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Book of Jasher 66



Book of Jasher 66

Chapter 66

 

1.                 
At that time died Hadad the son of
Bedad king of
Edom, and Samlah
from Mesrekah, from the country of the children of the east, reigned in his
place.

2.                 
In the thirteenth year of the reign
of Pharaoh king of
Egypt, which was
the hundred and twenty-fifth year of the Israelites going down into
Egypt, Samlah had
reigned over
Edom eighteen
years.

3.                 
And when he reigned, he drew forth
his hosts to go and fight against Zepho the son of Eliphaz and the children of
Chittim, because they had made war against Angeas king of
Africa, and they
destroyed his whole army.

4.                 
But he did not engage with him, for
the children of Esau prevented him, saying, He was their brother, so Samlah
listened to the voice of the children of Esau, and turned back with all his
forces to the land of Edom, and did not proceed to fight against Zepho the son
of Eliphaz.

5.                 
And Pharaoh king of Egypt heard this
thing, saying, Samlah king of
Edom has resolved
to fight the children of Chittim, and afterward he will come to fight against
Egypt.

6.                 
And when the Egyptians heard this
matter, they increased the labor upon the children of
Israel, lest the
Israelites should do unto them as they did unto them in their war with the
children of Esau in the days of Hadad.

7.                 
So the Egyptians said unto the
children of
Israel, Hasten and
do your work, and finish your task, and strengthen the land, lest the children
of Esau your brethren should come to fight against us, for on your account will
they come against us.

8.                 
And the children of Israel did the work
of the men of
Egypt day by day,
and the Egyptians afflicted the children of
Israel in order to
lessen them in the land.

9.                 
But as the Egyptians increased the
labor upon the children of
Israel, so did the
children of
Israel increase and
multiply, and all
Egypt was filled
with the children of
Israel.

10.            
And in the hundred and twenty-fifth
year of
Israel‘s going down
into
Egypt, all the
Egyptians saw that their counsel did not succeed against
Israel, but that
they increased and grew, and the
land of Egypt and the land of Goshen were filled
with the children of
Israel.

11.            
So all the elders of Egypt and its wise
men came before the king and bowed down to him and sat before him.

12.            
And all the elders of Egypt and the wise
men thereof said unto the king, May the king live forever; thou didst counsel
us the counsel against the children of
Israel, and we did
unto them according to the word of the king.

13.            
But in proportion to the increase of
the labor so do they increase and grow in the land, and behold the whole
country is filled with them.

14.            
Now therefore our lord and king, the
eyes of all Egypt are upon thee to give them advice with thy wisdom, by which
they may prevail over Israel to destroy them, or to diminish them from the
land; and the king answered them saying, Give you counsel in this matter that
we may know what to do unto them.

15.            
And an officer, one of the king’s
counsellors, whose name was Job, from
Mesopotamia, in the land of Uz, answered
the king, saying,

16.            
If it please the king, let him hear
the counsel of his servant; and the king said unto him, Speak.

17.            
And Job spoke before the king, the
princes, and before all the elders of
Egypt, saying,

18.            
Behold the counsel of the king which
he advised formerly respecting the labor of the children of
Israel is very
good, and you must not remove from them that labor forever.

19.            
But this is the advice counselled by
which you may lessen them, if it seems good to the king to afflict them.

20.            
Behold we have feared war for a long
time, and we said, When Israel becomes fruitful in the land, they will drive us
from the land if a war should take place.

21.            
If it please the king, let a royal
decree go forth, and let it be written in the laws of
Egypt which shall
not be revoked, that every male child born to the Israelites, his blood shall
be spilled upon the ground.

22.            
And by your doing this, when all the
male children of Israel shall have died, the evil of their wars will cease; let
the king do so and send for all the Hebrew midwives and order them in this
matter to execute it; so the thing pleased the king and the princes, and the
king did according to the word of Job.

23.            
And the king sent for the Hebrew
midwives to be called, of which the name of one was Shephrah, and the name of
the other Puah.

24.            
And the midwives came before the
king, and stood in his presence.

25.            
And the king said unto them, When you
do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools,
if it be a son, then you shall kill him, but if it be a daughter, then she
shall live.

26.            
But if you will not do this thing,
then will I burn you up and all your houses with fire.

27.            
But the midwives feared God and did
not hearken to the king of Egypt nor to his words, and when the Hebrew women
brought forth to the midwife son or daughter, then did the midwife do all that
was necessary to the child and let it live; thus did the midwives all the days.

28.            
And this thing was told to the king,
and he sent and called for the midwives and he said to them, Why have you done
this thing and have saved the children alive?

29.            
And the midwives answered and spoke
together before the king, saying,

30.            
Let not the king think that the
Hebrew women are as the Egyptian women, for all the children of Israel are
hale, and before the midwife comes to them they are delivered, and as for us
thy handmaids, for many days no Hebrew woman has brought forth upon us, for all
the Hebrew women are their own midwives, because they are hale.

31.            
And Pharaoh heard their words and
believed them in this matter, and the midwives went away from the king, and God
dealt well with them, and the people multiplied and waxed exceedingly.

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