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Book of Jasher 79



Book of Jasher 79

Chapter 79

 

1.                 
And in those days Moses was feeding
the flock of Reuel the Midianite his father-in-law, beyond the wilderness of
Sin, and the stick which he took from his father-in-law was in his hand.

2.                 
And it came to pass one day that a
kid of goats strayed from the flock, and Moses pursued it and it came to the
mountain of God to Horeb.

3.                 
And when he came to Horeb, the Lord
appeared there unto him in the bush, and he found the bush burning with fire,
but the fire had no power over the bush to consume it.

4.                 
And Moses was greatly astonished at
this sight, wherefore the bush was not consumed, and he approached to see this
mighty thing, and the Lord called unto Moses out of the fire and commanded him
to go down to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, to send the children of Israel
from his service.

5.                 
And the Lord said unto Moses, Go,
return to
Egypt, for all
those men who sought thy life are dead, and thou shalt speak unto Pharaoh to
send forth the children of
Israel from his
land.

6.                 
And the Lord showed him to do signs
and wonders in
Egypt before the eyes
of Pharaoh and the eyes of his subjects, in order that they might believe that
the Lord had sent him.

7.                 
And Moses hearkened to all that the
Lord had commanded him, and he returned to his father-in-law and told him the
thing, and Reuel said to him, Go in peace.

8.                 
And Moses rose up to go to Egypt, and he took
his wife and sons with him, and he was at an inn in the road, and an angel of
God came down, and sought an occasion against him.

9.                 
And he wished to kill him on account
of his first born son, because he had not circumcised him, and had transgressed
the covenant which the Lord had made with Abraham.

10.            
For Moses had hearkened to the words
of his father-in-law which he had spoken to him, not to circumcise his first
born son, therefore he circumcised him not.

11.            
And Zipporah saw the angel of the
Lord seeking an occasion against Moses, and she knew that this thing was owing
to his not having circumcised her son Gershom.

12.            
And Zipporah hastened and took of the
sharp rock stones that were there, and she circumcised her son, and delivered
her husband and her son from the hand of the angel of the Lord.

13.            
And Aaron the son of Amram, the
brother of Moses, was in
Egypt walking at
the river side on that day.

14.            
And the Lord appeared to him in that
place, and he said to him, Go now toward Moses in the wilderness, and he went
and met him in the
mountain of God, and he
kissed him.

15.            
And Aaron lifted up his eyes, and saw
Zipporah the wife of Moses and her children, and he said unto Moses, Who are
these unto thee?

16.            
And Moses said unto him, They are my
wife and sons, which God gave to me in Midian; and the thing grieved Aaron on
account of the woman and her children.

17.            
And Aaron said to Moses, Send away
the woman and her children that they may go to her father’s house, and Moses
hearkened to the words of Aaron, and did so.

18.            
And Zipporah returned with her
children, and they went to the house of Reuel, and remained there until the
time arrived when the Lord had visited his people, and brought them forth from
Egypt from the hand at Pharaoh.

19.            
And Moses and Aaron came to Egypt to
the community of the children of Israel, and they spoke to them all the words
of the Lord, and the people rejoiced an exceeding great rejoicing.

20.            
And Moses and Aaron rose up early on
the next day, and they went to the house of Pharaoh, and they took in their
hands the stick of God.

21.            
And when they came to the king’s
gate, two young lions were confined there with iron instruments, and no person
went out or came in from before them, unless those whom the king ordered to
come, when the conjurors came and withdrew the lions by their incantations, and
this brought them to the king.

22.            
And Moses hastened and lifted up the
stick upon the lions, and he loosed them, and Moses and Aaron came into the
king’s house.

23.            
The lions also came with them in joy,
and they followed them and rejoiced as a dog rejoices over his master when he
comes from the field.

24.            
And when Pharaoh saw this thing he
was astonished at it, and he was greatly terrified at the report, for their
appearance was like the appearance of the children of God.

25.            
And Pharaoh said to Moses, What do
you require? and they answered him, saying, The Lord God of the Hebrews has
sent us to thee, to say, Send forth my people that they may serve me.

26.            
And when Pharaoh heard their words he
was greatly terrified before them, and he said to them, Go today and come back
to me tomorrow, and they did according to the word of the king.

27.            
And when they had gone Pharaoh sent
for Balaam the magician and to Jannes and Jambres his sons, and to all the
magicians and conjurors and counsellors which belonged to the king, and they
all came and sat before the king.

28.            
And the king told them all the words
which Moses and his brother Aaron had spoken to him, and the magicians said to
the king, But how came the men to thee, on account of the lions which were
confined at the gate?

29.            
And the king said, Because they
lifted up their rod against the lions and loosed them, and came to me, and the
lions also rejoiced at them as a dog rejoices to meet his master.

30.            
And Balaam the son of Beor the magician
answered the king, saying, These are none else than magicians like ourselves.

31.            
Now therefore send for them, and let
them come and we will try them, and the king did so.

32.            
And in the morning Pharaoh sent for
Moses and Aaron to come before the king, and they took the rod of God, and came
to the king and spoke to him, saying,

33.            
Thus said the Lord God of the
Hebrews, Send my people that they may serve me.

34.            
And the king said to them, But who
will believe you that you are the messengers of God and that you come to me by
his order?

35.            
Now therefore give a wonder or sign
in this matter, and then the words which you speak will be believed.

36.            
And Aaron hastened and threw the rod
out of his hand before Pharaoh and before his servants, and the rod turned into
a serpent.

37.            
And the sorcerers saw this and they
cast each man his rod upon the ground and they became serpents.

38.            
And the serpent of Aaron’s rod lifted
up its head and opened its mouth to swallow the rods of the magicians.

39.            
And Balaam the magician answered and
said, This thing has been from the days of old, that a serpent should swallow
its fellow, and that living things devour each other.

40.            
Now therefore restore it to a rod as
it was at first, and we will also restore our rods as they were at first, and
if thy rod shall swallow our rods, then shall we know that the spirit of God is
in thee, and if not, thou art only an artificer like unto ourselves.

41.            
And Aaron hastened and stretched
forth his hand and caught hold of the serpent’s tail and it became a rod in his
hand, and the sorcerers did the like with their rods, and they got hold, each
man of the tail of his serpent, and they became rods as at first.

42.            
And when they were restored to rods,
the rod of Aaron swallowed up their rods.

43.            
And when the king saw this thing, he
ordered the book of records that related to the kings of Egypt, to be brought,
and they brought the book of records, the chronicles of the kings of Egypt, in
which all the idols of Egypt were inscribed, for they thought of finding
therein the name of Jehovah, but they found it not.

44.            
And Pharaoh said to Moses and Aaron,
Behold I have not found the name of your God written in this book, and his name
I know not.

45.            
And the counsellors and wise men
answered the king, We have heard that the God of the Hebrews is a son of the
wise, the son of ancient kings.

46.            
And Pharaoh turned to Moses and Aaron
and said to them, I know not the Lord whom you have declared, neither will I
send his people.

47.            
And they answered and said to the
king, The Lord God of Gods is his name, and he proclaimed his name over us from
the days of our ancestors, and sent us, saying, Go to Pharaoh and say unto him,
Send my people that they may serve me.

48.            
Now therefore send us, that we may
take a journey for three days in the wilderness, and there may sacrifice to
him, for from the days of our going down to Egypt, he has not taken from our
hands either burnt offering, oblation or sacrifice, and if thou wilt not send
us, his anger will be kindled against thee, and he will smite Egypt either with
the plague or with the sword.

49.            
And Pharaoh said to them, Tell me now
his power and his might; and they said to him, He created the heaven and the
earth, the seas and all their fishes, he formed the light, created the
darkness, caused rain upon the earth and watered it, and made the herbage and
grass to sprout, he created man and beast and the animals of the forest, the
birds of the air and the fish of the sea, and by his mouth they live and die.

50.            
Surely he created thee in thy
mother’s womb, and put into thee the breath of life, and reared thee and placed
thee upon the royal throne of
Egypt, and he will
take thy breath and soul from thee, and return thee to the ground whence thou
wast taken.

51.            
And the anger of the king was kindled
at their words, and he said to them, But who amongst all the Gods of nations
can do this? my river is mine own, and I have made it for myself.

52.            
And he drove them from him, and he
ordered the labor upon
Israel to be more
severe than it was yesterday and before.

53.            
And Moses and Aaron went out from the
king’s presence, and they saw the children of
Israel in an evil
condition for the task-masters had made their labor exceedingly heavy.

54.            
And Moses returned to the Lord and
said, Why hast thou ill treated thy people? for since I came to speak to
Pharaoh what thou didst send me for, he has exceedingly ill used the children
of
Israel.

55.            
And the Lord said to Moses, Behold
thou wilt see that with an outstretched hand and heavy plagues, Pharaoh will
send the children of Israel from his land.

56.            
And Moses and Aaron dwelt amongst
their brethren the children of
Israel in Egypt.

57.            
And as for the children of Israel the
Egyptians embittered their lives, with the heavy work which they imposed upon
them.

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