Antiquities of the Jews - Book 4

 

BOOK IV

The Thirty-Eight Years Between the Rejection of That Generation and the Death of Moses

CHAPTER 1

The Hebrews Fight the Canaanites Without Moses' Consent and Are Defeated

The Hebrews found life in the wilderness so hard and unpleasant that, although God had forbidden them to attack the Canaanites, they would not obey Moses or remain at peace. They believed they could defeat their enemies without his approval, and accused him of keeping them in hardship so they would always need his help.

They decided to fight the Canaanites. They said God helped them not because Moses had prayed for them, but because he cared for their whole nation on account of their forefathers, whose affairs he had taken under his protection. They also said God had once freed them because of their own courage, and would help them again now that they were ready to fight for their freedom.

They claimed they had enough strength to conquer their enemies, even if Moses tried to turn God against them. It would be better, they said, to rule themselves than to rejoice in escaping the Egyptians' abuse while submitting to Moses' tyranny. They accused him of deceiving them and making them live according to his wishes, as if God revealed his plans only to Moses and not to all the descendants of Abraham. They said it was foolish to let him claim that all their knowledge came through him. Instead, they should stand against his arrogant claims, trust God, and take possession of the land God had promised them. They should not listen to Moses, who used God's authority as an excuse to forbid them from going there.

They considered their present hardship and feared that life in the wilderness would only grow worse. So they resolved to fight the Canaanites, obeying God alone as their supreme commander and expecting no help from their lawgiver.

Once they had made this decision, they marched against their enemies. The Canaanites were not frightened by the attack or by the size of the Hebrew force. They met them with great courage. Many Hebrews were killed, and the rest were thrown into disorder. The enemy pursued them, and they fled in shame back to their camp.

This unexpected defeat left them in despair. They expected nothing good to come of it, for they believed the disaster had fallen on them because God was angry that they had gone to war without his approval.

Moses saw how deeply the defeat had shaken them. He feared the enemy would grow bold after its victory, seek greater glory, and attack again. So he decided they should move farther into the wilderness, away from the Canaanites.

The people once again placed themselves under his leadership, knowing their affairs would not go well without his care. Moses ordered the camp to move farther into the wilderness, where they could rest. He would not let them fight the Canaanites until God gave them a more favorable opportunity.

CHAPTER 2

The Rebellion of Korah and the People Against Moses and His Brother Over the Priesthood

Great armies are often hard to satisfy and difficult to govern, especially after a defeat. The same was true of the Jews. They numbered six hundred thousand, and because they were so numerous, they were not easy to rule even in times of prosperity. Now, in their distress and amid the hardships they endured, they were angrier than ever, both with one another and with their leader.

A rebellion broke out among them, unlike any known among either the Greeks or the barbarians. They were in danger of being destroyed, but Moses saved them, though they had nearly stoned him to death. God also did not allow them to perish. Despite the insults they had directed at their lawgiver, their disobedience to the laws, and their refusal to obey the commands God had given them through Moses, He rescued them from the terrible disaster the rebellion would have brought upon them without His care. I will first explain what caused the rebellion, then describe what happened, and finally tell what arrangements were made for their government after it ended.

Korah was a prominent Hebrew, respected for his family and wealth. He was also an able speaker who could easily persuade the people. He saw that Moses held a position of great honor and became jealous of him, though they belonged to the same tribe and were related. Korah was especially resentful because he believed that his own wealth and family standing made him more deserving of the honor. So he stirred up the Levites, who belonged to the same tribe, along with his other relatives. He told them, "It's a sad thing that we have overlooked Moses while he has pursued glory for himself and cleared the way to it. By dishonest means, and under the pretense of obeying God's command, he has taken the priesthood from the people's choice and given it to Aaron. He has done this by his own decision, handing out honors as he pleases.

"This secret way of deceiving us is harder to bear than open force. He has used his power without our consent, and we don't even know what he is planning against us. Anyone who believes he deserves an honor should seek it through persuasion, not arrogantly seize it by force. Those who know they cannot win honor fairly put on a show of goodness. They don't use open force, but gain power through deceit. The people should punish such men while they think their plans remain hidden. We must not let them grow strong enough to become our open enemies.

"What reason can Moses give for giving the priesthood to Aaron and his sons? If God meant to give this honor to someone from the tribe of Levi, I deserve it more than Aaron does. I am Moses' equal in family, and I surpass him in wealth and age. But if God meant the eldest to receive the honor, then the tribe of Reuben has the strongest claim. Dathan, Abiram, and On, son of Peleth, are its eldest men, and their great wealth also gives them influence."

Korah spoke as though he were concerned for the public good, but in truth he wanted the people to transfer the priesthood to him. He pursued this malicious plan through speeches to those of his own tribe. As his words spread, each person who heard them added something to the accusations, until the whole camp was stirred up.

Two hundred and fifty prominent men joined Korah. They wanted to take the priesthood from Moses' brother and bring Aaron into disgrace. The people, too, were provoked to rebellion and tried to stone Moses. They gathered in confusion and disorder, then rushed to the tabernacle of God to accuse the supposed tyrant and free themselves from his rule.

They claimed that Moses had used God's name to impose harsh commands on them. If God had chosen someone for the priesthood, they said, He would have raised that person Himself, and would not have chosen someone less worthy than many others. And if God had judged Aaron fit for the office, He would have allowed the people to choose him instead of leaving the decision to Aaron's own brother.

Moses had long foreseen Korah's accusations and knew the people were angry, but he was not afraid. He had given them sound counsel, and he knew that God, not personal favor, had appointed his brother to the priesthood. So he came before the assembly. He said nothing to the people, but addressed Korah as loudly as he could. Moses was a gifted speaker, with a natural ability to move a crowd. He said, "Korah, you and all these men with you," and he pointed to the two hundred and fifty, "seem worthy of this honor. I don't deny that the whole company may deserve the same office, even if some of you are not as rich or as prominent as others.

"I didn't give this office to my brother because he was wealthier than the rest. You are richer than either of us. Nor did I choose him because of his family, for God gave us the same ancestor and made our families equal. And I didn't choose him out of brotherly affection, though another man might have done so. If I had acted for my own benefit instead of obeying God and His laws, I would not have passed over myself in favor of another. I am more closely related to myself than to my brother, and closer to myself than I am to him. It would have been foolish to risk offending God just to give this honored position to someone else.

"I am above such low practices. God would not have ignored an insult like that or allowed you to remain ignorant of what would please Him. He chose the man who is to perform this sacred office, and so He freed us from having to decide. The office was not mine to give. I acted only according to God's decision. Still, I offer it now for anyone who wishes to make a claim. Let the man already chosen and appointed be allowed to present himself as a candidate once more.

"My brother values your peace and your freedom from rebellion more than this honored position, even though he received it with your approval. God gave him the office, but we don't offend God by accepting it with your consent. It would have been impious to refuse the honor when God offered it. It would also have been unreasonable to reject an office God intended to remain his for all time and had made secure for him.

"Yet God Himself will decide again who is to offer sacrifices to Him and direct matters of religion. It is absurd for Korah, who wants this honor, to take from God the right to give it to whomever He chooses. End this rebellion and disorder. Tomorrow morning, everyone who wants the priesthood must bring a censer from home and come here with incense and fire. Korah, leave the judgment to God and wait to see whom He chooses. Don't set yourself above God. You must come, too, so this contest over the priesthood can be settled. And Aaron may take part without blame, since he is of the same family as you and has done nothing in his office that anyone can rightly criticize. All of you must come together and offer incense in public before the people. God will accept the offering of the man He chooses for the priesthood. That will also clear my brother of the accusation that I gave him the office because he was my brother."

CHAPTER 3

How God Destroyed Those Who Stirred Up the Rebellion, and How Aaron and His Descendants Kept the Priesthood

After Moses had spoken, the people stopped their disorderly behavior and let go of their suspicions about him. They praised what he had said, for they judged his proposals to be good. The assembly then broke up.

The next day, the people gathered again to witness the sacrifice and see which candidate would be chosen for the priesthood. The assembly was restless, and everyone waited anxiously to see what would happen. Some hoped Moses would be found guilty of wrongdoing. The wiser among them wanted the trouble to end, for they feared the rebellion would destroy the order of their community. People naturally delight in shouting against their leaders, and they often change their opinions with every speaker, disturbing the peace of the whole community.

Moses sent messengers to Dathan and Abiram, ordering them to come to the assembly and wait for the sacred rites to be performed. They refused to obey. They said they would not overlook Moses' conduct, and accused him of using evil methods to make himself too powerful.

When Moses heard their answer, he asked the people's leaders to go with him. He went to Dathan's faction without fear, though they were insolent men, and the leaders followed him. Dathan and his companions heard that Moses and the leading men were coming. They came out with their wives and children and stood in front of their tents, waiting to see what Moses would do. Their servants stood around them, ready to defend them if Moses tried to use force.

Moses came near, raised his hands to heaven, and cried out in a loud voice so the whole crowd could hear him:

"O Lord of all creatures in heaven, on earth, and in the sea, you are the surest witness to what I have done. You know that I acted at your command, and that you helped us whenever we undertook anything. You showed mercy to the Hebrews in all their troubles. Come now and hear what I say, for nothing I do or think is hidden from you. Do not refuse to speak the truth in my defense, regardless of the ungrateful accusations these men have made.

"You know best what happened before I was born. You did not learn of those things through reports, for you saw them and were present when they took place. As for what has happened recently, these men know the truth, yet they pretend to doubt it. Be my witness.

"When I lived a quiet, private life, I left behind the good things I had gained through my own efforts and your guidance while I was with Raguel, my father-in-law. I gave myself to this people and endured many hardships for their sake. At first, I labored to win their freedom. Now I labor to preserve them. I have always been ready to help them in every distress.

"Now I am suspected by the very people whose survival is due to my labor. Come, as I have every reason to hope you will. You showed me the fire on Mount Sinai, made me hear its voice, and let me see the wonders there. You commanded me to go to Egypt and declare your will to this people. You brought trouble upon the Egyptians and gave us the chance to escape their power. You made Pharaoh's rule powerless before me. You dried the sea so we could cross when we did not know where to go, then drowned the Egyptians in the same deadly waters that had parted for us.

"You gave us weapons when we had none. You made the bitter springs fit to drink, and when we had no water, you brought it from the rocks. When the crops failed, you kept us alive with quail from the sea. You sent food from heaven, food no one had ever seen before. You taught us your laws and established a form of government for us.

"Come now, Lord of the whole world. Be my judge and witness, a judge who cannot be bribed. Show that I have never accepted a gift from any Hebrew in return for a false judgment. Show that I have never condemned an innocent man to favor someone rich, and that I have never tried to harm this community.

"Though I am innocent, I am suspected of doing the thing farthest from my intentions. They accuse me of giving the priesthood to Aaron, not because you commanded it, but because he is dear to me. Show now that everything is governed by your care, that nothing happens by chance, and that all things reach their end by your will. Show that you care for those who have done good for the Hebrews.

"Show this, I ask, by punishing Abiram and Dathan, who accuse you of being unaware and claim that my schemes have overcome you. Punish these men openly, for they so recklessly defy your glory. Let them be taken out of the world in a way unlike the death of other men. Let the ground beneath their feet split open and swallow them, along with their families and possessions. Then all will see your power, and their punishment will teach wisdom to those who hold irreverent thoughts about you.

"By this, I will be shown to be a faithful servant who has carried out the commands you gave through me. But if their charges against me are true, protect these men from every harm and bring upon me all the destruction I have called down on them.

"When you have punished those who have acted unjustly toward this people, grant the people peace and agreement. Save this multitude, who follow your commands, and keep them from harm. Do not let them share in the punishment of those who have sinned. You know that it would not be right for all the Israelites to suffer because of these men's wickedness."

Moses said these words with tears in his eyes. Suddenly, the ground began to shake, moving like the sea when the wind drives its waves. The people were terrified. With a great roar, the earth sank around the rebels' tents and swallowed everything they held dear. They perished so completely that no trace remained to show anyone had ever been there. The ground opened around them, then closed again and became as it had been before. Those who saw the place afterward could not tell that anything had happened there.

This was how the rebels perished, and how God's power was made known. Anyone might pity them for the calamity that struck them, for it was a terrible fate. But their own relatives rejoiced at their suffering. They forgot their family ties and, when they saw the disaster, approved of the judgment against them. They considered Dathan's people a source of trouble and thought they had perished as such, so they did not mourn for them.

Moses then called together those who disputed the priesthood. He wanted a trial to determine who should be priest, and the man whose sacrifice pleased God most would be appointed. Two hundred and fifty men came forward. The people honored them because of the influence of their ancestors and because they themselves were more distinguished than the others. Aaron and Korah also came forward. They all brought their censers and offered incense before the tabernacle.

A fire blazed out, unlike any fire made by human hands. It was unlike the eruptions caused by burning materials beneath the earth, and unlike fires that start in the woods when trees rub together. This fire was bright and terrible, with a flame kindled at God's command. It burst upon the company, and all of them, including Korah, were destroyed. Their bodies left no remains. Aaron alone was spared and suffered no harm, for God had sent the fire to consume only those who were to be burned.

After they had perished, Moses wanted the memory of this judgment to be passed down to future generations. He commanded Eleazar, Aaron's son, to place their censers beside the bronze altar, so they would remind those who came after them of what happened to the men who thought God's power could be defied.

From then on, Aaron was no longer thought to hold the priesthood through Moses' favor. The people had seen God's judgment for themselves, and Aaron and his children kept the honor of the priesthood in peace.

CHAPTER 4

What Happened to the Hebrews During the Thirty-Eight Years in the Wilderness

The uprising did not end with the destruction of its leaders. It grew much stronger and became harder to bear. The cause of this worsening made it seem likely that the trouble would continue for a long time. The people already believed that nothing happened without God's providence. They concluded that these events had taken place with God's favor toward Moses. They blamed him for God's anger and claimed that the punished men had suffered not because of their own wickedness, but because Moses had brought the punishment upon them. They said the men had been destroyed without sin, simply because they were zealous in the worship of God. They also complained that Moses had reduced the people by killing so many men, the best among them, while escaping punishment himself. And now he had secured the priesthood for his brother so firmly that no one could challenge him. No one else would dare claim it, they said, after seeing how miserably the first challengers had perished. The relatives of the dead also pleaded with the people to put an end to Moses' arrogance, insisting that this was the safest course.

Moses heard for some time that the people were in turmoil. He feared they would attempt another revolt, bringing some great disaster upon themselves. So he called them together and listened patiently to their defense, without arguing against them, lest he make them angrier. He asked only that the heads of the tribes bring their staffs, each marked with the name of its tribe, and said that God would show by a sign whose staff belonged to the man who should receive the priesthood. The people agreed. The tribal leaders brought their staffs, and Aaron brought his, with the tribe of Levi written on it. Moses placed them in God's tabernacle.

The next day, Moses brought out the staffs. Each man recognized his own, and the people could see that the others remained as they had been. But Aaron's staff had put out buds and branches, bearing ripe almonds, the fruit of the tree from which it had been cut. The people were astonished by this sight. Though they had hated Moses and Aaron, they now set aside their anger and accepted God's judgment. From then on, they praised God's decision and allowed Aaron to hold the priesthood without opposition. God had appointed him priest three times, and he kept that honor without further disturbance. In this way, the Hebrews' long and serious uprising finally ended.

The tribe of Levi had been set apart for the worship of God and excused from warfare and military campaigns. Moses therefore made provision for their needs, so they would not have to seek food and neglect the temple. By God's command, he instructed the Hebrews that, once they took possession of Canaan, they were to give the Levites forty-eight fine cities, along with the surrounding land extending two thousand cubits from each city's walls. He also ordered the people to give a tenth of their yearly produce to the Levites and priests. This was what the tribe received from the people as a whole. I think it necessary, however, to describe what each person was to give specifically to the priests.

Moses ordered the Levites to give thirteen of their forty-eight cities to the priests. They were also to give them a tenth of the tithes they received from the people each year. It was right, he said, to offer God the first fruits of the entire harvest. The firstborn males of the four-footed animals appointed for sacrifice were to be given to the priests, who would slaughter them and eat them with their families in the holy city. For the firstborn animals that the law did not permit as sacrifices, their owners were to pay a shekel and a half instead. For a firstborn son, they were to pay five shekels.

The priests were also to receive the first wool from each sheep's shearing. Whenever people baked grain into loaves, they were to give the priests a portion. Those who made a sacred vow as Nazarites, letting their hair grow long and drinking no wine, were to offer their hair as a sacrifice when they consecrated it. The hair was to be allotted to the priests and thrown into the fire. Those who dedicated themselves to God as a corban, a word meaning "gift" in Greek, and wished to be released from that service were to pay the priests. The required payment was thirty shekels for a woman and fifty for a man. If anyone was too poor to pay the full amount, the priests could set a lower sum.

When people slaughtered animals at home for a private feast, rather than for a religious observance, they were to give the priests the maw, the cheek or breast, and the right shoulder. Through these provisions, Moses ensured that the priests had enough to live on, in addition to the portions they received from the offerings for sin, as I described in the previous book. He also ordered that the priests' servants, sons, daughters, and wives could share in everything allotted to the priests, except for the offerings made for sin. Only the male members of the priestly family could eat those offerings, and they had to eat them in the temple on the day they were offered.

After the uprising had ended and Moses had established these laws, he led the whole army to the borders of Idumea. He sent messengers to the king of the Idumeans, asking permission to pass through his land. Moses offered to send whatever hostages the king wanted as a guarantee that no harm would be done. He also asked the king to let his army buy food. If the king preferred, Moses said, they would pay even for the water they drank. But the king rejected Moses' request. He refused to let the army pass and came out armed with his people to block them if they tried to force their way through. Moses consulted God through the oracle, and God told him not to begin a war. So Moses withdrew his forces and traveled around the land through the wilderness.

At that time, Miriam, the sister of Moses, died. She had completed her fortieth year since leaving Egypt. She died on the first day of the lunar month Xanthicus. The people held a public funeral for her at great expense and buried her on a mountain called Sin. After they had mourned for her for thirty days, Moses purified the people in the following way.

He brought a heifer that had never been used for plowing or any other work. It was whole in every part and entirely red. They led it to a place outside the camp that was perfectly clean. The high priest killed the heifer and sprinkled its blood seven times with his finger before God's tabernacle. Then they burned the whole animal, including its skin and entrails. They threw cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet wool into the fire. A clean man gathered the ashes and placed them in a clean spot.

Whenever anyone was defiled by contact with a dead body, they were to mix a little of these ashes with spring water and hyssop. They dipped some of the ashes into the water and sprinkled the person with it on the third day and again on the seventh day. After that, the person was clean. Moses ordered the people to follow this rule when the tribes settled in their own land.

After completing the purification rites during the mourning for his sister, Moses led the army through the wilderness and Arabia. When he reached a place the Arabs considered their capital, formerly called Arce and now called Petra, the army came to a spot surrounded by high mountains. There, in full view of the people, Aaron climbed one of the mountains. Moses had already told him that he would die there, since the mountain lay opposite them. Aaron took off his priestly garments and gave them to his son Eleazar, who was to succeed him as high priest because he was the elder brother. Then Aaron died as the people watched.

He died in the same year as his sister, at the age of 123. His death came on the first day of the lunar month called Hecatombaeon by the Athenians, Lous by the Macedonians, and Abba by the Hebrews.

CHAPTER 5

How Moses Defeated Sihon and Og, Kings of the Amorites, Destroyed Their Armies, and Divided Their Land by Lot Among Two and a Half Tribes of the Hebrews

The people mourned Aaron for thirty days. When the mourning ended, Moses led the army away and brought it to the river Arnon. The river rises in the mountains of Arabia, runs through the wilderness, and empties into Lake Asphaltitis. It forms the boundary between the land of the Moabites and the land of the Amorites. The country is fertile and produces enough to support a large population.

Moses sent messengers to Sihon, king of the country, asking him to let the army pass through. Moses promised to meet whatever conditions Sihon required. He said the Hebrews would do no harm to Sihon's land or its people, and would buy their supplies at a fair price, even if Sihon wished to sell them water. But Sihon refused. He gathered his army and prepared to block the Hebrews from crossing the Arnon.

When Moses saw that the Amorite king meant to fight, he decided not to accept the insult. He also wanted to break the Hebrews of their idle habits and prevent the disorder that had led to their earlier rebellion. Their minds were still unsettled. So Moses asked God whether he should fight. God granted permission and promised him victory, and Moses went forward with confidence.

He urged the soldiers to welcome the chance to fight, now that God had allowed it. Eager for the permission they had long desired, they put on their armor and set out at once.

When the Hebrews prepared to attack, Sihon seemed unlike himself. He was afraid of them, and his army, which had earlier appeared brave, lost heart. They could not withstand the first attack. Instead, they fled, believing they had a better chance of escape if they reached their fortified cities. But those cities did them no good. As soon as the Hebrews saw them retreat, they pursued and broke their ranks. Some fled from the rest and ran toward the cities.

The Hebrews pressed after them and kept up the hard pursuit. They were skilled with slings and quick to throw darts and other weapons. Their light armor helped them move swiftly. They caught many of the Amorites, and those who were too far away to reach were struck with stones from slings and arrows. Many were killed, and those who escaped were badly wounded.

The heat of summer made the Amorites suffer from thirst even more than from the fighting. Many ran down to the river to drink, while others fled in groups. The Hebrews surrounded them and shot at them with darts and arrows, killing them there. Sihon, their king, was also killed.

The Hebrews stripped the dead and took their spoils. They occupied the land, which was rich in produce, and their army moved through it without fear, grazing their cattle on its pastures. They also captured the enemy soldiers, since no fighting men remained who could stop them. Such was the defeat of the Amorites, who showed little judgment in their plans and little courage in battle.

The Hebrews took possession of the country, which lay between three rivers and was shaped naturally like an island. The Arnon formed its southern boundary. The Jabbok marked its northern edge; when it joined the Jordan, it lost its own name and took the name of that river. The Jordan ran along the country's western side.

After these events, Og, king of Gilead and Gaulanitis, attacked the Israelites. He brought an army to help his friend Sihon, but found him already dead. Even so, Og decided to fight the Hebrews. He believed he could defeat them and wanted to test their courage. His hopes failed. He was killed in battle, and his entire army was destroyed.

Moses crossed the Jabbok and took over Og's kingdom. He captured the cities and killed their inhabitants. The people there were wealthier than others in that part of the continent, thanks to their fertile soil and great stores of riches.

Few men could match Og's size or handsome appearance. He was also strong and skillful with his hands, and his deeds matched the great size and strength of his body. His stature could be judged by the bed kept for him at Rabbath, the royal city of the Ammonites. It was made of iron, four cubits wide and nine cubits long.

Og's defeat improved the Hebrews' position, and his death brought them further success. They soon captured the sixty cities that had belonged to him. Each was protected by strong walls, and the Hebrews took a great deal of plunder, both for the whole army and for individual soldiers.

CHAPTER 6

Concerning Balaam the Prophet and What Kind of Man He Was

After Moses had led his army to the Jordan, he camped on the broad plain opposite Jericho. The city stands in a pleasant place, well suited to growing palm trees and balsam. The Israelites had begun to take great pride in themselves and were eager for battle. After offering sacrifices of thanksgiving to God for several days and holding a feast for the people, Moses sent an armed force to ravage the land of the Midianites and capture their cities. The reason for his war against them was this:

Balak, king of the Moabites, had inherited a friendship and treaty with the Midianites from his ancestors. When he saw how numerous the Israelites had become, he feared for himself and his kingdom. He did not know that the Hebrews had no intention of attacking other lands. They were to be content with the land of Canaan, since God had forbidden them to go farther.

Balak acted hastily and without good judgment. He decided to attack the Israelites with words, since he did not think it wise to fight them after their many victories. Even when they had suffered setbacks, they had come out stronger than before. So he hoped to stop them from growing more powerful, and sent envoys to the Midianites to discuss what they could do.

The Midianites knew of a man named Balaam, who lived by the Euphrates. He was considered the greatest prophet of that time and was their friend. They sent some of their leading princes with Balak's envoys to ask Balaam to come and curse the Israelites, so that they might be destroyed.

Balaam welcomed the envoys and treated them kindly. After supper, he asked what God willed and why the Midianites had asked him to come. God opposed his journey, so Balaam returned to the envoys and said that he was willing to do as they asked, but God stood against his plans. It was God who had given him his great reputation because his prophecies came true. The army they wanted him to curse was favored by God. He advised the envoys to go home and give up their hostility toward the Israelites. Then he sent them away.

At Balak's urgent request, the Midianites sent another group of envoys to Balaam. He wanted to please them, so he asked God again. God was displeased that he had asked a second time and told him not to refuse the envoys. Balaam did not understand that God had given him this command to mislead him, so he went with them.

On the way, a divine angel met him in a narrow passage, with walls on both sides. The donkey Balaam rode understood that a divine spirit stood in the road and pressed Balaam against one of the walls. Balaam was hurt and beat the donkey, though she had done nothing wrong. When the angel continued to block her path and Balaam kept striking her, God made the donkey fall down and speak with a human voice. She complained that Balaam was treating her unjustly. She had served him faithfully before, yet he beat her now because she could not carry him forward. He did not understand that God's providence had stopped her.

Balaam was shaken to hear the donkey speak like a man. Then the angel appeared plainly and rebuked him for beating her. The animal was not at fault, the angel said. He himself had come to block Balaam's journey, because it went against God's will. Balaam was afraid and prepared to turn back. But God urged him to continue, with one command: he was to say only what God put into his mind.

After receiving this command, Balaam came to Balak. The king welcomed him with great honors and asked him to climb one of the mountains to look over the Hebrew camp. Balak went with him, accompanied by a royal entourage. The mountain stood above the Israelites' camp, about sixty furlongs away.

When Balaam saw the camp, he asked the king to build seven altars and bring seven bulls and seven rams. Balak immediately did as he asked. Balaam killed the animals and offered them as burnt offerings, hoping to see some sign that the Hebrews would be defeated. Then he spoke:

"Happy is this people, whom God has blessed with countless good things and whose guide and helper is his own providence. No nation will be thought better than you in virtue, or in your firm pursuit of the best way of life, free from wickedness. You will pass these ways down to your excellent children. God cares for you and provides what will make you happier than any other people under the sun.

"You will keep the land to which he has sent you, and your children will rule it forever. Your glory will fill both the earth and the sea. You will become so numerous that people from your family will settle every region of the world. O blessed army, marvel that you have grown so great from one father. The land of Canaan can hold you for now, since you are still few in number, but know that the whole world is to be your home forever. Your descendants will live on islands and continents, and they will be more numerous than the stars in heaven.

"When you have grown so numerous, God will not cease to care for you. In times of peace, he will give you an abundance of good things. In war, he will grant you victory and rule over your enemies. May your enemies' children be eager to fight you, and may they be bold enough to take up arms and attack you in battle. They will not return victorious, and their wives and children will not welcome them home. God's providence will raise you to such courage. He can take abundance from some and provide for those in need."

Balaam spoke under inspiration. He was not speaking by his own power, but was moved by the Divine Spirit.

Balak was angry and said Balaam had broken the agreement. He and his allies had invited him with promises of rich gifts, expecting him to curse their enemies. Instead, Balaam had praised the Israelites and called them the happiest of people.

Balaam replied, "Balak, if you think clearly about this, can you believe we are free to stay silent or speak as we please when God's Spirit comes upon us? He puts into our mouths whatever words he chooses, and gives us speeches we could not have thought of ourselves. I remember how eagerly you and the Midianites asked me to come, and that is why I made the journey. I hoped I could fulfill your request without insulting you. But God is more powerful than my plans to serve you.

"Those who claim they can predict human affairs through their own ability cannot do so. They cannot hold back what God tells them to say, or resist his will. When he takes hold of us and enters into us, our words are no longer our own. I did not intend to praise this army or list the good things God planned for its people. But because he favored them and was ready to give them a happy life and lasting glory, he made me speak of these things. Still, since I want to please you and the Midianites, whose request I could not rightly reject, let us build more altars and offer the same sacrifices as before. Perhaps I can persuade God to let me bind these men with curses."

Balak agreed, but even after the second set of sacrifices, God would not allow Balaam to curse the Israelites. Balaam then fell facedown and foretold the disasters that would come upon the kings of various nations and their most famous cities, including some cities that had not yet been settled. These events have come to pass among the people concerned, in earlier times and in my own lifetime, both by sea and by land. Since all these prophecies have been fulfilled, it is easy to believe that the rest will come true in time.

Balak was furious that Balaam had not cursed the Israelites, and sent him away without honor. As Balaam was about to set out for the Euphrates, he summoned Balak and the princes of Midian and said:

"Balak, and you Midianites gathered here, though God has not allowed me to do what you asked, I am still obliged to give you some help. The Hebrew nation cannot be wiped out completely by war, plague, famine, or any other sudden disaster. God's providence protects them from total destruction and will not allow such a calamity to fall upon them that they all perish. Still, they may suffer small misfortunes for a short time and seem to be brought low. Afterward, they will flourish again, to the terror of those who caused them harm.

"If you want to defeat them for a little while, you can do so by following my advice. Choose the most beautiful of your daughters, especially those whose looks can overcome the modesty of the men who see them. Dress them in their finest clothes and send them near the Hebrew camp. Tell them to make the young men desire them. Once the men are in love with them, the women should begin to leave. If the young men beg them to stay, the women should agree, but only after persuading them to abandon obedience to their own laws and worship the gods of the Midianites. This will anger God against them."

After giving them this advice, Balaam went on his way.

The Midianites sent their daughters, as Balaam had advised. The Hebrew men were drawn to their beauty. They went to them and begged them not to deny them their company or the pleasure of their beauty. The Midianite women welcomed their advances and stayed with them.

Once the men had fallen in love and their desire had grown strong, the women began to talk of leaving. The young men were distraught. They urged the women not to go and begged them to stay and become their wives. They swore that the women would be treated as mistresses of everything they owned. They called God as witness to their promise, and with tears and every sign of sorrow showed how miserable they would be without them, hoping to win their compassion.

When the women saw that the men were caught by their beauty and company, they spoke to them this way:

"Young men of distinction, we have homes of our own, with plenty of good things and loving parents and friends. We did not come because we lacked anything, and we did not accept your invitation to sell our beauty for money. We thought you brave and worthy men, so we agreed to your request and welcomed you as hospitality requires.

"Now you say that you love us and are upset at the thought of our leaving. We are willing to listen to your pleas. If you give us an assurance of your good will that we can trust, we would be glad to live with you as your wives. We fear, though, that you may grow tired of us and treat us badly, then send us back to our parents in disgrace."

They asked the young men to understand why they were wary of such a danger. The men said they would give whatever assurance the women wanted and agreed to all their requests, so great was their passion for them.

"Then," the women said, "if this is what you have decided, you must know that your customs and way of life are unlike those of all other people. Your food is different from ours, and your drink is not the same as anyone else's. If you want us as wives, you must worship our gods too. There is no clearer way to show the affection you claim to feel for us, and promise to keep feeling, than to worship the same gods we do. Why should anyone object if you have come to this country and worship its gods, especially when our gods are worshiped by all people, while yours belong only to you?"

They told the young men that they must either adopt the religious practices of other peoples or find another world where they could live alone, under their own laws.

The young men were so taken with the women that they thought their words made sense. They gave in to their persuasion, broke their own laws, and decided that there were many gods. They offered sacrifices according to the customs of that land, enjoyed unfamiliar food, and did whatever the women asked, though it went against their own laws.

The wrongdoing spread through the entire army of young men. Their revolt became even worse than before, and they risked destroying their own customs altogether. Once the young men had tasted these foreign practices, they pursued them without restraint. Even some who had been honored because of their fathers' virtues were corrupted along with the rest.

Zimri, a leader of the tribe of Simeon, was among them. He was accompanied by Cozbi, a Midianite woman and daughter of Zur, a man of high rank in that country. At his wife's urging, Zimri ignored the laws of Moses and followed her customs. He offered sacrifices in a way that was foreign to him and took a woman from another people as his wife.

Moses feared that matters would grow worse, so he called the people together. He did not accuse anyone by name, because he did not want those who were still hiding their actions to give up hope of repentance. He said they were acting in a way unworthy of themselves and their fathers by choosing pleasure over God and refusing to live according to God's will. They should change their conduct while things were still going well. True courage, he said, meant standing by their laws and resisting their desires.

Moses also said it made no sense for them to live with restraint in the wilderness, then act recklessly now that they were prospering. They should not throw away in a time of plenty what they had gained when they had little. With these words, he tried to correct the young men and lead them to repent of what they had done.

Zimri stood up and answered:

"Yes, Moses, you are free to follow the laws you are so devoted to, laws you have made firm by living under them. If things had not gone your way, you would have been punished long ago and learned that the Hebrews are not easy to deceive. But I will not follow your tyrannical commands. You do nothing but use the law and God as a pretext to enslave us and win power for yourself, while taking away the pleasure of living as we choose. That freedom belongs to free men who have no master.

"You are harder on the Hebrews than the Egyptians ever were. You claim the right to punish anyone who acts as he pleases, all in the name of your laws. You deserve punishment yourself, since you presume to abolish what everyone knows is good for him and try to make your own opinion stronger than everyone else's.

"I will not deny what I have done or pretend it was wrong. I married a foreign woman, as you say, and I tell you this myself, as a free man. I never meant to hide it. I also admit that I sacrificed to gods you refuse to honor. I think a person should search for the truth by asking many people. He should not live under a tyranny and depend on one man's say-so for the hope of his whole life. No one has the right to claim more authority over my actions than I do."

After Zimri had spoken about his own wrongdoing and that of others, the people fell silent. They feared what might happen, and they saw that Moses did not want to bring the dispute before the public or challenge Zimri openly. Moses avoided that course so that others would not imitate Zimri's shameless words and stir up the whole assembly.

The meeting then broke up. The wrongdoing might have spread further if Zimri had not been killed first. This is how it happened:

Phineas was better than the other young men in many ways and had a higher standing than his peers because of his father. He was the son of Eleazar the high priest and grandson of Aaron, Moses' brother. Deeply troubled by Zimri's conduct, Phineas resolved to punish him before his example gained strength through impunity. He also wanted to stop the wrongdoing from spreading, which he believed would happen if its leaders went unpunished.

Phineas was strong in both mind and body. When he took on a dangerous task, he did not give up until he had overcome it. He went into Zimri's tent and killed him with his javelin. He killed Cozbi as well. The young men who valued virtue and wanted to perform a noble deed followed Phineas' example and killed those they found guilty of the same crime as Zimri.

Many of the transgressors died at the hands of these courageous young men. The rest died in a plague that God brought upon them. Their relatives had failed to stop them and had instead encouraged them to continue, so God counted those relatives as partners in their wrongdoing, and they died too. At that time, no fewer than twenty-four thousand people in the army perished.

This was why Moses was moved to send an army against the Midianites. I will describe that expedition shortly, after first mentioning something I left out. It is only right to give our lawgiver due praise for his conduct in this matter.

Balaam had been summoned by the Midianites to curse the Hebrews. When divine providence stopped him from doing so, he still gave them advice that nearly led our enemies to corrupt the whole Hebrew people. Some of the people were already deeply affected by their teachings. Even so, Moses gave Balaam great honor by writing down his prophecies.

Moses could have claimed the glory for himself and persuaded people that the predictions were his own. No one could have testified against him or accused him of doing so. Yet he still gave Balaam credit and honored him by recording his words. Let each reader judge these matters as he sees fit.

CHAPTER 7

How the Hebrews Fought the Midianites and Defeated Them

Moses sent an army of twelve thousand men against the land of Midian, for the reasons already given. He chose an equal number from each tribe and placed Phineas in command. We mentioned Phineas shortly before, when he defended the Hebrew laws and punished Zimri for breaking them.

The Midianites learned that the Hebrews were coming and would soon attack. They gathered their army, fortified the entrances to their country, and waited for the enemy. When the Hebrews arrived, the two sides fought, and a vast number of Midianites fell. Their dead were too many to count. All five of their kings were among them: Evi, Zur, Reba, Hur, and Rekem. The city of Rekem bore the same name as its king. It was the chief city of Arabia, and the Arabs still call it Arecem, after the king who built it. The Greeks call it Petra.

After defeating the enemy, the Hebrews plundered the country and took a great amount of spoil. They killed the men who lived there, as well as the women, but spared the virgins, as Moses had commanded Phineas. Phineas returned with his army unharmed and brought back a great deal of plunder: 52,000 cattle, 75,600 sheep, 60,000 donkeys, and a vast amount of gold and silver vessels that the Midianites used in their homes. The Midianites were wealthy and lived in luxury. The Hebrews also took about 32,000 virgins captive.

Moses divided the spoil into portions. He gave one-fiftieth to Eleazar and the two priests, another one-fiftieth to the Levites, and distributed the rest among the people. Afterward, they lived happily, rich in the goods they had won through their courage. No misfortune came to trouble them or keep them from enjoying their good fortune.

Moses had now grown old, so he appointed Joshua as his successor. Joshua was to receive God's instructions as a prophet and command the army if the need arose. God had commanded that the care of the people be entrusted to him. Moses had taught Joshua everything he needed to know about the laws and about God.

At this time, the tribes of Gad and Reuben, along with half the tribe of Manasseh, had many cattle and were prosperous in every other way. Their leaders met together and came to Moses with a request. They asked him to give them as their own possession the Amorite land they had taken in battle, since it was fertile and good for raising cattle.

Moses thought they were afraid to fight the Canaanites and had invented a convenient excuse to avoid the war. He called them cowards and said they were looking for a respectable reason to stay behind. They wanted to live in comfort while the rest of the people struggled to gain the land they hoped to possess. They were unwilling to march with the others and endure the remaining hardships, cross the Jordan under God's promise, defeat the enemies God had shown them, and take their land.

When the tribes saw that Moses was angry, and could not deny that he had reason to be displeased, they explained their request. They said they had not asked out of fear or laziness. They wanted to leave their spoil in a safe place so they could travel more freely and be ready to face hardship and fight. They also promised that, if Moses gave them the land, they would build cities there for their children, wives, and possessions, then march with the rest of the army.

Moses was pleased with their answer. He summoned Eleazar the high priest, Joshua, and the leaders of the tribes, then allowed the two and a half tribes to possess the Amorite land. They agreed to fight alongside their kinsmen until the war was over and everything had been settled. They took possession of the country, built strong cities, and placed their children, wives, and whatever else might hinder their future marches in them.

Moses also built the ten cities that were to be included among the forty-eight cities assigned to the Levites. He set aside three of them as places of refuge for anyone who had killed another person by accident. The manslayer had to remain there until the death of the high priest who held office when the killing and flight took place. After the high priest died, the manslayer could return home.

While the manslayer was in exile, the dead person's relatives were permitted by this law to kill him if they found him outside the borders of the city where he had taken refuge. No one else had this right.

The three cities of refuge were Bezer, on the border of Arabia; Ramoth, in the land of Gilead; and Golan, in the land of Bashan. Moses also commanded that three more cities be set aside for these fugitives among the Levitical cities, but they were not to be chosen until the people had taken possession of Canaan.

At this time, the leaders of the tribe of Manasseh came to Moses with a question. A prominent man of their tribe, Zelophehad, had died without sons, leaving only daughters. They asked whether his daughters could inherit his land.

Moses answered that if they married within their own tribe, they could keep their inheritance. But if they married men from another tribe, they would have to leave the land in their father's tribe. Moses then decreed that every inheritance must remain within its own tribe.

CHAPTER 8

The Government Established by Moses, and His Departure from Among Mankind

When forty years had passed, and only thirty days remained, Moses gathered the people near the Jordan, where the city of Abila now stands, in a place filled with palm trees. When everyone had assembled, he spoke to them:

"Israelites, my companions and fellow soldiers, you have shared with me this long and difficult journey. Now it is God's will, and the course of old age, that I leave this life at the age of one hundred and twenty. God has forbidden me to guide or assist you in the work that remains beyond the Jordan. Still, I thought it right to keep working for your happiness until the end. I want to do all I can to secure lasting blessings for you and to leave behind a good memory of myself when you are enjoying great abundance and prosperity.

"Come, then. Let me show you how you may be happy and leave that lasting prosperity to your children. After that, I will depart from this world. You have good reason to trust me, both because of all I have already done for you and because those who are about to leave this life speak with the greatest honesty.

"Children of Israel, all human happiness has one source: God's favor. He alone can grant good things to those who deserve them and take them away from those who sin against him. If you live according to his will and follow the counsel I give you, since I understand his purpose well, you will be considered blessed and admired by all people. You will avoid disaster and continue to prosper. You will keep the good things you already possess and soon gain those you still lack. You need only obey the leaders God has appointed for you.

"Do not prefer any other form of government to the laws I have given you. Do not neglect the worship of God you now practice or replace it with another form. If you remain faithful to these things, you will be the bravest of men in the hardships of war, and your enemies will not easily defeat you. With God beside you, helping you, you will be able to withstand the opposition of all mankind. Great rewards await you if you remain virtuous throughout your lives. Virtue itself is the first and greatest reward, and it brings many others. By treating others with virtue, you will make your own lives happy, win greater honor than foreign peoples, and earn an unquestioned reputation among those who come after you.

"You can gain these blessings if you listen to and obey the laws I established for you through God's revelation, and if you reflect on the wisdom they contain. I am leaving you with joy for the blessings you enjoy. I commend you to the wise guidance of your laws, to the proper order of your government, and to the virtues of your leaders, who will look after your welfare.

"God has guided you until now, and through his favor I have been useful to you. He will not now end his care for you. As long as you seek him as your protector while you pursue virtue, you will enjoy his protection. Eleazar the high priest, Joshua, the elders, and the leaders of your tribes will guide you and offer good counsel. Follow their advice, and you will continue to prosper. Listen to them willingly. Anyone who knows how to obey well will also know how to govern well if given authority.

"Do not think that liberty means resisting every direction your leaders give you. At present, you seem to think freedom means nothing more than mistreating those who have helped you. If you avoid this mistake in the future, your affairs will go better than they have so far.

"Do not give in to anger as you have often done when you were angry with me. You know that I have been in greater danger of death at your hands than at the hands of our enemies. I remind you of this not to reproach you. Since I am leaving this world, I do not wish to recall these things merely to make you feel ashamed. When I suffered those hardships because of you, I was not angry with you. I speak of them now to make you wiser in the future and to show you that your security depends on never mistreating those who lead you, even when you become rich, as you will when you cross the Jordan and take possession of Canaan.

"Once your wealth leads you to despise virtue, you will also lose God's favor. When you make him your enemy, you will be defeated in war, and your enemies will take the land from you. They will heap disgrace upon your actions. You will be scattered throughout the world and become slaves across the sea and on the land. After you have experienced what I now tell you, you will regret your disobedience and remember the laws you broke, but it will be too late.

"If you mean to keep these laws, then, after you conquer your enemies, leave none of them alive. Destroy them all, for if you let them live, you may take on their customs and corrupt your own institutions. I also urge you to tear down their altars and sacred groves, and destroy every temple among them. Burn their people, their nation, and even their memory. Only in this way can you firmly protect your own good government.

"To keep you from ignorance of virtue and from falling into vice, I have also established laws and a form of government by God's direction. They are so good that if you observe them faithfully, all people will consider you the happiest of nations."

When Moses had finished speaking, he gave the people the laws and the form of government in a written book. The people wept, already feeling how much they would miss their leader. They remembered the many dangers he had faced and all the care he had taken to protect them. They worried about what would happen after his death, believing they would never have another leader like him. They feared that God would care for them less once Moses, who had often pleaded on their behalf, was gone.

They also regretted the angry things they had said to Moses in the wilderness. Their sorrow was so great that the entire assembly wept bitterly, beyond the comfort of words. Moses gave them some comfort. He urged them to stop dwelling on how much they would mourn him and instead to keep the form of government he had given them. Then the assembly dispersed.

I will now describe the form of government that suited the dignity and virtue of Moses. In doing so, I will explain to readers of these Antiquities the principles on which our people were first established, and then continue with the remaining history. These laws are all still preserved in writing just as Moses left them. I will add nothing for ornament, nor include anything beyond what Moses gave us. I will only arrange the different kinds of laws into a clear system. Moses left them written as they happened to be delivered, in the order in which he learned them from God through inquiry. I thought I should explain this in advance, so none of my countrymen would accuse me of wrongdoing.

Part of our constitution consists of laws concerning the government of the people. I have reserved Moses' laws about daily life and the way people should treat one another for a separate account of our customs and the reasons for those laws. With God's help, I plan to write that account after I finish the work now before me.

When you have taken possession of Canaan and have time to enjoy its good things, and when you later decide to build cities, you will live securely and happily if you do what pleases God. There must be one city in Canaan, chosen for its beauty and fine location, that God will select for himself through prophetic revelation. There must be one temple in that city and one altar. Do not build the altar from cut stones. Instead, gather stones at random and cover them with plaster, so they appear attractive and pleasing to the eye. The approach to the altar must not be by steps, but by a sloping rise of earth. Do not build an altar or temple in any other city. God is one, and the Hebrew nation is one.

Anyone who blasphemes God must be stoned. His body must hang on a tree for the rest of that day, then be buried in a shameful and obscure place.

All who live within the borders of the land the Hebrews will possess must come to the city where the temple stands three times each year. There they will thank God for the blessings he has already given them and ask him for what they will need in the future. These gatherings and shared feasts will also help them maintain friendly ties with one another. It is good for people of the same ancestry and under the same laws to know one another. Their meetings will let them spend time together, see and speak with one another, and renew their sense of unity. If they do not meet often, they will become strangers to one another.

Set aside a tenth of your produce, in addition to what you give to the priests and Levites. You may sell this portion in the countryside, but use the money for the feasts and sacrifices held in the holy city. It is right for you to enjoy the produce God has given you in a way that honors the one who gave it.

Do not offer God money earned by a prostitute, for God takes no pleasure in anything that comes from such misuse of nature. Nothing is worse than selling one's body in this way. No one may offer God the price paid for mating with a female dog, whether the animal is used for hunting or for guarding sheep.

Do not speak disrespectfully of the gods worshiped by other cities. Do not steal anything belonging to foreign temples, or take away gifts dedicated to any god.

Do not wear a garment woven from both wool and linen. Such garments are reserved for the priests.

Every seventh year, at the Feast of Tabernacles, when the people gather in the holy city to offer sacrifices, the high priest must stand on a raised platform where everyone can hear him. He must read the laws aloud to the whole people. Do not keep women, children, or servants from hearing them. It is good for the laws to be fixed in their minds and kept in their memories, so they cannot be forgotten. Then they will not sin by claiming ignorance of what the laws require.

"The laws will also carry greater authority among them when they hear what will happen if they break them. Hearing the commands will impress them on their minds, so that when they later suffer for disobeying them, they will remember the laws they had ignored and understand that their own actions caused their misfortune. Children, too, must learn the laws first. This is the best lesson they can receive and will help bring them happiness in the future."

Twice each day, in the morning and before going to sleep, everyone must remember before God the blessings he gave them when he brought them out of Egypt. Gratitude is right in itself, and it both repays past kindness and invites future blessings. Write the chief blessings God has given you on your doorposts, and keep them in mind on your arms. Wear on your forehead and arm signs of the wonders that show God's power and good will toward you, so that the evidence of his readiness to bless you is always visible.

Appoint seven judges in every city, choosing men known for their commitment to virtue and justice. Assign two officers from the tribe of Levi to assist each judge. Honor those chosen to judge in every city. When they are present, no one may insult them or behave arrogantly toward them. Respect for those who hold high office among men naturally encourages respect and reverence for God.

"Allow judges to decide cases as they believe justice requires, unless someone can show that they took bribes and perverted justice, or bring another charge that proves they gave an unjust ruling. Cases must not be decided openly for the sake of money or because one of the parties has high rank. Judges must put justice above all else. Otherwise, people will show contempt for God and treat him as less powerful than those whose influence led to an unjust decision. Justice is God's power. Anyone who favors a person of high rank places that person above God himself.

"If the judges cannot reach a just decision in a case, as can happen in human affairs, they must send it unresolved to the holy city. There, the high priest, the prophet, and the Sanhedrin will decide the matter as they see fit."

Do not accept the testimony of a single witness. Require three witnesses, or at least two, whose testimony is supported by their upright lives. Do not accept testimony from women, because of what is said to be their sex's lack of judgment and boldness. Do not accept testimony from servants, because of their low standing, since they may lie in the hope of gaining something or out of fear of punishment. If anyone is convicted of giving false testimony, he must suffer the same punishment that the person he accused would have suffered.

If someone is murdered and the killer cannot be found, and there is no reason to suspect that anyone hated the victim and killed him for that reason, make a thorough search for the murderer and offer a reward to anyone who can identify him. If no information is found, the magistrates and elders of the cities nearest to the place where the murder occurred must gather and measure the distance from the body.

"The magistrates of the nearest city must then buy a heifer and take it to a valley where the land has not been plowed and no trees have been planted. There they must cut the heifer's tendons. The priests, Levites, and elders of that city must take water and wash their hands over the heifer's head. In public, they must declare that they are innocent of the murder and neither committed it nor helped anyone who did. They must also ask God to show mercy to them and to prevent such a terrible crime from happening again in the land."

Aristocracy is the best form of government, and you must never desire another. Always honor this form of government. Let the laws govern you, and guide all your actions by them. You need no ruler above you except God.

"If you do want a king, he must be one of your own people. He must always uphold justice and the other virtues. He must obey the laws and regard God's commands as his highest wisdom. He must do nothing without consulting the high priest and receiving the votes of the elders. He must not take many wives, seek great wealth, or gather a large number of horses, lest he become too proud to obey the laws. If he pursues such things, restrain him, before his power grows so great that it threatens your welfare."

It must never be considered lawful to move boundary markers, whether they mark your own land or the land of people at peace with you. Do not remove these landmarks. They are sacred and lasting limits of rights, established by God himself. Moving them to take land from others leads to wars and uprisings. Anyone who moves boundaries is close to trying to overthrow the laws.

If a man plants land with trees that bear fruit before their fourth year, he must not offer God the first fruits, and he must not eat the fruit himself, since it has not grown in its proper season. When nature is forced to produce early, the fruit is not fit for God or for its owner. In the fourth year, the owner may gather all the fruit, because it has then come in its proper season. He must take it to the holy city and eat it there with his friends, the orphans, and the widows, along with the tithe from his other produce. In the fifth year, the fruit belongs to him, and he may use it as he wishes.

Do not sow seed among the vines. The land should nourish the vines without also being disturbed by plowing. Plow with oxen, and do not yoke them with other kinds of animals. Work the land with animals of the same kind. Keep seed pure and unmixed. Do not combine two or three kinds, since nature takes no pleasure in joining things that are unlike. Do not allow animals of different kinds to mate. There is reason to fear that this unnatural practice among animals could spread to human beings, though it begins with lesser abuses. Do not allow any practice that could, by imitation, bring disorder into the government. The laws do not overlook small matters. They require that even these be handled in a blameless way.

Those who reap the grain must not gather every last stalk. They should leave some behind for people who lack the necessities of life, so the poor may have food to live on. When gathering grapes, they should leave a few small clusters for the poor. When picking olives, they should leave some fruit for those who have none of their own. The owners gain little by collecting every last bit, while the poor gain much from what is left for them. God will also make the land more fruitful when people care for their neighbors' needs as well as their own.

Do not muzzle an ox while it treads the grain at the threshing floor. It is unjust to deny an animal that works alongside people its share of the produce it helped make. Do not stop people passing by from eating fruit that is ripe. Let them eat their fill, whether they are Israelites or strangers, but do not let them carry any away. Those gathering grapes and taking them to the winepress must also let people they meet eat some. It is wrong to keep others from enjoying the good things God provides, especially when the harvest season is brief and soon passes.

If people are too shy to take fruit, encourage them to eat, especially if they are Israelites. They should feel as though they own the fruit, because they are kin to those who grew it. Invite people from other countries to share these gifts of friendship, which God provides in their season. Giving food to others is not a waste. God gives people plenty not only for their own use, but also so they can generously share with others. In this way, he shows other nations his kindness to Israel, whose people share their abundance even with foreigners.

Anyone who violates this law must receive thirty-nine lashes from the public executioner. This disgraceful punishment is fitting for a free person who has become so enslaved to greed that he has stained his own dignity. You have experienced suffering in Egypt and in the wilderness, so you must provide for others who are in need. Now that God's mercy and care have given you plenty, show the same compassion and share it with those who lack it.

In addition to the two tithes you must pay each year, one for the Levites and one for the festivals, you must set aside a third tithe every third year for those in need, including widows and orphaned children.

When the fruit ripens, take the first of it to the temple. Give thanks to God for the land he gave you as your possession, then offer the sacrifices required by the law and give the first fruits to the priests. After you have done this and paid the tithes on everything you own, including those set aside for the Levites and the festivals, stand before the holy house before going home. Give thanks to God for bringing you out of Egypt, where you were mistreated, and giving you a good and spacious land whose produce you may enjoy. Declare openly that you have paid all the tithes and other dues required by the laws of Moses. Then ask God to continue showing you mercy and favor, to preserve the good things he has already given you, and to grant the Hebrew people all that he is still able to give.

Let Hebrew men marry freeborn virgins of good family when they reach a suitable age. A man who does not marry a virgin must not take another man's wife or cause her grief by marrying her. Free men must not marry enslaved women, even if their feelings strongly draw them to do so. They should govern their passions for the sake of their own dignity. Nor should anyone marry a prostitute, whose marriage offerings, earned by selling her body, God will not accept. Children will have noble and virtuous character when they are not born to dishonorable parents or from unions with women who are not free.

If a man marries a woman believing her to be a virgin and later discovers otherwise, he may bring a case against her and present whatever evidence he has. Her father, brother, or closest living male relative must defend her. If she is found innocent, she is to remain with her husband, and he may not divorce her unless she later gives him serious grounds for suspicion that cannot be disproved. But if he makes a reckless and shameless accusation against her, he must receive thirty-nine lashes and pay fifty shekels to her father.

If the woman is found guilty of having been sexually involved with someone, and she is a commoner, she must be stoned because she did not preserve her virginity until marriage. If she is a priest's daughter, she must be burned alive.

If a man has two wives and favors one of them, whether because he loves her, finds her beautiful, or prefers her for another reason, he must not give her younger son the rights of the firstborn over the older son of his other wife. The favored wife's son may try to claim the right of the firstborn because his father treats his mother better, and so receive a double share of the father's property. But the law grants that double share to the oldest son, and it is unjust to deprive him of it because his mother is less favored.

If a man has sex with a woman who is promised to another man, and she consents, both of them must die. They are equally guilty: the man persuaded her to choose an impure act over lawful marriage, and she agreed, whether for pleasure or gain. But if a man finds a woman alone and forces himself on her, with no one there to help her, only he is to be put to death.

A man who has sex with an unmarried virgin must marry her. If her father refuses to give her to him, the man must pay fifty shekels as compensation for having dishonored her.

A man who wants to divorce his wife, whatever his reason, must give her a written statement that he will never again take her as his wife. This gives her the freedom to marry another man. Before she receives the divorce document, she may not marry someone else. If her second husband mistreats her, or if he dies, her first husband may not marry her again.

If a woman is widowed without children, her husband's brother must marry her. The son born to them must carry the dead brother's name and be raised as heir to his inheritance. This helps preserve families and keep property among relatives. It also comforts the widow in her grief by allowing her to marry a close relative of her former husband.

If the brother refuses to marry her, she must appear before the senate and state publicly that he will not take her as his wife, though she is willing to remain in the family and bear him children. The senate must ask him why he refuses, whether his reason is good or bad. The matter must then end this way: the woman removes his sandal, spits in his face, and declares that he deserves this disgrace because he has dishonored his dead brother's memory. He must leave the senate under this reproach and bear it for the rest of his life. The woman may marry any man who seeks her.

If a man captures a woman, whether a virgin or one who was already married, and wants to marry her, he must not take her to bed or live with her as his wife right away. First she must shave her head, put on mourning clothes, and grieve for her relatives and friends who were killed in battle. This gives her time to mourn before she turns to feasting and marriage. A man who wants children with her should respect her feelings, rather than pursue only his own pleasure. After thirty days of mourning, a sufficient time for a thoughtful person to grieve for dear friends, they may marry. But if the man has satisfied his desire and is too proud to keep her as his wife, he must not enslave her. She may go wherever she chooses and live as a free woman.

When young people show contempt for their parents and insult them, whether because they are ashamed of them or think themselves wiser, their parents must first correct them with words. Parents have the natural authority to judge their children, and they should remind them of this:

"We came together not for pleasure or to increase our wealth by joining what we owned, but to have children who would care for us in old age and provide what we might need. When you were born, we welcomed you with joy and thanked God greatly for you. We raised you with care, spared nothing that could protect you, and taught you what was best. Young people should be forgiven for their mistakes, so let the many signs of your contempt for us be enough. Change your ways and act more wisely from now on. Remember that God is displeased with those who insult their parents, because he is the Father of all mankind. He shares in the dishonor brought upon parents when their children fail to treat them with respect. The law gives such people a severe punishment. May you never have to face it."

If these words correct the young person, the law should spare him the shame his earlier actions deserved. The lawgiver will be shown to be merciful, and the parents will be glad they never saw their son or daughter punished. But if the instruction fails, the offender makes the laws implacable in response to the insult he has shown his parents. His parents must bring him outside the city, followed by a crowd, and there he must be stoned. He must remain there for one full day so all the people can see him, then be buried at night. This is how we bury everyone whom the laws sentence to death, whatever the reason. Bury enemies who die in battle as well. No dead body should be left above ground, and no one should suffer a punishment beyond what justice requires.

No Hebrew may lend to another Hebrew at interest, whether the loan is food, drink, or anything else. It is unjust to profit from the hardship of one of your own people. When you help someone in need, count his gratitude as your gain, along with the reward God will give you for treating him with kindness.

When people have borrowed silver or any kind of produce, whether dry or fresh, they must return it willingly to the lender, once the Jewish people are living in prosperity by God's blessing. They should treat what they return as though they were placing it in their own storehouse, where they can expect to receive it again if they need it.

If borrowers refuse to return what they owe, the lender must not enter their house and take a pledge before a judgment has been made. He must request the pledge, and the debtor must bring it out without resisting the person acting under the protection of the law. If the debtor is rich, the creditor may keep the pledge until the debt is paid. If the debtor is poor, the creditor must return it before sunset, especially if the pledge is a garment, so the debtor has something to cover himself with at night. God himself shows concern for the poor. No one may take a millstone or any tool used with it as a pledge, because the debtor must not be deprived of the tools needed to prepare food or be ruined by his poverty.

Anyone who kidnaps a person must be put to death. A thief who steals gold or silver must pay back twice what he took. If someone kills a burglar caught stealing from his house, he is not guilty, even if the burglar was only breaking through a wall. A person who steals livestock must repay four times its value, except for an ox, for which the thief must repay five times its value. If a person is too poor to pay the fine, he must serve the person to whom the court ordered him to pay.

If one Hebrew is sold to another, he must serve for six years and go free in the seventh. But if he has a son with an enslaved woman in his master's house, and he chooses to remain because of his loyalty to his master and his natural love for his wife and children, he must not be freed until the year of jubilee, the fiftieth year. Then he, his wife, and his children must all go free.

If anyone finds gold or silver on the road, he must ask who lost it, announce where he found it, and return it to its owner. He must not profit from another person's loss. The same rule applies to livestock found wandering in a deserted place. If the owner cannot be found at once, the finder may keep the animal, but must call on God as his witness that he has not stolen what belongs to someone else.

Do not pass by an animal in distress when it has fallen into the mud during a storm. Help it, because you should feel compassion for its pain.

You must also show travelers the right road when they do not know it. Do not treat it as a joke to mislead them and keep them from reaching their destination.

No one may insult a blind or mute person.

If two men fight and neither uses an iron weapon, the one who was struck may immediately inflict the same punishment on the man who struck him. But if the injured man is carried home, remains sick for many days, and then dies, the man who struck him must not escape punishment. If the injured man survives but has great expenses for treatment, the man who struck him must repay all the costs during his illness, including the physician's fee.

If a man kicks a pregnant woman and causes her to miscarry, the judges must set a fine, because he has reduced the population by destroying the child in her womb. He must also pay money to the woman's husband. But if the woman dies from the blow, the man must also be put to death, because the law considers it just that a life be given for a life.

No Israelite may keep poison that can cause death or any other harm. Anyone found with such poison must be put to death and suffer the same harm he intended for the people against whom he prepared it.

Anyone who maims another person must suffer the same injury and lose the same body part. The injured person may choose to accept money instead. The law allows the person who suffered the injury to decide what it is worth, unless he chooses a harsher penalty.

The owner of an ox that gores someone must kill the animal. If the ox gores someone at the threshing floor, it must be stoned and must not be eaten. If the owner knew the ox was dangerous and failed to keep it penned up, he must also be put to death, because his failure allowed the ox to kill someone. If an ox gores a male or female servant to death, it must be stoned, and its owner must pay thirty shekels to the servant's master. If one ox kills another, both oxen must be sold, and their owners must divide the money.

Anyone who digs a well or pit must cover it with planks and keep it closed, not to prevent people from drawing water but to keep them from falling in. If someone's animal falls into an uncovered well or pit and dies, the person who dug it must pay the animal's owner its value. Put a railing around the roof of your house instead of a wall, to keep people from falling off and dying.

Anyone entrusted with another person's property must guard it as though it were sacred. No one may devise a way to deprive the owner of what was entrusted to him, whether the owner is a man or a woman, even if the dishonest person could gain a great deal of gold and no one could prove what he had done. A person's conscience should make him do what is right, since he knows what he holds in trust. Let his conscience bear witness for him and guide him to act in a way that earns the approval of others. Above all, he must remember God, from whom no wicked person can hide.

If someone loses entrusted property through no fault or deceit of his own, he must appear before seven judges and swear by God that he did not lose it deliberately or with evil intent, and that he did not use any part of it. He may then leave without blame. But if he used even a small part of what was entrusted to him and it was lost, he must repay everything he received.

The same rule applies when someone cheats people who work for him. Never withhold a poor person's wages. God has given those wages to the worker in place of land and other property. Pay them the same day they are earned, because God does not want a worker to be denied the immediate use of what he has worked for.

Do not punish children for their parents' sins. Because children were born to wicked parents, show them compassion for their own virtue rather than hatred for their parents' bad character. Nor should parents be blamed for their children's sins, since young people often choose to act against what they were taught, out of pride and a refusal to accept instruction.

Detest those who have made themselves eunuchs, and avoid all dealings with those who have deprived themselves of their manhood and of the power of generation that God gave men to increase their kind. Drive them away as though they had killed their children, since they have destroyed beforehand the means by which they might have had them. Their souls have become womanish, and they have made their bodies so as well. Treat in the same way anything else that is monstrous in appearance. It is not lawful to castrate men or any other animals.

Let these be your laws for governing the people in times of peace. Then God, in his mercy, will preserve this good order from disturbance. May no time ever come when anyone changes it and brings in the opposite. Yet mankind must face troubles and dangers, whether by accident or design. So let us set down a few laws for such times. If you know beforehand what you should do, you will have sound counsel ready when you need it. You will not have to search for guidance at the last moment and find yourselves unprepared and in danger.

Be a hardworking people. Train your souls in virtuous deeds, and you will possess and inherit the land without war. May no foreign people attack and trouble you, and may no rebellion within your own borders lead you to act against the ways of your fathers and abandon the laws they established. Continue to obey the laws God has approved and given you.

Whether war comes in your own time or in the days of your descendants, keep all military operations beyond your borders. Before you go to war, send envoys and heralds to those you intend to fight. It is right to speak with them before taking up weapons. Tell them that, though you have a great army, horses and weapons, and above all a merciful God ready to help you, you do not wish to be forced to fight them or take what belongs to them. Such a victory might profit you, but they would have no reason to want you to take their land.

If they listen to you, keep the peace with them. But if they trust in their own strength, believe it greater than yours, and refuse to do what is just, lead your army against them. Let God be your supreme commander, and appoint as your second in command the bravest man among you. Having several commanders only gets in the way when decisions must be made quickly, and it puts those who rely on them at a disadvantage.

Take a strong, carefully chosen army, made up of men with great physical strength and courage. Send away the fearful, so they do not flee in battle and give your enemies an advantage. Also excuse from service those who have recently built houses and have not yet lived in them for a year, and those who have planted vineyards but have not yet enjoyed their fruit. Let those who are engaged or newly married stay at home as well. They may love these things so much that they hold back in battle to preserve their lives for them, and become cowards for the sake of their wives.

When you make camp, take care not to act cruelly. If you besiege a city and need timber to build war machines, do not strip the land of its fruit-bearing trees. Spare them, remembering that they were made for people to use. If the trees could speak, they would have a fair case against you: they did not cause the war, yet you punish them for it. If they could, they would move to another land.

When you defeat your enemies in battle, kill those who fought against you, but spare the rest so they may pay tribute. Make an exception for the Canaanites, whom you must destroy completely.

During battle, make sure that no woman wears a man's clothing and no man wears a woman's clothing.

This was the form of government Moses left to us. He had also given the laws in writing in the fortieth year after the people came out of Egypt. We will discuss those laws in another book. In the days that followed, Moses repeatedly called the people together and gave blessings to those who obeyed the laws, and curses to those who disobeyed the duties laid down for them.

He then read them a song written in hexameter verse and placed it in the holy book. The song foretold what would happen in the future. Everything has happened, and continues to happen, just as it predicted, without any departure from the truth. Moses gave these books to the priest and placed them beside the ark. He also put inside the ark the Ten Commandments, written on two tablets. He gave the people the tabernacle as well.

Moses urged them not to forget the wrongs the Amalekites had done to them in the wilderness, but to make war against them and punish them. He also told them that, after taking possession of Canaan and destroying all its inhabitants, they must build an altar facing the rising sun, near the city of Shechem, between the two mountains, Gerizim on the right and Ebal on the left.

The army was to divide into two groups, with six tribes standing on each mountain, along with the Levites and the priests. Those on Mount Gerizim were to pray for blessings on all who faithfully worshiped God, obeyed his laws, and accepted Moses' teachings. Those on Mount Ebal were to join in wishing them every happiness. When the second group offered the same prayers, the first was to praise them. Then they were to pronounce curses on those who broke the laws, answering one another in turn to confirm each declaration.

Moses wrote down the blessings and curses so the people would learn them thoroughly and never forget them. As he prepared to die, he wrote them on both sides of the altar. The people stood there and offered sacrifices and burnt offerings, but from that day forward no other sacrifice was made on that altar, because it was not lawful. These are the laws of Moses, and the Hebrew nation still lives by them.

The next day, Moses summoned the whole people, including the women and children. Even the slaves were there. He required them to swear that they would obey these laws. They were to consider God's purpose in them carefully and never put anything above the laws, whether out of loyalty to their family, fear of anyone, or any other motive.

If one of their own people, or an entire city, tried to overthrow their government and laws, they were all to take revenge, as a community and as individuals. After defeating those responsible, they were to destroy their city to its foundations and, if possible, leave no trace of such madness. If they could not punish them in this way, they were still to show that they had not agreed with what was done. The people swore to do so.

Moses also taught them how to offer sacrifices in the way most pleasing to God, and how to go to war, using the stones in the high priest's breastplate for guidance, as I have already explained. Joshua prophesied while Moses was still alive.

After Moses had recalled all he had done to protect the people in war and peace, given them a body of laws, and established an excellent form of government, he foretold what God had declared would happen if they abandoned the laws of worship. Their enemies would fill the land with weapons of war, their cities would be destroyed, their temple would be burned, and they would be sold as slaves to merciless masters. They would repent then, but their suffering would make that repentance useless.

"Yet," Moses said, "the God who founded your nation will restore your cities to their people, along with your temple. You will lose these blessings more than once."

Moses encouraged Joshua to lead the army against the Canaanites, telling him that God would help him in all he did. Then he blessed the whole people and said:

"Since I am going to my forefathers, and God has appointed this day for my departure, I thank him while I am still alive and among you. His providence has freed us from the troubles we endured and brought us prosperity. He also helped me in all the work and plans I undertook for your good, and he has always shown favor to us. In truth, it was he who guided our affairs and brought them to a happy end, using me as his representative commander and servant in the work he wished to do for your benefit.

"So I think it right to bless the divine power that will care for you in the days to come. I owe him this thanks, and I want to leave behind a reminder that we must worship and honor him, and keep his laws. These laws are the greatest gift he has given us, and he may grant us others if he continues to favor us. A human lawgiver is a harsh enemy when his laws are scorned and made useless. May you never experience God's anger, which will follow if you neglect the laws your Creator has given you."

At the end of his life, Moses spoke these words and foretold what would happen to each tribe in the future. He also blessed them. The people broke into tears. The women beat their breasts, showing how distressed they were at his approaching death. The children grieved even more, unable to hold back their sorrow. Their grief showed that even at their age they understood his virtue and great deeds. Young and old seemed to compete over who would mourn him most.

The older people grieved because they knew they were losing a careful protector and feared for what lay ahead. The young mourned not only for that reason, but because they would lose him before they had truly experienced his goodness. The people's grief was so great that it overcame even Moses. He had always believed that he should not fear death, since it came by God's will and according to nature's law, but their sorrow made him weep too.

As he left for the place where he would disappear from their sight, everyone followed him in tears. Moses waved to those farther away and told them to stay behind quietly. He asked those close to him not to make his departure so sorrowful. They granted his wish and held back, though they continued to weep among themselves. The elders, Eleazar the high priest, and Joshua, their commander, went with him.

When they reached Mount Abarim, a very high mountain across from Jericho, where one can see much of the good land of Canaan, Moses sent the elders away. As he was about to embrace Eleazar and Joshua and was still speaking with them, a cloud suddenly covered him, and he disappeared in a valley. In the holy books, however, Moses wrote that he had died. He did this because he feared the people might claim that his extraordinary virtue had carried him up to God.

Moses lived for 120 years. He ruled the people for all but one month of a third of that time. He died on the first day of the last month of the year, called Dystrus by the Macedonians and Adar by us.

In understanding, he surpassed all men who had ever lived, and he made the best use of his gifts. He spoke to the people with great skill and grace. He had such control over his passions that he seemed to have none in his soul, and to know them only by name, as if he saw them in others but never felt them himself. He was a great general, a kind rarely seen, and a prophet unlike any other. Whatever he said seemed to be the very voice of God.

The people mourned him for thirty days. No grief had ever affected the Hebrews as much as Moses' death. Those who had known his leadership longed for him, and so did those who later read his laws. From those laws, they could understand the extraordinary virtue he possessed. This is enough to tell how Moses died.