LVI. (1) When the ten plagues with which the Egyptians
were smitten commenced, Siqrops fled from Egypt to the
city of Aqtes, in Greece, which he built as the Metropolis.
There he estabhshed the throne of the kingdom of the
So'anites, and became the first king of the Atinisim
(Athenians) — i.e., the So anites. After him there reigned
seventeen kings and nineteen princes, until the reign of
Cambyses, the son of Cyrus, King of Persia. (2) At the
end of the Book of Joshua it is written, ' So Joshua made
a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute
and an ordinance in Shechem.' Joseph ben Gorion asserts
in his book that when the heathen made a covenant, after
shedding the blood of the calf and sprinkling it upon the
ground, they used to say, ' Thus shall the blood of him
who breaks this covenant which we have made be shed.'
Joshua then issued a decree to the Israelites that they should
pour water upon the ground instead of blood, to fulfil the
command, ' Thou shalt not do according to their deeds.'
(3) In those days, in the time of Joshua, there lived a
certain man Eriqtonios, who was the first to construct
LVIL 3] 165
a chariot in Greece. And Cadmus, King of Egypt, went
from Thebes C^'5'ri) and came to Tyre and Sidon, and there
reigned. In the land of Greece there also reigned Cadmus
Europes Tahpanhes, and he called the name of the royal
city Tahpanhes.
(4) Now, Danaus had fifty sons, and they took to them
the fifty daughters of Egisates, their brother. But one
day one of the brothers arose, and, killing all the others,
reigned in their stead. (5) At that time, in the days of
Othniel, Cadmus reigned in Thebes, and the city of
Bitanya (^<^;Jt?n) was built by Tahpanhes. He first introduced
the letters of the Greek writing. The city of Epira
(riTQS), now called Corinthus, was also then built by Sisipo.
Minos, the son of Eoripi (^D^"l^i^''^?), reigned then in Crete
LVIL (1) Philo, the friend of Joseph, the son of Gorion,
has narrated in his book that after the death of Joshua the
Israelites did not possess a friend to lead them. So that
the Israelites asked the Lord, ' Who shall go up before us
to fight against the Canaanites as in the olden times?'
And the Lord replied, ' If the heart of this people is perfect
with the Lord, let Judah go up, but if not, nobody shall go
up.' ' But whereby shall we know the heart of the people?'
they asked further. And the Lord said, ' Draw lots accord-
ing to your tribes, and the tribe which the Lord shall take
shall assemble according to their families, and ye shall thus
know the heart of the people.' (2) The people then
addressed God, saying, ' 0 Lord, appoint over us a head
and a chief to assemble us for casting the lots, that he may
take us out and bring us in.' And the angel of God replied,
* Cast lots in the tribe of Caleb, and the person selected by
lot shall be to you the head and the chief.' They did so,
and the lot fell upon Kenaz. They therefore made him
a prince over Israel. Kenaz then said to the people,
* Bring me your tribes and hearken to the voice of the
Lord.' And they came to him.
(3) ' You know,' said he, ' that Moses, the servant of the
Lord, commanded you, saying, ''Ye shall not depart from
166 [LVII. 4
the way which I commanded you in the Torah, neither to
the right nor to the left;" this Joshua has also exhorted
you to do. (4) Now, hear and mark my words, for the heart
of the people is not with Him, and He has commanded us
each tribe to approach for the lot to be cast. Let not the
anger of the Lord be kindled against us. If I and my
house be caught, then burn us with fire.' ' Thou hast
spoken well,' answered the people. (5) Accordingly, the
tribes assembled before him by lot, and of the tribe of
Judah 345 men were taken, of Eeuben 540, of Simeon 335,
of Levi 350, of Isaachar 665, of Zebulun 545, of Gad, 380,
of Asher 665, of Menasseh 480, and of Ephraim 468.
(6) Thus, the total number of those that were caught by
lot was 6,110, all of whom Kenaz placed in a ward to inquire
the word of the Lord concerning them, and said, ' Of such
did Moses, the servant of the Lord, speak when he said,
" Lest there be among you a root, a poisonous plant or
wormwood," blessed be the Lord, who reveals our sins to
us that we may not stumble through them.' (7) And
Kenaz, and Eleazar the priest, and all the elders of the
assembly, prayed to the Lord, saying, * Thou, 0 Lord, hast
made known unto us the men who did not believe in Thy
wonders what Thou didst for our forefathers from the time
when Thou didst bring them forth from the land of Egypt
until this very day.' (8) And the Lord replied, ' Ask these
people now to confess their iniquity, and they shall be burnt
with fire.' And Kenaz addressed them thus, ' You know
that Achan ben Zabdi sinned by appropriating the devoted
spoil, was taken by lot and confessed his sin: do you also
make a confession unto the Lord, that ye may live with
those whom the Lord will revive at the resurrection of the
dead.'
(9) And one of them, whose name was Elah (n?^?),
answered, ' We shall only die once by this fire. Now ask
each tribe separately.' Kenaz thereupon commenced with
his own tribe, the tribe of Judah. And they said, ' Behold,
we have chosen to make a calf for ourselves, just as our
forefathers did in the wilderness.'
(10) Coming next to the tribe of Eenben, they said, ' We
have chosen to sacrifice to the gods of the nations.' The
children of Levi said, ' We desired to try and test if the
tabernacle is holy.' The children of Isaachar repHed,
*We desired to ask the idols what will become of us.'
(11) And the children of Zebulun, ' We wished to eat the
flesh of our sons and our daughters, to know whether
the Lord loved them.' The children of Dan rephed, ' We
desired to teach our sons what we learned from the
Amorites; behold, their books are hidden and concealed
under the Mount Ebarim, where thou wilt find them.' And
Kenaz sent for them and found them.
(12) Coming next to Naphtali, they answered, ' We have
done all that the Amorites have done, and hidden them (?)
in the tent of Elah, who requested thee to ask each tribe
separately.' And Kenaz sent for them and found them
there. (13) Then the sons of Gad said, ' We have lain with
the wives of our neighbours.' And the sons of Asher said,
* We found seven golden idols, which the Amorites called
''The holy ones of Ninfe," C^V^); and upon them were
many precious stones. We hid them beneath Mount
Shechem. Send thither now and thou wilt find them.'
He acted accordingly and found them. These were the
idols which informed the Amorites at certain periods the
deeds they should perform.
(14) Now, these are the names of the seven sinners that
made them after the Flood: Canaan, Phut, Shelah, Nimrod,
Elah, Diul, and Shuah. Nor was their work like that of
ordinary artificers. The precious stones they brought from
Havilah, where the bdelKum and the onyx are found.
These were the stones used by the Amorites for their idols.
In the night they shone as the light of day, and when the
blind Amorites kissed the idols and touched their eyes they
could see. Kenaz then placed them in a ward until he
knew what was to become of them. (15) Continuing his
questions, Kenaz came to Menasseh, who said, ' W^e have
not observed the Sabbath to sanctify it.' Ephraim answered,
* We have been pleased to pass our sons and our daughters
168 [LVIT. 16
through the fire, accordmg to the custom of the Amorites.'
And Benjamin said, ' We desired to test whether the law of
God emanated from God or from Moses.' Kenaz thereupon
entered all their replies in a book and recited them before
the Lord.
(16) And the Lord said, 'Take these men, and everything
that belongs to them, and bring them down to the river
Pishon. There shalt thou burn them with fire.' ' Shall
we also burn,' asked Kenaz, ' the precious stones which
are priceless or shall we dedicate them to Thee?' And
the Lord answered, ' If God would take of the accursed,
why then not also man ? (17) Take the books and the
precious stones and keep them until I make known to thee
what thou shalt do with them and how thou shalt destroy
them, because fire will not consume them; but the men
shall be consumed with fire. And they shall say to all the
people, *' Thus shall be done to the man who turneth his
heart away from the Lord." (18) When they are consumed
by the fire, then take the precious stones which fire will
not injure, and which iron will not break, and place them
on the top of the mountain by the side of the new altar,
and there I shall command the thick clouds to cause their
dew to fall upon them and thus destroy them; and I
shall command My angels to take these stones and cast
them into the depths of the sea, so that they shall no more
be seen, and to bring up to Me instead of them twelve
stones more precious than those. These thou shalt place
in the ephod and in the breast-plate, and sanctify them
to Me.'
(19) Accordingly Kenaz, fetching everything found upon
these sinners, said to the people, ' Ye have seen the
miracles and the wonders which the Lord has shown us
until this very day, and how He has made known unto us
these sinning men so that they have been requited according
to their deeds. (20) Now, cursed be the man who acts in the
same manner in Israel.' And the people answered, 'Amen.'
Thus those men perished in the flames. After this, Kenaz
wished to test the stones in the fire, but the fire was extin-
guished. He then took the iron and tried to crush them in
pieces, but the iron shpped away from them. (21) Even the
books he placed in water, in order to destroy them, but the
water became dry upon them. Kenaz then burst forth in
praise of God, saying, 'Blessed be the Lord, for this day He
has wrought miracles and wonders with the sons of man,
when they sinned and did not deny their guilt.' He then
took the stones and the books of the law, and placed them
•on the mount by the new altar, just as God had commanded
him; and upon the altar he offered sacrifices of peace-
offerings, and all the people ate there together.
(22) On that night the Lord did with those stones and
hooks just as He had spoken, and in the morning Kenaz
found twelve precious stones, upon which were engraved
the names of the sons of Israel. And the Lord said, ' Take
these stones and place them in the ark together with the
tables of the law, until Solomon shall have built a temple
dedicated to My name, and shall place them on two
<jherubim, and it shall be to Me as a memorial of the
children of Israel. (23) And it shall come to pass, when
the sin of the children of man shall have been completed
by defiling My temple, which they will have made, that I
shall take these stones, together with the tables of the law,
and shall put them in the place whence they were taken of
old, and there shall they remain until the end of the world,
when I shall visit the inhabitants of the earth; and then I
shall take them up, and they shall be as an everlasting hght
to those who love Me and keep My commandments. The
moon shall be confounded and the sun ashamed before that
light, for it shall be seven times more powerful than either
of them.' (24) Then Kenaz said, ' Behold the innumerable
good actions which God has done for man, and of which
they have been deprived through their sins; now I know
that man's work is nothing and his life vanity.'
(25) When he took the stones from the place where they
were put, they illumined the whole earth just as the sun
at noonday. He put them in the ark of the testimony,
together with the tables of the Covenant, just as the
170 [LVII. 26
Lord had commanded, and there they remain until this
very day.
(26) Having chosen 300,000 armed men of war, on the
second day he waged war with their enemies and slew of
them 5,000. On the third day the people spoke against
Kenaz, saying, ' Behold Kenaz stays in his house with his
wives and his concubines; whilst we arm ourselves for
battle and destroy our enemies.' (27) The servants of
Kenaz, hearing of this, told their master. And he
commanded them to summon before him the captains of
fifties, and ordered them to place those thirty-seven men in
prison who had spoken evilly against him; and they acted
accordingly.
(28) He then said, ' When the Lord shall work salvation
for His people, will I order the death of these men.' He
commanded the captains of the fifties, saying, 'Go and
choose 300 of my servants and 300 horses. Let it not
become known that we are going to battle, and let them be
ready to march with me to-night.'
(29) Sending spies to view the position of the Amorites'
encampment, they saw at once that the Amorites were too
mighty for the Israelites to fight against. The spies, there-
fore, returned and reported to Kenaz. (30) He rose up in
the middle of the night, holding a shofar in his hand, and
taking with him 300 men. "When he approached the camp
he said to his servants, ' Stay here while I alone go and look
at the camp of the Amorites; but as soon as you hear the
sound of the shofar, come to me, but if you do not hear it,
then return home.' (31) Kenaz thus went down to the camp
alone, and he prayed to God, saying, ' 0 Lord God of our
fathers. Thou hast shown Thy servants all the great wonders
which Thou hast performed: do Thou now likewise work
Thy miracles with Thy servant, and I will go to battle
against Thine enemy, that all the nations may know that
Thy hand is not too short to send salvation either by means
of a multitude or by a few, for Thou 0 Lord art mighty in
war.' (32) And Kenaz continued, ' Let this be the sign of
the salvation which Thou wilt show me this day. If when
I draw my sword from its sheath and brandish it so that it
glitters in the camp of the Amorites, the latter know that
I am Kenaz, I shall then know that Thou wilt deliver them
into my hand; and if not, then I shall know that Thou hast
not heard my prayer, but hast delivered me into the hand
of the enemy for my sins.' (33) After this Kenaz overheard
the Amorites say, ' Let us arise and fight against the
Israelites, for our holy gods Ninfe {'?^r^) are in their posses-
sion, and they will deliver them into our hands.' At that
moment the Spirit of God rested upon Kenaz, so that he
rose up, and brandished his sword against the Amorites;
and when they saw it they exclaimed, ' Behold, this is the
sword of Kenaz, to afflict us with wounds and gashes; but
we know that our gods which are with them will deliver
them into our hands. Now arise and give them battle.'
(34) When Kenaz heard their words, he went down to
the camp of the Amorites and smote them, and the Lord
sent the angel Gabriel to afflict the Amorites with blindness,
so that they killed each other. And Kenaz slew of them
45,000. (35) Now, when Kenaz had finished the slaughter,
it happened that his sword clave to his hand, and, noticing
an Amorite fleeing from the camp, he said to him, ' Behold,
thou knowest what I have done to the Amorites; now tell
me, pray, by what means I can separate my sword from my
hand.' And the Amorite answered, ' Slay a Hebrew and
pour his warm blood over thy hand, and it will be separated.'
Kenaz then slew that Amorite, and pouring his blood upon
his hand, separated it from his sword. Then returning to
his army, he found them all asleep, for a deep sleep had
fallen upon them, so that they did not know what Kenaz
had done in the night. When they awoke from their sleep
and saw the whole plain full of dead men they expressed
great astonishment; at which Kenaz said, 'Are the ways
of God like the ways of man ? The Lord hath sent salva-
tion through me to His people; now arise and return to
your tents.'
(36) As soon as all the Israelites heard of the salvation
which the Lord had wrought through the hand of Kenaz,
172 [LVII. 37
they went forth to meet him, saymg, ' Blessed be the Lord,
who appointed thee to be the captain of His people, for now
we know that the Lord has chosen His people.' And Kenaz
replied, ' Ask the men who were with me of the work I have
done.' On asking them, they rephed, ' As the Lord liveth,
we do not know, for we found the plain full of dead bodies.'
(37) After this Kenaz ordered the captains of the fifties to
bring forth the prisoners, that they might obtain a hearing.
When they were brought before him he said to them, ' Now,
what is the complaint you have against me?' And they
replied, ' Why dost thou ask us, seeing that the Lord has
delivered us into thy hands, and commanded that we should
be burnt, not for our complaint, but in connection with those
former men who confessed their iniquity. We were not found
out among the people when we had joined the sinners. It
was for this that the Lord has delivered us into your
hands.' Kenaz then said, ' Since you thus testify against
yourselves, why should I withhold you from your punish-
ment ?' They were, therefore, ordered to be burnt to death
in the flames. (38) Now, the days of the life of Kenaz were
drawing to a close, and he called the two prophets Pinehas
and Jabin, and also Pinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest,
and said to them, ' I know the heart of this people, for they
will turn from following the Lord. I therefore testify against
them.' And Pinehas said, ' Just as Moses and Joshua testi-
fied, so do I testify against them; for they prophesied con-
cerning the vineyard, the beautiful plantation of God which
did not know its planter, and did not recognise its worker,
so that the vineyard was destroyed and did not give forth its
fruit. These are the words which my father commanded me
to tell this people.' Kenaz then lifted up his voice and wept
aloud, as did all the elders and the people until the evening,
when they said, ' Is it for the iniquity of the sheep that the
shepherd must perish ? May the Lord have compassion
upon His inheritance that they may not work in vain.'
(89) And the Spirit of the Lord came upon Kenaz, so
that he prophesied, saying, * I have seen what I had not
hoped for, and have looked upon what I had not imagined.
(40) Behold, I saw a flame ^Yllicll did not burn, and I heard
in my dream the noise of the rushing of waters which had
no source and no way upon the mountains, and no base
in the air, but they appeared according to their form.
They had no fixed place, and since the eye does not know
what to see, how can the heart understand it ? (41) From
this flame which was not burning I saw a spark fly out and
remain in the air as a shield, as a spider's web in a beam.
Then I saw that this was the base and its source vomited
hot foam, and became changed to the foundation of the
deep, and ways (paths) were between the upper and lower
bases; there shone the hidden light, and beings, in the form
of men, were walking about. And then I heard a voice
saying, '' Between these foundations (bases) shall the sons
of man dwell 7,000 years, when the lower foundation shall
be destroyed, and the upper one which is like hot foam
shall be the foundation, and the light which is between them
and illumines the path of man is Jerusalem, and there the
men will dwell. But when the sons of man shall sin
against Me, and the time of their sinning shall have been
completed, then shall the spark be extinguished, and the
fountain dry up, and everything pass away." '
(42) When Kenaz had thus finished prophesying, the
spirit of his soul returned to him, and he no longer knew
what he had uttered in his prophecy. He then said to the
people, ' If such be the rest which the righteous obtain after
their death, it would be preferable for them to die at their
birth in this world and not sin.' And Kenaz died, and
Othniel his son arose in his stead.
