We know the big names – Abraham, Moses, David. But what about the supporting cast, the characters who, while not central to the main narrative, still managed to leave their mark, however faint, on the tapestry of tradition?
Today, we're diving into the story of one such figure: Zepho, King of Kittim.
His tale, as pieced together in Ginzberg's SAFE0 , is a wild ride involving political intrigue, monster slaying, and epic battles. It all starts with Zepho's relentless urging of King Agnias to invade Egypt, fueled by a deep-seated animosity toward Jacob's descendants. Agnias eventually relents, and a massive army is assembled.
Enter Balaam (yes, that Balaam), a mere fifteen-year-old at this point, but already renowned for his wisdom and magical prowess. Agnias asks him to foresee the outcome of the war, and Balaam, using wax figures and "magic water," predicts an Egyptian victory. Agnias, swayed by the divination, calls off the campaign.
Frustrated, Zepho flees to Kittim – a biblical designation often associated with Cyprus, or more broadly, the Mediterranean islands and coastal regions (Genesis 10:4). The people of Kittim welcome him with open arms, showering him with riches and offering him a prominent role in their military affairs.
Now, here’s where things get interesting. One day, while searching for a lost ox in the mountains, Zepho discovers a cave blocked by a massive stone. He smashes the stone and inside finds… well, a monster. Ginzberg describes it as "an animal formed like a man above and a he-goat below." Zepho, ever the hero, slays the beast, which had been terrorizing the local cattle. The grateful people of Kittim then institute a yearly festival in Zepho's honor, showering him with gifts and sacrifices.
But the story doesn't end there. Yaniah, the wife of King Agnias, falls ill, and her physicians attribute her sickness to the African climate. She longs for the water of the river Forma in her native Kittim. Agnias, desperate to cure his queen, goes to extraordinary lengths. He has the water shipped to Africa, and finding it superior to the local water, he builds a massive canal from Kittim to Africa, just to supply his wife with her preferred water source! He even imports earth and stone from Kittim to construct a palace for her. Talk about dedication!
Meanwhile, Zepho leads the Kittimites to victory against an African incursion. The people, impressed by his leadership, choose him as their king. His reign is marked by further military successes, including a campaign against the sons of Tubal and the "Islands of the Sea." He becomes a powerful ruler, and the people build him a grand palace.
But war is never far away. After a period of peace, the Africans invade Kittim, only to be soundly defeated by Zepho. Agnias, in desperation, assembles a massive army, joined by his brother Lucus. Zepho, facing overwhelming odds, appeals to his brethren in Seir for aid, but they refuse, having allied themselves with Agnias.
Outnumbered and facing annihilation, Zepho turns to the God of his ancestors. He prays for deliverance, invoking the covenant with Abraham and Isaac. God answers his prayer, and in a series of battles, Zepho decimates the African army.
Despite this divine intervention, Zepho, sadly, doesn't become a paragon of virtue. As the proverb says, "Out of the wicked cometh forth wickedness," and Zepho continues to follow the idolatrous ways of his adopted people.
The defeated Balaam flees to Kittim and is welcomed by Zepho. Emboldened by his success and fueled by his continued hatred of Jacob's descendants – especially now that Joseph and his generation had passed – Zepho plots revenge. He allies himself with Hadad, the king of Edom, and other nations, forming a massive army.
They clash with the Egyptians and a small contingent of Israelites in the Valley of Pathros. The Egyptians, distrustful of the Israelites, make a pact that backfires horribly. In the initial battles, the Egyptians are routed, but when the Israelites finally join the fray, they unleash a devastating counterattack, sending Zepho's forces into disarray. The Egyptians, instead of helping, flee and even attack their Israelite allies.
So, what do we make of Zepho, King of Kittim? He's a complex figure – a warrior, a leader, a monster slayer, but also a man driven by vengeance and ultimately, a failure to embrace the God who saved him. He reminds us that even those who experience divine intervention can still stray from the path of righteousness. And perhaps, that the stories we choose to tell, and the figures we elevate, reflect not just history, but our own values and aspirations.
All this time Zepho did not leave off urging Agnias to invade Egypt, and he succeeded finally in persuading the king to consider his wish, and a great army was equipped against Egypt and the sons of Jacob. Among the shieldbearers was Balaam, the fifteen year old son of Beor, a wise youth and an adept in magic, and the king bade him acquaint him with the issue of the war upon which they were entering. Balaam took wax and moulded the figures of men, to represent the army of Agnias and the army of the Egyptians, and he plunged them into magic water and let them swim, and it appeared that the African army was subdued by the Egyptians. Agnias accordingly gave up the campaign, and Zepho, seeing that his sovereign could not be persuaded into war with the sons of Jacob, fled the country and betook himself to Kittim. The people of Kittim received him with great honors, and they offered him much money to stay with them and conduct their wars. It happened once while Zepho was in the mountains of Koptiziah, where the inhabitants of Kittim had taken refuge before the troops of the African king, that he had to go on a search for an ox that had strayed away, and he discovered a cave the opening of which was barred by a great stone. He shivered the stone in pieces, and entering the cave he saw an animal formed like a man above and a he-goat below, and he killed the strange beast, which was in the very act of devouring his lost ox. There was great rejoicing among the people of Kittim, for the monster had long been doing havoc among their cattle, and in gratitude they set aside one day of the year, which they called by Zepho's name, in honor of their liberator, and all the people brought him presents and offered sacrifices to him. At this time it came to pass that Yaniah, the wife of King Agnias, fell into a grievous sickness, and the physicians ascribed her illness to the climate, and to the water of Africa, to which she, a native of the land of Kittim, could not get accustomed, because she had been in the habit of using the water of the river Forma, which her forefathers had drawn to her house through a conduit. Agnias sent to the land of Kittim and had some of the water of the Forma brought to Africa. Finding it much lighter than the water of his own country, he built a huge canal from the land of Kittim. to Africa, and the queen henceforth had all the Forma water she needed. Besides, he took earth and stone from Kittim, and built a palace for Yaniah, and she recovered from her illness. Meantime Zepho had won a decisive victory over the African troops that had made an incursion into the land of Kittim, and the people chose him as king. His first undertaking was a campaign against the sons of Tubal and the Islands of the Sea, and again he was successful, he subdued them completely. On his return, the people built a great palace for Zepho, and they renewed his kingship, and he continued until his death to reign as king of Kittim and of Italy. During the first thirteen years of his reign, the Africans made no attempt to disturb the peace of Kittim, but then they invaded the land, only to be severely repulsed by Zepho, who pursued the troops up to the very borders of Africa, and Agnias the king was in such consternation that he did not venture to make reprisals for some time. When he finally made a second attempt, his troops were annihilated by Zepho down to the very last man. Now Agnias, in despair, assembled all the inhabitants of Africa, as numerous as the sand on the sea-shore, and he united his great host with the army of his brother Lucus, and thus he made his third attempt upon Zepho and the people of the land of Kittim. Alarmed, Zepho wrote to his brethren in Seir, and entreated their king Hadad to send him aid. But the people of Seir had concluded an alliance with Agnias as far back as under their first king Bela, and they refused Zepho's request, and the king of Kittim had to face the host of eight hundred thousand men mustered by Agnias with his little band of three thousand. Then the people of Kittim spake to their king Zepho, saying: "Pray for us unto the God of thy ancestors. Peradventure He may deliver us from the hand of Agnias and his army, for we have heard that He is a great God, and He delivers all that trust in Him." Zepho prayed unto the Lord, saying: "O Lord, God of Abraham and Isaac, my fathers, this day may it be made known that Thou art a true God, and all the gods of the nations are vain and useless. Remember now this day unto me Thy covenant with Abraham our father, which our ancestors related unto us, and do graciously with me this day for the sake of Abraham and Isaac, our fathers, and save me and the sons of Kittim from the hand of the king of Africa, who hath come against us for battle." God gave ear unto Zepho's prayer, and in the first day's battle one-half of the African army fell. Agnias forthwith dispatched a decree to his country, ordering, on penalty of death and confiscation of property, that all the males of the land, including boys that bad passed their tenth year, were to join the army and fight against the people of Kittim. In spite of these new accessions, three hundred thousand strong, Agnias was beaten again by Zepho in the second battle. The African general Sosipater having fallen slain, the troops broke into flight, at their head Agnias with Lucus the brother and Asdrubal the son of Agnias. After this dire defeat the Africans made no further attempt to disturb the peace of Kittim, and their incursions ceased forever. In spite of the great victory that Zepho had won with the help of God, the king of Kittim walked in the idolatrous ways of the people whom he ruled, and in the ways of the sons of Esau, for, as saith the proverb of the ancients, "Out of the wicked cometh forth wickedness," and Zepho was not other than the rest of the sons of Esau. The severe defeat inflicted upon Agnias drove Balaam from Africa to Kittim, and he was received with great honors by Zepho, who welcomed him on account of his deep wisdom. Now Zepho thought the time had arrived for him to carry out his plan of vengeance against the posterity of Jacob, all the more as in the meantime Joseph had died, and also his brethren and the valiant men of Pharaoh had passed away. He was joined in the enterprise by Hadad, the king of Edom, and by the nations of the East and the Ishmaelites. The allied army was so vast that the space it covered as it stood in rank and file was equal to a three days' journey. It formed in battle array in the Valley of Pathros, and it was met by three hundred thousand Egyptians and one hundred and fifty Israelites from Goshen. But the Egyptians did not trust the Israelites, they feared their defection to the sons of Esau and Ishmael. They therefore made an agreement with them that the Israelites were not to come to the help of the Egyptians until it appeared that the enemy were getting the upper hand Zepho, who had a high opinion of Balaam's ability, desired him to use his magic arts and find out what would be the outcome of the war, but Balaam's knowledge failed him, he could not satisfy the king's wish. The Egyptians got the worst of the first encounter between the two hostile armies, but the aspect of things changed as soon as they summoned the Israelites to aid them. The Israelites prayed to God to support them with His help, and the Lord heard their prayer. Then they threw themselves upon Zepho and his allies, and after they had cut down several thousand men, such dismay and confusion took hold of the enemy that they fled hastily, pursued by the Israelites as far as the boundary of the country. The Egyptians, instead of coming to the assistance of the Israelites, had taken to flight, leaving the small band of their allies to dispose of the huge host of their adversaries. Embittered by such treatment, the Israelites slew as many as two hundred Egyptians, under the pretext that they thought they belonged to the enemy.
