoudr, identified by the Jews with Elias, is the original of the Wandering Jew. I did not know this when I wrote on the “Wandering Jew” in my “Curious Myths,” but I believe this to be the key to the whole story.

Footnote 547:

Weil, pp. 176-81; Tabari, i. c. lxxvi.; Koran, Sura xviii.

Footnote 548:

Voltaire has taken this legend as the basis of his story of “Zadig.”

Footnote 549:

Targums, ii. pp. 380, 381.

Footnote 550:

Weil, p. 175.

Footnote 551:

Targums, ii. p. 382.

Footnote 552:

Weil, p. 176.

Footnote 553:

Targums, ii. p. 386.

Footnote 554:

Tract. Kethuvoth, fol. 111, col. 2.

Footnote 555:

Targum of Palestine, ii. p. 390.

Footnote 556:

Targums, ii. p. 391.

Footnote 557:

Tabari, i. c. lxxvii.; Weil, pp. 182, 183; Abulfeda, p. 33.

Footnote 558:

Eisenmenger, ii. p. 305. Possibly the passage Zech. ix. 11, 12, may contain an allusion to this tradition.

Footnote 559:

Ibid., p. 342.

Footnote 560:

Pirke R. Eliezer, c. 45.

Footnote 561:

Perhaps the passage Isai. xl. 4 may be an allusion to this tradition.

Footnote 562:

Talmud, Tract. Beracoth, fol. 54, col. 2; Targum of Palestine, ii. pp. 411-13.

Footnote 563:

Talmud, Tract. Beracoth, fol. 54, col. 2; Targums, ii. p. 416; Yaschar, p. 1296.

Footnote 564:

Talmud, Tract. Sopherim, fol. 14, col. 4.

Footnote 565:

Ibid., Tract. Nida, fol. 24, col. 2.

Footnote 566:

Jalkut Cadasch, fol. 16, col. 2.

Footnote 567:

Eisenmenger, i. p. 389.

Footnote 568:

Talmud, Tract. Sopherim, fol. 14, col. 4.

Footnote 569:

Tabari, i. p. 398.

Footnote 570:

Gen. xxxi. 51.

Footnote 571:

Targums, ii. pp. 419-21.

Footnote 572:

Targums, ii. pp. 432-3.

Footnote 573:

Ibid., pp. 434-5.

Footnote 574:

Jalkut, fol. 240; Rabboth, fol. 275, col. 1; Midrash, fol. 285.

Footnote 575:

Weil, p. 185.

Footnote 576:

Tabari, i. c. lxxix.; Abulfeda, p. 35.

Footnote 577:

Rabboth, fol. 302 b; Devarim Rabba, fol. 246, col. 2.

Footnote 578:

Weil, pp. 188, 189.

Footnote 579:

Weil, p. 190.

Footnote 580:

Rabboth, fol. 302 b.

Footnote 581:

Weil, pp. 190, 191.

Footnote 582:

Lyra Anglicana, London, 1864, “The Burial of Moses.”

Footnote 583:

Talmud, Tract. Sota, fol. 14 a.

XXXIII. JOSHUA.

Hitherto Israel had required a lawgiver, and they had been given one in Moses; now they needed a general, and they were provided with one in Joshua.

After the death of Moses and his brother Aaron, the children of Israel remained seven years in the wilderness, till the forty years were accomplished. Then God conferred on Joshua the function of prophet, and ordered him to lead the chosen people out of the desert and to attack the three cities of the giants.

Joshua was of the tribe of Joseph. He was the son of Nun, who was the son of Ephraim, who was the son of Joseph; and his mother was Miriam, the sister of Moses and Aaron.[584]

Before Joshua led the people of the Lord to the conquest of the Holy Land, Joshua sent three deputations into Canaan; of these the first proclaimed, “Let any one who will escape death, leave the country.”

Then came the second deputation, and declared, “Let such people as will make an alliance with us, do so, and we will receive them.”

Then came the third deputation, and cried, “Let those who persist in desiring war, prepare for it.”

The result of these deputations was that one nation deserted the country and settled in Africa, and that another nation made terms with Israel. But thirty-one princes made ready for war.[585]

Joshua marched with his army against Jericho, took the city, and slew all the men therein; they were giants, and it took a hundred men to cut off the head of each giant.

After the capture of Jericho, Joshua went against Ai, which is beside Beth-aven, on the east side of Bethel. And as the people went up, the men of Ai came forth, and routed them, and they fled.[586]

Then Joshua rent his clothes, and fell on his face to the earth before the ark of the Lord, until eventide, he and the elders of Israel, and put dust on their heads.

And the Lord said to Joshua, “Get thee up. I am wroth with the people, for there is amongst them a sin which is not put away, and till that accursed thing is cast out, victory shall not attend their arms.”

Now Joshua had ordered all the plunder of Jericho to be burnt with fire; but although it was heaped up, the fire would not consume it. Then he knew that the pile could not be complete, for the flames danced up, but would consume nothing, as though they waited for the entirety of their prey.

So Joshua made inquisition; and it was found that Achan (Adjezan in Arabic) had concealed a portion of the booty, which he desired to appropriate to his own use.

Then the booty taken by Achan was added to the heap, and instantly the flames roared up, and devoured the whole of the spoil.[587]