RECORD OF THE REMOVAL OF THE CHILDREN OF ESRÂIL FROM THE DESERT OF FÂRÂN AND GOING TO THAT OF FÂRISH. THE COMBAT OF MÛSA WITH THE GIANTS OF SYRIA, AND THE MISFORTUNE OF THE CHILDREN OF ESRÂIL IN WANDERING ABOUT, AND THE EVENTS THAT HAPPENED IN THOSE TIMES.

The author of the ‘Zubdat-ut-tovârikh’ relates, that after Mûsa and the children of Esrâil had remained seventy-nine days in the desert of Fârân, orders were issued on the 9th of the month Ab to get the army ready to march to Syria, to deliver the Holy Land from the hands of the giants and A’mâlekites, and to take possession of it without entertain­ing any apprehensions on account of the great statures, strong bodies and valour of the tyrants, because divine guardianship and celestial victory would aid the professors of monotheism. Mûsa made, according to divine inspira­tion, all the preparations necessary for attacking the A’mâlekites, after the completion whereof he marched with the army and the people of Esrâil to the country of the oppressors, to deliver the Holy Land from whose grasp was his uppermost and paramount thought. There is, however, a variety of opinions among theologians about the meaning of the expression ‘Holy Land.’ Some assert that it is the ‘Holy House’ [i.e. the city of Jerusalem] and Ailiat, whilst others allege it to be the country around Mount Sinai. Others, again, state that it points to Filisteen and to the vicinity of Ardan [the river Jordan]; but some call the whole of Syria the Holy Land.

After taking notice of the above differences in the tradi­tions, it is related that when the Esrâilites arrived in the vicinity of the country of that nation [i.e. of the A’mâle­kites], they halted in the desert of Fârish. Mûsa ordered the twelve individuals, whom he had [by the advice of Shoa’ib on a previous occasion] appointed to be the chieftains of the people, to depart for the purpose of examining the ways of the A’mâlekites, and to return after having obtained cognizance of their positions. They accordingly went to that country, and when they reached the capital of the oppressors, the most current tradition informs us that they met A’vuj, the son of A’naq, who was distinguished by the strength and corpulency of his body. But as the tyrants had previously obtained information that people would arrive to wage war against them, A’naq immediately seized the twelve chiefs, and placing them in his sleeve according to one tradition, or throwing them into the skirts of his garment, according to another, he proceeded to the king, in whose presence he dropped them upon the ground, saying: ‘O king, these men belong to the army which has come to attack us.’ It is said that the stature of each of the just-mentioned chiefs was not less than ten cubits in height, and from five to six in breadth, but by the side of those A’adites* they appeared smaller than sparrows. After the chiefs had found their way back to the sons of Esrâil, either by flight or by stratagem, they agreed, whilst on the road, not to reveal to anyone, except to Mûsa and to Harûn, what they had seen of the terrible and gigantic bodies of those tyrants, lest the children of Esrâil who were weak in body and mind, and possessed no spirit of enterprise, might, on being informed about their enemies, refuse to wage war against them, and thereby subject themselves to misfortunes. When, however, the chiefs had returned to the camp, ten of them broke their promise and told the people of Esrâil all about the innate bravery and strength of body of the A’adites, and only two of the chiefs, namely Kalûb, the son of Yofunna, and Yoshua’, the son of Nûn, kept the secret. The army of Mûsa having thus been informed about the A’mâlekites, refused to fight them, despite all the entreaties, flatteries and promises of victory with which Mûsa and Harûn plied them; neither could the persuasions of Yoshua’ and Kalûb, who extolled Syria, and assured them that the giants might be easily conquered, make any impression upon them. The children of Esrâil said: ‘God forbid that we should ever enter that region, the inhabitants whereof we would be unable to combat!’ To Mûsa they said: ‘If thou desirest to possess and to govern that country, go thou and thy Lord and combat them ye both; we shall remain here.’ The wrath of Mûsa being incensed against the rebellious people, he bowed down his head in prayer, and said: ‘O Lord, I have no power over anyone except over myself and my brother; therefore separate us from this wicked nation.’ Yoshua’ and Kalûb were like­wise utterly distressed by the folly and obstinacy of the people. They tore their garments, bent their heads in adoration and complained to the Lord of Magnificence. Then all of a sudden a cloud appeared in the atmosphere, from which they heard the following words: ‘O Mûsa, how long will the children of Esrâil be rebellious, and how long will they deny My evident signs? Do they not know that I am able to annihilate them in less than the twinkling of an eye, and that I may create for thee another and a greater multitude?’ Mûsa continued: ‘O Lord, if Thou wilt in the height of Thine anger, and in the culmination of Thy revenge, destroy this nation, Thy kingdom will suffer no diminution; but any nation that will hereafter hear of the extirpation and annihilation of this people, will attribute their chastisement to the consequences of my sup­plications.’

It is said that after Mûsa had failed to induce his people to wage war, the Almighty intended to destroy them, but Mûsa said: ‘O Lord, Thy long-suffering is great, Thy bounty is abundant, and Thou art forgiving; pardon them, therefore, and destroy them not suddenly.’ Then the allocution again came: ‘O Mûsa, I have complied with thy request, and have pardoned their transgression for thy sake; but as thou hast called them “wicked,” I swear by My glory and majesty, that I shall, with the exception of My chosen servants, namely thyself, thy brother Harûn and Yoshua’, cause all the sons of Esrâil to go astray, and to wander about in despair and awe in this desert. I shall cause the wailings and the lamentations they utter to become an ordinance among them, that they and their children may every year bemoan the sudden deaths of these people; and I shall, after causing them to spend a miserable life, scatter their bones in this same desert.’ After the termination of this speech the members of the bodies of the ten men who had divulged the information about the A’mâlekites in the camp separated from each other; their corpses melted, and flowed away like water. But the children of Esrâil remained in that desert subject to a migratory existence, in which they lost everything they possessed, and finally their very lives also.

Mûsa, Harûn, and Yoshua’, the son of Nûn, went to the country of the A’mâlekites, but the children of Esrâil returned in the direction of Egypt. They started in the morning, and incessantly marched till sunset; but on look­ing well round they found themselves in the place from which they had departed. On the second day they attempted to overtake Mûsa, with the intention of pro­pitiating his exalted nature by means of flatteries and apologies, and of conquering the land of the A’mâlekites with his co-operation; but all their efforts were frustrated, and they discovered in the evening that they had again returned to the same place, and continued to roam about in the desert. It is said that the wanderings of the children of Esrâil were confined to the country about Filisteen, the Ardan, and Egypt, the extent of which did not exceed twelve, and according to another tradition fifty-six, Farsakhs in length.

When Mûsa and his companions entered the country of the Amâlekites, the first man whom they met was A’vuj, the son of A’naq; but on coming up with him Mûsa began to leap, and struck him with his staff on the ankle, so that he fell to the ground, and surrendered his life to the owner of hell. After killing A’vuj Mûsa hastened with his friends towards the children of Esrâil, and finding them in their accustomed place, he said: ‘O people, I went, and the Lord Almighty—w. n. b. e.—has granted me His aid, and has bestowed upon me force enough to slay a man, the like of whom in tallness of stature and strength of body did not exist on God’s earth. Had I continued, I might have vanquished the whole land; but I did not wish to enter that country without you. Be of good cheer. Let us depart and occupy Syria.’ The sons of Esrâil then explained to Mûsa their circumstances and wanderings, whereby he was grieved, but at the same time awed, at the speedy fulfilment of the threat of the Lord Almighty; he also bemoaned the helplessness of the people. Then the allocution was heard: ‘Despair not of the wicked people.’ As they had spent all their provisions in that desert, and had nothing in store, they informed his lordship. Thereon Mûsa prayed, and the Lord Most High produced manna,* or something like it, on the brambles of that region, which they plucked from them and con­sumed. He likewise granted to them birds like partridges,* that sat down near them, and anyone who liked took, roasted, and ate them; and this species of bird exists till this day in that desert. When they were overpowered by thirst they asked Mûsa for water, and by divine inspiration he placed a stone which he always carried about with him on the gate of the Holy House; and after having assembled the elders, with the chiefs of the children of Esrâil, he prayed, and struck the stone with his staff, whereon twelve fountains gushed forth therefrom, accord­ing to the number of the tribes, each of which then made use of one. The Jews called this rock ‘the big stone’; they imagined that it was very large, and conveyed it from place to place on quadrupeds. It is also said that when­ever they departed the water ceased to flow, and that every time they halted the stone was set up near the gate of the Holy House, whereon the water again bubbled forth, and the governors of the tribes caused twelve large brooks to flow into their habitations. In this manner they spent their lives in difficulties, and travelled every day two Farsakhs in that desert. Mûsa nevertheless exhorted them to gratitude towards the Almighty.

Hemistich:

Because many toils are better than the toil [of eternal perdition].

The time of the Esrâilites passed as just narrated, until some of them had one day, contrary to the divine command, collected more than one day’s provision of manna and of quails, although Mûsa had warned them that they would thereby incur the wrath of God. They, however, paid no attention, but gathered a quantity sufficient for a whole month and more. On account of this disobedience they became subject to the wrath of the Lord God, who thereon cut them off from all the favours of His bounty. When their flames of hunger were kindled by the absence of food, they waited on Mûsa, spread out the surface of apologies before him, and began to supplicate him. By reason of his meek and kind disposition he accepted their excuses, and prayed to the Almighty, so that the portals of His bounty were again opened to the people as before. On that occasion Mûsa fixed a measure, which was called ‘marzabân’ [sic], and ordered that more than one of these ought not to be taken daily by anyone, except on Friday, when they were allowed to make provision for the Sabbath likewise. He also commanded the people to make their collection in the morning; whoever failed to do so lost his portion for that day, and any person collecting more than one marzabân lost it by its becoming impregnated with a bad smell. When, on another occasion, the people com­plained about their nakedness, and about that of their families, Mûsa prayed, and the command arrived that they should wash their garments in the fountains gushing from the stone, that they might again become new; and when they turned greasy and soiled, they were to be thrown into fire, that they might again recover their purity and white­ness. After that, by the decree of the Eternal Will, every infant was born with garments, which became larger in pro­portion as the child grew, and fitted the body in length and breadth. They lived in this way for some time, but finally went to Mûsa and said: ‘For a long period of time our food has consisted of manna and quails. We cannot subsist on these for ever. We require onions, greens and vegetables, and terrestrial food; pray that we may obtain some of it, and be gladdened thereby.’ Mûsa, being displeased by this demand, said, by way of reproach: ‘Do you wish to exchange that which is good for that which is worse? Get ye down into Egypt, and you will obtain what you ask.’* Alas for the foolish people who prefer terrestrial vegetables to the heavenly table, and who prefer corporeal food to a celestial banquet! Mûsa and Harûn, astonished at the folly of the children of Esrâil, and at the hardness of their hearts, meditated to go away and to leave those fools to their own fate; but as patience and endurance are incum­bent upon prophets, they paid no attention to these dismal insinuations of the people, took hold of the handle of patience and confidence, and waited for the command of God. A short time afterwards the Omnipotent Avenger, whose majesty is exalted, sent despair, poverty, and misery upon the children of Esrâil, and their affliction increased day by day; so that, after the completion of forty lunar years which they spent in the desert of Fârish, all the men between the ages of twenty and fifty years died, not one of them surviving except Yoshua’ and Kalûb. It is related that as many of the children of Esrâil as perished during the above period, so many were also born; so that on ceasing their wanderings, and when the census of the hosts of Esrâil was taken, the number was found precisely the same as when they entered the desert. This took place by the power of the Beneficent Sovereign.