Sunday, December 2, 2007

Moses' Covenant

Chapter XVI

1. The Voice of Jehovih came to Moses, saying: Have the king give thee commissioners who shall go in advance and examine the countries whither I will lead thee; and when the commissioners have returned, thou shalt proclaim to My people what the commissioners say, and the people will be convinced, and rise up and follow thee. So Moses asked the king for a commission of Eguptians, and the king appointed thirty-three men, and allotted to them seven months to accomplish the inspection; and he gave to the commission camels and asses to ride upon, and to carry food to eat on the journey.

2. Meanwhile, Moses sent Aaron around about through Egupt, to inform the people of the commission, and also as to how they should make their outfits. And Aaron said unto the rab'bahs: Be ye circumspect as to the outfits of our people; observing that they carry not away with them anything that is another's, even to a fraction; for thus hath Moses commanded me to say unto you.

3. When the commissioners returned and made their report, which was favorable, Moses had the report sent amongst the Israelites; and Moses added: For there be such, as, having little faith in Jehovih, will have faith in the words of the commissioners.

4. The Gods of the Eguptians were not idle, and they sent word by way of the oracles to the courtiers and nobles to the effect that Moses had persuaded the king to hand the kingdom over to the foreign nations, knowing the king had no son eligible to the throne.

5. The courtiers and nobles, therefore, importuned the king to choose one of two things: Either to banish Moses out of the country, and put aside all arrangements for the migration of the Israelites; or, on the other hand, to abdicate the throne in favor of Nu-ghan. In the meantime, a whole year's drouth came upon Egupt, and the rivers overflowed not, so that a famine was sure to fall upon many parts of the country.

6. The king answered the demand of the courtiers and nobles with these words: I am Pharaoh, king of Egupt! Look ye to the threatened famine; provide the stores for my people. I declare to you all, a new thing is come unto the world, which is: Migration from Bondage! Nor is it in the power of nobles or courtiers or kings to stay this invention.

7. When the courtiers received this answer they said to one another: These are Moses' words, fashioned for the king's mouth. Certainly he hath lost the fear of the Lord, and hearkeneth to the Great Spirit of the Israelites!

8. Jehovih, through His angels, spake to Moses, saying: Now is thy time. Go to the Heads whom thou has chosen and appoint a time unto them of one place, and a time unto others of another place, and so on unto all the Heads. And thou shalt make the armies going forth so numerous that the Eguptians will be overwhelmed.

9. These, then, are Heads, the chief rab'bahs appointed by Moses, and the places in Egupt whence they were to depart from:

10. Rasak, son of Ubeth, of the place Hagor; Ashimel, son of Esta, of the place Ranna; Gamba, son of Hanor, of the place Nusomat; Bothad, son of Nainis, of the place Palgoth; Amram, Son of Yoth, of the place Borgol; Lakiddik, son of Samhad, of the place Apau; Jokai, son of Keddam, of the place Hasakar; Jorvith, son of Habed, of the place Oeda; Sattu, son of Bal, of the place Harragatha; Tussumak, Son of Aban, of the place Ra; Makrath, son of Filatti, of the place Nabaoth; Hijamek, son of Tor, of the place Nu'joram; Fallu, son of Hagan, of the place Ennitz; Shutta, of the place Romja; Jokkin, son of Rutz, of the place Moan; Tudan, son of Barrahha, of the place Hezron; Osharrak, son of Libni, of the place Raim; Thammas, son of Rodaad, of the place Sakaz; Misa, son of Tiddiyas, of the place Tessam; and Sol, son of Zakkaas, of the place Annayis.

11. Jehovih said: And the Heads shall have notice seventy and seven days; and they shall notify the rab'bah of their places, that due preparation shall be made for the start. Nevertheless, the time appointed unto thy people shall be kept secret with the Heads and the rab'bahs. And whatever number the rab'bah can send forth, he shall notify the Head; and when all things are in readiness, that number shall go forth on the day appointed, every one on the same day.

12. And Moses appointed the month Abib and the tenth day thereof, when all the people should start; and moreover, he said unto the Heads: Ye shall see to it that the night before they start, even at the hour of sunset, and the moment thereof, every family shall offer a lamb in sacrifice, and every man, and every woman, and every child that can speak, shall covenant unto Jehovih in the blood of the lamb.

13. When the time of the slaughter is at hand, the family shall stand around, and the lamb shall be in the midst, bound head and foot; and when the knife is raised for the blow, no one shall speak, for that which is to be shall be the covenant of the blood of the lamb against Egupt. And when the throat is cut across and the blood flowing, they shall all say: In Egupt the lamb of Jehovih is dead; His God shall go hence with Israel, but Egupt shall be accursed from this night! Accept this, my covenant, with thee, O Jehovih (E-O-Ih!), for innocent blood hath been shed as a testimony before Thee that, with to-morrow's rising sun, I rise to lie not down again in Egupt forever!

14. Thus went Aaron and Akad, bearing this message in secret to the Heads of the Houses of Israel, saying unto them: Thus saith Moses: This is the commandment of Jehovih, Who is Almighty!

15. And now, on the eve of success to the Israelites, the king of Egupt, being at the point of death, sent for Moses, and Moses went to him. The king said: If it should be the Lord's will to take me off before they people are gone, thou wilt have great bother; for my successor, Nu-ghan, hath a great hate toward Israel.

16. Moses said: What, then, shall be done? The king said: Behold, the pestilence hath overspread Najaut and Arabenah. Thy people will be cut off from traveling by that way. Nu-ghan and his courtiers dwell in Harboath. Moses replied: My people shall march through Najaut and Arabenah; neither shall the pestilence come upon them, for the hand of the Almighty is in this matter.

17. Leotonas, learning that Moses was with the king, went in to see him. She said: O my son and brother, thou art welcome. Behold, the trials of the royal court, and the persistence of the nobles, are the death of the king. To this the king said: And still I live, Leotonas! But, alas, these were his last words, for he laughed, and the blood bursted through his heart, and he died then and there, even in Moses' arms.

Chapter XVII

1. Jehovih, through His angels, said unto Moses: When the body of the king is embalmed and put away, thou shalt go quickly to thy people; for he who cometh to the throne is under the voice of the Lord, Baal, and he will try to prevent the departure of My chosen. So, Moses left the capital and did as commanded.

2. On Nu-ghan's being crowned he at once issued the following decree: Behold me, I am Pharaoh, King of Egupt, and Ruler of the World. God hath raised his voice in my dominions saying: Hail thou, Sun King of the corporeal world: Behold, I gave to thee all the living that are on the face of the earth, and in the waters of the earth, to be thine, to keep forever. And I say unto thee, what is thine own is thine own, and thou shalt have dominion in thine own way, for I made all that are alive on the earth to be thine forever!

3. Whether of beasts of the field, or fish in the waters, or man on the earth; all the living I created for thee, and thou shalt possess them from everlasting to everlasting. And the life of the living gave I into thy keeping; and I said unto thee: The house of Pharaoh have I created, and it is my house also.

4. And whoever ruleth on the throne of this land, the same is my son, and is the possessor whilst the breath of life is in him. But when he dieth, and the throne fall to his successor, the rights and the powers and possessions of thy kingdom shall not die nor be set at naught. But the successor shall be my Pharaoh whom I raised upon unto my dominions; thus saith the Lord.

5. Now, therefore, I, Pharaoh, who am king and possessor of all the world by commandment of God, and by his son (Osiris), who is dead and risen, being myself God of the earth, into whose hands are bequeathed all the living, am today, yesterday, and forever, the same everlasting king and Lord of all. And I decree unto my people, who are mine by virtue of my authority from God, that only by my gracious indulgence hath any man or people right to put one foot before the other, on this my sacred earth.

6. And whoso goeth here or there, save by the sign of the signet of my seal, shall surely be put to death.

7. And any multitude of my people, who are my servants, whom the God of Gods hath given into my hands to do my works, to till my earth, or to build my houses, or dig ditches, or make bricks, or gather harvest, or make cloth, or attend flocks, and to do all works whatsoever, who may design to escape out of Egupt, to go to my enemies, the foreign kings, shall be deemed guilty unto death. And if such people start forth, to quit my service, to go out of my holy land, then shall my loyal slaves fall upon them and slay them, right and left, sparing neither man, woman nor child. For thus commandeth the Lord God, whose son I am.

8. Jehovih, through His angels, spake to Moses, saying: Go thou; take Aaron thy brother, and go before the king and plead thy cause. Moses said: O Jehovih, Thou Almighty, why hast Thou said this unto me? I have no argument in me, like other men? nor have I courage to face a man or woman. My tongue is slow to find words till after the opportunity. From my youth up I have known this man, Nu-ghan, who is king, and if he but stomp his foot at me I am helpless before him.

9. Jehovih said: For that reason, My son, I can give thee My words. Go and fear not.

10. Then Moses went before Pharaoh, taking Aaron with him. The king asked: What is thy will? And Moses said: I am come to beseech thee to suffer my people to depart out of Egupt. The king replied: The Lord is with me; he saith thou shalt not go; and I repeat the words of my God.

11. Then spake Moses, the power of Jehovih being upon him: Think not, O king, that bondage is for this world only; here doth not the matter end. Thou hast here said in thy decree, even from the Lord hast thou spoken, saying: The life of the living gave I into thy keeping. Saidst the Lord this to thee? Wherein, then, is justice, since pestilence and death are coming upon thy people? Callest thou this keeping them? I declare unto thee, that even in the words of thine own God thou hast failed utterly, and this sin is upon thee. Suffer, then, my people to depart, that thine own shortness may not be magnified unto thee, in the afflictions which will surely overspread this land.

12. The king said: Thou hast no authority; thou art a frozen serpent that was taken into the house of the king; and being thawed out, thou turnest to bite thy benefactors. Thou art outlawed by men and accursed by the oracles. It is said of thee, thou hast been to Hored, and there wed for sake of alliance with my high priest, Jethro, for conveyance of my lands unto thy people. Who art thou, that pretendest to hear a voice, and to be led by the Unseen? Thou slave!

13. Moses said: I am not here to plead mine own cause O king, but my people's. Suffice it, though, that even as thy Lord God standeth upon miracles, I bow not down before him. For these are evidence that thy God and thy Lord are but angels of the dead, who labor for thee and thy aggrandizement, and not for all men's welfare.

14. For I have miracles also; and whatsoever thy magicians can do, that can I do also; have I not eyes and ears, even as the oracles? Now I declare a miracle unto thee, which is that thou thyself shalt yet not only consent to my people going out of Egupt, but thou shalt send armies to drive them out. To turn a rod into a serpent, or water into wine; or to show the spirits of the dead, alas, O king, even they that are of rotten flesh can do such things!

15. Pharaoh said: If the oracle hear God, is not this the greatest? Moses replied: He who uttereth what an angel bid him is that angel's servant; he who uttereth a good truth hath spoken with Jehovih's voice. Pharaoh asked: Sayest thou thy words are the Creator's?

16. Moses replied: I am as all good men who speak truth; all that is good, and all truth, are Jehovih's words. In a rose He findeth expression in perfume; in the lightning His words are thunder; in a bird His words are songs; but in man, His voice is in man's words; for every living creature, and every dead thing on the earth, or in the waters, or in the air above the earth, giveth expression in its own way; because the Father's hand is the foundation of all that is good and true. He is the I Am Who sent me to thee; by His command open I my mouth before thee. And in His name declare I unto thee thou shalt not only suffer my people to depart out of Egupt, but thou shalt send thy armies to drive them out.

17. The king said: Moses, Moses, thou art mad! For though all Egupt run blood, yet will I not do as thou hast said. Then Moses replied: I tell thee, O king, there be two powers in heaven: that which is for Justice and Goodness, even Jehovih; and that which is for sin and death. And if the Creator lift off His protecting hand from Egupt, she shall in that day become the plague spot of the earth. Thou dost remember, when in the ancient days, great Thothma built the first pyramid, thy forefathers decried the power of heaven; and straightway all the land, and the great pyramid itself, was flooded over by evil spirits. And then came foreign kings, and robbed and plundered Egupt. Think not, O king, these legends are but idle tales; there be Gods and Lords in heaven who could sweep the sea up, and drown all this country. Behold, a day is set; a night is marked out when the lamb of peace shall die. And in that night the first-born of every woman, and the first-born of every beast in the fields, shall die for all the Eguptians; and in that same night not one of the Israelites shall go down in death. Jehovih saith: I will show My power through My people in the time of My covenants.

18. Pharaoh said: Were these things to be, God had come to more noble quarters. Thou art beside thyself. And I banish thee; nor will I again look upon thy face.

19. Moses said: Whether in this world or the next, thou shalt yet call unto me to deliver thee from torments. Nevertheless, I do thy bidding; neither will I come to thee again, nor shalt thou look upon my face for a long season. With that, Moses and Aaron saluted the king and departed.

Chapter XVIII

1. Pharaoh called his chief superintendent and said unto him: As to the Hebrew brickmakers, thou shalt no longer supply them with straw, but they shall gather stubble themselves, and they shall continue to make the same number of bricks. And as to the tillers of the soil, thou shalt no longer suffer them to have cattle to draw the plows, but they shall draw the plows themselves, and they shall likewise break the same quantity of ground. And in this way the king put extra hardships upon the Israelites because he was angered at what Moses said.

2. Moses perceiving this, cried out unto Jehovih, saying: O why didst Thou send me before Pharaoh? Behold matters are worse than before. O that I had guarded my tongue and been of persuasive speech!

3. Jehovih said to Moses: Rebuke not thyself, for thou hast done My commands. And it shall come to pass now, what otherwise would not. For such Israelites as hesitated about going out of Egupt, will now decide for themselves as to what they will do. And the hardships that Pharaoh hath newly added, shall be a blessing to thy people.

4. And it came to pass that the Israelites went away from their task-masters, and the rab'bahs sent them to the Heads; and the people of Israel were stirred up from one end of Egupt to the other. And as for the Eguptians, save the courtiers and nobles, they were likewise stirred up, but without any purpose or order; so that all the great land of Egupt had no tillers nor builders; and cleanliness departed away from them; and the country stank as a dead carcass, so that insects and vermin filled all the air of heaven.

5. But of the Faithists, the flesh was good; and vermin came not upon them; nor were they stricken with fevers, or lepers, or scabs, like the Eguptians.

6. Pharaoh ordered his army of two hundred thousand men to take the field, but lo and behold, they were scattered and afflicted so that they were only as vagrants, without head or discipline.

7. Jehovih spoke to Moses, saying: Now will I show her philosophers a miracle in the air above the earth. Have they not said: All thing come up out of the earth? for they have tried every way to put Me aside, and to explain My creation away as an idle tale. They shall look and see the sun, and declare of a truth there is no cloud; but whilst they look up, they shall see a cloud high up in the heavens, and it shall be broad as the land of Egupt, a very black cloud. And it shall descend to the earth, and it shall prove to be locusts, come without any seed; and they shall be so numerous that in three days they will eat up every green leaf of every tree and herb in all the land. Neither shall they be like any other locusts that have been on the earth or ever shall be; for man shall comprehend that they are not of the seed of the earth.

8. Moses sent with a herald this prophecy to the king, and he added thereto: Why hast thou put more hardships on my people? Seest thou not that the evil thou hadst hope to accomplish hath cured itself even before it came to pass? For the Israelites now work not at all, and their task-masters are left in the lurch. Again I call upon thee to let my people go.

9. The king replied not to this, but silently put his officers to work, drilling and equipping his armies and collecting them together; the which, when Moses beheld it, he understood to be the sign, as the Great Spirit had previously said, when the cloud would appear. And it came to pass on a very clear day, at noon, a cloud formed high up in the firmament, and it grew blacker and blacker, until it descended upon the earth; and it was locusts, and was even as a snow-storm that covereth the land of the earth; in places to the depth of the shoes and ankles. And they fell to, eating every green leaf, and herb, and grass, so that in two days there was not a leaf to be found far or near. And on the third day, the locusts being still unappeased as to hunger, fell upon the Eguptians, old and young, feeding upon their clothes, and even upon the flesh of the Eguptians.

10. And on the fourth day Jehovih caused a great wind to come, and it blew the locusts off into the sea. And again Moses sent heralds to the king, saying: Consider now my words and be wise. I have told thee that the hand of the Creator is upon this land. In thy heart thou sayest: Moses is a fool! Only a wind-storm fetched the locusts from a far-off country.

11. But I say unto thee, O king, this is not so. And thou shalt still further behold Jehovih's power. For as the locusts came down out of the firmament, and thou hast a philosophy for the occurrence, behold, now another mirace shall come in another way: For there shall suddenly come up out of the water frogs and reptiles, and they shall likewise be so numerous on the land that man shall not find where to put his foot that it shall not come upon them. And the first day they shall be harmless; but on the second day they shall crawl upon the people, and under their clothes, and in their houses; and on the third day they shall eat the flesh of the Eguptians. But they shall not touch one Hebrew in all the land.

12. Nor shall any man find whence came so many frogs and reptiles, for they shall not be like the seed of other frogs and reptiles. And on the fifth day they shall suddenly disappear, neither by wind nor rain. But a stench, as of rotten flesh, shall strangle the Eguptians nigh unto death.

13. Again I appeal unto thee, O king, to suffer my people to depart out of Egupt in peace. This is the last time I shall solicit thee. And if thou answerest not me, then shall it come to pass in the month Abib, and on the ninth day and night thereof, Jehovih will raise His hand over Israel; but as for Egupt, thy Lord shall strike her in death. For in every family of Eguptians, far and near, on that night shall the first-born fall dead; and that thou shalt not say the prophecy killed them, behold the first-born of every beast shall die also, even of goats, and sheep, and cattle, and asses, and of dogs and cats, and of every living creature man useth. For on that night, behold, four millions of Israelites shall make with Jehovih the covenant of death. And on the morning thereafter they will rise up to not lie down again in Egupt. And this shall be the testimony of innocent blood against thyself and all thy people, for what the Hebrews have suffered.

14. The king answered not Moses; and it came to pass that Egupt was overspread with frogs and reptiles, in every particular even as Moses had prophesied. Nevertheless, Pharaoh pursued his course.

15. Jehovih spake to Moses, saying: Moses, My son, look upon man and pity him, for he believeth not in Me, though I multiply signs and omens continually, and give him prophecies without end. One thing only turneth man's eyes inward; that is, flesh of his flesh, lying dead before him.

16. Now on the night of the passover, when the Israelites made the covenant on the blood of the lamb, a hot wind blew upon the face of the earth; and the first-born of the Eguptians fell dead, both man and beast. And Pharaoh's son died, and his brother's son; and the first-born of every courtier, and every noble's first-born, and all other people, their first-born, so that in every family there lay one dead.

17. Pharoah was now stricken, but not unto repentence, for evil was in his heart, and he cursed Moses and the Israelites, and swore an oath to destroy Israel, man, woman and child, so that never more should there be one on the earth. And such a commandment he sent to his officers, to fall to, and begin the slaughter.

18. As for the Faithists, not many of them had slept all the night, but were providing for the journey; so that when morning came, and at the time of sunrise, they every one started. From all the different regions of Egupt they went forth to Sukkoth, westward. The Heads led the way, and every commune was led by a rab'bah, and every man's family by the father of the family or by the eldest son. And at the start they spake through their leaders, saying: In thy name, O Jehovih, we depart out of the land of our birth, where we were born, and our sons and daughters were born, to return not forever! Neither shall Egupt prosper more till Thou hast subdued the whole earth unto Thee.

19. But things had changed wonderfully as to the Eguptians, for when they beheld the Israelites were indeed going, and knew the miracles that had taken place, they relented, and brought them gifts of gold and silver; and also asses and camels for the Hebrew women and children to ride upon; and gave them food to eat. But the Israelitish women said: Nay, and we take these things we will be under obligations to the Eguptians. The Israelites accept not what they can not pay for. Then the Eguptians bewailed in fear, saying: That we be not accursed by the Gods, take them, we beseech you in the name of your God also.

20. So the Faithist women accepted the presents of asses and camels, and of other things besides; and they mounted the asses and camels, and rode them.

21. When Moses heard of this afterwards he rebuked Israel, saying: Because ye have accepted these things it will be said, ye borrowed them and begged them so as to despoil the Eguptians.

22. When they arrived near Sukkoth, Jehovih spake to Moses and Aaron, saying: Stand ye here for twelve days that ye may behold my people as they pass, and that ye in turn may be seen by them. So Moses and Aaron pitched their tents by the way, on a high piece of ground, and remained there twelve days, and Moses showed himself before them, speaking and encouraging.

23. After this the Israelites passed through Etham, on the borders of the wilderness, and thence toward Migdol, near Baal-zephon, the place of the oracle of the God, Baal, and they encamped before Pi'hahiroth, where Moses commanded them to remain some days to rest.

24. Now as for Pharaoh he had not made any attack on the Israelites, for the Lord held his army in confusion. Pharaoh, finding that the Israelites were not injured, decided to take the field himself; and accordingly, having impressed all the chariots of Egupt, went ahead, leading his army in person. The Israelites were wearied and foot-sore, and discovering that Pharaoh was after them, many of them complained and grumbled, saying: O Moses, why broughtest thou us from home? Better was it for us to have remained in servitude to the Eguptians than to be slain.

25. Moses rebuked them, saying: Profess ye to be Faithists but yet have not faith in Jehovih? Put your trust in Him; for he will deliver ye safely, as He hath promised.

26. Jehovih spake to Moses, saying: They shall behold the salvation of My hand; for the Eguptians who pursue them this day shall pursue them not again forever. For when thou fetchest them to the sea, thou shalt lift up thy rod, and I will divide the sea, and My people shall walk across on the land of the bottom of the sea. And Pharaoh's army shall pursue, but be swallowed up in the waters. And it so came to pass.

27. Jehovih brought a strong wind and divided the waters of the sea and swept them back, and the Israelites went over on land. But Pharaoh's army, who were in pursuit, were caught in the flood of the tide and drowned.

28. Thus delivered Jehovih the Israelites out of Egupt; and Israel believed in Him and in Moses, his servant.

29. Now from the place Sukkoth unto the other side of the sea, a pillar of cloud preceded the Israelites by day, and a pillar of fire stood over them by night, and the people looked thereon and saw, every one, the cloud and the light. And the name of the place they reached when they crossed over was Shakelmarath; and they camped there many days.

30. From the time Moses began to put on foot the migration of Israel until he reached Shakelmarath, was four years two hundred and seven days. And the number of Israelites that thus went forth out of Egupt was three million seven hundred and fifty-thousand men, women and children. And the number of other people who accompanied them was four hundred thousand; and because they were of the uncircumcised tribes of ancients, the Hebrews named them Levites, i.e., imperfect flesh.

31. And Moses commanded the Levites to camp aside, and not to mix with the Israelites, and they obeyed him in all things; maintaining that they were the true descendents of Abraham.

32. And Moses made a song unto Jehovih, and Miriam, his sister sang it and played on the timbrel, and the women of Israel danced before Jehovih.

33. This, then, is the song of Moses:

Chapter XIX

1. Eloih, Almighty, Thou, my God, Who hast delivered my people! I will sing unto Thee a song; and the children of Israel unto Thee, O Eloih!

2. Thou art a great strength and salvation; unto Thee, Eloih, will I build my habitation; Thou, my father's God, O Eloih!

3. Thou art my Warrior; Eloih is Thy name, forever!

4. Thou has encompassed Pharaoh and his hosts; they are swallowed up in the sea, his chosen captains and his warriors in the Red Sea.

5. The depths covered them up; they sank to the bottom as a stone, O Eloih!

6. Almighty Eloih: Glorious in power in Thy right hand that passed over innocent blood!

7. Thou, my God, Eloih; Wise in majesty, in Thy right hand that dashed in pieces Thy enemy!

8. Excellency, O Thou Eloih; in graciousness that came upon them that rose up in Thy way; Thou sentest Thy breath upon them; as stubble they were cut down by Thy righteous sword!

9. By the breath of Thy nostrils, Thou heapedst up the waters of the sea; and the floods stood upright by Thy voice, to entrap them in the heart of the sea!

10. Thine enemy said: I will pursue; I will overtake them; the spoil shall be mine; I will draw the sword; my hand shall destroy them!

11. Thou didst blow with Thy wind; the sea covered them; they sank as lead in the mighty waters.

12. Who is like unto Thee, Eloih, amongst the Gods? Who is like Thee, Glorious in Holiness, fearful in praise and wonders, O Eloih! Thou stretchedst out Thy right hand, and they went down into the earth.

13. Merciful Almighty, Eloih, my God, and God of my fathers; Who hast led forth Israel and delivered her into the land of her fathers, O Eloih! Who hast guided them to a holy habitation and peaceful one.

14. All people shall hear and be afraid; sober thought shall take hold on the inhabitants of Palestina. And the nobles of Edom shall be amazed! The warrior of Moab; trembling shall take hold on them, and the wild men of Kana'yan shall melt away!

15. Thou, O Eloih, shalt strike them with fear; in the magnitude of the strength of Thine arm will they be amazed and helpless as stone. For this land is Thy purchase, O Eloih; in the passover of the blood of the lamb purchased Thou it; and Israel shall pass over it in fear.

16. And Thou shalt bring them to the mountain of their inheritance, to Thy place, Our God, Eloih. To dwell in Thy sanctuary, which Thou has established for Thy reign, forever and forever.

Chapter XX

1. Moses called together the Heads and the rab'bahs, privily, and spake before them, saying:

2. What have I taken upon me, O Jehovih? Behold Thy sons and daughters have followed me out of Egupt; how shall I bind them unto Thee and not unto me, O my Father in heaven?

3. Jehovih said unto me: Moses, Moses, what I say unto thee, say thou unto the rab'bahs and unto the Heads; saying unto them: Not Moses, nor the Heads, nor the rab'bahs, brought ye out of Egupt; ye were brought out by the Creator, Jehovih, Who is God of all, Captain of all, Head of all, Rab'bah of all.

4. For herein have I drawn the line betwixt My people and My enemies, the idolators of men. Because of signs and miracles, the idolaters make a man-God of their magician and worship him. But who is like unto thee, Moses, My son; in miracles who can match thee in the magnitude of thy proceeding?

5. Who led forth My millions; and delivered them out of a great power without loss of a man, woman or child?

6. But I declare unto thee, thou shalt do a greater miracle than any of these; for thou shalt preserve thyself from becoming an idol before men. For thou shalt proclaim Me unto thy people in all things, teaching them that thou art but a man. And thy Heads and thy rab'bahs shall likewise teach them after the same manner; for I will put away all idolatry from the face of the earth.

7. Neither will I have kings nor queens; I am sufficient unto all men.

8. As Abraham apportioned My people into families, with rab'bahs and with chief rab'bahs, so shalt thou re-establish them.

9. And My commandments, which I gave unto Abraham, will I give unto thee; and My crescent will I re-establish with My rab'bahs. And My crescent shall be the fullness of My law unto the rab-bahs and chief rab'bahs.

10. Moses said: I cried unto Jehovih, saying: How shall it be with the square and at high noon? And the angel of Jehovih, speaking in the Father's name, said: To the north-east God, to the south-west Lord, to the north-west Baal; to the south-east Ashtaroth. For Osiris is dead already.

11. To this end, then, prepare ye a place this night, that the Great Spirit may bless us. The rab-bahs and the Heads said: It is well.

12. And when it was night Moses and the rab'bahs and the Heads went away aside; placing sentinels that they might be alone. And when they were thus prepared the light of Jehovih came upon Moses, and the books of the ancients were opened before him. And he administered emethachavah upon them; by the voice of Jehovih he re-established it; with all the rites and ceremonies as they are to this day. And after that the Heads were no longer called Heads, but Chief Rab'bahs; for Moses anointed them; by command of Jehovih he anointed them.

13. And in not many days Moses wrote the Levitican laws; for the inner temple of Jehovih was in spoken words only; but the outer temple was written. Wherefore it was said: The Hebrews have two laws; one which no man else knoweth; and one for them who are not eligible unto faith, being such as were called Leviticans, but not Leviticans in fact, but hangers-on who had followed the Israelites out of Egupt and who for the most part had no God, little judgment and no learning.

14. But of all that Moses did, and taught, and how he labored with his own hands, many books might be written. And it is doubtful if the world ever produced so good and great a man.

15. At the time Moses reached Shakelmarath, he was forty-four years old by the Hebrew sun, but by the Eguptian he was eighty-eight years old.

16. Of Pharaoh and his hosts who were not destroyed in the sea, be it said, they returned home to their places. And not long after that, Pharaoh banished God (Osiris) from the earth, declaring himself the Savior of the World, and Vice-Gerent of The Holy Ghost.

17. The scribes and recorders assembled in Kaona and appointed Feh-ya (An Eguptian) to write the departure of the Israelites out of Egupt. And Feh-ya wrote the account and called it The Exodus of the Hebrews, and it was recorded in the king's House of Records. And copies of it were sent to the large cities, and there recorded also, for such was the law of Egupt. Feh-ya's record was afterward accepted by Ezra, and is that which is known to this day as the First Book of Exodus.

18. The Book of Genesis, as it stood in the Eguptian records, was written by Akaboth and Dueram and Hazed, and was the substance from which Ezra copied it through his scribes, even as it is to this day. The inspiration of Genesis was from the God, Osiris, the false, and his emmissaries, chief of whom were Yotabba and Egupt, who were angel servants to Osiris. And so far as the records now stand the spirit of both books was the Eguptian version of the whole subject.

19. Touching genealogies, in which men seemed to have lived to so great an age, this, then, is the explanation thereof:

20. Thothma had said to his recorders: In searching for the truth of legends, give ye the latitude thereof. For one legend will say, such a man lived seven hundred years ago, another legend will say he lived ten hundred and fifty years ago. The latitude between them is, therefore, three hundred and fifty years, which shall be the time of that man's life.
And in this way latitude became confounded with fact, and with no intent to deceive.

21. And behold, it came to pass that the records were worthless; and to make matters worse the records were so voluminous, being more than six thousand books, that the scribes of Ezra could make neither head nor tail of them. Nevertheless, they were all written, in the first place not by the Israelites, but by their enemies; wherein the testimony of the miracles is none the weaker.

22. Thus endeth the history of Moses' deliverance of the Faithists out of Egupt.

23. Hear ye now of Chine of the land of Jaffeth:

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