Book of Jasher 77
Chapter 77
1.
Adikam was twenty years old when he
reigned over
four years.
2.
In the two hundred and sixth year of
to
reign over
continued not so long in his reign over
fathers had continued their reigns.
3.
For Melol his father reigned
ninety-four years in
ten years sick and died, for he had been wicked before the Lord.
4.
And all the Egyptians called the name
of Adikam Pharaoh like the name of his fathers, as was their custom to do in
5.
And all the wise men of Pharaoh
called the name of Adikam Ahuz, for short is called Ahuz in the Egyptian
language.
6.
And Adikam was exceedingly ugly, and
he was a cubit and a span and he had a great beard which reached to the soles
of his feet.
7.
And Pharaoh sat upon his father’s
throne to reign over
conducted the government of
wisdom.
8.
And whilst he reigned he exceeded his
father and all the preceding kings in wickedness, and he increased his yoke
over the children of
9.
And he went with his servants to
children of
strengthened the labor over them and he said unto them, Complete your work,
each day’s task, and let not your hands slacken from our work from this day
forward as you did in the days of my father.
10.
And he placed officers over them from
amongst the children of
these officers he placed taskmasters from amongst his servants.
11.
And he placed over them a measure of
bricks for them to do according to that number, day by day, and he turned back
and went to
12.
At that time the task-masters of
Pharaoh ordered the officers of the children of
the command of Pharaoh, saying,
13.
Thus says Pharaoh, Do your work each
day, and finish your task, and observe the daily measure of bricks; diminish
not anything.
14.
And it shall come to pass that if you
are deficient in your daily bricks, I will put your young children in their
stead.
15.
And the task-masters of
those days as Pharaoh had ordered them.
16.
And whenever any deficiency was found
in the children of Israel’s measure of their daily bricks, the task-masters of
Pharaoh would go to the wives of the children of Israel and take infants of the
children of Israel to the number of bricks deficient, they would take them by
force from their mother’s laps, and put them in the building instead of the
bricks;
17.
Whilst their fathers and mothers were
crying over them and weeping when they heard the weeping voices of their
infants in the wall of the building.
18.
And the task-masters prevailed over
Israelites should place their children in the building, so that a man placed
his son in the wall and put mortar over him, whilst his eyes wept over him, and
his tears ran down upon his child.
19.
And the task-masters of
the babes of
days, and no one pitied or had compassion over the babes of the children of
20.
And the number of all the children
killed in the building was two hundred and seventy, some whom they had built
upon instead of the bricks which had been left deficient by their fathers, and
some whom they had drawn out dead from the building.
21.
And the labor imposed upon the
children of
of Adikam exceeded in hardship that which they performed in the days of his
father.
22.
And the children of
day on account of their heavy work, for they had said to themselves, Behold
when Pharaoh shall die, his son will rise up and lighten our work!
23.
But they increased the latter work
more than the former, and the children of
this and their cry ascended to God on account of their labor.
24.
And God heard the voice of the
children of
in those days, and God remembered to them his covenant which he had made with
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
25.
And God saw the burden of the
children of
heavy work in those days, and he determined to deliver them.
26.
And Moses the son of Amram was still
confined in the dungeon in those days, in the house of Reuel the Midianite, and
Zipporah the daughter of Reuel did support him with food secretly day by day.
27.
And Moses was confined in the dungeon
in the house of Reuel for ten years.
28.
And at the end of ten years which was
the first year of the reign of Pharaoh over
place of his father,
29.
Zipporah said to her father Reuel, No
person inquires or seeks after the Hebrew man, whom thou didst bind in prison
now ten years.
30.
Now therefore, if it seem good in thy
sight, let us send and see whether he is living or dead, but her father knew
not that she had supported him.
31.
And Reuel her father answered and
said to her, Has ever such a thing happened that a man should be shut up in a
prison without food for ten years, and that he should live?
32.
And Zipporah answered her father,
saying, Surely thou hast heard that the God of the Hebrews is great and awful,
and does wonders for them at all times.
33.
He it was who delivered Abraham from
Ur of the Chaldeans, and Isaac from the sword of his father, and Jacob from the
angel of the Lord who wrestled with him at the ford of Jabbuk.
34.
Also with this man has he done many
things, he delivered him from the river in Egypt and from the sword of Pharaoh,
and from the children of Cush, so also can he deliver him from famine and make
him live.
35.
And the thing seemed good in the
sight of Reuel, and he did according to the word of his daughter, and sent to
the dungeon to ascertain what became of Moses.
36.
And he saw, and behold the man Moses
was living in the dungeon, standing upon his feet, praising and praying to the
God of his ancestors.
37.
And Reuel commanded Moses to be
brought out of the dungeon, so they shaved him and he changed his prison
garments and ate bread.
38.
And afterward Moses went into the
behind the house, and he there prayed to the Lord his God, who had done mighty
wonders for him.
39.
And it was that whilst he prayed he
looked opposite to him, and behold a sapphire stick was placed in the ground,
which was planted in the midst of the garden.
40.
And he approached the stick and he
looked, and behold the name of the Lord God of hosts was engraved thereon,
written and developed upon the stick.
41.
And he read it and stretched forth
his hand and he plucked it like a forest tree from the thicket, and the stick
was in his hand.
42.
And this is the stick with which all
the works of our God were performed, after he had created heaven and earth, and
all the host of them, seas, rivers and all their fishes.
43.
And when God had driven Adam from the
garden of Eden, he took the stick in his hand and went and tilled the ground
from which he was taken.
44.
And the stick came down to Noah and
was given to Shem and his descendants, until it came into the hand of Abraham
the Hebrew.
45.
And when Abraham had given all he had
to his son Isaac, he also gave to him this stick.
46.
And when Jacob had fled to
Padan-aram, he took it into his hand, and when he returned to his father he had
not left it behind him.
47.
Also when he went down to
into his hand and gave it to Joseph, one portion above his brethren, for Jacob
had taken it by force from his brother Esau.
48.
And after the death of Joseph, the
nobles of
the house of Joseph, and the stick came into the hand of Reuel the Midianite,
and when he went out of
in his hand and planted it in his garden.
49.
And all the mighty men of the Kinites
tried to pluck it when they endeavored to get Zipporah his daughter, but they
were unsuccessful.
50.
So that stick remained planted in the
came who had a right to it and took it.
51.
And when Reuel saw the stick in the
hand of Moses, he wondered at it, and he gave him his daughter Zipporah for a
wife.
