Concerning the Burning Bush, and the Rod of Mofes. 1. NOW Mofes, when he had obtained this favour of Jethro, for that was one of the names of Raguel, ftayed there, and fed his flock; but some time afterward, taking his ftation at the mountain called Sinai, he drove his flocks thither to feed them. Now this is the higheft of all the mountains thereabouts, and the best for pafturage, the herbage being there good; and it had not been before fed upon, because of the opinion men had that God dwelt there, the fhepherds not daring to afcend up to it. And here it was that a wonderful prodigy happened to Mofes; for a fire fed upon a thorn bush; yet did the green leaves and the flowers continue untouched, and the fire did not at all confume the fruit branches, although the flame was great and fierce. Mofes was affrighted at this ftrange fight, as it was to him; but he was still more aftonifhed when the fire uttered a voice, and called to him by name, and fpake words to him, by which it fignified to him how bold he had been in venturing to come into a place whither no man had ever come before, because the place was divine; and advised him to remove a great way from the flame, and to be contented with what he had feen; and though he were himself a good man, and the offspring of great men, yet that he fhould not pry any farther: And he foretold to him, that he should have glory and honour among men, by the bleffing of God upon him. He alfo commanded him to go away thence with confidence to Egypt, in order to his being the comminuer and conductor of the body of the Hebrews, and to his delivering his own people from the injuries they fuffered there: "For, faid God, they fhall inhabit this happy land which your forefather Abraham inhabited, and shall have the enjoyment of all forts of good things; and thou, by thy prudence, fhalt guide them to thofe good things." But ftill he enjoined him, when he had brought the Hebrews out of the land of Egypt, to come to that place, and to offer facrifices of thankfgiving there. Such Such were the divine oracles which were delivered out of the fire. 2. But Mofes was aftonished at what he faw, and much more at what he heard; and he faid, "I think it would be an inftance of too great madness, O Lord, for one of that regard I bear to thee, to distrust thy power, fince I myself adore it, and know that it has been made manifeft to my progenitors: But I am still in doubt how I, who am a private man, and one of no abilities, should either perfuade my own countrymen to leave the country they now inhabit, and to follow me to a land whither I lead them; or, if they should be perfuaded, how I can force Pharaoh to permit them to depart, fince they augment their own wealth and profperity by the labours and works they put upon them." 3. But God perfuaded him to be courageous on all ccafions; and promifed to be with him, and to affift him in his words, when he was to perfuade men, and in his deeds, when he was to perform wonders. He bid him alfo to take a fignal of the truth of what he faid, by throwing his rod upon the ground; which, when he had done, it crept along, and was become a ferpent, and rolled itself round in its folds, and erected its head, as ready to revenge itself on fuch as fhould affault it, after which it became a rod again as it was. before. After this God bid Mofes to put his right hand into his bofom; he obeyed, and when he took it out, it was white, and in colour like to chalk, but afterward it returned to its wonted colour again. He alfo, upon God's command, took fome of the water, that was near him, and poured it upon the ground, and faw the colour was that of blood. Upon the wonder that Mofes fhewed at thefe figns, God exhorted him to be of good courage, and to be affured that he would be the greateft fupport to him; and bid him make ufe of thofe figns in order to obtain belief among all men, that thou art fent by me, and doft all things according to my commands. Accordingly I enjoin thee to make no more delays, but to make hafte to Egypt, and to travel night and day, and not to draw out the time, and fo make the flavery of the Hebrews, and their fuffer ings, to laft the longee. 4. Mofes 4. Mofes having now feen and heard these wonders, that affured him of the truth of these promifes of God, had no room left him to disbelieve them, he entreated him to grant him that power when he should be in Egypt; and befought him to vouchsafe him the knowledge of his own name, and fince he had heard and seen him, that he would alfo tell him his name, that when he offered facrifice he might invoke him by fuch his name in his oblations. Whereupon God declared to him his holy name, which had never been discovered to men before; concerning which it is * not lawful for me to fay any more. Now thefe figns accompani ed Mofes, not then only, but always, when he prayed for them: Of all which figns he attributed the firmeft affent to the fire in the bush; and believing that God would be a gracious fupporter to him, he hoped he fhould be able to deliver his own nation, and bring calamities on the Egyptians. How Mofes and Aaron returned into Egypt to Pharaoh. 1. SO Mofes, when he understood that the Pharaoh, in whofe reign he fled away, was dead, afked leave of Raguel to go to Egypt, for the benefit of his own people: And he took with him Zipporah, the daughter of Raguel, whom he had married, and the children he had by her, Gerfom and Eleazar, and made hafte into Egypt. Now the former of thofe names, Gerfom, in the Hebrew tongue, fignifies, that he was in a strange land; and Eleazar, that, by the affiftance of the God of his fathers, he had efcaped from the Egyptians. Now when they were near the borders, Aaron his *This fuperftitious fear of difcovering the name with four letters, which of late we have been used falsely to pronounce Jehovah, but seems to have been originally pronounced Jahoh, or Jaag is never, I think, heard of till this paffage of Jofephus; and this fuperftition, in not pronouncing that name, has continued among the Rabbinical Jews to this day (though whether the Samaritans and Caraites obferved it fo early does not appear.) Jofephus alfo durft not fet down the very words of the ten commandments, as we fhall fee hereafter, Antiq. B. III. ch. v. 4. which fuperftitious filence, has yet not been continued even by the Rabbins. It is however no doubt, but both thefe cautious concealments were taught Jofephus by the Pharifees, a body of men at once very wicked, and very fuperftitious. his brother, by the command of God, met him, to whom he declared what had befallen him at the mountain, and the commands that God had given him. But as they were going forward, the chief men among the Hebrews having learned that they were coming, met them: To whom Mofes declared the figus.he had seen ; and while they could not believe them, he made them fee them. So they took courage at thefe furprifing and unexpected fights, and hoped well of their entire deliverance, as believing now that God took care of their prefervation. 2. Since then Mofes found that the Hebrews would be obedient to whatfoever he fhould direct, as they promised to be, and were in love with liberty, he came to the King, who had indeed but lately received the government, and told him how much he had done for the good of the Egyptians, when they were defpifed by the Ethiopians, and their country laid waste by them; and how he had been the commander of their forces, and had laboured for them, as if they had been his own people; and he informed him in what danger he had been during that expedition, without having any proper returns made him, as he had deferved. He alfo informed him diftin&tly, what things happened to him at mount Sinai; and what God faid to him; and the figns that were done by God, in order to affure him of the authority of those commands which he had given him. He alfo exhorted him not to disbelieve what he told him, nor to oppofe the will of God. 3. But when the King derided Mofes, he made him in earneft fee the figns that were done at mount Sinai. Yet was the King very angry with him, and called him an ill man, who had formerly run away from his Egyptian flavery, and came now back with deceitful tricks, and wonders, and magical arts, to aftonish him. And when he had faid this, he commanded the priests to let him fee the fame wonderful fights, as knowing that the Egyptians were skilful in this kind of learning, and that he was not the only perfon who knew them, and pretended them to be divine; as alfo he told him, that when he brought fuch wonderful fights before him, he would only be believed by the unlearned. Now when the priests threw down their rods, rods, they became ferpents. But Mofes was not daunted at it; and faid, "O King, I do not myfelf defpife the wisdom of the Egyptians, but I fay, that what I do is fo much fuperior to what these do by magick arts and tricks, as divine power exceeds the power of man : But I will demonftrate, that what I do is not done by craft, or counterfeiting what is not really true, but that they appear by the providence and power of God." And when he had faid this, he caft his rod down upon the ground,and commanded it to turn itself into a ferpent. It obeyed him, and went all round, and devoured the rods of the Egyptians, which feemed to be dragons, until it had confumed them all: It then returned to its own form, and Mofes took it into his hand again. 4. However, the King was no more moved, when this was done, than before; and being very angry, he faid, "That he should gain nothing by this his cunning and fhrewdnefs againft the Egyptians." And he commanded him that was the chief taskmafter over the Hebrews, to give them no relaxation from their labours, but to compel them to fubmit to greater oppreffions than before. And though he allowed them chaff before for the making of their bricks, he would allow it them no longer; but he made them to work hard at brick making in the day time, and to gather chaff in the night. Now when their labour was thus doubled upon them, they laid the blame upon Mofes, because their labour and their mifery were on his account become more fevere to them. But Mofes did not let his courage fink for the King's threatnings; nor did he abate of his zeal on account of the Hebrews' complaints, but he fupported himfelf, and fet his foul refolutely against them both, and used his own utmoft diligence to procure liberty to his countrymen. So he went to the King, and perfuaded him to let the Hebrews go to mount Sinai, and there to facrifice to God, becaufe God had enjoined them fo to do. He perfuaded him alfo, not to counter work the defigns of God, but to efteem his favour above all things, and to permit them to depart, left, before he be aware, he lay an obstruction in the way of the divine commands, and fo occafion his own suffering fuch punishments as it was probable any one that counter worked the divine commands fhould |