The contest before King Darius began with the first prince arguing that nothing on earth is as powerful as a king. According to the Chronicles of Jerahmeel, a 12th-century Hebrew chronicle translated by Moses Gaster in 1899, he pointed to the king's absolute command: armies march at his word, cities fall, mountains are hewn down, fields are ploughed, and no one dares frustrate his orders.
The second prince countered that wine is stronger than any king. The moment a ruler drinks freely, wine overpowers him. It makes him sing and dance and reveal secrets. It turns him against his kin and makes him embrace strangers. It gives courage to the bashful and fury to the peaceful. And when the wine wears off, a man remembers nothing he has done.
Zerubbabel rose last and dismantled both arguments. Yes, the king is powerful and wine is strong, but woman surpasses them both. She gives birth to the king, suckles him, rears him, and disciplines him. When she lifts the rod, he runs. When a young man sees a beautiful woman, he abandons father and mother for her sake. Men steal, rob, cross seas, and shed blood for woman. She subdued Samson, enticed David, and inclined the heart of Solomon. Even Adam, father of all mankind, was persuaded by his wife to transgress God's word. Even the heavenly angels in the days of Noah were led astray and took mortal women.
Then Zerubbabel delivered the final blow. King, wine, and woman are all vanity. But truth reigns supreme in heaven and on earth, in the seas and in the depths. Where truth dwells, wickedness cannot abide. The heavens and the earth are founded upon truth, and God is true forever. The entire court erupted: "It is true!" The king kissed Zerubbabel before all the people and declared, "Blessed be the Lord God of Zerubbabel, who hath given him the spirit of truth."
LXXV. (1) And the first answered and said, ' 0 my lord
the king, princes and mighty men, do ye not know the
power of the king and the strength of his dominion over all
the earth, over the sea, the isles, and over all languages ?
to slay or to keep alive ? If he commands an army to
march forth, they march forth armed; they turn not their
heads, though they may stand face to face with death.
If he command them to overthrow cities, they overthrow
them; if to hew down mountains, or to pull down walls,
they obey. If he command them to plough for him, they
plough; they sow and reap his produce, for they fear the
wrath of the king, who is mighty and lord over all, and no
one dares frustrate his word; therefore believe ye my words
that there is no one on earth so powerful as a king.' All
the bystanders were astonished at his speech.
(2) The second now replied, saying, ' Though ye know
the power of a king and the strength of his might, for
he has dominion and rules over the land; yet wine is
stronger than a king. It is true he has great power, but as
soon as he drinks freely of wine, it overpowers him and
inclines his heart to other things, he sings, plays and
dances, for his heart is turned by the wine, so that he
repulses his kin, approaches strangers, slays his friends,
and confers honour upon strangers, and respects neither
his father nor mother. (3) Do ye not know that such is
the power of wine, when a man is drunk he cannot learn,
but is rather prone to singing; he whispers to his
neighbour and reveals secrets, and hidden things drop out
of his mouth. Men full of sorrow the wine makes glad,
Lxxv. 5] 227
and even if mourners and those whose hearts are grieved
drink thereof, they rejoice and are merry. The drmiken
one draws his sword against his neighbom-, and he gets
fierce, and bashful men it makes bold. But when the
wine has disappeared from them, they have forgotten all,
and say, " We have not done this thing." Is thus wine
not stronger than a king, as it rules over him; it makes
man walk crookedly, he cannot see straight, and he con-
tinues babbling things which he has not learned. Do ye
not think that wine is therefore more powerful than a king,
for such it does ?' Thereat the men were greatly surprised.
(4) After that the king summoned Zerubbabel, and said,
* Tell me, I pray thee, thy riddle and its interpretation, as
thy friends have done.' And he answered and said, ' Give
ear and hearken unto me, 0 king and princes, governors
and rulers, and all ye who stand here. Indeed, the
king is stronger and greater than all; it is true that
wine weakens the king through its strength, as my friends
have said. Thus the power of both the king and wine
cannot be denied; but woman is yet more powerful than
either king or wine or any other strong drink. For why
should she not be more powerful than the king ? Did she
not give birth to him, suckle him, sustain him, rear him,
clothe him, wash him, and sometimes chastise him ? Did
she not rule over him as a mother does the child of her
womb ? When she was angry with him, did he not fear her
rebuke? Did she not sometimes beat him and at other
times censure him ? If she lifted the rod to him, did he
not run away from her in fear of her ? Moreover, when
he grows up to be a young man, he cannot forget his
instructress, nor will rebel against her call. He always
respects her as a son honours her who conceived him.
(5) ' Then looking about him, he beholds a woman fair to
look upon, and desires her beauty to sport with. His
heart inclines towards her, and he will not change his
love for her for all the riches. It is then that he leaves
his father and mother, forsaking them for her love and
her beauty, and many are they that have been led astray
15—2
228 [LXXV. 6
through the love of woman; many are they that have
acted fooHshly, and become mad for her sake; and many
that have met their death for the sake of woman, and have
fallen for her pride down into hell. Wise men also have
been caught in her net, and much hatred has the frivolous
one caused among brothers. Do ye not know and under-
stand that if a man sees a comely woman, and he carries
in his hands goodly things, will not his eyes gaze upon
her, for his heart inclines towards her? If she answers
him when he speaks to her on account of her beauty, will
he not leave everything that he keeps in his hands to speak
to her ? for his heart is drawn near to her.
(6) ' Who is there that will not believe this, and confess
the truth of this power of woman ? Tell me, for whom do
ye steal, for whom do ye rob, and for whom do ye gird
yourselves — is it not for woman? Is it not for her that
ye buy all the precious ornaments ? is not the myrrh and
the aloe for her ? are not all the spices, perfumed oils, and
frankincense for her ? If a man break into a house, if
he keeps the high roads, goes on the sea, on dry land, on
the mountains; if he fight, commit murder, rob, plunder,
and shed blood, to whom will he bring his spoil, if not to
woman? Have I not seen the concubine of the King
Apumasia (^<^^^*D1D^5), the daughter of Abyaush (CMN^n.s) of
Makeden, take the crown of honour from off the king's head
and place it on her own head, while he was seated on the
throne beside her, and the king was pleased wdth her ?
But when she became angry, did not the king then hasten
to appease her, and to reconcile her, and remove her
anger ?
(7) ' Who, then, is there that will not believe that
woman's power is stronger than everything ? She subdued
Samson, enticed David, and inclined the heart of Solomon
towards her. Many are her captives, and innumerable are
those that are slain through her, and their number increases.
And even if there be one man who rules the whole world,
and before whose wrath all people tremble and shake,
since he would be supreme, and although man is appointed
Lxxvi. 1] 229
to be the jDrmce, ruler, and king over her, and to her is
given the desire of him, yet not even he would be able to
conquer her and to rule over her. Even Adam, the father
of all mankind, was induced by his wife to transgress the
word of God, by which she destined him and his offspring
to death. Also, in the days of Noah, the heavenly angels
were led astray and took to them women. Who does not
believe that this is known from the very beginning of the
world, and will last to the end unaltered? This is the
truth that I utter.
(8) ' Now, finally, let it be known to the king and to all
my hearers that all is vanity here — the king who rules the
earth, the wine that rules the king, and woman with her
iniquity, who rules the three; but truth reigns supreme
in heaven and on earth; in the seas and in the depths truth
prevails before God and man; for where truth dwells
there wickedness cannot abide, for the heavens and the
earth are founded upon truth, and the Lord our God is
true for ever.'
(9) After this all the people assembled there before the
king exclaimed, 'It is true.' Then said the king to
Zerubbabel, ' Come near to me.' When he approached, the
king kissed him and embraced him in the presence of all the
people, and said, ' Blessed be the Lord God of Zerubbabel,
who hath given him the spirit of truth, for there is nothing
like God's truth; everything else is vanity.' And the princes
also exclaimed, ' Indeed, truth is greater than all things;
nor can one stand up against it since it dwells in the
heaven and in the earth, and upon it is everything based.
True is the God of Zerubbabel, who hath given him the
spirit of truth to praise and to glorify truth before God and
man.'
