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THE LEGENDS OF THE JEWS VOLUME III BIBLE TIMES AND CHARACTERS
THE LEGENDS OF THE JEWS VOLUME III BIBLE TIMES AND CHARACTERS LOUIS GINZBERG TRANSLATED PROM THE GERMAN MANUSCRIPT BY
PAUL RADIN
REVISER AND PROOF-READER OF VOLUME III DOCTOR
ISAAC HUSIK
To MY MOTHER
ON THE OCCASION OF HER SEVENTIETH BIRTHDAY
PREFACE
"When Israel went out of Egypt the house of Jacob from a People
of strange language Jacob was His sanctuary and Israel His
dominion. Jewish legend attempts to describe how God's
sanctuary the religion of Israel and His dominion the beginnings
of Israel as a nation arose in the time between the Exodus from
Egypt and the entrance into the Holy Land.
Moses is regarded not only as the greatest religious guide of Israel
but also as its first national leader; he is "the wisest (If the wise
the father of the prophets" as well as " king in Jeshiurun when the
heads of the people and the tribes of Israel gathered together."
hence his unique position in Jewish legend neither Abraham the
friend of God nor Solomon the wisest of all men nor Elijah the
helper in time of need. can lay claim to such a position.
Great religious and national institutions like the Sabbath the
sanctuary and many other " commandments of God revealed to
Moses " stand in a special relation to his life and work. The
sanctification of the Sabbath became quite a living thing to him
through the miracle of the Manna and the first sanctuary was
actually erected by Moses. The life of Moses ceased therefore to
be a thing of the past and became closely interwoven with the
every-day life of the nation.
The most natural way for the popular mind to connect existing
conditions with the past is the symbolic method. The present
volume contains therefore a number of symbolic explanations of
certain laws as for instance the symbolical significance of the
Tabernacle which properly speaking do not belong to the domain
of legend. The life of Moses as conceived by Jewish legend
would however have been in complete if the lines between
Legend and Symbolism had been kept too strictly. With this
exception the arrangement and presentation of the material in the
third volume is the same as that in the two preceding ones.
LOUIS G1NZBERG.
NEW YORK March 2 1911
CONTENTS
PREFACE
MOSES IN THE WILDERNESS.
The Long Route--Pharaoh Pursues the Hebrews--The Sea Divided
--The Passage through the Red Sea--The Destruction of the
Fgyptians--The Song at the Sea-- The Awful Desert--The Heavenly
Food--The Gathering of the Manna--Miriam' s Well--Aniaiek's
War against Israel Amalek Defeated Jethro Installation of Elders--
Jethro Rewarded--The Time is at Hand--The Gentiles Refuse the
Torah The Contest of the Mountains--The Torah Offered to
Israel-- Israel Prepares for the Revelation--The Revelation on
Mount Sinai--The First Commandment--The Other
Commandments Revealed on Sinai-- The Unity of the Ten
Commandments--Moses Chosen as Intermediator--Moses and the
Angels Strive for the Torah--Moses Receives the Torah--The
Golden Calf--Moses Blamed for Israel's Sin--The Punishment of
the Sinners-- Moses Intercedes for the People--The Inscrutable
Ways of the Lord--The Thirteen Attributes of God--The Second
Tables--The Census of the People--The Erection of the Tabernacle
Commanded--The Materials for the Construction of theTabernacle
--Bezalel--The Ark with the Cherubim--The Table and the
Candlestick--The Altar--The Symbolical Significance of the
Tabernacle--The Priestly Robes--The Stones in the
Breastplate--The Completion of the Tabernacle--The Setting up of
the Tabernacle--The Consecration of the Priests--The Day of the
Ten Crowns--The Interrupted Joy--The Gifts of the Princes--The
Revelations in theTabernacle--The Cleansing of the Camp--The
Lighting of the Candlestick--The Twelve Princes of the Tribes--
The Census of the Levites--The Four Divisions of the Levites--The
Four Standards--Thc Camp--The BIasphemer and the
Sabbath-breaker--The Ungrateful Multitude--The Flesh-pots of
Egypt--The Appointment of the Seventy Elders--Eldad and Medad
--The Quails--Aaron and Miriam Slander Moses--Miriam's
Punishment--The Sending of the Spies--Significant Names--The
Spies in Palestine--The Slanderous Report--The Night of Tears--
Ingratitude Punished--The Years of Disfavor--The Rebellion of
Korah--Korah Abuses Moses and the Torah Moses Pleads in Vain
with Korah--Korah and His Horde Punished--On and the Three
Sons of Korah Saved--Israel Convinced of Aaron's Priesthood--The
Waters of Meribah--Moses' Anger Causes His Doom--Edom's
Unbrotherly Attitude toward Israel--The Three
Shepherds--Preparing Aaron for Impending Death--Aaron's
Death--The General Mourning for Aaron--The False Friends--The
Brazen Serpent--At Arnon--Sihon the King of the Amorites--The
Giant Og--Moses' Speech of Admonition--Balak King of
Moab--Balaam the Heathen Prophet--Balak's Messengers to
Bahaam-- Balaam Accepts Balak's Invitation--Baiaam's Ass--
Balaam Runs into His Own Destruction--Balaam with Balak
Balaam's Sacrifices Refused--Balaam Extols Israel--Balaam's
Hopes Disappointed--Curses Turned into Blessings--Balaam's
Wicked Counsel--Phinehas Zealous for God--Twelve
Miracles--Phinehas Rewarded--The Daughters of Zelophmehad
The appointment of Joshua--Moses' Legacy to Joshua--Moses' last
campaign--The Complete Annihilation of Midian--The Gruesome
End of Balaam-- The Victorious Return from the War--Wealth that
Bringeth Destruction--Moses' Death Irrevocably Doomed--Moses
Prayer for Suspension of Judgment--God Tries to Comfort Moses
Concerning His Death--The Intercessions for Moses--Moses
Serves Joshua--The Last Day of Moses' Life--Moses Beholds the
Future--Moses Meets the Messiah in Heaven--The Last Hours of
Moses The Blessing of Moses--Moses Prays for Death--Samuel
Chastised by Moses--God Kisses Moses' Soul--The Mourning for
Moses--Samuel's Vain Search--Moses Excels All Pious Men.
MOSES IN THE WILDERNESS
TIlE LONG ROUTE
PHARAOH PURSUES THE HEBREWS
THE SEA DIVIDED
TIlE PASSAGE THROUGH THE RED SEA
TIlE DESTRUCTION OF THE EGYPTIANS
THE SONG AT THE SEA
THE AWFUL DESERT
THE HEAVENLY FOOD
THE GATHERING OF THE MANNA
MIRIAM'S WELL
AMALEK' WAR AGAINST ISRAEL
AMALEK DEFEATED
JETHRO
INSTALLATION OF ELDERS
JETHRO REWARDED
THE TIME IS AT HAND
THE GENTILES REFUSE THE TORAH
THE CONTEST OF THE MOUNTAINS
THE TORAH OFFERED TO ISRAEL
ISRAEL PREPARES FOR THE REVELATION
THE REVELATION ON MOUNT SINAI
THE FIRST COMMANDMENT
THE OTHER COMMANDMENTS REVEALED ON SINAI
THE UNITY OF THE TEN COMMANDMENTS 104
MOSES CHOSEN AS INTERMEDIATOR
MOSES AND THE ANGELS STRIVE FOR THE TORAH
MOSES RECEIVES THE TORAH
THE GOLDEN CALF
MOSES BLAMED FOR ISRAEL'S SIN
THE PUNISHMENT OF THE SINNERS
MOSES INTERCEDES FOR THE PEOPLE
THE INSCRUTABLE WAYS OF THE LORD
THE THIRTEEN ATTRIBUTES OF GOD
THE SECOND TABLES
THE CENSUS OF THE PEOPLE
THE ERECTION OF THE TABERNACLE COMMANDED
THE MATERIALS FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE
TABERNACLE
BEZALEL
THE ARK WITH THE CHERUBIM
THE TABLE AND THE CANDLESTICK
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Unpublished Work 
