scended from their steeds and chariots and walked with him.

And when Jacob saw all this great procession he wondered exceedingly, and he was much pleased thereat, and turning to Judah he asked, "Who is the man who marcheth at the head of this great array in royal robes?" and Judah answered, "That is thy son." And when Joseph drew nigh to his father he bowed down before him, and his officers also bowed low to Jacob.

And Jacob ran towards his son and fell upon his neck and kissed him, and they wept. And Joseph greeted his brethren with affection.

And Jacob said to Joseph, "Now let me die. I have seen thy face; my eyes have beheld thee living and in great honour."

And the great company escorted Jacob and his family to Egypt, and there Joseph gave to his relatives the best of the land, even Goshen.

And Joseph lived in the land and governed it wisely. And the two sons of Joseph were great favourites with their grandfather, and were ever in his house.* And Jacob taught them the ways of the Lord, and pointed out to them the path of happiness and peace in His service.

And Jacob and his family lived in Goshen, and had possession of the land and multiplied therein exceedingly.+

*The Palace, known as the Labyrinth.-J. V. G.

+ These Hebrews are mentioned in Egyptian history as Shepherd Kings or Hycsos.-J. V. G.

273

APPENDIX II.

An Account of the Translation of the Jewish Laws from the Hebrew into Greek, as contained in the Works of Flavius Josephus.*

WHEN Alexander had reigned twelve years, and after him Ptolemy Soter forty years, Philadelphus then took the kingdom of Egypt, and held it forty years within one. He procured the law to be interpreted,

and set free those that were come from Jerusalem into Egypt, and were in slavery there, who were a hundred and twenty thousand. The occasion was this -Demetrius Phalerius, who was library-keeper to the King, was now endeavouring, if it were possible, to gather together all the books that were in the habitable earth, and buying whatsoever was anywhere valuable, or agreeable to the King's inclination (who was very earnestly set upon collecting of books); to which inclination of his, Demetrius was zealously subservient.

And when once Ptolemy asked how many ten

*The Antiquities of the Jews, bk. xii. ch. 2.

thousands of books he had collected, he replied that he had already about twenty times ten thousand; but that, in a little time, he should have fifty times ten thousand.

But he said he had been informed that there were many books of laws among the Jews worthy of inquiring after, and worthy of the King's library, but which, being written in characters and in a dialect of their own, will cause no small pains in getting them translated into the Greek tongue that the character in which they are written seems to be like to that which is the proper character of the Syrians, and that its sound, when pronounced, is like to theirs also ; and that this sound appears to be peculiar to themselves. Wherefore, he said, that nothing hindered why they might not get those books to be translated also; for while nothing is wanting that is necessary for that purpose, we may have their books also in this library.

So the King thought that Demetrius was very zealous to procure him abundance of books, and that he suggested what was exceeding proper for him to do; and therefore he wrote to the Jewish high priest that he should act accordingly.

Now there was one Aristeus, who was amongst the King's most intimate friends, and, on account of his modesty, very acceptable to him. This Aristeus. resolved frequently, and that before now, to petition the King that he would set all the captive Jews in his kingdom free; and he though this to be a convenient opportunity for the making that petition. So he discoursed, in the first place, with the captains of the King's guards, Sosibius of Tarentum and Andreas,

and persuaded them to assist him in what he was going to intercede with the King for.

Accordingly, Aristeus embraced the same opinion with those that have been before mentioned, and went to the King and made the following speech to him: "It is not fit for us, O King, to overlook things hastily, or to deceive ourselves, but to lay the truth open for since we have determined not only to get the laws of the Jews transcribed, but interpreted also, for thy satisfaction, by what means can we do this, while so many of the Jews are now slaves in thy kingdom?

"Do thou, then, what will be agreeable to thy magnanimity, and to thy good-nature: free them from the miserable condition they are in, because that God, who supporteth thy kingdom, was the author of their laws, as I have learned by particular inquiry; for both these people and we also worship the same God, the framer of all things. We call him, and that truly, by the name of Zva (or life, or Jupiter), because He breathes life into all men. Wherefore, do thou restore these men to their own country; and this do to the honour of God, because these men pay a peculiarly excellent worship to Him.

“And know this further, that though I be not of kin to them by birth, nor one of the same country with them, yet do I desire these favours to be done them, since all men are the workmanship of God; and I am sensible that He is well pleased with those that do good. I do therefore put up this petition to thee, to do good to them."

When Aristeus was saying thus, the King looked upon him with a cheerful and joyful countenance, and

said, "How many ten thousands dost thou suppose there are of such as want to be made free?" To which Andreas replied, as he stood by, and said, “A few more than ten times ten thousand." The King made answer, "And is this a small gift that thou askest, Aristeus?" But Sosibius, and the rest that stood by, said that he ought to offer such a thankoffering as was worthy of his greatness of soul, to that God who had given him his kingdom.

With this answer he was much pleased; and gave order that when they paid the soldiers their wages, they should lay down twenty drachmæ for every one of the slaves. And he promised to publish a magnificent decree about what they requested, which should confirm what Aristeus had proposed, and especially what God willed should be done; whereby, he said, he would not only set those free who had been led away captive by his father and his army, but those who were in his kingdom before, and those also, if any such there were, who had been brought away since. And when they said that their redemptionmoney would amount to above four hundred talents, he granted it. A copy of which decree I have determined to preserve, that the magnanimity of this king may be made known. Its contents were as

follows:

"Let all those who were soldiers under our father, and who, when they overran Syria and Phoenicia, and laid waste Judea, took the Jews captives, and made them slaves, and brought them into our cities, and into this country, and then sold them; as also all those that were in my kingdom before them, and if there be any that have lately been brought thither,