to lose in abundance, what they had gained when || father; (for he was the son of Eleazar the highthey had little. And thus did he endeavour to correct the young men, and to bring them to repentance for what they had done. But Zimri arose up after him, and said, "Yes, indeed, Moses, thou art at liberty to make use of such laws as thou art so fond of; and hast, by accustoming thyself to them, made them firm. Otherwise, if things had not been thus, thou hadst often been punished before now, and hadst known that the Hebrews are not easily put upon. But thou shalt not have me one of thy followers in thy tyrannical commands: for thou didst nothing else hitherto, but, under pretence of laws, and of God, wickedly impose upon us slavery, and gain dominion to thyself; while thou deprivest us of the sweetness of life, which consists in acting according to our own wills, and is the right of free men, and of those that have no lord over them. Nay, indeed, thou art harder upon the Hebrews than were the Egyptians themselves; as pretending to punish according to the law every one's acting as is most agreeable to himself. But thou thyself better deservest to suffer punishment, who presumest to abolish what every one acknowledges to be good for him; and aimest to make thy single opinion of more force than that of the rest; and what I now do, and think to be right, I shall not hereafter deny to be according to my own sentiments. I have married, as thou sayest rightly, a strange woman, and thou hearest what I do from myself, as from one that is free for truly I did not intend to conceal myself. I also own that I sacrifice to those gods to whom you do not think fit to sacrifice; and I think it right to acquire knowledge by inquiring of many people; and not, like one that lives under tyranny, to suffer the whole hope of my life to depend upon one man. Nor shall any one find cause to rejoice who declares himself to have more authority over my actions than myself." When Zimri had said these things, about what he and some others had wickedly done, the people held their peace: both out of fear of what might come upon them, and because they saw that their legislator was not willing to bring his insolence before the public any farther, or openly to contend with him. For he avoided that, lest many should imitate the impudence of his language, and thereby disturb the multitude. Upon this, the assembly was dissolved. However, this mischievous attempt had proceeded farther, if Zimri had not been slain on the following occasion : Phineas, a man in other respects better than the rest of the young men, and also one that surpassed his contemporaries in the dignity of his priest; and the grandson of Aaron, Moses's brother,) was greatly troubled at what was done by Zimri. So he resolved to inflict punishment on him, before his unworthy behaviour should grow stronger by impunity, and in order to prevent this transgression from proceeding farther: which would happen if the ringleaders were not punished. He was of so great magnanimity, both in strength of mind and body, that when he undertook any very dangerous attempt, he did not relinquish it till he got an entire victory. So he came into Zimri's tent, and slew him with his javelin; and with it he slew Cozbi also. Upon which, all those young men that had a regard to virtue, and aimed to do a glorious action, imitated Phineas's boldness, and slew those that were found to be guilty of the same crime with Zimri. Accordingly many of those who had transgressed, perished by the magnanimous valour of these young men. The rest all perished by a plague, which God himself inflicted upon them. So that all those, who, instead of hindering them from such wicked actions, as they ought to have done, had persuaded them to go on, were esteemed by God as partners in the wickedness, and died. Accordingly there perished out of the army no fewer than twenty-four thousand at this time. This was the cause why Moses was provoked to destroy the Midianites; concerning which expedition we will speak presently, when we have first related what has been omitted. For it is but just not to pass over our legislator's due encomium, on account of his conduct here: because, although Balaam, who was sent for by the Midianites to curse the Hebrews; and when he was hindered from doing it by divine Providence, did still suggest that advice to them, by making use of which our enemies had nearly corrupted the multitude of the Hebrews with their artifices; yet did he do him great honour, by setting down his prophecies in writing. And while it was in his power to claim this glory to himself, and make men believe they were his own predictions; there being no one that could be a witness against him, and accuse him for so doing, he still gave his attestation to Balaam, and did him the honour to make mention of him on this account. CHAP. VII. OF THE PUNISHMENT INFLICTED ON THE MIDIANITES BY THE HE BREWS; THE APPOINTMENT OF MOSES'S SUCCESSOR; GRANT OF AMORITE LANDS, &c. MOSES, for the causes aforementioned, sent against the land of Midian an army of twelve thousand* *Numb. xxxi. 5. men; taking an equal number out of every tribe; and appointing for their commander Phineas, who had guarded the laws of the Hebrews, and had inflicted punishment upon Zimri, when he had transgressed them. Now the Midianites perceived beforehand, how the Hebrews were coming, and would suddenly be upon them. So they assembled their army, and fortified the entrances into their country; and there awaited the enemy's approach. When they were come, and had joined battle with them, an innumerable multitude of the Midianites fell; among whom were their five kings; Evi, Zur, Reba, Hur, and Rekem; the latter of whom was of the same name with the capital city of all Arabia, which is till now so called by the whole Arabian nation, Arecem, from the name of the king that built it; but is by the Greeks called Petra. Now when the enemies were discomfited, the Hebrews spoiled their country, and took a great prey, and destroyed the men that were its inhabitants, together with the women; only they preserved the virgins, as Moses had commanded Phineas; who indeed came back, bringing with its victorious army fifty-two thousand beeves, seventyfive thousand six hundred sheep, and sixty thousand asses, with an immense quantity of gold and silver furniture, which the Midianites made use of in their houses; for they were so wealthy, that they were very luxurious. There were also led captive about* thirty-two thousand virgins. So Moses divided the prey into parts, and gave one fiftieth part to Eleazar, and to the priests; and another fiftieth part to the Levites; and distributed the rest of the prey among the people: after which, they lived happily, as having obtained an abundance of good things by their valour; and there being no misfortune that attended them or hindered their enjoyment of that happiness. Moses being now grown old, appointed Joshua for his successor,† both to receive directions from God, as a prophet, and for a commander of the army, if they should at any time stand in need of And this was done by the command such a one. The slaughter of all the Midianite women, that had prostituted themselves to the lewd Israelites; and the preservation of those that had not been guilty therein; which latter were no fewer than 32,000, both here, and Numb. xxxi. 15, 16, 17, 35, and both by the particular command of God, are highly remarkable; and show that even in nations doomed to destruction for their wickedness, the innocent were sometimes particularly and providentially taken care of, and delivered from that destruction. Which directly implies, that it was the wickedness of the nations of Canaan, and nothing else, that occasioned their excision. See Gen. xv. 16. 1 Sam. xv. 18, 33. In the first of which places, the reason of the delay of the punishment of the Amorites is given; because their iniquity was not yet full. In the second, Saul is ordered to go and destroy the sinners, the Amalekites; plainly implying, that they were therefore to be destroy of God; that to him the care of the public should be committed. Now Joshua had been instructed in all those kinds of learning which concerned the laws, and God himself; and Moses had been his instructor. At this time the two tribes of Gad and Reubel, and the half tribe of Manasseh, abounded in a multitude of cattle, as well as in all other kinds of prosperity; whence they had a meeting, and besought Moses to give them, as their peculiar portion, that land of the Amorites which they had taken by right of war; because it was fruitful, and for feeding cattle. But Moses, supposing that they were afraid of fighting the Canaanites, and invented this provision for their cattle, as a handsome excuse for avoiding that war, called them arrant cowards; and said, they had only contrived a decent excuse for their timidity; and that they had a mind to live in luxury and ease, while all the rest were labouring with great pains to obtain the land they were desirous to have; and that they were not willing to undergo the remaining hard service, whereby they were under the divine promise to pass over Jordan, and overcome those enemies which God had showed them, and so obtain their land. But these tribes, when they saw that Moses was angry with them, and when they could not deny but he had a just cause to be displeased at their petition, made an apology for themselves; and said that it was not on account of their fear of danger, nor on account of their indolence, that they made this request, but that they might leave the prey they had gotten in places of safety, and thereby might be more expeditious, and ready to undergo difficulties, and to fight battles. They added, also, that when they had built cities, wherein they might preserve their children, and wives, and possessions, if he would bestow them upon them, they would go along with the rest of the army. Hereupon Moses called for Eleazar, the highpriest, and Joshua, and the chief of the tribes, and permitted these tribes to possess the land of the Amorites, but upon this condition, that they should join with their kinsmen in the war, until all things were settled. Upon which condition they took pos ed because they were sinners, and not otherwise. In the third, the reason is given, why king Agag was not to be spared; viz. because of his former cruelty. As thy sword hath made the Hebrew women childless; so shall thy mother be made childless among women, by the Hebrews. The Apostles also, or their amanuensis Clement, give this reason of the necessity of the coming of Christ, that men had formerly perverted both the positive law, and that of nature: and had cast out of their minds the memory of the flood, the burning of Sodom, the plagues of the Egyptians, and the slaughter of the inhabitants of Palestine, as signs of the most amazing impenitence and insensibility under the punishment of horrid wickedness. Constitut. Apost. viii. 12, page 402. Numb. xxvii. 22. Deut. xxxiv. 9. session of the country, and built them strong cities, and put into them their children, and their wives, and whatsoever else they had that might be an impediment to the labours of their future marches. Moses also now built those ten cities, which were to be of the number of forty-eight, for the Levites. Three of these he allotted to those that slew any person involuntarily, and fled to them; and he assigned the same time for their banishment, with that of the life of the high-priest, under whom the slaughter and flight happened; after which he permitted the slayer to return home; the relations of him that was slain having the power to kill the slayer, if they caught him without the bounds of the city to which he fled; though this permission was not granted to any other person. Now the cities which were set apart for this flight were Bezer, at the borders of Arabia; Ramoth, of the land of Gilead; and Golan, in the land of Bashan. There were to be also, by Moses's command, three other cities allotted for the habitation of these fugitives, out of the cities of the Levites; but not till after they should be in possession of the land of Canaan. At this time the chief men of the tribe of Manasseh came to Moses, and informed him that there was an eminent man of their tribe dead, whose name was Zelophehad, who had no male children, but left daughters; and asked him whether the daughters - might inherit his land* or not? He made this answer: that if they shall marry into their own tribe, they shall carry their own estate along with them; but if they shall marry to any of another tribe, they shall leave their inheritance in their father's tribe. And then it was that Moses ordained that every one's inheritance should continue in his own tribe. CHAP. VIII. OF THE POLITY SETTLED BY MOSES, AND HIS DISAPPEARANCE FROM AMONG MANKIND. WHEN† forty years were completed, within thirty days, Moses gathered the congregation near Jordan, where the city Abila now stands, which place is full of palm-trees; and when all the people were come together, he spake thus to them: "O ye Israelites, and fellow-soldiers, who have been partners with me in this long and toilsome journey. Since now the will of God, and the course of old age at an hundred and twenty, requires that I depart out of this life; and since God has forbidden me to be a patron or an assistant to you in what remains to be done beyond Jordan; I thought it reasonable not to leave off my endeavours even now for your happiness; but to do my utmost to procure for you the eternal enjoyment of good things, and a memorial for myself, when you shall be in the fruition of great plenty and prosperity. Let me, therefore, suggest to you by what means you may be happy, and may leave an eternal prosperous possession to your children after you; and then let me go out of the world. And I cannot but deserve to be believed by you, both on account of the great things I have already done for you, and because, when souls are about to leave the body, they speak with the sincerest freedom. O§ children of Israel! there is but one source of happiness for all mankind, the favour of God: for he alone is able to give good things to those that deserve them, and to deprive those of them that sin against him. If you behave yourselves according to his will, and according to what I, who well understand his mind, do advise, you will both be esteemed blessed, and will be admired by all men, and will never come into misfortunes, nor cease to be happy; you will then preserve the possession of the good things you already have, and will quickly obtain those that you at present are in want of. Only be obedient to those whom God would have you to follow. Nor prefer any other constitution of government before the laws now given you; neither disregard that way of divine worship which you now have, nor change it for any other form. And if you do this, you will be most courageous of all men, in undergoing the fatigues of war; and will not be easily conquered by any of your enemies. For while God is present to assist you, it is to be expected that you will be able to despise the opposition of all mankind. And great rewards of virtue are proposed to you, if you preserve that virtue through your whole lives. Itself is indeed the principal and the first reward; and after that he bestows abundance of others. So that your exercise of virtue towards other men, will make your own lives happy, and render you more glorious than foreigners can be ; and procure you an undisputed reputation with posterity. These blessings you will be able to obtain, in case you hearken to and observe those laws which, by divine revelation, I have ordained for you; that is, in case you meditate upon the wisdom that is in them. I am now going from you, rejoicing in the good things you enjoy; and I recommend you to the wise conduct of your law, And his words are so true, and of such importance, that they deserve to be had in constant remembrance both by Jews and Christians: "O children of Israel! there is but one source of happiness for all mankind, the favour of God." them; but to look upon it as for your advantage to destroy them all; lest if you permit them to live, you imbibe their manners, and thereby corrupt your own proper institutions. I also further exhort you, to overthrow their altars, and their groves, and whatsoever temples they have among them; and to burn all such their nation and their very memory with fire. For by this means alone the safety of your own happy constitution can be firmly secured to you. And in order to prevent your ignorance of virtue, and the degeneracy of your nature into vice, I have also ordained you laws by divine suggestion, and a form of government; which are so good, that if you regularly observe them, you will be esteemed of all men most happy." to the becoming order of your polity, and to the virtues of your commander; who will take care of what is for your advantage. And that God, who has been till now your leader, and by whose good-will I have myself been useful to you, will not put a period now to his providence over you: but as long as you desire to have him your protector, in your pursuits after virtue, so long will you enjoy his care over you. Your high-priest also, Eleazar, as well as Joshua, with the senate, and chief of your tribes, will go before you, and suggest the best advices to you; by following which advices you will continue to be happy to them, therefore, do you give ear without reluctance; as sensible that all such that know well how to be governed, will also know how to govern, if they be promoted to that authority themselves. When he had spoken thus, he gave them the And do not you esteem liberty to consist in op- laws and the constitution of government written posing such directions as your governors think fit in a book. Upon which the people fell into tears, to give you for your practice; as at present, in- and appeared already touched with the sense that deed, you place your liberty in nothing else but they should have a great want of their conductor; abusing your benefactors: which error if you can because they remembered what a number of danavoid for the time to come, your affairs will be in gers he had passed through, and what care he had a better condition than they have hitherto been. taken for their preservation; they desponded Nor do you ever indulge such a degree of passion about what would come upon them after he was in these matters, as you have oftentimes done dead; suppposing they should never have another when you have been very angry at me: for you governor like him; and fearing that God would know that I have been oftener in danger of death take less care of them when Moses was gone, who from you, than from our enemies. What I now used to intercede for them. They also repented put you in mind is not done in order to reproach of what they had said to him in the wilderness, you: for I do not think it proper, now I am going when they were angry; and so were in grief on out of the world, to bring this to your remem- those accounts. So that the whole body of the brance, in order to leave you offended at me; people fell into tears with such bitterness, that it since at the time when I underwent those hard-was past the power of words to comfort them in ships, I was not angry at you; but I do it in order to make you wiser hereafter, and to teach you that this will be for your security; I mean that you never be injurious to those that preside over you, even when you are become rich; as you will be to a great degree when you have passed over Jordan, and are in possession of the land of Canaan. Since when you shall have once proceeded so far by your wealth as to a contempt and disregard of virtue, you will also forfeit the favour of God: and when you have made him your enemy, you will be beaten in war; and will have the land which you possess taken away again from you by your enemies and this with great reproaches upon your conduct. You will be scattered over You will be scattered over the whole world; and will, as slaves, entirely fill both sea and land, and when once you have had the experience of what I now say, you will repent, and remember the laws you have broken, when it is too late. Whence I would advise you, if you intend to preserve these laws, to leave none of your enemies alive, when you have conquered their affliction. However, Moses gave them some consolation; and by calling them off the thought how worthy he was of their weeping for him, he exhorted them to adhere to that form of government he had given them. And then the congregation was dissolved at that time. I shall now first describe this form of government, which was agreeable to the dignity and virtue of Moses; and shall thereby inform those that peruse these Antiquities what our original settlements were, and shall then proceed to the remaining histories. Now these settlements are still in writing, as he left them; and we shall add nothing by way of ornament, nor any thing besides what Moses left us. Only we shall so far innovate, as to digest the several kinds of laws into a regular system. For they were by him left in writing, as they were accidentally scattered in their delivery; and as he, upon inquiry, had learned them of God. On which account I have thought it necessary to premise this observation; lest any of my own countrymen should blame me, as having been guilty of an offence herein. Now part of our constitution will include the laws that belong to our political state: but with respect to those laws which Moses left concerning our common conversation and intercourse with one another, I have reserved that for a discourse concerning our manner of life, and the occasion of those laws; which I propose to myself, with God's assistance, to write, after I have finished the work I am now upon. When you have possessed yourself of the land of Canaan, and have leisure to enjoy the good things of it; and when you have afterward determined to build cities, if you will do what is pleasing to God, you will have a secure state of happiness. Let there be then one city of the land of Canaan; and this situate in the most agreeable place for its goodness, and very eminent of itself; and let it be that which God shall choose for himself, by prophetic revelation. Let there also be one temple therein, and one altar; not reared of hewn stones, but of such as you gather together at random; which stones, when they are whitened over with mortar, will have a handsome appearance, and be beautiful to the sight. Let the ascent to it be* not by steps, but by an acclivity of raised earth. And let there be neither an altar, nor a temple, in any other city. For God is but one, and the nation of the Hebrews is but one. He that blasphemeth God let him be stoned,† and let him hang upon a tree all that day: and then let him be buried in an ignominious and obscure manner. Let those that live as remote as the bounds of the land which the Hebrews shall possess, come to that city where the temple shall be, and this three times every year; that they may give thanks to God for his former benefits, and may entreat him for those they shall want hereafter: and let them, by this means, maintain a friendly correspondence with one another with such meetings and feastings together. For it is a good thing for those that are of the same stock, and under the same institutions, not to be unacquainted with each other; which acquaintance * This law, both here and Exod. xx. 25, 26, of not going up to God's altar by ladder-steps, but on an acclivity, seems not to have belonged to the altar of the tabernacle; which was in all but three cubits high: Exod. xxvii. 1, nor to that of Ezekiel, which was expressly to be gone up to by steps, xliii. 17, but rather to occasional altars of any considerable altitude and largeness; as also probably to Solomon's altar, to which it is here applied by Josephus; as well as that of Zorobabel's and Herod's temple; which were, I think, all ten cubits high. See 2 Chron. iv. 1, and Joseph. Antiq. VIII. 3. And the reason why these temples, and these only, were to have this ascent on an acclivity, and not by steps, is obvious; that before the invention of stairs, such as we now use, decency could not be otherwise provided for in the loose garments which the priests wore, as the law required. See Lamy of the Tabernacle and Temple, p. 444. will be maintained by thus conversing together, and by seeing and talking with one another, and so renewing the memorials of this union; for if they do not thus converse together continually, they will appear like mere strangers to one another. Let there be taken out of your fruits a tenth,§ besides that which you have allotted to give to the priests and Levites. This you may indeed sell in the country: but it is to be used in those feasts and sacrifices that are to be celebrated in the holy city. For it is fit that you should enjoy the fruits of the earth, which God gives you to possess, so as may be to the honour of the donor. You are not to offer sacrifices out of the|| hire of a harlot; for the Deity is not pleased with any thing that arises from such abuses of nature; of which sort none can be worse than this prostitution of the body; in like manner no one may take the price of the covering of a bitch, either of one that is used in hunting, or in keeping of sheep, and thence sacrifice to God.¶ Let no one** blaspheme the gods which other cities esteem such. Nor may one steal what belongs to strange temples, nor take away the gifts that are dedicated to any god. Let not any one of you wear a garment made of woollen‡‡ and linen; for that is appointed to be for the priests only. When the multitude are assembled together unto the holy city for sacrificing; every seventh year, at the feast of tabernacles, let the high-priest stand upon a high desk, whence he may be heard, and let him read the laws to all§§ the people. And let neither women, children, nor servants, be hindered from hearing. For it is a good thing that those laws should be engraven in their souls, and preserved in their memories; that so it may not be possible to blot them out. For by this means they will not be guilty of sin, when they cannot plead ignorance of what the laws have enjoined them. The laws also will have a great authority among them, as foretelling what they will suffer if they break them; and imprinting in their souls by this hearing what they Levit. xxiv. 16. Exod. xxiii. 14. Deut. xvi. 16. The hire of public harlots was given to Venus in Syria, as ** The Apostolical Constitutions, II. expound this law of Moses, Exod. xxii. 28: "Thou shalt not revile or blaspheme the gods," of magistrates; which is a much more probable exposition than this of Josephus's of heathen gods. tt Exod. xxii. 28. it Levit. xix. 19. §§ What book of the law was thus publicly read, see the note on X. 5. and 1 Esd. ix. 50—55. |