 CHAPTER IV THE LEGEND OF THE JEWS VOLUME I State wisdom was needed for building the ark, which was to have space for all beings on earth, even the spirits. Only the fishes did not have to be provided for. Noah acquired the necessary wisdom from the book given to Adam by the angel Raziel, in which all celestial and all earthly knowledge is recorded. While the first human pair were still in paradise, it would happen that Samuel, accompanied by a lad, approached Eve and requested her to keep a watchful eye upon his little son until he should return. Eve gave him the promise. When Adam came back from a walk in paradise, he found a howling, screaming child with Eve, who in reply to his question told him that that was Samuel's. Adam was annoyed, and his annoyance grew as the boy cried and screamed more and more violently. In his vexation he dealt the little one a blow that killed him. But the corpse did not cease to well and weep, nor did it cease when Adam cut it up into bits. To rid himself of the plague, Adam cooked the remains, and he and Eve ate them. Scarcely had they finished when Samuel appeared and demanded his son. The two malefactors tried to deny everything. They pretended they had no knowledge of his son. But Samuel said to them, What? You dare tell lies, and God, in time to come will give Israel the Torah, in which it is said, Keep thee far from a false word? While they were speaking thus, suddenly the voice of the slain land was heard, proceeding from the heart of Adam and Eve, and it addressed these words to Samuel. Go hence! I have penetrated to the heart of Adam and the heart of Eve, and never again shall I quit their hearts, nor the hearts of their children or their children's children, unto the end of all generations. Samuel departed, but Adam was sore-greaved, and he put on a sackcloth and ashes, and he fasted many, many days, until God appeared to him and said, My son have no fear of Samuel. I will give thee a remedy that will help thee against him, for it was at my instance that he went to thee. Adam asked, And what is this remedy? God, the Torah. Adam, and where is the Torah? God then gave him the Book of the Angel Raziel, which he studied day and night. After some time had passed, the angels visited Adam, an envious of the wisdom he had drawn from the Book. They sought to destroy him cunningly by calling him a God and prostrating themselves before him, in spite of his remonstrance. Do not prostrate yourselves before me, but magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together. However, the envy of the angels was so great that they stole the Book God had given Adam from him and threw it in the sea. Adam searched for it everywhere in vain, and the loss distressed him sorely. Again he fasted many days, until God appeared to him and said, Fear not, I will give the Book back to thee. And he called Rahab the Angel of the Sea and ordered him to recover the Book from the sea and restore it to Adam. And so he did. Upon the death of Adam the holy Book disappeared, but later the cave in which it was hidden was revealed to Enoch in the dream. It was from this Book that Enoch drew his knowledge of nature of the earth and of the heavens, and he became so wise to it that his wisdom exceeded the wisdom of Adam. Once he had committed to memory Enoch hid the Book again. Now when God resolved upon bringing the flood on the earth he set the Archangel Raphael to Noah as the bearer of the following message. I give thee herewith the holy Book, that all the secrets and mysteries written therein may be made manifest unto thee, and that thou mayest know how to fulfill its injunction in holiness, purity, modesty, and humbleness. Thou wilt learn from it how to build an ark of the wood of the gopher tree wherein thou and thy sons and thy wife shall find protection. Noah took the Book, and when he studied it the Holy Spirit came upon him and he knew all things needful for the building of the ark and the gathering together of the animals. The Book, which was made of sapphires, he took with him into the ark, having first enclosed it in a golden casket. All the time he spent in the ark it served him as a timepiece to distinguish night from day. Before his death he entrusted it to Shem, and he interned Abraham. From Abraham it descended through Jacob, Levy, Moses, and Joshua to Solomon, who learned all his wisdom from it, and his skill in the healing art, and also his mastery over the demons. The legends of the Jews, volume one by Rabbi Louis Kinberg, the inmates of the ark. The ark was completed according to the instructions laid down in the Book of Razeel. Noah's next task was gathering the animals. No less than thirty-two species of birds and three hundred and sixty-five of reptiles he had to take along with him. But God ordered the animals to repair to the ark, and they trooped thither, and Noah did not have to do so much to stretch out a finger. Indeed, more appeared than required to come, and God instructed him to sit at the door of the ark, and note which of the animals lay down as they reached the entrance, and which stood. The former belonged in the ark, but not the latter. Taking up his post as he had been commanded, Noah observed a lioness with her two cubs. All three beasts crouched. But the two young ones began to struggle with the mother, and she arose and stood up next to them. Then Noah led two cubs into the ark. The wild beasts and the cattle and the birds, which were not accepted, remained standing about the ark all of seven days, for the assembling of the animals happened one week before the flood began to descend. On the day whereon they came to the ark the sun was darkened, and the foundations of the earth trembled, and lightning flashed, and thunder boomed as never before. And yet the sinners remained impenitent. In not did they change their wicked doings during those last seven days. When finally the flood broke loose, seven hundred thousand of the children of men gathered about the ark and employed Noah to grant them protection, with a loud voice he replied and said, Are ye not those who are rebellious towards God saying there is no God? Therefore he has brought ruin upon you to annihilate you and destroy you from the face of the earth. Have I not been prophesying this unto you these hundred and twenty years, and you would not give heed to the voice of God? Yet now you desire to be kept alive. Then the sinners cried out, So be it. We are all ready now to turn back to God if only thou wilt open the door of thy ark to receive us that we may live and not die. Noah made answer and said, That ye do now when your need presses hard upon you. Why did ye not turn to God during all the hundred and twenty years which the Lord appointed unto you as the term of repentance? Now do ye come, and ye speak thus, because distress beset your lives. Therefore God will not hearken unto you and give you ear. Not will ye accomplish. The crowd of sinners tried to take entrance to the ark by storm, but the wild beasts keeping watch around the ark set upon them, and many were slain, while the rest escaped only to meet death in the waters of the flood. The water alone could not have made an end to them, for they were giants in stature and strength. When Noah threatened them with the scourge of God they would make reply. If the waters of the flood come above us they will never reach up to our necks, and if they come from below, the souls of our feet are large enough to dam up the springs. But God bade each drop pass through Gahanah before it fell to earth, and the hot rain scalded the skin of the sinners. The punishment that overtook them was befitting their crime. As their sensual desires had made them hot, and inflamed them to immoral excesses, so they were chastised by means of heated water. Not even in the hour the death struggle could the sinners suppress their violent stings. When the water began to stream up out of the springs they threw their little children into them to choke the flood. It was by the grace of God, not on account of his merits, that Noah found shelter in the ark before overwhelming force to the waters. Although he was better than his contemporaries, he was not yet worthy of having wonders done for his sake. He had so little faith that he did not enter the ark until the waters had risen up to his knees. With him, his pious wife Nima, the daughter of Enosh, escaped the peril, and his three sons and the wives of his three sons. Noah had not married until he was 498 years old. Then the Lord had bided them to take a wife unto himself. He had not desired to bring children into the world, seeing that they would all have to perish in a flood. And he had only three sons, born unto him shortly before the day huge came. God had given him so small a number of offspring that he might be spared the necessity of building the ark on an over-large scale in case they turned out to be pious. And if not, if they too were depraved like the rest of their generation, sorrow over the destruction would but be increased in proportion to their number. As Noah and his family were the only ones not to have a share in the corruptness of the age, so the animals received into the ark were such as had led a natural life. For the animals of the time were as immoral as the men, the dog united with the wolf, the cock with the pee-fowl, and many others paid no heed to sexual purity. Those that were saved were such as had kept themselves untainted. Before the flood the number of unclean animals had been greater than the number of the clean. Afterward the ratio was reversed, because while seven pairs of clean animals were preserved in the ark, but two pairs of the unclean were preserved. One animal, the ream, Noah could not take into the ark. On account of its huge size it could not find room therein. Noah therefore tied it to the ark, and it ran on behind. Also he could not make space for the giant Og, the king of Baashan. He sat on top of the ark securely, and in this way escaped the flood of waters. Noah dulled out his food to him daily through a hole, because Og had promised that he and his descendants would serve him as slaves in perpetuity. Two creatures of a most peculiar kind also found refuge in the ark. Among the beans that came to Noah there was Falsud asking for shelter. He was denied admission because he had no companion, and Noah was taken in the animals only by pairs. Falsud went off to seek a partner, and there he met Miss Fortune, whom he associated with himself on the condition that she might appropriate what Falsud earned. The pair were then accepted into the ark. When they left it, Falsud noticed that wherever he gathered together disappeared at once, and he took himself to his companion to seek an explanation, which she gave him in the following words. Did we not agree to the condition that I might take what you earn? And Falsud had to depart empty-handed. The legend of the Jews, Volume One by Rabbi Louis Ginsburg. The Flood. The assembling of the animals in the ark was but the smaller part of the task imposed upon Noah. His chief difficulty was to provide food for a year and accommodations for them. Long afterwards shem the son of Noah related to Eliezer, the servant of Abraham, the tale of their experiences with the animals in the ark. This is what he said. We had sore troubles in the ark. The day animals had to be fed by day, and the night animals by night. My father knew not what food to give to the little zikta. Once he cut up pomegranate and half, and a worm dropped out of the fruit, and was devoured by the zikta. Therefore my father would need bran, let it stand until a breadworms were fed to the animal. The lion suffered with a fever all the time, and therefore he did not annoy the others, because he did not relish dry food. The animal, Urshana, my father found sleeping in a corner of the vessel, and he asked him whether he needed nothing to eat. He answered and said, I saw that was very busy, and I did not wish to add thy cares. Wherefore my father said, May it bill you the will of the Lord to keep thee alive forever, and the blessing was realized. The difficulties were increased when the flood began to toss the ark from side to side, all inside of it was shaken up like lentils in a pot. The lions began to roar the oxen loud, the wolves howled, and all the animals gave vent to their agony, each through the sounds that had the power to utter. Also Noah and his sons, thinking that death was nigh broken to tears. Noah prayed to God, O Lord help us, for we are not able to bear the evil that encompasses us. The billows surge about us, the streams of destruction make us afraid, and death stares into the face. O, hear our prayers, deliver us, incline thyself unto us, and be gracious unto us. Redeem us, and save us. The flood was produced by a union of the male waters, which are above the firmament, and the female waters issuing from the earth. The upper waters rushed through the space left when God removed two stars out of the constellation Pleiades. Afterwards, to put a stop to the flood, God had to transfer two stars from the constellation of the bear to the constellation of the Pleiades. That is why the bear runs after the Pleiades. She wants her two children back, but they will be restored to her only in the future world. There were other changes among the celestial spheres during the year of the flood. All the time it lasted, the sun and the moon shed no light. Whence Noah was called by his name the resting one? For in his life the sun and the moon rested. The ark was illuminated by a precious stone, the light of which was more brilliant by night than by day, so enabling Noah to distinguish between day and night. The duration of the flood was a whole year. It began on the seventeenth day of Heshwan, and the rain continued for forty days until the twenty-seventh of Kislu. The punishment corresponded to the crime of the sinful generation. They had lit a moral lives and begotten bastard children whose embryonic state lasted forty days. From the twenty-seventh of Kislu until the first of Sihwan, a period of one hundred and fifty days, the water stood at one and the same height, fifteen L's above the earth. During that time all the wicked which were destroyed, each one receiving the punishment due to him. Cain was among those that perished, and thus the death of Abel was avenged. So powerful were the waters in working havoc and the corpse of Adam was not spared in its grave. On the first of Sihwan the waters began to abate. A quarter of an L a day, and at the end of sixty days, on the tenth day of Ab, the summits of the mountains showed themselves. But many days before, on the tenth of Tammuz, Noah had sent forth the raven, and a week later the dove, on the first of Heathry's sallies, repeated at intervals of a week. It took from the first of Ab until the first of Tishree for the waters to subside wholly from the face of the earth. Even then the soil was so myery that the dwellers in the ark had to remain within until the twenty-seventh day of Heshwan, completing a full sun year consisting of twelve moons and eleven days. Noah had experienced difficulty all along in ascertaining the state of the waters. When he decided to dispatch the raven, the bird said, The Lord thy master hates me, and thou dost hate me too. Thy master hates me, for he bade thee take seven pairs of the clean animals into the ark, and put but two pairs of the unclean animals to which I belong. Thou hadest me. For thou dost not choose, as a messenger, a bird of one of the kinds of which there are seven pairs in the ark. But thou sendest me, and of my kind there is but one pair. Suppose now I should perish by reason of heat or cold. Would not the world be the poor by a whole species of animals? Or can it be that thou hast cast a lustful eye upon my mate, and desirous to rid thyself of me? Where unto Noah made answer, and said, Wretch, I must live apart from my own wife in the ark. How much less would such thoughts occur to my mind as thou impudest to me? The ravens errant had no success. For when he saw the body of a dead man, he set to work to devour it, did not execute the orders given to him by Noah. There upon the dove was sent out. Toward evening she returned with an olive leaf in her bill, plucked upon the Mount of Olives at Jerusalem. For the holy land had not been ravaged by the deluge. As she plucked it she said to God, O Lord of the world, let my food be as bitter as the olive. But do thou give it to me from thy hand, rather than it should be sweet, and I may be delivered into the power of men. Noah leaves the ark. Though the earth assumed its old form at the end of the year of punishment, Noah did not abandon the ark until he received a command of God to leave it. He said to himself, As I entered the ark at the bidding of God, so I will leave it only at his bidding. Yet when God bade Noah go out in the ark, he refused because he feared that after he had lived upon the dry land for some time and begotten children, God would bring another flood. He therefore would not leave the ark until God swore he would never visit the earth with a flood again. When he stepped out from the ark into the open, he began to weep bitterly at the sight of enormous ravages wrought by the flood, and he said to God, O Lord of the world, thou art called merciful, and thou shouldst have had mercy upon thy creatures. God answered and said, O thou foolish shepherd, now thou speakest to me. Thou disnot so when I addressed kind words that he is saying, I saw thee as a righteous man and perfect in thy generation, and I will be in the flood upon the earth and destroy all flesh. Make an ark for thyself of gopher wood. Thus I spake to thee, telling thee all these circumstances, that thou mustst entreat mercy for the earth, but thou, as soon as thou didst hear that thou would be rescued in the ark, thou disnot concerned thyself about the ruin that would strike the earth. Thou didst but build an ark for thyself, in which thou was saved. Now that the earth is wasted, thou openest thy mouth to supplicate and pray. Noah realized that he had been guilty of folly. To propitiate God and acknowledge his sin he bought a sacrifice. God accepted the offering with favor once he is called by his name Noah. The sacrifice was not offered by Noah with his own hands. The priestly services connected with it were performed by his son Shem. There was a reason for this. One day in the ark Noah forgot to give his ration to the lion, and the hungry beast struck him so violent to blow with his paw that he was lame for ever after. And having a bodily defect, he was not permitted to do the offices of a priest. The sacrifices consisted of an ox, a sheep, a goat, two turtle doves, and two young pigeons. Noah had chosen these kind because he supposed they were appointed for sacrifices, seeing that God had commanded him to take seven pairs of them into the ark with him. The altar was erected in the same place on which Adam and Cain and Abel had bought their sacrifices, and on which later the altar was to be in the sanctuary at Jerusalem. After the sacrifice was completed, God blessed Noah and his sons. He made them to be rulers of the world as Adam had been, and he gave them a command saying, Be fruitful and multiply upon the earth. Where during the sojourn in their ark the two sexes of men and animals alike had lived apart from each other. Because of all the public calamity rages, continents is becoming, even to those who were left unscathed. The law of conduct had been violated by none in the ark except by Ham, by the dog, and by the raven. They all received punishment. Ham's was that his descendants were men of dark-yewed skin. As a token that he would destroy the earth no more, God sent his bow in the cloud. Even if men should be steeped in sin again, the bow proclaims to them that their sins will cause no harm to the world. Times came in the course of the ages when men were pious enough not to have lived in dread of punishment. In such time the bow was not visible. God accorded permission to Noah and his descendants to use the flesh of animals for food, which had been forbidden from the time of Adam until then. But they were to abstain from the use of blood. He ordained the seven Noachian laws, the observance of which is incumbent upon all men, not upon Israel alone. God enjoined particularly the command against the shedding of human blood. Who so would shed man's blood his blood would be shed? Even if human judges let the guilty man go free, his punishment would overtake him. He would die an unnatural death, such as he had inflicted upon his fellow man. Yea, even beastest slew men, even of them, with the life of men be required. The legends of the Jews, volume by Rabbi Louis Ginsburg, the Curse of Runkiness. Noah lost his epithet, the pious, when he began to occupy himself with the growing of the vine. He became a man of the ground, and thus his first attempt to produce wine at the same time produced the first to drink to excess, the first to utter curses upon his associates, and the first to introduce slavery. This is the way it all came about. Noah found the vine which Adam had taken with him from Paradise when he was driven forth. He tasted the grapes upon it, and, finding them palatable, he resolved to plant the vine intended. On the self-same day on which he planted it, it bore fruit, he put it in the wine-press, drew off the juice, drank it, became drunken, and was dishonored all in one day. His assistant in the work of cultivating the vine was Satan, who had happened along at the very moment when he was engaged in planting the slip he had found. Satan asked him, What is thou art-planting here? Noah avenired. Satan. And what may be the qualities of what it produces? Noah. The fruit of bear is as sweet, be it dry or moist. It yields wine that rejoices the heart of man. Satan. Let us go into partnership in this business of planting a vineyard. Noah agreed. Satan thereupon slaughtered a lamb, and then in succession aligned a pig and a monkey. The blood of each, as it was killed, he made the flow under the vine. Thus he conveyed to Noah what the qualities of wine are. Before man drinks of it, he is innocent as a lamb. If he drinks of it moderately, he feels as strong as a lion. If he drinks more of it than he can bear, he resembles the pig, and if he drinks to the point of intoxication, then he behaves like a monkey. He dances around, sings, talks obscenely, and knows not what he is doing. This deterred Noah no more than did the example of Adam, whose fall also had been due to wine, for the proven fruit had been the grape with which he had made himself drunk. In his drunken condition, Noah betook himself to the tent of his wife. His son Ham saw him there and told his brothers what he had noticed and said, The first man had but two sons, and one slew the other. This man Noah has three sons, yet he desires to beget a fourth besides. Nor did Ham rest satisfied with these disrespectful words against his father. He added to this sin of irreverence to still a greater outrage of attempting to perform an operation upon his father, designed to prevent procreation. When Noah awoke from his wine and became sober, he pronounced a curse upon Ham in the person of his youngest son, Canaan. To Ham himself he could do no harm, for God had conferred a blessing upon Noah and his three sons, as they departed from the ark. Therefore he put the curse upon the lastborn son of the son that had prevented him from begetting a younger son than the three he had. The descendants of Ham, through Canaan, therefore have red eyes, because Ham looked upon the nakedness of his father. They have misshapen lips, because Ham spoke with the lips to his brothers about the unseemly condition of the father. They have twisted curly hair because Ham turned and twisted his head round to see the nakedness of his father, and they go about naked because Ham did not cover the nakedness of his father. Thus he was required, for it is the way of God to meet out punishment, measure for measure. Canaan had to suffer vicariously for his father's sin. Yet some of the punishment was inflicted upon him on his own account, for it had been Canaan who had drawn the attention of Ham to know his revolting condition. Ham it appears, was but the worthy father of such a son. The last will and testament of Canaan addressed to his children read as follows. Speak not to truth, hold not yourselves aloof from theft, lead a distillate life, hate ear master with an exceeding great hate, and love one another. As Ham was made to suffer requital for his reverence, so Shem and Japheth received a reward for the filial deferential way in which they took a garment and laid it upon both their shoulders, and walking backwards with averted faces covered the nakedness of their father. Naked the descendants of Ham, the Egyptians and Ethiopians were led away captive and into exile by the king of Assyria, while the descendants of Shem, the Assyrians even when the angel of the Lord burnt them in the camp, were not exposed, their garments remained upon their corpses unsinged. And in time to come, when Gog shall suffer his defeat, God will provide both shrouds and a place of burial for him, and all his multitude, the posterity of Japheth. Though Shem and Japheth both showed themselves to be dutiful and differential, yet it was Shem who deserved the larger meat of praise. He was the first to set about covering his father. Japheth joined him after the good deed had begun, therefore the descendants of Shem received as their special reward the talot, the garment worn by them, while the Japhethites have only the toga. A further distinction according to Shem was the mention of his name in connection with God's in the blessing of Noah. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem. He said, though, as a rule the name of God is not joined to the name of a living person, only to the name of one who is departed this life. The relation of Shem to Japheth was expressed in the blessing their father pronounced upon them. God will grant a land of beauty to Japheth, and his sons will be proselytes dwelling in the academies of Shem. At the same time Noah conveyed by his words that to Shekenna would dwell only in the first temple erected by Solomon, a son of Shem, and not in the second temple, the builder of which would be Cyrus, a descendant of Japheth. The legend of the Jews, volume one by Rabbi Louis Ginsburg, Noah's descendants spread abroad. When it became known to Ham that his father had cursed him, he fled ashamed, and with his family he settled in a city built by him, and named Nila Tamalek for his wife. Jealous of his brother, Japheth followed his example. He likewise built a city which he named for his wife, Athanasus. Shem was the only one of the sons of Noah who did not abandon him. In the vicinity of his father's home by the mountain he built his city, to which he also gave his wife's name. Zidi Kettlebob. The three cities are all near Mount Lubar, the eminence upon which the ark is rested. The first lies to the south of it, the second to the west, and the third to the east. Noah endeavored to inculcate the ordinances and commands known to him upon his children, and his children's children. In particular he admonished them against the fornication, the uncleanness, and all the iniquity which had brought the flood down upon the earth. He reproached them with living apart from one another, and with their jealousies, for he feared that after his death they might go so far as to shed human blood. Against this he warned them impressively, that they be not annihilated from the earth like those that went before. Another law which he enjoined upon them, to observe it, was the law ordaining that the fruit of a tree shall not be used the first three years it bears, and even in the fourth year it shall be the portion of the priests alone, after a part thereof has been offered upon the altar of God. And having made an end of giving his teaching and injunctions, Noah said, for thus did Enoch, your ancestor, exhort his son Methuselah, and Methuselah his son Lamech, and Lamech delivered all unto me as his father had bidden him, and now do I exhort your my children, as Enoch exhorted his son. When he lived, in his generation, which was the seventh generation of man, he commanded it and testified it unto his children, and his children's children, until the day of his death. In the year 1569, after creation of the world, Noah divided the earth by lot among his three sons in the presence of an angel. Each one stretched forth his hand and took a slip from the bosom of Noah. Shem's slip was inscribed with the middle of the earth, and this portion became the inheritance of his descendants unto all eternity. Noah rejoiced that the lot had assigned it to Shem. Thus was fulfilled his blessing upon him, and God, in the habitation of Shem, where three holy places fell within his precinct, the holy of the holies in the temple, Mount Sinai, the middle point of the desert, and Mount Zion, the middle point of the naval of the earth. The south lot fell to Ham, and the north became the inheritance of Japheth. The land of Ham is hot, Japheth's cold, but Shem's is neither hot nor cold. Its temperature is hot and cold, mixed. This division of the earth took place toward the end of the life of Peleg, the name given to him by his father Eber, who, being a prophet, knew that the division of the earth would take place in the time of his son. The brother of Peleg was called Jaktan, because the duration of the life of man was shortened in his time. In turn, the three sons of Noah, while they were standing in the presence of their father, divided each portion among his children. Noah, threatening with his curse any who should stretch out his hand to take a portion not assigned to him by lot. And they all cried, so be it, so be it. Thus were divided one hundred and four lands and ninety-nine islands among seventy-two nations, each with a language of its own, using sixteen different sets of characters for writing. To Japheth were allotted forty-four lands, thirty-three islands, twenty-two languages, and five kinds of writing. Ham received thirty-four lands, thirty-three islands, twenty-four languages, and five kinds of writing. And Shem twenty-six lands, thirty-three islands, twenty-six languages, and six kinds of writing. One set of written characters more to Shem than to either of his brothers, the extra set of writing, the Hebrew. The land appointed as the inheritance of the twelve sons of Jacob was provisionally granted to Canaan, Zidun, Heth, and Jebusites, the Amorites, the Gurgoshites, and the Hivites, the Archaites, the Sinites, the Arvidites, the Zemorites, and the Hamathites. It was the duty of these nations to take care of the land, until the rightful owners should come. No sooner had the children of Noah and their children's children taken possession of the habitation's apportion to them, than the unclean spirits began to seduce men and torment them with pain and all sorts of suffering leading to spiritual and physical death. Upon the entreaties of Noah, God sent down the angel Raphael, who banished nine-tenths of the unclean spirits from the earth, leaving but one-tenth from Mastema to punish sinners through them. Raphael, supported by the chief of the unclean spirits, at that time revealed to Noah all the remedies residing in plants that he might resort to them at need. Noah recorded them in a book which he transmitted to his son Shem. This is the source to which go back all the medical books whence the wise men of India, Aram, Macedonia, and Egypt draw their knowledge. The sages of India devoted themselves particularly to the study of curative trees and spices. The Aramaeans were well versed in the knowledge of the properties of grains and seeds, and they translated the old medical books into their language. The wise men of Macedonia were the first to apply medical knowledge practically, while the Egyptians sought to effect curators by means of magic arts and by means of astrology, and they taught the midrash of the Chaldees, composed by Kanger the son of Oror, the son of Kesset. Medical still spread further and further until the time of Sclepius. This Macedonian sage, accompanied by forty learned magicians, journeyed from country to country, until they came to the land beyond India, in the direction of Paradise. They hoped there to find some wood of the tree of life, and thus spread their fame abroad over the whole world. Their hope was frustrated. When they arrived at the spot they found healing trees and wood of the tree of life. But when they were in the act of stretching forth their hands to gather what they desired, lightning darted out of the ever-turning sword, smote them to the ground, and they were all burnt. With them disappeared all knowledge of medicine, and it did not revive until the time of the first Artaxerxes, under the Macedonian sage Apocrates, Diascarides Abala, Galen of Kaftor, and Ahiru Asaf. End of Chapter 4, Part 3 Chapter 4, Noah, Part 4 of The Legends of the Jews, Volume 1 This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by ML Cohen, Cleveland, Ohio, July 2007 The Legends of the Jews, Volume 1 by Rabbi Lewis Ginsburg The Depravity of Mankind With the spread of mankind, corruption increased. While Noah was still alive, the descendants of Shem, Ham, and Japheth appointed princes over each of the three groups, Nimrod for the descendants of Ham, Jockedin for the descendants of Shem, and Fennich for the descendants of Japheth. Ten years before Noah's death, the number of those subject to the three princes amounted to millions. When this great concourse of men came to Babylonia upon their journeyings, they said to one another, Behold, the time is coming when, at the end of days, neighbor will be separated from neighbor, and brother from brother, and one will carry on war against the other. Go to, let us build a city, and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven, and let us make a great name upon the earth, and now let us make bricks, and each one write his name upon the brick. All agreed to this proposal, with the exception of twelve pious men, Abraham among them. They refused to join the others. They were seized by the people, and brought before the three princes, to whom they gave the following reason for their refusal. We will not make bricks, nor remain with you, for we know but one God, and him we serve. Even if you burn us in the fire together with the bricks, we will not walk in your ways. Nimrod and Fenich flew into such a passion over the twelve men that they resolved to throw them into the fire. Jockton, however, besides being a God-faring man, was of close kin to the men on trial, and he essayed to save them. He proposed to his two colleagues to grant them a seven days' respect. His plan was accepted, such deference being paid to him as the primate among the three. The twelve were incarcerated in the house of Jockton. In the night, he charged fifty of his attendants to mount the prisoners upon mules and take them to the mountains. Thus they would escape to threaten punishment. Jockton provided them with food for a month. He was sure that in the meantime, either a change of sentiment would come about and the people desist from their purpose, or God would help the fugitives. Eleven of the prisoners ascended to the plan with gratitude. Abraham alone rejected it, saying, Behold, today we flee to the mountains to escape from the fire, but if wild beasts rush out from the mountains and devour us, or if food is lacking so that we die by famine, we shall be found fleeing before the people of the land and dying in our sins. Now, as the Lord liveth in whom I trust, I will not depart from this place wherein they have imprisoned me, and if I am to die through my sins, then I will die by the will of God according to his desire. In vain Jockton endeavored to persuade Abraham to flee. He persisted in his refusal. He remained behind alone in the prison house while the other eleven made their escape. At the expiration of the set term, when the people returned and demanded the death of the twelve captives, Jockton could produce only Abraham. His excuse was that the rest had broken loose during the night. The people were about to throw themselves upon Abraham and cast him into the lime kiln. Suddenly an earthquake was felt, the fire darted from the furnace and all who were standing round about eighty-four thousand of the people were consumed, while Abraham remained untouched. Thereupon he repaired to his eleven friends in the mountains and told them of the miracle that had befallen for his sake. They all returned with him, and, unmolested by the people, they gave praise and thanks to God. The legends of the Jews, volume one by Rabbi Lewis Ginsburg, Nimrod. The first among the leaders of corrupt men was Nimrod. His father Cush had married his mother at an advanced age, and Nimrod, the offspring of this belated union, was particularly dear to him as the son of his old age. He gave him the clothes made of skins in which God had furnished Adam and Eve at the time of their leaving paradise. Cush himself had gained possession of them through Ham. From Adam and Eve they had descended to Enoch, and from Himpam of Thuselah and to Noah, and the last had taken them with him in the ark. When the inmates of the ark were about to leave their refuge, Ham stole the garments and kept them concealed, finally passing them on to his first born son Cush. Cush in turn hid them for many years. When his son Nimrod reached his twentieth year, he gave them to him. These garments had a wonderful property. He who wore them was both invincible and irresistible. The beasts and birds of the woods fell down before Nimrod as soon as they caught sight of him arrayed in them, and he was equally victorious in his combats with men. The source of his unconquerable strength was not known to them. They attributed it to his personal prowess, and therefore they appointed him king over themselves. This was done after a conflict between the descendants of Cush and the descendants of Japheth, from which Nimrod emerged triumphant having routed the enemy utterly with the assistance of a handful of warriors. He chose Shinar as his capital. Thence he extended his dominion farther and farther until he rose by cunning and force to be the sole ruler of the whole world, the first mortal to hold universal sway, as the ninth ruler to possess the same power will be the Messiah. His impiousness kept pace with his growing power. Since the flood there had been no such center as Nimrod. He fashioned idols out of wood and stone and paid worship to them. But not satisfied to lead a godless life himself, he did all he could to tempt his subject into evil ways, wherein he was aided and abetted by his son Martin. The son of his outstripped his father in iniquity. It was their time and their life that gave rise to the proverb, quote, out of the wicked, cometh forth wickedness, end quote. The great success that attended all of Nimrod's undertakings produced a sinister effect. Men no longer trusted in God, but rather in their own prowess and ability, an attitude to which Nimrod tried to convert the whole world. Therefore people said, since the creation of the world there has been none like Nimrod, a mighty hunter of men and beasts and a sinner before God. And not all this sufficed unto Nimrod's evil desire. Not enough did he turn men away from God, he did all he could to make them pay divine honors unto himself. He set himself up as a god and made a seat for himself an imitation of the seat of God. It was a tower built out of a round rock, and on it he placed a throne of cedar wood, upon which arose one above the other four thrones of iron, copper, silver, and gold. Crowning all, upon the golden throne lay a precious stone round in shape and gigantic in size. This served him as a seat, and as he sat upon it all nations came and paid him divine homage. The legends of the Jews volume one by Rabbi Louis Ginsburg. The Tower of Babel. The iniquity and godlessness of Nimrod reached their climax in the building of the Tower of Babel. His counselors had proposed the plan of erecting such a tower. Nimrod had agreed to it, and it was executed in Shinar by a mob of six hundred thousand men. The enterprise was neither more nor less than rebellion against God, and there were three sorts of rebels among the builders. The first party spoke, let us ascend into the heavens and wage warfare with him. The second party spoke, let us ascend into the heavens, set up our idols, and pay worship unto them there. And the third party spoke, let us ascend into the heaven and ruin them with our bows and spears. Many, many years were passed in building the tower. It reached so great a height that it took a year to mount to the top. A brick was therefore more precious in the sight of the builders than a human being. If a man fell down and met his death, none took notice of it, but if a brick dropped they wept, because it would take a year to replace it. So intent were they upon accomplishing their purpose that they would not permit a woman to interrupt herself in her work of brick making when the hour of travail came upon her. Molding bricks she gave birth to her child, and tying it round her body in a sheet she went on molding bricks. They never slackened in their work, and from the dizzying height they constantly shot arrows towards heaven, which, returning, were seen to be covered with blood. They were thus fortified in their delusion and cried, We have slain all who are in heaven! There upon God turned to the seventy angels who encompassed his throne, and he spake. Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language that they may not understand one another's speech. Thus it happened. Thenceforth none knew what the other spoke. One would ask for the mortar, and the other handed him a brick, and arranged he would throw the brick at his partner and kill him. Many perished in this manner, and the rest were punished according to the nature of the rebellious conduct. Those who had spoken, let us ascend to the heavens, set up our idols, and pay worship unto them there. God transformed into apes and phantoms. Those who had proposed to assault the heavens with their arms, God set against each other, so that they fell in combat. And those who had resolved to carry on a combat with God in heaven were scattered broadcast over the earth. As for the unfinished tower, a part sank into the earth, and another part was consumed by fire. Only one-third of it remained standing. The place of the tower has never lost its peculiar quality. Whoever passes it forgets all he knows. The punishment inflicted upon the sinful generation of the tower is comparatively lenient. On account of rapine the generation of the flood were utterly destroyed, while the generation of the tower were preserved in spite of their blasphemies and all their other acts offensive to God. The reason is that God sets a high value upon peace and harmony. Therefore, the generation of the deluge who gave themselves up to depredation and bore hatred to one another were extirpated, root and branch, while the generation of the tower babbled dwelling amicably together, and loving one another were spared alive, at least the remnant of them. Beside the chastisement of sin and sinners by the confounding of speech, another notable circumstance was connected with the descent of God upon earth. One of only ten such descents to occur between the creation of the world and the day of judgment. It was on this occasion that God and the seventy angels that surrounded his throne cast lots concerning the various nations. Each angel received a nation, and Israel fell to the lot of God. To every nation a peculiar language was assigned, Hebrew being reserved for Israel. The language made use of by God at the creation of the world. The Legends of the Jews Volume 1 by Rabbi Louis Ginsburg The Wicked Generations Ten generations there were from Noah to Abraham to show how great is the clemency of God, for all the generations provoked his wrath until Abraham our father came and received the reward of all of them. For the sake of Abraham God had shown himself long suffering and patient during the lives of these ten generations. Yea, more the world itself had been created for the sake of his merits. His advent had been made manifest to his ancestor Rue, who uttered the following prophecy at the birth of his son Sarug. From this child he shall be born in the fourth generation that shall set his dwelling over the highest, and he shall be called perfect and spotless, and shall be the father of nations, and his covenant shall not be dissolved, and his seeds shall be multiplied forever. It was indeed high time that the friend of God should make his appearance upon earth. The descendants of Noah were sinking from depravity to lower and lower depths of depravity. They were beginning to quarrel and slay, eat blood, build fortified cities and walls and towers, and set one man over the whole nation as king, and wage wars, people against people, and nations against nations, and cities against cities, and do all manners of evil, and acquire weapons, and teach warfare unto their children. And they began also to take captives and sell them as slaves, and they made unto themselves molten images which they worshipped, each one the idol he had molten for himself, for the evil spirits under their leader Mastima led them astray into sin and uncleanliness. For this reason Rue called his son Sarug because all mankind had turned aside unto sin and transgression. When he grew to manhood the name was seen to have been chosen fittingly, for he too worshiped idols, and when he himself had a son, Nahor, by name, he taught him the arts of the kaldis, how to be a soothsayer, and practice magic according to signs in the heavens. When in time a son was born to Nahor, Mastima sent ravens and other birds to spoil the earth and rob men of the proceeds of their work. As soon as they had dropped the seed in the furrows and before they could cover it over with earth, the birds picked it up from the surface of the ground, and Nahor called his son Tera because the ravens and the other birds plagued men, devoured their seed, and reduced them to destitution. The legends of the Jews, volume one, by Rabbi Louis Ginsburg, the birth of Abraham. Tera married M. Tali, the daughter of Karnabo, and the offspring of their union was Abraham. His birth had been read in the stars by Nimrod, for this impious king was a cunning astrologer, and it was manifest to him that a man would be born in his day who would rise up against him and triumphantly give the lie to his religion. In his terror at the fateful told him in the stars, he sent for his princes and governors and asked them to advise him in the matter. They answered and said, Our unanimous advice is that thou should build a great house, station a guard at the entrance thereof, and make known in the whole of thy realm that all pregnant women shall repair thither together with their midwives, or to remain with them when they are delivered. When the days of a woman to be delivered are fulfilled, and the child is born, it shall be the duty of the midwife to kill it if it is a boy, but if the child be a girl, it shall be kept alive, and the mother shall receive gifts and costly garments, and a herald shall proclaim, thus is done unto the woman who bears a daughter. The king was pleased with this council, and he had a proclamation published throughout his whole kingdom, summoning all the architects to build a great house for him, sixty L's high and eighty wide. After it was completed, he issued a second proclamation, summoning all pregnant women thither, and there they were to remain until their confinement. Officers were appointed to take the women to the house, and guards were stationed in it and about it to prevent the women from escaping thence. He furthermore sent midwives to the house and commanded them to slay the men children at their mother's breasts, but if a woman bore a girl, she was to be arrayed in bisis, silk, and embroidered garments, and led forth from the house of detention amid great honors. No less than seventy thousand children were slaughtered thus. Then the angels appeared before God and spoke, Seeest thou not what he doth, yon sinner and blasphemer, Nimrod son of Canaral, who slays so many innocent babes that have done no harm? God answered and said, Ye holy angels, I know it and I see it, for I neither slumber nor sleep. I behold, and I know the secret things and the things that are revealed, and ye shall witness what I will do unto this sinner and blasphemer, for I will turn my hand against him to chastise him. It was about this time that Terah espoused the mother of Abraham, and she was with child. When her body grew large at the end of three months of pregnancy, and her countenance became pale, Terah said unto her, What ails thee, my wife, that thy countenance is so pale, and thy body is so swollen. She answered and said, Every year I suffer with this melody, but Terah would not be put off thus. He insisted, Show me thy body. It seems to me thou art big with child. If that be so, it behooves us not to violate the command of our God, Nimrod. When he passed his hand over her body, there happened a miracle. The child rose until it lay beneath her breasts, and Terah could feel nothing with his hands. He said to his wife, Thou didst speak truly, and not became visible until the day of her delivery. When her time approached, she left the city in great terror and wandered toward the desert, walking along the edge of a valley, until she happened across a cave. She entered this refuge, and on the next day she was seized with throes, and she gave birth to a son. The whole cave was filled with the light of the child's countenance, as with the splendor of the son, and the mother rejoiced exceedingly. The babes she bore was our father Abraham. His mother lamented and said to her son, Alas, that I bore thee at a time when Nimrod is king, for thy sakes seventy thousand men children were slaughtered, and I am seized with terror on account of thee, that he hear of thy existence and slay thee. Better thou shouldst perish here in this cave than my eye should behold thee dead at my breast. She took the garment in which she was clothed, and wrapped it around the boy. Then she abandoned him in the cave, saying, May the Lord be with thee, may he not fail thee, nor forsake thee. Legends of the Jews, Volume 1, by Louis Ginsburg. The babe proclaims God. Thus Abraham was deserted in the cave without a nurse, and he began to wail. God sent Gabriel down to give him milk to drink, and the angel made it to flow from the little finger of the baby's right hand, and he sucked at it until he was ten days old. Then he arose and walked about, and he left the cave, and went along the edge of the valley. When the sun sank, and the stars came forth, he said, These are the gods. But the dawn came, and the stars could be seen no longer, and then he said, I will not pay worship to these, for they are no gods. Thereupon the sun came forth, and he spoke, This is my God, him will I extol. But again the sun set, and he said, He is no God. And beholding the moon, he called her his God to whom he would pay divine homage. Then the moon was obscured, and he cried out, This too is no God. There is one who sets them all in motion. He was still communing with himself, when the angel Gabriel approached him and met him with the greeting, Peace be with thee, and Abraham returned, with thee be peace, and asked, Who art thou? And Gabriel answered and said, I am the angel Gabriel, the messenger of God. And he led Abraham to a spring of water nearby, and Abraham washed his face and his hands and feet, and he prayed to God, bowing down and prostrating himself. Meantime the mother of Abraham thought of him in sorrow and tears, and she went forth from the city to seek him in the cave in which she had abandoned him. Not finding her son, she wept bitterly and said, Woe unto me that I bore thee, but to become a prey of wild beasts, the bears and the lions and the wolves. She went to the edge of the valley, and there she found her son, but she did not recognize him, for he had grown very large. She addressed the lad, Peace be with thee, and he returned, with thee be peace, and he continued, unto what purpose did thou come to the desert? She replied, I went forth from the city to seek my son. Abraham questioned further, Who brought thy son hither? And the mother replied there too, I had become pregnant from my husband Tara, and when the days of my delivery were fulfilled, I was in anxiety about my son in the womb, lest our king come, the son of Canaan, and slay him as he had slain the seventy thousand other men children. Scarcely had I reached the cave in this valley, when the throes of travailing seized me, and I bore a son, whom I left behind in the cave, and I went home again. Now am I come to seek him, but I find him not. Abraham then spoke, as to this child thou tellest of, how old was it? The mother, it was about twenty days old. Abraham, is there a woman in the world who would forsake her newborn son in the desert, and come to seek him after twenty days? The mother, peradventure God will show himself a merciful God. Abraham, I am the son whom thou hast come to seek in this valley. The mother, my son, how thou art grown, but twenty days old, and thou canst already walk and talk with thy mouth? Abraham, so it is, and thus, O my mother, it is made known unto thee that there is in the world a great, terrible, living, and ever existing God, who doth see, but who cannot be seen. He is in the heavens above, and the whole earth is full of his glory. The mother, my son, is there a God beside Nimrod? Abraham, yes mother, the God of the heavens and the God of the earth, he is also the God of Nimrod, son of Canaan. Go, therefore, and carry this message unto Nimrod. The mother of Abraham returned to the city and told her husband, Tehrar, how she had found their son. Tehrar, who was a prince and a magnet in the house of the king, betook himself to the royal palace and cast himself down before the king upon his face. It was the rule that one who prostrated himself before the king was not permitted to lift up his head until the king bade him lifted up. Nimrod gave permission to Tehrar to rise and state his request. Therefore, Tehrar related all that had happened with his wife and his son. When Nimrod heard his tale, abject fear seized upon him, and he asked his counselors and princes what to do with the lad. They answered and said, Our king and our God, wherefore art thou in fear by reason of a little child? There are myriads upon myriads of princes in thy realm, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens, and overseers without number. Let the pettiest of the princes go and fetch the boy and put him in prison. But the king interposed, have ye ever seen a baby of twenty days walking with his feet, speaking with his mouth, and proclaiming with his tongue that there is a God in heaven who is one and none beside him who sees and is not seen? All the assembled princes were horror struck at these words. At this time, Satan in human form appeared, clad in black silk garb, and he cast himself down before the king. Nimrod said, Raise thy head and state thy request. Satan asked the king, Why art thou terrified, and why are ye all in fear on account of a little lad? I will counsel thee what thou shall do. Open thy arsenal and give weapons unto all the princes, chiefs and governors, and undo all the warriors, and send them to fetch him unto thy service, and to be under thy dominion. This advice given by Satan the king accepted and followed. He sent a great armed host to bring Abraham to him. When the boy saw the army approach him, he was sore afraid, and amid tears he implored God for help. In answer to his prayer, God sent the angel Gabriel to him, and he said, Be not afraid and disquieted, for God is with thee. He will rescue thee out of the hands of all thine adversaries. God commanded Gabriel to put thick, dark clouds between Abraham and his assailants. Dismayed by the heavy clouds, they fled, returning to Nimrod their king, and they said to him, Let us depart and leave this realm. And the king gave money unto all his princes and his servants, and together with the king they departed and journeyed to Babylon. Legends of the Jews, Volume 1, by Louis Ginsburg. Abraham's first appearance in public. Now Abraham, at the command of God, was ordered by the angel Gabriel to follow Nimrod to Babylon. He objected that he was in no wise, equipped to undertake a campaign against the king. But Gabriel calmed him with the words, Thou needst no provision for the way, no horse to ride upon, no warriors to carry on war with Nimrod, no chariots, nor riders. Do thou, but sit thyself upon my shoulder, and I shall bear thee to Babylon. Abraham did as he was bitten, and in the twinkling of an eye, he found himself before the gates of the city of Babylon. At the behest of the angel, he entered the city, and he called unto the dwellers therein with a loud voice. The eternal he is the one, only God, and there is none beside. He is the God of the heavens, and the God of the gods, and the God of Nimrod. Acknowledge this as the truth, all ye men, women, and children. Acknowledge also that I am Abraham his servant, the trusted steward of his house. Abraham met his parents in Babylon, and also he saw the angel Gabriel who bade him proclaim the truth faith to his father and his mother. Therefore Abraham spake to them and said, ye serve a man of your own kind, and you pay worship to an image of Nimrod. Know ye not that it has a mouth, but it speaks not, an eye, but it sees not, an ear, but it hears not, nor does it walk upon its feet, and there is no profit in it, either unto itself or unto others. When Tera heard these words, he persuaded Abraham to follow him into the house, where his son told him all that had happened, how in one day he had completed a 40-day journey. Tera thereupon went to Nimrod and reported to him that his son Abraham had suddenly appeared in Babylon. The king sent for Abraham, and he came before him with his father. Abraham passed the magnets and the dignitaries until he reached the royal throne, upon which he seized hold, shaking it and crying out with a loud voice. O Nimrod, thou contemptible wretch that denies the essence of faith, that denies the living and immutable God, and Abraham his servant, the trusted steward of his house, acknowledge him and repeat after me the words, the eternal is God, the only one, and there is none beside. He is incorporeal, living, ever existing, he slumbers not and sleeps not, who hath created the world that men might believe in him, and confess also concerning me, and say that I am the servant of God, and the trusted steward of his house. While Abraham proclaimed this with a loud voice, the idols fell upon their faces and with them also king Nimrod. For a space of two hours and a half, the king lay lifeless, and when his soul returned upon him, he spoke and said, Is it thy voice, O Abraham, or the voice of thy God? And Abraham answered and said, This voice is the voice of the least of all creatures called into existence by God. Thereupon Nimrod said, Verily the God of Abraham is a great and powerful God, the king of all kings, and he commanded Terah to take his son and remove him, and return again unto his own city, and father and son did as the king had ordered. The Legends of the Jews Volume 1 by Rabbi Louis Ginsberg The Preacher of the True Faith And then question in turn, How old art thou? Thirty years, the reply would be. Thou art thirty years of age, and yet thou wouldst worship this idol, which I made but today. The man would depart and go his way, and another would approach Abraham and ask, How much is this idol? And five men as would be the reply. And again Abraham would put the question, How old art thou? Fifty years. And thus thou who art fifty years of age bowed down before this idol, which was made but today. Thereupon the man would depart and go his way. Abraham then took two idols, put a rope about their necks, and with their faces turned downward, he dragged them along the ground, crying aloud all the time. Who will buy an idol wherein there is no profit, either unto itself or unto him that buys it in order to worship it? It has a mouth, but it speaketh not. Eyes, but it seeeth not. Feet, but it walketh not. Ears, but it heareth not. The people who heard Abraham were amazed exceedingly at his words. As he went through the street he met an old woman, who approached him with the purpose of buying an idol, good and big, to be worshiped and loved. Old woman, old woman, said Abraham, I know no profit therein, either in the big ones or in the little ones, either unto themselves or unto others. And he continued to speak to her. What has become of the big image thou didst buy from my brother, Haran, to worship it? Thieves, she replied, came in the night and stole it while I was still at the bath. If it be thus Abraham went on questioning her, how canst thou pay homage to an idol that cannot save itself from thieves, let alone save others, like thyself, thou silly old woman, out of misfortune? How is it possible for thee to say that the image thou worshipest is a God? If it be a God, why did it not save itself out of the hands of those thieves? Nay, in the idol there is no profit, either unto itself or unto him that adores it. The old woman rejoined, If what thou sayest be true, whom shall I serve? Serve the God of all gods, returned Abraham, the Lord of lords, who hath created heaven and earth, the sea and all therein, the God of Nimrod, and the God of Tara, the God of the East, the West, the South, and the North. Who is Nimrod, the dog who calleth himself a God that worship be offered unto him? Abraham succeeded in opening the eyes of the old woman, and she became a zealous missionary for the true God. When she discovered the thieves who had carried off her idol, and they restored it to her, she broke it in pieces with a stone, and as she wended her way through the streets, she cried aloud, Who would save his soul from destruction, and be prosperous in all his doings? Let him serve the God of Abraham! Thus she converted many men and women to the true belief. Rumors of the words and deeds of the old woman reached the king, and he sent for her. When she appeared before him, he rebuked her harshly, asking her how she dared serve any God but himself. The old woman replied, Thou art a liar, Thou deniest the essence of faith, the one only God, beside whom there is no other God. Thou livest upon his bounded worship to another, and Thou dost repudiate him, and his teachings, and Abraham his servant. The old woman had to pay for her zeal for the faith with her life. Nevertheless, great fear and terror took possession of Nimrod, because the people became more and more attached to the teachings of Abraham, and he knew not how to deal with the man who was undermining the old faith. At the advice of his princes, he arranged a seven-days festival, at which all the people were bitten to appear in their robes of state, their gold and silver apparel. By such display of wealth and power, he expected to intimidate Abraham and bring him back to the faith of the king. Through his father, Tara, Nimrod invited Abraham to come before him, that he might have the opportunity of seeing his greatness in wealth and the glory of his dominion and the multitude of his princes and attendants. But Abraham refused to appear before the king. On the other hand, he granted his father's request that in his absence he sit by his idols and the kings and take care of them. Alone with the idols, and while he repeated the words, the eternal he is God, the eternal he is God, he struck the king's idols from their thrones, and began to belabor them with an axe. With the biggest he started, and with the smallest he ended. He hacked off the feet of one, and the other he beheaded. This one had his eyes struck out, the other had his hands crushed. After all were mutilated, he went away, having first put the axe into the hand of the largest idol. The feast ended, the king returned, and when he saw all his idols shivered in pieces, he inquired who had perpetrated the mischief. Abraham was named as the one who had been guilty of the outrage, and the king summoned him and questioned him as to the motive for the deed. Abraham replied, I did not do it. It was the largest of the idols who shattered all the rest. Seeest thou not that he still has the axe in his hand? And if thou wilt not believe my words, ask him, and he will tell thee. The Legends of the Jews, Vol. 1 by Rabbi Louis Ginsburg in the Fiery Furnace Now the king was exceedingly rough at Abraham, and ordered him to be cast into prison, where he commanded the warden not to give him bread or water. But God hearkened unto the prayer of Abraham, and sent Gabriel to him in his dungeon. For a year the angel dwelt with him, and provided him with all sorts of food, and a spring of fresh water welled up before him, and he drank of it. At the end of a year the magnates of the realm presented themselves before the king, and advised him to cast Abraham into the fire that the people might believe in Nimrod forever. Thereupon the king issued a decree, that all the subjects of the king in all his provinces, men and women, young and old, should bring wood within forty days, and he caused it to be thrown into a great furnace, and set afire. The flames shot up to the skies, and the people were sore, afraid of the fire. Now the warden of the prison was ordered to bring Abraham forth and cast him in the flames. The warden reminded the king that Abraham had not had food or drink a whole year, and therefore must be dead. But Nimrod nevertheless desired him to step in front of the prison and call his name. If he made reply he was to be hauled out to the pyre. If he had perished his remains were to receive burial, and his memory was to be wiped out henceforth. Greatly amazed the warden was when his cry, Abraham, aren't thou alive? was answered with, I am living. He questioned further, Who has been bringing the food and drink all these many days? And Abraham replied, Food and drink have been bestowed upon me by him who is over all things, the God of all gods, and the Lord of all lords, who alone doeth wonders, he who is the God of Nimrod, and the God of Terra, and the God of the whole world. He dispense of food and drink unto all beings, he sees, but he cannot be seen. He is in the heavens above, and he is present in all places, for he himself supervises all things, and provideeth for all. The miraculous rescue of Abraham from death by starvation and thirst convinced the prisonkeeper of the truth of God and his prophet Abraham, and he acknowledged his belief in both publicly. The king's threat of death, unless he recanted, could not turn him away from his new and true faith. When the hangman raised his sword and set it at his throat to kill him, he exclaimed, The eternal he is God, the God of the whole world, as well as of the blasphemer Nimrod. But the sword could not cut his flesh, the harler was pressed against his throat, the more it broke into pieces. Nimrod, however, was not to be turned aside from his purpose to make Abraham suffer death by fire. One of the princes was dispatched to fetch him forth, but scarcely did the messenger set about the task of throwing him into the fire when the flame leapt forth from the furnace and consumed him. Many more attempts were made to cast Abraham into the furnace, but always with the same success, whoever seized him to pitch him in was himself burnt, and a large number lost their lives. Satan appeared in human shape and advised the king to place Abraham in a catapult and sling him into the fire, thus no one would be required to come near the flame. Satan himself constructed the catapult. Having proved it fit three times by means of stones put in the machine, they bound Abraham hand and foot and were about to consign him to the flames. At that moment Satan, still disguised in human shape, approached Abraham and said, If thou desirest to deliver thyself from the fire of Nimrod, bow down before him and believe in him. But Abraham rejected the tempter with the words, May the eternal rebuke thee, thou vile, contemptible, accursed blasphemer, and Satan departed from him. Then the mother of Abraham came to him and implored him to pay homage to Nimrod and escape the impending misfortune. But he said to her, O mother, water can extinguish Nimrod's fire, but the fire of God will not die out for evermore. Water cannot quench it. When his mother heard these words, she spake, May the God whom thou serviced rescue thee from the fire of Nimrod. Abraham was finally placed in the catapult, and he raised his eyes, heavenward, and spoke, O Lord, my God, thou seest what this sinner purposes to do unto me. His confidence in God was unshakable. When the angels received the divine permission to save him and Gabriel approached him and asked, Abraham, shall I save thee from the fire? he replied. God in whom I trust the God of heaven and earth will rescue me, and God, seeing the submissive spirit of Abraham, commanded the fire, cool off, and bring tranquility to my servant Abraham. No water was needed to extinguish the fire. The logs burst into buds, and all the different kinds of wood put forth fruit, each tree bearing its own kind. The furnace was transformed into a royal pleasant, and the angels sat therein with Abraham. When the king saw the miracle, he said, Great witchcraft, thou makest it known that fire hath no power over thee, and at the same time thou showest thyself unto the people sitting in a pleasure garden. But the princes of Nimrod interposed all with one voice, Nay, our Lord, this is not witchcraft, it is the power of the great God, the God of Abraham, beside whom there is no other God, and we acknowledge that he is God, and Abraham is his servant. All the princes and all the people believed in God at this hour in the eternal, the God of Abraham, and they all cried out, The Lord he is God in heaven above and upon the earth beneath, there is no one else. Abraham was the superior not only of the impious king Nimrod and his attendants, but also of the pious men of his time, Noah, Shem, Abraham, Ashur. Noah gave himself no concern whatsoever in the matter of spreading the pure faith of God. He took an interest in planting his vineyard, and was immersed in material pleasures. Shem and Abraham kept in hiding, and as for Ashur he said, How can I live among such sinners? and departed out of the land. The only one who remained unshaken was Abraham. I will not forsake God, he said, and therefore God did not forsake him, who had hearkened neither unto his father nor unto his mother. The miraculous deliverance of Abraham from the fiery furnace, together with his later fortunes, was the fulfillment and explanation of what his father, Tara, had read in the stars. He had seen the star of Haran, consumed by fire, and at the same time fill and rule the whole world. The meaning was plain now. Haran was irresolute in his faith. He could not decide whether to adhere to Abraham or the idolaters. When it befell that those who would not serve idols were cast into the fiery furnace, Haran reasoned in this manner. Abraham, being my elder, will be called upon before me. If he comes forth out of the fiery trial triumphant, I will declare my allegiance to him, otherwise I will take sides against him. After God himself had rescued Abraham from death, and Haran's turn came to make his confession of faith, he announced his adherence to Abraham. But scarcely had he come near the furnace, when he was seized by the flames and consumed, because he was lacking in firm faith in God. Tara had read the stars well, it now appeared. Haran was burnt, and his daughter Sarah became the wife of Abraham, whose descendants fill the earth. In another way, the death of Haran was noteworthy. It was the first instance, since the creation of the world, of a son's dying while his father was still alive. The king, the princes, and all the people who had been witnesses of the wonders done for Abraham came to him and prostrated themselves before him. But Abraham said, Do not bow down before me but before God, the master of the universe who hath created you. Serve him and walk in his ways, for he it was who delivered me from the flames, and he it is who hath created the soul and the spirit of every human being, who formeth man in the womb of his mother, and bringeth him into the world. He saveth from all sickness those who put their trust in him. The king then dismissed Abraham after loading him down with an abundance of precious gifts, among them two slaves who had been raised in the royal palace. Ogi was the name of the one, Eleazar the name of the other. The princes followed the example of the king, and they gave him silver and gold and gems. But all these gifts did not rejoice the heart of Abraham so much as the three hundred followers that joined him and became adherents of his religion. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. The Legends of the Jews Volume 1 by Rabbi Louis Ginsburg Abraham Emigrates to Iran For a period of two years, Abraham could devote himself undisturbed to his chosen task of turning the hearts of men to God and his teachings. In his pious undertakings, he was aided by his wife Sarah, whom he had married in the meantime. While he exhorted the men and sought to convert them, Sarah addressed herself to the women. She was a help-meet worthy of Abraham. Indeed, in prophetical powers she ranked higher than her husband. She was sometimes called Iskah, the seer on that account. At the expiration of two years, it happened that Nimrod dreamed a dream. In his dream he found himself with his army near the fiery furnace in the valley into which Abraham had been cast. A man resembling Abraham stepped out of the furnace, and he ran after the king with drawn sword, the king fleeing before him in terror. While running, the pursuer threw an egg at Nimrod's head, and a mighty stream issued therefrom, wherein the king's whole host was drowned. The king alone survived with three men. When Nimrod examined his companions, he observed that they were royal attire, and in form and stature they resembled himself. The stream changed back into an egg again, and a little chick broke forth from it, and it flew up, settled upon the head of the king, and put out one of his eyes. The king was confounded in his sleep, and when he awoke, his heart beat like a trip-hammer, and his fear was exceedingly great. In the morning, when he arose, he sent and called for his wise men and his magicians, and told them his dream. One of his wise men, Anoko by name, stood up and said, No, O king, this dream points to the misfortune which Abraham and his descendants will bring upon thee. A time will come when he and his followers will make war upon thy army, and they will annihilate it. Thou and the three kings, thy allies, will be the only ones to escape death. But later thou wilt lose thy life at the hands of one of the descendants of Abraham. Consider, O king, that thy wise men read this fate of thine in the stars fifty-two years ago at the birth of Abraham. As long as Abraham liveth upon the ground, thou shalt not be established, nor thy kingdom. Nimrod took Anoko's words to heart and dispatched some of his servants to seize Abraham and kill him. It happened that Eliezer, the slave whom Abraham had received as a present from Nimrod, was at that time at the royal court. With great haste he sped to Abraham to induce him to flee before the king's bailiffs. His master accepted his advice and took refuge in the house of Noah and Shem, where he lay in hiding a whole month. The king's officers reported that despite zealous efforts Abraham was nowhere to be found. Then sporth the king did not concern himself about Abraham. When Tara visited his son in his hiding-place, Abraham proposed that they leave the land and take up their abode in Canaan in order to escape the pursuit of Nimrod. He said, Consider that it was not for thy sake that Nimrod overloaded thee with honors, but for his own profit. Though he continued to confer the greatest benefictions on thee, what are they but earthly vanity? For riches and professions profit not in the day of wrath and fury. Harken unto my voice, O my father, let us depart for the land of Canaan, and serve the God that hath created thee, that it may be well with thee. Noah and Shem aided and abetted the efforts of Abraham to persuade Tara, whereupon Tara consented to leave his country, and he and Abraham and Lot, the son of Heran, departed for Heran with their households. They found the land pleasant, and also the inhabitants thereof, who readily yielded to the influence of Abraham's humane spirit and his piety. Many of them obeyed his precepts, and became God-fearing and good. Tara's resolve to quit his native land for the sake of Abraham and take up his abode in strange parts, and his impulse to do it before even the divine call visited Abraham himself, this the Lord accounted a great merit unto Tara, and he was permitted to see his son Abraham rule as king over the whole world. For when the miracle happened, and Isaac was born under his aged parents, the whole world repaired to Abraham and Sarah, and demanded to know what they had done that so great a thing should be accomplished for them. Abraham told them that all that had happened between Nimrod and himself, how he had been ready to be burnt for the glory of God, and how the Lord had rescued him from the flames. In token of their admiration for Abraham and his teachings, they appointed him to be their king. And in commemoration of Isaac's wondrous birth, the money coined by Abraham bore the figures of an aged husband and wife on the obverse side, and of a young man and his wife on the reverse side, for Abraham and Sarah both were rejuvenated at the birth of Isaac. Abraham's white hair turned black, and the lines in Sarah's face were smoothed out. For many years Tara continued to live a witness of his son's glory, for his death did not occur until Isaac was a youth of thirty-five. And a still greater reward waited upon his good deed. God accepted his repentance, and when he departed this life he entered into paradise and not into hell, though he had passed the larger number of his days and sin. Indeed it had been his fault that Abraham came near losing his life at the hands of Nimrod, the star in the east. Tara had been a high official at the court of Nimrod, and he was held in great consideration by the king and his suite. A son was born unto him whom he called Abram, because the king had raised him to an exalted place. In the night of Abraham's birth the astrologers and the wise men of Nimrod came to the house of Tara and ate and drank and rejoiced with him that night. When they left the house they lifted up their eyes toward heaven to look at the stars, and they saw, and behold, one great star came from the east and ran a thwart the heavens and swallowed up the four stars at the four corners. They all were astonished at the sight, but they understood this matter and knew its import. They said to one another, This only betokens that the child that had been born unto Tara this night will grow up and be fruitful, and he will multiply and possess all the earth, he and his children forever, and he and his seed will slay great kings and inherit their lands. They went home that night, and in the morning they rose up early and assembled in their meeting house. They spake and said unto one another, Lo, the sight that we saw last night is hidden from the king. It has not been made known to him, and should this thing become known to him in the latter days he will say to us, Why did you conceal this matter from me? And then we shall all suffer death. Now let us go and tell the king the sight which we saw, and the interpretation thereof, and we shall be clear from this thing. And they went to the king and told him the sight they had seen, and their interpretation thereof, and they added the advice that he pay the value of the child to Tara and slay the babe. Accordingly the king sent for Tara, and when he came he spoke to him. It hath been told unto me that a son was born to thee yesterday night, and a wondrous sign was observed in the heavens at his birth. Now give me the boy that we may slay him before evil comes upon us from him, and I will give thee thy house full of silver and gold in exchange for him. Tara answered, This thing which thou promisedest unto me is like the words which a man spoke to a mule, saying, I will give thee a great heap of barley, a house thereof, on condition that I cut off thy head. The mule replied, Of what use will all the barley be to me if thou cutest off my head? Who will eat it when thou giveest it to me? Thus also I do say, What shall I do with silver and gold after the death of my son? Who shall inherit me? But when Tara saw how the king's anger burned within him at these words, he added, Whatever the king desiredeth to do unto his servant, that let him do, even my son is at the king's disposal, without valuer exchange, he and his two older brethren. The king spake, however, saying, I will purchase thy youngest son for a price. And Tara made answer, Let my king give me three days' time to consider the matter and consult about it with my family. The king agreed to this condition, and on the third day he sent to Tara, saying, Give me thy son for a price, as I spoke unto thee. If thou wilt not do this, I will send and slay all thou hast in thy house. There shall not be a dog left unto thee. Then Tara took the child which his handmaid had borne unto him that day, and he brought the babe to the king, and received value for him, and the king took the child and dashed his head against the ground, for he thought it was Abraham. But Tara took his son Abraham, together with the child's mother and his nurse, and concealed them in a cave, and thither he carried provisions to them once a month, and the lord was with Abraham in the cave, and he grew up, but the king and all his servants thought that Abraham was dead. And when Abraham was ten years old, he and his mother and his nurse went out from the cave, for the king and his servants had forgotten the affair of Abraham. In all that time the inhabitants of the earth, with the exception of Noah and his household, transgressed against the lord, and they made unto themselves every man his god, gods of wood and stone, which could neither speak nor hear nor deliver from distress. The king and all his servants, and Tara with his household, were the first to worship images of wooden stone. Tara made twelve gods of large size, of wood and of stone, corresponding to the twelve months of the year, and he paid homage to them monthly in turn. The true believer. Once Abraham went into the temple of the idols in his father's house, to bring sacrifices to them, and he found one of them, Marometh, by name, hewn out of stone, lying prostrate on his face before the iron god of Nahor. The idol was too heavy for him to raise it alone, and he called his father to help him put Marometh back in his place. While they were handling the image, its head dropped off, and Tara took a stone and chiseled another Marometh, setting the head of the first upon the new body. Then Tara continued and made five more gods, and all these he delivered to Abraham, and bad hymns sell them in the streets of the city. Abraham saddled his mule, and went to the inn where merchants from Fadana in Syria put up on their way to Egypt. He hoped to dispose of his wares there. When he reached the inn, one of the camels belonging to the merchants belched, and the sound frightened his mule so that it ran off palmel and broke three of the idols. The merchants not only bought the two sound idols from him, they also gave him the price of the broken ones, for Abraham had told them how distressed he was to appear before his father with less money than he had expected to receive for his handiwork. This incident made Abraham reflect upon the worthlessness of idols, and he said to himself, What are these evil things done by my father? Is not he the God of his gods, for do they not come into being by reason of his carving and chiseling and contriving? Were it not more seemly that they should pay worship to him than he to them, seeing they are the work of his hands? Meditating thus he reached his father's house, and he entered and handed his father the money for the five images, and Tara rejoiced and said, Blessed art thou unto my gods, because thou didst bring me the price of the idols, and my labor was not in vain. But Abraham made reply, Here my father, Tara, blessed are thy gods through thee, for thou art their god, since thou didst fashion them, and their blessing is destruction and their help is vanity. They that help not themselves, how can they help thee or bless me? Tara grew very wrathful at Abraham, that he uttered such speech against his gods, and Abraham, thinking upon his father's anger, left him and went from the house. But Tara called him back and said, Gather together the chips of the oak wood, from which I made the images before thou didst return, and prepare my dinner for me. Abraham made ready to do his father's bidding, and as he took up the chips he found a little god among them, whose forehead bore the inscription, God, Barry Sot. He threw the chips upon the fire, and set Barry Sot up next to it, saying, Attention, take care, Barry Sot, that the fire go not out until I come back. If it burns slow, blow into it, and make it flame up again. Speaking thus he went out. When he came in again he found Barry Sot lying prone upon his back badly burnt. Smiling, he said to himself, In truth, Barry Sot, Thou canst keep the fire alive and prepare food. And while he spoke the idol was consumed to ashes. Then he took the dishes to his father, and he ate and drank and was glad, and blessed his god Merrimoth. But Abraham said to his father, Bless not thy god Merrimoth, but rather thy god Barry Sot, for it was he who, out of his great love for thee, threw himself into the fire that thy meal might be cooked. Where is he now? exclaimed Tara, and Abraham answered. He hath become ashes in the fierceness of the fire. Tara said, Great is the power of Barry Sot. I will make me another this day, and tomorrow he will prepare my food for me. These words of his father made Abraham laugh in his mind, but his soul was grieved at his obduracy, and he proceeded to make clear his views upon the idols, saying, Father, no matter which of the two idols thou blessed, thy behavior is senseless, for the images that stand in the holy temple are more to be worshiped than thine. Zuchius, the god of my brother Nahor, is more venerable than Merrimoth, because he is made cunningly of gold, and when he grows old he will be worked over again. But when thy Merrimoth becomes dim, or is shivered in pieces, he will not be renewed, for he is of stone. And the god Joab, who stands above the other gods with Zuchius, is more venerable than Barry Sot, made of wood, because he is hammered out of silver, and ornamented by men to show his magnificence. But thy Barry Sot, before thou didst fashion him into a god with thy acts, was rooted in the earth, standing there great and wonderful with the glory of branches and blossoms. Now he is dry, and gone is his sap. From his height he has fallen to the earth, from grandeur he came to pettiness, and the appearance of his face has paled away. And he himself was burnt in the fire, and he was consumed unto ashes, and he is no more. And thou didst then say, I will make me another this day, and tomorrow he will prepare my food for me. Father, Abraham continued, and said, The fire is more to be worshiped than thy gods of gold and silver and wood and stone, because it consumes them. But also the fire I call not God, because it is subject to the water which quenches it. But also the water I call not God, because it is sucked up by the earth. And I call the earth more venerable, because it conquers the water. But also the earth I call not God, because it is dried out by the sun. And I call the sun more venerable than the earth, because he illuminates the whole world with his rays. But also the sun I call not God, because his light is obscured when darkness cometh up. Nor do I call the moon and the stars God, because their light, too, is extinguished when their time to shine is past. But hearken unto this, my Father Terra, which I will declare unto thee. The God who hath created all things, he is the true God. He hath impurpled the heavens, and gilded the sun, and given radiance to the moon and also the stars. And he dryeth out the earth in the midst of many waters. And also thee hath he put upon the earth. And me hath he sought out in the confusion of my thoughts. But Terra could not be convinced, and in reply to Abraham's question, who the God was that had created heaven and earth and the children of men, he took him to the hall wherein stood twelve great idols and a large number of little idols, and pointing to them he said, Here are they who have made all thou seest on earth, they who have created also me and thee and all men on the earth. And he bowed down before his gods and left the hall with his son. Abraham went thence to his mother, and he spoke to her, saying, Behold, my Father has shown those unto me who made heaven and earth and all the sons of men. Now therefore hasten and fetch a kid from the flock, and make of it savoury meat that I may bring it to my Father's gods. Perhaps I may thereby be acceptable to them. His mother did according to his request, but when Abraham brought the offering to the gods, he saw that they had no voice, no hearing, no motion, and not one of them stretched forth his hand to eat. Abraham mocked them and said, Surely the savoury meat that I prepare doth not please you, or perhaps it is too little for you. Therefore I will prepare fresh savoury meat tomorrow, better and more plentiful than this, that I may see what cometh therefrom. But the gods remained mute and without motion before the second offering of excellent savoury meat as before the first offering, and the Spirit of God came over Abraham, and he cried out, and said, Woe unto my Father and his wicked generation, whose hearts are all inclined to vanity, who serve these idols of wood and stone, which cannot eat, nor smell, nor hear, nor speak, which have mouths without speech, eyes without sight, ears without hearing, hands without feeling, and legs without motion. Abraham then took a hatchet in his hand, and broke all his Father's gods, and when he had done breaking them, he placed the hatchet in the hand of the biggest God among them all, and he went out. Terah, having heard the crash of the hatchet on the stone, ran to the room of the idols, and he reached it at the moment when Abraham was leaving it, and when he saw what had happened, he hastened after Abraham, and he said to him, What is this mischief thou hast done to my gods? Abraham answered, I set savoury meat before them, and when I came nigh unto them, that they may eat, they all stretched out their hands to take of the meat before the big one had put forth his hand to eat. This one, enraged against them on account of their behavior, took the hatchet and broke them all, and behold, the hatchet is yet in his hand, as thou mayest see. Then Terah turned in wrath upon Abraham, and said, Thou speakest lies unto me. Is there spirit, soul, or power in these gods to do all thou hast told me? Are they not wood and stone, and have I not myself made them? It is thou that didst place the hatchet in the hand of the big God, and thou sayest he smote them all. Abraham answered his father and said, How then canst thou serve these idols in whom there is no power to do anything? Can these idols in which thou trustest deliver thee? Can they hear thy prayers when thou call us upon them? After having spoken these and similar words, admonishing his father to mend his ways and refrain from worshiping idols, he leapt up before Terah, took the hatchet from the big idol, broke it therewith, and ran away. Terah hastened to Nimrod, bowed down before him, and besought him to hear his story about his son who had been born to him fifty years back, and how he had done to his gods, and how he had spoken. Now, therefore, my Lord and King, he said, Send for him that he may come before thee, and do thou judge him according to the law that we may be delivered from his evil. When Abraham was brought before the King, he told him the same story as he had told her about the big God who broke the smaller ones. But the King replied, idols do neither speak nor eat nor move. Then Abraham reproached him for worshiping gods that can do nothing, and admonished him to serve the God of the universe. His last words were, If thy wicked heart will not harken to my words, to cause thee to forsake thy evil ways, and serve the eternal God, then wilt thou die in shame in the latter days, thou, thy people, and all that are connected with thee, who hear thy words and walk in thy evil ways. The King ordered Abraham to be put into prison, and at the end of ten days he caused all the princes and great men of the realm to appear before him, and to them he put the case of Abraham. Their verdict was that he should be burnt, and accordingly the King had a fire prepared for three days and three nights, and his furnace had costumed, and Abraham was to be carried thither from prison to be burned. All the inhabitants of the land, about 900,000 men, and the women and the children besides, came to see what would be done with Abraham, and when he was brought forth the astrologers recognized him, and they said to the King, Surely this is the man whom we knew as a child, and whose birth the great star swallowed the four stars. Behold, his father did transgress thy command, and he made a mockery of thee, for he did bring thee another child, and him didst thou kill. Tehran was greatly terrified, for he was afraid of the King's wrath, and he admitted that he had deceived the King, and when the King said, Tell me who advised thee to do this, hide not, and thou shalt not die. He falsely accused Haran, who had been 32 years old at the time of Abraham's birth, of having advised him to deceive the King. At the command of the King, Abraham and Haran, stripped of all their clothes except their hosen, and their hands and feet bound with linen cords, were cast into the furnace. Haran, because his heart was not perfect with the Lord, perished in the fire, and also the men who cast them into the furnace were burned by the flames which leapt out over them, and Abraham alone was saved by the Lord, and he was not burnt, though the cords with which he was bound were consumed. For three days and three nights, Abraham walked in the midst of the fire, and all the servants of the King came and told him, Behold, we have seen Abraham walking about in the midst of the fire. At first the King would not believe them, but when some of his faithful princes corroborated the words of his servants, he rose up and went to see for himself. He then commanded his servants to take Abraham from the fire, but they could not, because the flames leapt toward them from the furnace, and when they tried again at the King's command to approach the furnace, the flames shot out and burned their faces, so that eight of their number died. The King then called unto Abraham and said, O servant of the God who is in heaven, go forth from the midst of the fire, and come hither and stand before me. And Abraham came and stood before the King, and the King spoke to Abraham and said, How cometh it that thou wast not burnt in the fire? And Abraham made answer, the God of heaven and earth in whom I trust, and whom hath all things in his power, he did deliver me from the fire into which thou didst cast me. The Legends of the Jews Volume 1 by Rabbi Louis Ginsburg, Abraham in Canaan With ten temptations Abraham was tempted, and he withstood them all, showing how great was the love of Abraham. The first test to which he was subjected was the departure from his native land. The hardships were many and severe, which he encountered, and he was loath to leave his home besides. He spoke to God and said, Will not the people talk about me and say, He is endeavoring to bring the nations under the wings of the Shekinah, yet he leaves his old father in Heron, and he goes away? But God answered him and said, Dismiss all care concerning thy father and thy kinsmen from thy thoughts, though they speak words of kindness to thee, yet are they all of one mind to ruin thee? Then Abraham foresook his father in Heron, and journeyed to Canaan, accompanied by the blessing of God, who said unto him, I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great. These three blessings were to counteract the evil consequences which, he feared, would follow emigration, for traveling from place to place interferes with the growth of the family. It lessens one substance, and it diminishes the consideration one enjoys. The greatest of all blessings, however, was the word of God, and be thou a blessing. The meaning of this was that whoever came in contact with Abraham was blessed. Even the mariners on the sea were indebted to him for prosperous voyages. Besides, God held out the promise to him that in time to come, his name would be mentioned in the benedictions. God would be praised as the shield of Abraham, a distinction according to no other mortal except David. But the words, and be thou a blessing, will be fulfilled only in the future world, when the seed of Abraham shall be known among the nations, and his offspring among the people, as the seed which the Lord hath blessed. When Abraham first was bitten to leave his home, he was not told to what land he was to journey. All the greater would be his reward for executing the command of God. And Abraham showed his trust in God, for he said, I am ready to go whether so ever thou sendest me. The Lord then bade him to go to a land wherein he would reveal himself, and when he went to Canaan later, God appeared to him, and he knew that it was the promised land. On entering Canaan, Abraham did not yet know that it was the land appointed as his inheritance. Nevertheless, he rejoiced when he reached it. In Mesopotamia and in Aramna HaRam, the inhabitants of which he had seen eating, drinking, and acting wantonly, he had always wished, Oh, that my portion may not be in this land. But when he came to Canaan, he observed that the people devoted themselves industriously to the cultivation of the land, and he said, Oh, that my portion may be in this land. God then spoke to him and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land. Happy in these joyous tidings, Abraham erected an altar to the Lord to give thanks unto him for the promise, and then he journeyed on southward in the direction of the spot where on the temple was once to stand. In Hebron, he again erected an altar, thus taking possession of the land in a measure, and likewise he raised an altar in eye, because he foresaw that a misfortune would befall his offspring there, at the conquest of the land under Joshua. The altar, he hoped, would obviate the evil result that might follow. Each altar raised by him was a center for his activities as a missionary. As soon as he came to a place in which he desired to sojourn, he would stretch a tent first for Sarah and next for himself, and then he would proceed at once to make proselytes and bring them under the wings of the Shekinah. Thus he accomplished his purpose of inducing all men to proclaim the name of God. For the present, Abraham was but a stranger in his promised land. After the partition of the earth among the sons of Noah, when all had gone to their allotted portions, it happened that Canaan, son of Ham, saw that the land extending from Lebanon to the river of Egypt was fair to look upon, and he refused to go to his own allotment westward by the sea. He settled in the land upon Lebanon, eastward and westward from the border of the Jordan and the border of the sea. And Ham, his father and his brothers Cush and Mizraim spoke to him and said, Thou livest in a land that is not thine, for it was not assigned unto us when the lots were drawn. Do not thus, but if thou persistest, yea, thou and thy children will fall accursed in the land in a rebellion. Thy settling here was rebellion, and through rebellion thy children will be fell down, and thy seed will be destroyed unto all eternity. Sojourn not in the land of Shem, for unto Shem and unto the children of Shem was it a portion by lot. A cursed art thou, and a cursed wilt thou be before all the children of Noah on account of the curse, for we took an oath before the holy judge and before our father Noah. But Canaan harkened not unto the words of his father and his brothers. He dwelt in the land of the Lebanon from Hamath even unto the entrance of Egypt, he and his sons. Though the Canaanites had taken unlawful possession of the land, yet Abraham respected their rights, he provided his camels with muzzles to prevent them from pasturing upon the property of others.