Chapter II: Part 2

Two years passed by, and Joseph was still in the prison. Then, one night, Pharaoh dreamed. And in his dream he stood by the river, and seven fat cows were feeding on the bank, and seven lean cows came and ate them up. And he dreamed again, and seven full ears of corn grew upon one stalk, and seven thin ears ate them up. The next morning, when Pharaoh told his dreams, nobody could explain them. Then, at last, the chief butler remembered Joseph. And he said to Pharaoh, “There is a slave in the prison who can tell the meaning of dreams. One time, when the chief baker and I were there, he told us what our dreams meant and it came true.” So Pharaoh sent for Joseph. And Joseph shaved himself and put on his best clothes, and went out of the prison into the palace.

And Pharaoh told his dreams. And Joseph said, “Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt, and they shall be followed by seven years of famine.” And Joseph said, “The thing to do is this: Let food be laid up in storehouses during the good years to feed the people during the bad years.”

Pharaoh said, “You are the man to do it. You shall be in charge of this business.” And he took off his signet ring and put it on Joseph’s hand, and dressed him in royal robes, and put a gold chain about his neck, and set him over the land of Egypt. And Joseph rode through the streets in the king’s chariot, and everybody bowed down before him.

Then came the seven years of plenty, and everything grew by handfuls. Joseph made great storehouses, and put into them so much grain that it could no more be measured than the sand of the sea. Then followed the seven years of famine, and nothing grew at all, and the people were very hungry, and they came to Joseph, and he opened the storehouses and sold them food to eat.

Even in Joseph’s old home, the famine was upon the land, and Joseph’s brothers came down to Egypt to buy grain. But Benjamin, the youngest brother, they left with their father. So they appeared before Joseph, and he knew them, but they did not know him. He sat upon a throne, ruling the land of Egypt, and the poor farmers never thought of their brother Joseph. And Joseph punished them for their wickedness.

“You men,” he said, “are spies.” And he had them put in prison.

They said, “We are no spies. We are twelve sons of our father Jacob; one is with our father, and one is dead; and we have come to buy grain.”

And Joseph said, “Now I will prove you. Let me see your other brother. I will keep one of you in prison. The rest of you go and carry back your corn, and bring me down your other brother.”

So they left Simeon behind, and returned home very sad. And when they opened their sacks of grain, there was a bag of money in the mouth of each sack, just what they had paid. And they knew not what to think. But when they told their father what had happened and how the governor of the land wanted to see Benjamin, Jacob would not let him go. “I have lost Joseph,” he said, “and now Simeon is gone. I will keep Benjamin.”

But by and by the grain was almost all eaten, and they began to be very hungry, and there was nothing to do but to go again to Egypt, and they dared not go without Benjamin. So one day his father kissed the boy, with tears in his eyes, and let him go, and with him he sent a present in a basket for the governor, balm and honey, spice and myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds.

So they came again to Joseph’s palace, and Joseph’s steward brought Simeon out of prison, and told them that they were all to come to dinner that day at noon. So at noon they came, and Joseph met them, dressed in his splendid garments, and he said, “Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke?”

And they said, “He is well.”

“And is this your youngest brother?” and he said, “God be gracious unto thee, my son.”

And suddenly he turned about and went into another room to hide his tears. Then he washed his face and came out, and they had dinner. But he gave Benjamin five times as much to eat as any of the others. So they had a very pleasant time.

Now Joseph had told his steward that when he filled the sacks, he should put into Benjamin’s sack a silver cup. And nobody knew it but the steward. So early the next morning, with Simeon and Benjamin, off they started very happily for home, singing as they went. And by and by, they heard a sound of voices following, and there was Joseph’s steward and some other men.

And the steward said, “Stop, you thieves, and give me my master’s silver cup which you have stolen.”

And the brothers stopped, and said, “We are no thieves. We have taken neither gold nor silver from your master’s palace. Search us, and the man with whom you find the cup shall die.”

“Very well,” he said, “the man with whom the cup is found shall be my slave.” So he searched the sacks, beginning with the oldest brother and ending with the youngest, and in Benjamin’s sack, there was the cup!

And they all cried out in great grief, and tore their clothes, for that was the custom, and back they went to Joseph’s palace. And Judah, one of the brothers, spoke to Joseph. “My lord,” he said, “you asked to see our little brother, and we brought him down. And our father said as we came away, ‘If mischief befall him, you shall bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave,’ and now if we go back without our brother, our father will die. Let me take his place. I will be your slave; and let him go.”

And Joseph sent everybody out of the room, except his brothers. And he said, “I am Joseph. Come near to me, I pray you. I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. And God has made me ruler of all Egypt.” And as they were amazed, he said, “Do you not see that I am indeed your brother? Go back now and bring my father, and all your flocks and herds, and your wives and children, and come and live with me.” And he kissed his brothers. And the next day he gave them wagons for his father and their wives and children, and sent them away.

So Jacob saw his son Joseph, for whom he had mourned as dead. And all the family moved down to Egypt, and Pharaoh gave them pastures for their sheep.

IX

THE BURNING BUSH

Joseph and his brothers had many sons and daughters, and they in their turn had many sons and daughters; and even after they were grown up they were all called the Children of Israel; for Israel, you remember, was the new name of their father Jacob.

And years passed, and years passed, and Pharaoh died, and another Pharaoh reigned in his stead. And the Egyptians forgot how Joseph had saved their fathers from starving in the seven years of famine. And they made the Children of Israel their slaves, and sent them into their fields to work, and set taskmasters over them with whips. And the new Pharaoh said to his princes, “The Children of Israel are more and mightier than we. We must keep them from increasing.” So they made a law that all the boy babies of the Children of Israel should be put to death as soon as they were born.

Now there was a man and his wife who had two children, a girl of eight or ten, named Miriam, and a boy of three, named Aaron. And just at the time of this law, there came a little new boy baby. And his mother hid him, so that the Egyptians should not take him away and kill him. But it is very hard to hide a baby. So after three months his mother made a basket of bulrushes, and put pitch on the inside to keep the water out, and laid the baby in the basket, and set the basket in the river, near the bank among the reeds. And she told little Miriam to stay near, and see what would happen. So Miriam hid herself in the bushes and watched and waited, and by and by who should come down to the water but the princess herself, the daughter of Pharaoh. And the princess saw the basket and sent her maid to fetch it. And when she opened it, there was the baby. And the baby began to cry.

And the princess said, “This is one of the babies of the Children of Israel.” And she was very sorry.

Then Miriam came and said, “Princess, if you want a good nurse to take care of the baby for you, I think I can find one.”

And the princess said, “Go, find her, and bring her to me.”

So Miriam went and brought the baby’s mother. And the princess said, “Take this child and nurse it for me, and I will pay you.”

So the mother nursed her baby in peace, and when he became a big boy, she took him to the king’s palace, and he lived there with the princess as if he had been a prince himself. And his name was Moses.

So years passed, and the boy became a man. The princess had sent him to school, and he had learned all that the best teachers could tell him. He was very wise. But he never forgot that he was one of the Children of Israel. When he saw his people working in the fields, and the task-masters urging them with whips, he was sad and troubled. One day, as he passed by, and saw an Egyptian beating one of the Children of Israel, he could restrain himself no longer. He saved the man and killed the Egyptian. Then he found that the thing was known, and that Pharaoh had discovered that he was really on the side of the Children of Israel. And he had to run away to save his life.

Now the land which was next to Egypt was called Arabia, and to Arabia went Moses, and there he found a well. And flocks of sheep were feeding by it, some of them tended by men and some by women. But the men were very unkind to the women and kept them from drawing water for their sheep. And as Moses sat by the well, there came seven sisters with a flock of sheep, and the shepherds would not let them get any water. But Moses stood up and drove away the shepherds, and drew water for the seven sisters, and watered their flocks himself.

So the sisters went home to their father, and he said, “How is it that you are come so soon to-day?” They said, “An Egyptian beat the shepherds, and watered our sheep.”

Their father said, “Where is the man? Why did you not bring him home to dinner?”

So they found Moses, and brought him home, and when they knew that he had no place in which to stay, they asked him to live with them. And pretty soon he married one of the seven sisters.

One day, as Moses kept the flock of his father-in-law, and led them here and there for pasture, he came to a high mountain, and at the foot of the mountain he saw a fire. There was a bush burning, and yet, as he watched it, the bush was not burnt. And he said to himself, “I will turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.” And as he came near, he heard a voice; and the voice said, “Moses, Moses!”

And he answered, “Here I am.”

And the voice said, “I am the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob. I have seen the sorrows of my people, the Children of Israel, how the Egyptians make them work, and whip them. Come now, return to Egypt, and tell

Pharaoh to let my people go that they may meet me here at this mountain.”

But Moses said, “Pharaoh will not hear me.”

And God said, “I will make Pharaoh hear you.”

Then Moses said, “I am no speaker.”

And God answered, “Look, who is that coming?” And Moses looked, and there was his brother Aaron. And he ran to meet him and kissed him. And God said, “Aaron shall go with you and speak for you.”

So Moses went back to his father-in-law and told him what had happened at the burning bush. And the next day, Moses and Aaron started for Egypt. There they found the Children of Israel working very hard, and the taskmasters beating them with whips to make them work harder. And Moses and Aaron said to the people, “God spoke to us in Arabia, and sent us to tell you to meet him there beside a mountain. He has seen your affliction and has promised to help you.” And the people were very glad.

X

THE TEN PLAGUES

One day, as Pharaoh the king was sitting in his palace, in came one who said, “Two of the Children of Israel are at the door, and would like to speak with you.”

And Pharaoh said, “Let them come in.”

And in came Moses and Aaron. “Pharaoh,” they said, “we have a message for you from our God. He wishes you to give the Children of Israel a holiday, that they may go out into the country, and meet Him at a mountain in Arabia.”

Then Pharaoh was very angry. “Who is your God,” he said, “that I should obey Him? There is work to be done: there are cities to be built; this is our busy season; this is no time for a holiday.” And Pharaoh sent away Moses and Aaron, and called for the taskmasters who had charge of the Children of Israel, and said, “These people have asked for a holiday. They are idle. Give them more work.”

Now the Children of Israel were making brick and building the walls of houses and towers; and the way to make brick was to take clay and mix it with straw and bake it; and the taskmasters provided the straw. But the taskmasters heard what Pharaoh said, and they stopped the supply of straw. “You must get straw for yourselves wherever you can find it: but you must make just as many bricks as you made before.” And when the Children of Israel could not do it, they were beaten with whips. So they cried out against Moses, saying, “You have done us harm instead of good.”

Then Moses and Aaron went again to Pharaoh, and Aaron had a rod in his hand, and he threw it on the floor at the king’s feet, and the rod became a serpent. But Egypt was a great place for tricks of magic. Pharaoh had magicians at his court, who performed before him every day. So he called for two magicians, and in came Jannes and Jambres, each with a rod, and they cast their rods on the floor, and in a moment there were two more wriggling serpents fighting with Aaron’s serpent. And although Aaron’s serpent chased these two and ate them up, Pharaoh only laughed, and would not let the people go.

But the next morning, when the king went down to the river, there was Moses waiting for him. And Moses said, “Pharaoh, if you will not let the people go, God will make this river red like blood, so that nobody may drink out of it.”

And so it was. That great river, the Nile, which flows through the midst of Egypt, was red like blood, for a whole week. But when it cleared again, Pharaoh said, “I have seen it like that many a time, after the spring rains.” And he would not let the people go.

Then Moses called again upon the king, and said, “Pharaoh, if you still refuse, God will bring frogs out of the river till they cover all the land.” And so it was. The frogs came: first, along the bank; then, across the road so that nobody could go that way; then in crowds and crowds, crawling and hopping and skipping, up the streets and up the lanes and up the steps of houses. And at night, there were frogs in the bed; and in the morning, at breakfast, there were frogs on the table. And Pharaoh said, “This is more than I can bear. Take away the frogs, and I will do whatever you wish.”

But after the frogs had gone back into the river, Pharaoh said, “That was not so very bad. Almost every year, we have a plague of frogs.” And he would not let the people go.

Then, week after week, all kinds of dreadful things came one upon another. Once there were lice, like the dust of the ground; then there were such swarms of flies that nobody could eat or sleep; after that, the horses and cattle were all sick. Then people had boils; and there was a very grievous hail, and thunder and lightning so that fire ran along upon the ground. The locusts came, blown by the east wind, and ate all the leaves and the grass. And after the locusts there was a storm of sand, and for three days it was so dark, that people could feel it with their hands. And every time, when the trouble was worst, Pharaoh said to Moses, “Take it away, and I will let the people go.”

But when the plague was over, Pharaoh said, “I don’t believe that God did it. It was only the weather or the wind.” And he broke his promise.

Thus there were nine plagues. Then Moses said to the Children of Israel, “The tenth plague is at hand. This very night, Pharaoh will beg you to go. Get yourselves ready. There is a long journey before you. Let every family prepare supper. Kill a lamb and roast it, and bake bread. But the time is short; you cannot wait for the bread to rise; make it without leaven” (or, as we say, without yeast). “Do not even sit down at the table: stand up, with your coats and hats on, and eat in haste. For to-night, God will send a sudden sickness upon the Egyptians, and in every house there will be one dead. You must mark your houses. Take of the blood of the lamb and strike it on the upper post and on the two side posts of your doors. Then God will pass over you when He comes to punish the Egyptians.”

And at midnight so it was. And there was a great cry through all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron. “This is the end,” he said; “get you gone out of the land, you and all your people.”

And the Egyptians hurried them. “Quick!” they said, “go out of Egypt before we all die.”

But the Children of Israel said, “Shall we go with empty hands after all the work which we have done for you? What will you give us?”

And the Egyptians gave them jewels of gold and jewels of silver. So they departed. There was a full moon that night, and in the light of it they made their way out of all the cities where they lived, and they turned their faces toward Arabia. But now they went not only to meet God at the mountain, but to be a new nation, and never again to live as slaves in Egypt.

XI

THE RED SEA

In the middle of the night, under the round moon, the Children of Israel started on their journey. The fathers and mothers carried the babies, the boys and girls ran and danced beside them, and they drove their flocks and herds before them. And as they went, they talked about the ten plagues, and especially about the last and worst of all, when the firstborn died in every house in Egypt. “Except our houses,” they said. “God passed over our houses, and saved our lives, and brought us out.” And they said, “We must keep the memory of this night forever. When we have a land of our own, and are settled there, then every year when the spring is green and the moon is shining full, we will have a supper of roast lamb and bread unleavened, such as we had to-night, and when the children say, ‘Why do we have this supper and eat unleavened bread?’ we will reply, ‘Children, this is the feast of the Lord’s Passover, when He passed over our houses, and saved us from our slavery in Egypt.’”

So they journeyed all that night and all the next day. But in the meantime, the Egyptians had begun to recover from their fear. “Yes,” they said, “we have indeed been stricken by a fearful pestilence. There is hardly a house in which there is not one dead. And Moses says that this is a punishment upon us because we would not let the Children of Israel go. But we are not so sure of that. How do we know that the Children of Israel or their God had anything to do with it? We were foolish to be frightened and let them go. Now there is nobody left to do our work. All our carpenters and masons, all our brick-makers and bricklayers, all our hired men, have gone away: and all our cooks and washerwomen have gone with them. What shall we do? Come, let us go after them, and bring them back.” And Pharaoh sent for his chariot in which he rode when he went to war, and ordered his captains to bring up six hundred other chariots, the best that there were in Egypt. And there was a great clattering of horses’ hoofs, and a great clashing of swords and battle-axes, in the street before the king’s palace. And Pharaoh came out, and away they went, as fast as they could go, after the Children of Israel.

Now the Children of Israel, after a long day’s march, were very tired, and they stopped to rest by the Red Sea. On the other side of the sea was the land of Arabia, where they were going to meet God beside a mountain. And on the morrow, they expected to walk around the head of the sea, and so reach the other side. But suddenly, in the far distance, as the sun was setting, there was a gleam of light, and they knew that it was the shining armor of the Egyptian soldiers. And there they were, the poor Children of Israel, with the soldiers behind them and the sea before them, and no way of escape to either right or left. And they cried out against Moses, and said, “Why did you bring us here to die? Were there not graves in Egypt? Did we not tell you that we did not want to come? Oh, that we had stayed in our slavery! That was bad enough, but this is worse.”

But Moses said, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see what God will show you. God is on your side, and not an Egyptian shall be able to hurt you.” So the sun went down, and night came on. And with the night came the fog, and the moon, and the wind. And the fog settled down on the Egyptians so that they could not see the Children of Israel. And upon the sea the strong wind from the east blew and blew, so that it drove away the fog from the Children of Israel, and the clear moon shone upon them. So it was like a pillar of cloud behind them, and a pillar of fire before them. And harder and harder blew the strong wind upon the shallow sea, till clear across from shore to shore there was a place where they could see the bottom, like a narrow path of land across the sea. And Moses cried, “Go forward!” And into the sea marched the Children of Israel, along the path of land, in the great gale of wind, with water on the left and water on the right, and the spray dashing upon them.

And when the Egyptian army got out of the fog, and came in sight of the sea, there were the Children of Israel more than half across. And the captains commanded the drivers of the chariots, and in they went, as fast as the horses could carry them, chasing the Children of Israel. But it was a bad road for chariots. Deeper and deeper, the wheels sank in the mud. And then, as day began to dawn, the wind changed. Instead of blowing from the east, it blew from the west, and the water came back with it, and the path was covered, and the sea returned to its strength. And when the sun arose, there were the Children of Israel safe on the shore of Arabia, but the Egyptians were nowhere to be seen. The sea had covered them. They had sunk like lead in the mighty waters.

And on the shore the Children of Israel sang a song of praise and thanksgiving. Moses led the voices of the men, and Miriam and all the women, with timbrels in their hands, joined in the chorus. “Sing ye to the Lord,” they sang, “for He hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath He thrown into the sea.” Thus God overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea, and the Children of Israel were saved from their enemies.

XII

THE GOLDEN CALF

After the great adventure of the Red Sea, the Children of Israel started on their way to the Mountain of the Burning Bush. They had never been away from home before, and they did not know how to behave. So when they were uncomfortable, as people are likely to be on a long journey, instead of taking it cheerfully, they complained and cried.

One time, they were very thirsty, and there was no water. And they all said, “Oh, that we had stayed in Egypt, where there was plenty of water!” And they said to Moses, “Why did you not let us alone? You have brought us into this desert to kill us with thirst.” But Moses found a spring of water coming out of a great rock, and gave them to drink.

Another time, they were very hungry, and there was nothing to eat. And they cried out against Moses, and said, “Oh, that we had stayed in Egypt, by the fleshpots! You have brought us into this desert to kill us with hunger!” But Moses said, “Be patient. God is taking care of you. He will feed you.” And when they waked up the next morning, the ground was covered with something which looked like frost. And they gathered it, and ground it, and baked it, and it was very nice to eat. And the name of it was manna.

So they ate the manna, and they liked it so much that they said it was good enough even for angels. But as day after day passed and there was manna for breakfast, and manna for dinner, and manna for supper, and nothing else, they came to hate the sight of it. Again they wished that they were back in Egypt. “When we were in Egypt,” they said, “we had fish to eat, and cucumbers to eat with it, and melons and leeks and onions and garlic. Now we have nothing but manna.” So they went on their way complaining, and Moses had a very hard time with them.

But at last they came to the mountain where they were to meet God. And there they pitched their tents, and put out their flocks and herds to pasture. And on the morning of the third day, there was a great storm of thunder and lightning, and the mountain, which was called Sinai, was covered with black clouds, and smoked like a volcano, and out of the smoke and cloud came a sound like the blowing of a mighty wind, and like the rolling of thunder, and like the voice of a loud trumpet. And the Children of Israel were exceedingly afraid. But Moses said, “I am going to climb the mountain. I am going up into the cloud and smoke and thunder. God told me that He would speak to us in this place. I am going up to meet Him.” And he took with him a young man named Joshua.

“You wait,” he said to the people, “till I come back and tell you what God says.”

So Moses and Joshua climbed up the steep side of the mountain, and the black cloud hid them from the people’s sight. And the storm increased in fury. The lightning flashed its fires of red and green, the rain came down in torrents, and louder and louder pealed the voice of the wind and the thunder and the trumpet. And as the people stood watching and waiting, they trembled so that their knees knocked together. But night came, and Moses did not return. All the next day they waited, but he did not appear. And the days grew into weeks, and the weeks into a month, till the people said, “Moses is dead. He lost his way, or he fell over a cliff, or he was struck by lightning. What shall we do? What shall we do?” And they made Aaron their leader.

Now the people of Egypt, among whom the Children of Israel had lived so long, had strange ideas about God. They thought that God lived in certain animals. And they

said their prayers to these animals, and made images of them to put in their churches. And as years passed and years passed, till the time of Joseph was as far away from them as the time of Columbus is from us, a good many of the Children of Israel, being slaves in Egypt, forgot the religion of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, and became like the Egyptians. So now they said to Aaron, “Make us an image of God.” And Aaron said, “Give me your earrings.” Now all the men and women wore gold earrings, and they gave them to Aaron, and he melted them together and made a golden calf. And the people said, “This is our God.” And they began to pray to it, and to dance and sing around it.

But all this time, Moses was speaking with God. God told Moses what He wished the people to do. And these things were put in the Ten Commandments, and were written on two smooth tables--or, as we say, tablets--of stone. And Moses took the Ten Commandments, and started down the mountain.

And on the way he heard a noise; and he said to Joshua, “What is that noise?”

And Joshua said, “It sounds like shouting. There must be a battle.”

But Moses said, “It sounds to me like singing.”

So they came in sight of the camp. And there was the Golden Calf, and all the people singing and dancing around it. And Moses was so angry that he took the tables of stone and threw them down the mountain, and they broke in pieces. And the people were ashamed and afraid. And he told them what a foolish and wicked thing they had done. “God,” he said, “has just been telling me that we must not worship images.” And he destroyed the Golden Calf.

Then he went again upon the mountain, and asked God to forgive his people. And God gave him the Ten Commandments over again. Thus the Children of Israel met God at the mountain, and were told what they must do, and were ready at last to start upon their journey to the Promised Land.

XIII

THE PROPHET AND THE KING

Once upon a time, when the world was younger than it is at present, and people believed that all the animals could speak Hebrew if they only would, a man was riding on an ass along a country road.

Sometimes the way went between wide farms which stretched out over the flat land. Sometimes it lay between vineyards, and had a stone wall on the right and on the left. Sometimes the man hastened the ass, striking her with a stick; because he had been sent for by the king and was in a hurry. Sometimes he let the ass take her own time, and she strayed now on this side of the road and now on that, cropping the thistles; because, although the man had been sent for by the king, he was not quite sure whether he ought to go or not.

The man’s name was Balaam and the king’s name was Balak. They were both of them heathen; that is, they did not know so much about God as the Children of Israel knew. But God knew them, and to Balaam God sometimes spoke, and told him what was right and what was wrong; so that people came to Balaam, even from distant lands, that he might tell them the will of God. Thus before a battle, a general or even a king might come and say, “Tell me, Balaam, is God for me or against me? Shall I lose or win?” And Balaam would go away by himself and ask God, and God would speak in Balaam’s soul and teach him what to say, and Balaam would come back and say it. Many people thought that Balaam could do quite as he liked, and bless or curse as he pleased, and they said, “See, Balaam, here is gold and silver: come now, bless me and curse my enemy.” But Balaam would speak only that which the Lord God taught him to speak.

Balak was the king of Moab. After the Children of Israel had come across the Red Sea out of Egypt, they wandered in the wilderness and lived in tents till they grew strong enough to go to war. They had no country of their own, but they meant to take the country which God had promised to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. There were already people living in that country, having walled cities and brave soldiers, and the Children of Israel had to grow very strong indeed before they could hope to take it away from them. But now the time had come. The Children of Israel were on the march. Only one country remained to be crossed before they came to the Promised Land: and that was Moab.

So Balak, king of Moab, was filled with fear, and he sent for Balaam.

“Behold,” he said, “there is a people come out from Egypt: behold, they cover the face of the earth, and they abide over against me. Come now, therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people, else shall they lick us up as an ox licks up the grass of the field.” And the princes of Balak came to Balaam with these words.

And Balaam said, “Stay here this night, and I will ask the Lord, and in the morning I will tell you.” So the princes stayed at Balaam’s house, and in the night God spoke in Balaam’s soul, and God said, “Do not go to Balak. Thou shalt not curse the people, for they are blessed.”

And when the morning was come, Balaam told the princes that he could not go.

But Balak was not satisfied. He sent more princes, and they came to Balaam with splendid promises. And Balaam answered, “I must do as the Lord says. If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the Lord my God to do less or more. But wait another night, and I will see if the Lord will speak again.”

And that night God did speak again, and God said, “Go with the men, but yet the word which I shall say unto thee, that shalt thou do.” So in the morning he saddled his ass, and away he went with Balak’s princes. And thus he rode, sometimes in haste and sometimes in doubt, between the farms and vineyards.

Now Balak had gone out to meet Balaam that he might take him to the top of a high hill whence he should curse the Children of Israel. And they two went together. And Balaam said, “I am come in vain. The Lord God is against you. Even as I came, the ass on which I rode refused to go and crushed my foot against the vineyard wall, and the ass said, ‘Behold, there is an angel in the way,’ and lo, there was an angel with a drawn sword to keep me back! I cannot do you any good. I cannot curse the Children of Israel.”

But Balak urged him, and on they went. And as they climbed the hill, at last the army of Israel came in sight, all in their goodly tents along the valley, as gardens by the river’s side, and as cedar trees beside the waters. And Balak built seven altars and offered on every altar a bullock and a ram; and Balaam prayed amidst the altars, and God told him what to say, and Balaam cried aloud and blessed the Children of Israel. Then Balak took Balaam

to another mountain, to the top of Pisgah, and there built seven altars and offered on every altar a bullock and a ram; and Balaam prayed in the midst of the altars, and again he cried aloud and blessed the Children of Israel. And so a third time, on a third mountain, from the top of Peor.

Then Balak’s anger was kindled against Balaam, and he smote his hands together. And Balak said, “I called thee to curse my enemies, and thou hast blessed them these three times!” And Balaam answered, “That is what I told you before I came, what the Lord saith that will I speak.” And he blessed them a fourth time. And Balaam rose up and went and returned to his place: and Balak also went his way.

XIV

THE WALLS OF JERICHO

The Promised Land, toward which the Children of Israel were marching through King Balak’s country, was bordered on that side by the river Jordan. The Jordan flows through a very deep valley from a large lake in the north to a large lake in the south: the northern lake is called the Sea of Galilee, and the southern is called the Dead Sea. King Balak’s land was beside the Dead Sea; so when they had passed through that country they came to the river, and thus to the first place where they could cross over into the Promised Land. And on the other side of the river was a city, called Jericho. The first thing to do was to attack Jericho.

Moses was now dead, and in his place Joshua was the leader and general of Israel. Moses had climbed one day to the top of Mount Pisgah, to the high place where Balaam had stood with Balak, and there had looked over into the Promised Land. It lay before him, full of hills and valleys, a good land and a large, with vineyards and olive trees, and streams of water, and walled cities. There Abraham and Isaac and Jacob had fed their flocks. Moses had done his great work; he had brought his people out of Egypt, and had given them the laws of God, and had made them a nation and an army, and had led them to the very entrance of the Promised Land. Below were the people waiting and waiting; as they had waited at the foot of Mount Sinai for Moses to come down. But this time he did not come. On the mountain top, in sight of the Promised Land, he died. And Joshua took his place.

So General Joshua sent two men to go as spies to Jericho. They were to enter very quietly into the city, without letting anybody know who they were, and, having found out all they could, they were to come back and report. So they went to Jericho and found a lodging place, and began to look about. They saw that the town had a wall around it, and that the gate was shut every evening as the sun went down. And they could see at a glance that the people were rich. But the men of Jericho discovered the spies and told the king, and the king sent to their lodging place to take them.

But the woman of the house, whose name was Rahab, was very good to the spies. Her house was by the city wall, and on the flat roof there were stalks of flax drying in the sun. So when the pursuers came knocking at the door, Rahab hid the spies under the flax, and sent off the pursuers on a vain search. And when they were gone she took a stout rope and let down the spies out of her window down the wall, and while the pursuers ran one way toward the river, the spies ran another way toward the hills, and so escaped.

And Rahab said, “We have all heard about you here. We know how you came over the Red Sea, and how the Lord is with you; and we are all afraid. When you take the town, have pity on me and on my father and mother and on my brothers and sisters, and save us alive.”

And the spies said, “Bind a scarlet line in this window by which we escape, and when we come back with the army of Israel we will spare all who are in this house.”

Then they climbed down the rope, and away they went to the hills, where they stayed three days till the pursuit was over. And they returned to Joshua, and said, “The Lord has delivered the city into our hands. They are all afraid of us.”

Then Joshua sent his captains among the people to tell them what to do. “The priests,” he said, “shall go down first into the river, and the people shall follow.” So the priests went, carrying the Ark of the Covenant; that is, the great chest in which were the Ten Commandments cut in stone, as Moses brought them down from Sinai. And as they went, it was like the Red Sea over again. They marched across as if the river had been a sandy road. And in the middle of the river stood the priests with the Ark till all the people were gone over. And they took twelve stones out of the river where the priests had stood, and built an altar with them on the other side, and thanked God that He had brought them at last into the good land which He had promised to their fathers.

The next thing to do was to take Jericho. At first, the men of Jericho came out to fight, but they soon ran back and hid behind their walls and locked their gate. And the Children of Israel made a camp around the city so that nobody went out or came in.

And Joshua said, “Form a procession: first the armed men, then seven priests with trumpets, then the Ark, and then the people. And march around the city. Let the priests blow their trumpets, but let all the rest of you keep silence. Let nobody speak a word, until I tell you to shout. Then shall ye shout!” So they marched around the city, and the people of Jericho looked on from the walls in great amazement. And the next day, they did it a second time; and the third day a third time, and so on for six days.

At last, on the seventh day, the Children of Israel rose up very early, just as the sun came up over Mount Pisgah. And that day they went around and around the city seven times. And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets a longer and louder blast than ever, Joshua cried to the people, “Shout! for the Lord hath given you the city.” And all the people shouted with a great shout. And the walls fell flat, and the armed men marched straight in and took the city.

Indeed, the walls were already falling that day when the spies climbed down over them hand under hand on Rahab’s rope. For the true walls of a city are the stout hearts of its citizens, and these had failed for fear. Thus the Children of Israel began the conquest of the Promised Land. But they spared the people who were in the house which had a line of scarlet bound in the window on the broken wall.

XV

THE WEDGE OF GOLD

There was a soldier in the army of Joshua whose name was Achan. He had taken part in the siege of Jericho. He had marched before the Ark around the city; he had joined in with all his might when the army shouted with a great shout; and he had rushed with the others into the streets when the walls fell flat.

Now Joshua had given strict orders that no man should take anything for himself. All the gold and silver and whatever else was of value was to be saved for the Lord: it was to be put into the common treasury. But Achan had stolen something.

The citizens of Jericho were neither strong nor brave to fight, but they were rich. The sun beat down upon the town, and the mist came drifting in from the river, and it was very hot there, and the heat made the people weak; but they lived in handsome houses, and wore fine clothes every day, and had money to spend. To Achan, who had been born in the wilderness, and had never known any other roof than the top of a tent, and had never seen a city in all his life, the houses of Jericho seemed like the magic treasure houses of the fairy stories.

So when Achan came with the other soldiers, running though the Jericho streets, and breaking into the houses, he looked about him with great surprise. And when, at last, in one house he found a wedge of gold, it blazed in his eyes like the sun shining in the clear sky at noon. Beside the gold was a glittering pile of two hundred pieces of silver, and a splendid cloak made in Babylon, stiff with embroidery and colored like a jewel. And Achan was so dazzled by these riches that he did not see the difference between right and wrong. He took them for his own. Under his gown he hid them, and back he hurried to his tent, and then he dug a hole in the earth in the middle of the tent and buried them.

The next day, Joshua sent two spies to visit the next city, which was called Ai. And they came back and reported that Ai was only a small town, and that there was no need to send the whole army to take it. Three thousand men, they said, would be enough. Now Ai was built upon a hill. So up the soldiers climbed, expecting a quick and easy victory, but the men of Ai came out to meet them like a pack of bears and tigers, and the men of Israel turned their backs like scared sheep, and ran away down the hill as fast as they could go, and the men of Ai after them. So it was a great defeat.

And Joshua was troubled exceedingly, and he and all his captains tore their clothes and threw dust upon their heads, and lay down on the ground before the Ark all day; for that was the custom when men were in great distress of mind.

And as the night came on, Joshua cried, “O Lord God, why hast thou brought us into this land to give us into the hands of our enemies to destroy us? O Lord, what shall I say when the men of Israel turn their backs before their enemies?”

And God said, “Get up, Joshua. Why do you lie upon the ground? There is a thief in the camp. One of your soldiers has disobeyed your orders. Find him, and punish him; then shall you have victory instead of defeat.”

So the first thing the next morning, Joshua made the army pass before him in a long procession, tribe after tribe, and he chose the tribe of Judah. Then he made the tribe of Judah pass before him, family by family, and he chose the family of Zerah. Then he made the family of Zerah pass before him, household by household, and he chose the household of Carmi. Then he made the household of Carmi pass before him, man by man, and he chose Achan. And there was Achan discovered before all the people.

And Joshua said, “My son, tell me what you have done. Do not hide anything from me.”

And Achan answered, “I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel. When we took Jericho, I saw a shining wedge of gold, and a goodly garment, and a pile of silver pieces, and I coveted them and carried them away and hid them in my tent. There they are, buried in the earth.”

So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to Achan’s tent, and there they found even as Achan had said. And they took the gold and silver and the garment and brought them to Joshua. And Joshua led Achan apart into a valley, and said, “Why hast thou troubled Israel? The Lord shall trouble thee this day.” And Joshua commanded, and the soldiers stoned Achan with stones until he died, and a great heap of stones was piled upon his body.

Then Joshua attacked Ai again. But this time he was more careful. He sent a great company of soldiers by night into an ambush behind the town. And in the morning he marched up the hill, and when the men of Ai came out again, very bold and fierce, he pretended to be frightened and made his soldiers run away, so that the men of Ai ran after them. All the men of Ai ran out of the town

after the men of Israel. Then suddenly Joshua stopped and lifted up his spear, and the soldiers in the ambush saw it and they ran into Ai and began to burn the town. And the men of Ai looked back, and there was the whole town on fire. So they were between two armies. The army of the ambush was at the top of the hill, and the army which had pretended to run away was at the bottom. Thus the men of Ai were defeated with a great defeat.

XVI

THE RELIEF OF GIBEON

High among the hills of the Promised Land lay a town called Gibeon. Men who ran away from the defeat at Ai came straggling into Gibeon, and told the news. “The Children of Israel,” they said, “are coming with a great army. They have destroyed Jericho and Ai, and are on the march for Gibeon.” Then the Gibeonites held a council and considered what to do. And they took men and dressed them in the oldest clothes which they could find, all rags and tatters, and put upon their feet the oldest shoes, all holes and patches, and gave them baskets in which were loaves of dry and mouldy bread. And they said, “Go down now to the camp of Israel and find Joshua and tell him thus and so.”

So down they went, and came into the camp, walking very slowly, as if their feet were sore after a long journey, and as if they were too tired to go another step.

And they said, “We come from a far country to ask you to make a league of peace with us.”

And the men of Israel said, “How do we know that you are telling us the truth? It may be that you are our neighbors.” And they brought them to Joshua, and Joshua said, “Who are you, and from whence do you come?”