be upon him-while he and his assembly were weeping at the door of the tabernacle, and seized in his hand a lance and bursting in upon them thrust through the man and girl-I mean the daughter of the king--and dispatched them, assuredly would the wrath of the Creator have destroyed the whole people; but by this action he removed and warded off the Divine anger from the children of Isrâîl. And to Fînahas-peace be upon him-there resulted from this noble fame and an excellent remembrance, and a covenant to the end of the ages. And praise be to God the Creator without cessation!

CHAPTER V.

THE HISTORY OF MIDYAN.

WHEN the stratagem of Bila'âm against the children of Isrâîl was accomplished and there had perished of them this great number, and they had been overtaken by this calamity, God revealed to the prophet Mûsa-peace be upon him -that he should take vengeance for the children of Isrâîl upon the people of Midyan, before that he should return to his elements (meaning by this, before his decease). So he commanded Yûsh'â the son of Nûn, at the time of his investing him with his successorship, that he should go forth with the company which he specially mentioned, and with him Fînahas, the imâm, for he had gained the victory and a name, and he it was who had averted the Divine anger, and not anyone else, for he had hastened to obey his Lord. Now Bila'am had returned unto the king of Mâb to congratulate him over the calamity of

1 Note 26.

the children of Isrâîl, and he found the kings collected together and indulging in joy and merriment, and before they were aware, 12,000 men had surrounded their city, whereupon they made haste in sending out the harlots with ornaments and censers and perfumes, taking for granted that what they had made a successful beginning in would be carried out to perfect completion. But they (i. e., the Israelites) slaughtered these (the women) with the sword. Then Fînahaspeace be upon him-with his cousin, went in advance and sounded with the trumpets, and the walls of the fortress fell down in ruins, and the army entered into Midyan, and they killed simultaneously the five kings and every man whom they found in it. And they began to make inquiries about Bila'âm, and they found him in a house of worship, and, lo, he was engaged in worship and was performing service. And they brought him out, and he was talking in speech that was unintelligible and could not be understood, because of the greatness of his confusion and bewilderment and the aberration of his mental faculties. And Yûshâ, the son of Nûn, exerted himself to preserve him alive, that our master Mûsa-the peace of God be upon him-might behold him; but they of the tribe of Shima ûn who beheld him were not obedient, nay, even, they cried out the Law against him, and put him to death.2 And Yûshâ said: "Who killed him? Why have ye done this, seeing we had taken him under our protection? And they said unto him: "O our master, there should be no protection granted to an infidel, nor security to a sorcerer; had we not killed him, he might have effected the accomplishment of a stratagem against thee and against thy

2 Note 27.

people. And we have dared to go contrary to thee in killing him, because of what was in our hearts concerning his deed, and if there be sin in our action in violating the protection accorded to him, lo, we assume it; but to our master belongs such exalted sentiments that he will look with

master

liberality upon our excuse." And he approved of what they said and justified their action. And the people plundered Midyan, and drove away its cattle and took captive its women and children; and not a thing remained in it but they took it. And they returned laden with booty, victorious and safe; not a single man of them was missing. And our master Mûsa, the prophet-peace be upon him—with el-'Azar (Eleazar), the imâm, the son of Hârûn (Aaron), and a crowd of the chiefs went out to meet them. And when they beheld what there was among their number of captive women, our Mûsa, the Prophet-upon him be the most excellent peace became angry at them, and said to them: "This crowd has been the cause of your destruction." Thereupon he commanded them to kill every woman who had known a man, and every boy child, and that none should remain except female children who had not known a man; and that they, together with the company that was with them, should separate themselves seven days for the purpose of purification. And they did so. And the number of the female captives who remained over after those who were killed, was thirty-two thousand girls; and of sheep there was 675,000 head, and of cattle there was 72,000 head; and of horses and mules and camels, 61,000 head; and of gold and silver and vessels and general goods, such a quantity as is impossible to define and describe. But, more wonderful than this, was the unharmed condition of the 12,000 men who had entered a

province such as this was, without the loss of a single man of them, or even one of them being overtaken by the blow of a sword or hit with a stone. Blessed be God, the One who is able to do whatsoever He pleaseth, and of Him do I ask assistance, and upon Him do I put my trust, and unto Him do I return penitently.

CHAPTER VI.

THE ACCOUNT OF WHAT OUR MASTER MUSA, THE PROPHET-PEACE BE UPON HIM-EXPOUNDED, BEFORE HIS DEATH.

WHEN God informed our master Mûsa, the Prophet, of the time when he could no longer remain alive, He commanded him to go up unto the mountain known as Nabah (Nebo). And he (Moses) proceeded to give instructions to Yûshân, the son of Nûn, and to the children of his brother, and to the assembly of the leaders, with regard to all necessary matters. And they remained with him some time, along with all the officers of the army and the people of wisdom; and he put them under a covenant that they would go with the children of Isrâîl in the way which he had commanded unto them, and not swerve from it either to the right or to the left; and he ordered the priests to sound upon the trumpets, and to send forth heralds who should proclaim throughout the congregation of the children of Isrâîl: "Whoever desires to see our master Mûsa the Prophet-the most excellent, peace be upon him-let him come, that he may hear his blessing and whatever he shall reveal, and look upon him and bid him farewell, before he goes to the place which God has chosen for him." Thereafter he entered into the tabernacle and

offered on the brazen altar the sacrifices, and lifted up the veil, even the veil of the holy house, and cast incense upon the golden altar, and worshipped his Lord; and then he bid farewell to the temple and what there was in it of omnipotence and divine majesty, and went out. And all the children of Isrâîl according to their ranks were gathered together unto him, and he sat down upon an exalted seat, as was his custom, whereon he was elevated above the people, and the light of his countenance shone as the rays of the sun. And he began to deliver an address unto the congregation of the children of Isrâîl, in which he gathered together just as many as a servant of God could, of passages of praise to God, whose names are holy and in it he expounded intelligence of the days of Divine favor which were to come, and the cause of Wrath and Error. And he informed the children of Isrâîl concerning the deluge of fire, and the day of vengeance and reward, 1 and defined the time of his return unto them. 2 Then he announced unto them what should happen unto every tribe, and that he would marshal them complete in the days of final perfection and completion. And he blessed them altogether, and they listened unto him. And, when the time came to bid farewell to each individual army, they began to cry aloud and wail and weep; and after a space of time he commanded them to be quiet and to sit down. Then he departed, walking slowly up the ascent of the mountain unto which God had ordered him to ascend, and with him were Yûshâ the son of Nûn, and el'Azâr the imâm, and the assembly of the leaders who were bidding him farewell and weeping at the approach of his separation from them and clinging to him. And