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Book of Jasher 14



Book of Jasher 14

Chapter 14

 

1.                 
In those days there was in the land of Shinar a wise man
who had understanding in all wisdom, and of a beautiful appearance, but he was
poor and indigent; his name was Rikayon and he was
hard set to support himself.

2.                 
And he resolved to go to Egypt, to Oswiris the son of Anom king of Egypt, to show the
king his wisdom; for perhaps he might find grace in his sight, to raise him up
and give him maintenance; and Rikayon did so.

3.                 
And when Rikayon
came to Egypt he asked the inhabitants of Egypt concerning the king, and the inhabitants
of Egypt told him the custom of the king of Egypt, for it was then the custom
of the king of Egypt that he went from his royal palace and was seen abroad
only one day in the year, and after that the king would return to his palace to
remain there.

4.                 
And on the day when the king went
forth he passed judgment in the land, and every one having a suit came before
the king that day to obtain his request.

5.                 
And when Rikayon
heard of the custom in
Egypt and that he
could not come into the presence of the king, he grieved greatly and was very
sorrowful.

6.                 
And in the evening Rikayon went out and found a house in ruins, formerly a
bake house in Egypt, and he abode there all night in bitterness of soul and
pinched with hunger, and sleep was removed from his eyes.

7.                 
And Rikayon
considered within himself what he should do in the town until the king made his
appearance, and how he might maintain himself there.

8.                 
And he rose in the morning and walked
about, and met in his way those who sold vegetables and various sorts of seed
with which they supplied the inhabitants.

9.                 
And Rikayon
wished to do the same in order to get a maintenance in the city, but he was
unacquainted with the custom of the people, and he was like a blind man among
them.

10.            
And he went and obtained vegetables to
sell them for his support, and the rabble assembled about him and ridiculed
him, and took his vegetables from him and left him nothing.

11.            
And he rose up from there in
bitterness of soul, and went sighing to the bake house in which he had remained
all the night before, and he slept there the second night.

12.            
And on that night again he reasoned
within himself how he could save himself from starvation, and he devised a
scheme how to act.

13.            
And he rose up in the morning and
acted ingeniously, and went and hired thirty strong men of the rabble, carrying
their war instruments in their hands, and he led them to the top of the
Egyptian sepulchre, and he placed them there.

14.            
And he commanded them, saying, Thus saith the king, Strengthen yourselves and be valiant men,
and let no man be buried here until two hundred pieces of silver be given, and
then he may be buried; and those men did according to the order of Rikayon to the people of Egypt the whole of that year.

15.            
And in eight months time Rikayon and his men gathered great riches of silver and
gold, and Rikayon took a great quantity of horses and
other animals, and he hired more men, and he gave them horses and they remained
with him.

16.            
And when the year came round, at the
time the king went forth into the town, all the inhabitants of Egypt assembled
together to speak to him concerning the work of Rikayon
and his men.

17.            
And the king went forth on the
appointed day, and all the Egyptians came before him and cried unto him,
saying,

18.            
May the king live forever. What is this
thing thou doest in the town to thy servants, not to suffer a dead body to be
buried until so much silver and gold be given? Was there ever the like unto
this done in the whole earth, from the days of former kings yea even from the
days of Adam, unto this day, that the dead should not be buried only for a set
price?

19.            
We know it to be the custom of kings
to take a yearly tax from the living, but thou dost not only do this, but from
the dead also thou exactest a tax day by day.

20.            
Now, O king, we can no more bear
this, for the whole city is ruined on this account, and dost thou not know it?

21.            
And when the king heard all that they
had spoken he was very wroth, and his anger burned within him at this affair,
for he had known nothing of it.

22.            
And the king said, Who and where is
he that dares to do this wicked thing in my land without my command? Surely you
will tell me.

23.            
And they told him all the works of Rikayon and his men, and the king’s anger was aroused, and
he ordered Rikayon and his men to be brought before
him.

24.            
And Rikayon
took about a thousand children, sons and daughters, and clothed them in silk
and embroidery, and he set them upon horses and sent them to the king by means
of his men, and he also took a great quantity of silver and gold and precious
stones, and a strong and beautiful horse, as a present for the king, with which
he came before the king and bowed down to the earth before him; and the king,
his servants and all the inhabitants of Egypt wondered at the work of Rikayon, and they saw his riches and the present that he
had brought to the king.

25.            
And it greatly pleased the king and
he wondered at it; and when Rikayon sat before him
the king asked him concerning all his works, and Rikayon
spoke all his words wisely before the king, his servants and all the
inhabitants of
Egypt.

26.            
And when the king heard the words of Rikayon and his wisdom, Rikayon
found grace in his sight, and he met with grace and kindness from all the
servants of the king and from all the inhabitants of
Egypt, on account
of his wisdom and excellent speeches, and from that time they loved him
exceedingly.

27.            
And the king answered and said to Rikayon, Thy name shall no more be called Rikayon but Pharaoh shall be thy name, since thou didst
exact a tax from the dead; and he called his name Pharaoh.

28.            
And the king and his subjects loved Rikayon for his wisdom, and they consulted with all the
inhabitants of
Egypt to make him
prefect under the king.

29.            
And all the inhabitants of Egypt and its wise
men did so, and it was made a law in
Egypt.

30.            
And they made Rikayon
Pharaoh prefect under Oswiris king of
Egypt, and Rikayon Pharaoh governed over Egypt, daily
administering justice to the whole city, but Oswiris
the king would judge the people of the land one day in the year, when he went
out to make his appearance.

31.            
And Rikayon
Pharaoh cunningly usurped the government of
Egypt, and he
exacted a tax from all the inhabitants of
Egypt.

32.            
And all the inhabitants of Egypt greatly
loved Rikayon Pharaoh, and they made a decree to call
every king that should reign over them and their seed in
Egypt, Pharaoh.

33.            
Therefore all the kings that reigned
in
Egypt from that
time forward were called Pharaoh unto this day.

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