E- Num_8:1-26; Num_9:1-23; Num_10:1-36; Num_11:1-35; Num_12:1-16; Num_13:1-33
Pgs. 362-380
Ch. 8-13
SECTION XXXVI.
VIII. And the Lord spake withMosheh, saying: Speak with Aharon, and say to him: At the time when thou dostkindle the lamps upon the candelabrum, (all) the seven lamps shall be alight;three on the western side, and three on the eastern side, and the seventh inthe midst. And Aharon did so; at the face of the candelabrum he lit the lampsthereof, as the Lord commanded Mosheh. And this was the work delabrum, whichwas of beaten gold, from its foundations unto its lilies, the work of theartificer, with the hammer was it wrought: according to the vision which theLord had showed Mosheh, so did Bezalel make the candelabrum. And theLord spake with Mosheh, saying: Bring, the Levites out from among the sons of Israel, and purify them. And thisshalt thou do to purify them. Sprinkle upon them the water for uncleannessthrough sin (chattatha), and let the razor pass over all theirflesh, and let them wash their raiment, and wash themselves in forty savan ofwater. And they shall take a young bullock, and his mincha of flour sprinkledwith olive oil; and take thou a second young bullock for a sin offering. Andthou shalt bring the Levites before the tabernacle of ordinance, and gathertogether also all the congregation of the sons of Israel. Thou shalt bring theLevites before the Lord, and the sons of Israel shall lay their hands upon theLevites. And Aharon shall present the Levites, (as) an elevation before theLord from the sons of Israel, and they shall be for the work of the service ofthe Lord. And the Levites shall lay their hands upon the head of the bullocks,and make one a sin offering and one a burnt offering before the Lord, to atonefor the Levites. And thou shalt place the Levites before Aharon and his sons,and present them (as) an elevation before the Lord; and thus shalt thouseparate the Levites from among the sons of Israel, that the Levites may beministers before Me. And afterward the Levites may enter to fulfil the serviceof the tabernacle of ordinance, when thou shalt have purified them andpresented them (as) an elevation; for separated they are separate before Mefrom among the sons of Israel, instead of every one who openeth the womb; thefirst-born of all who are of the sons of Israel have I taken (to be)before Me. For every first-born of the sons of Israel is Mine, whether ofman or of beast: in the day that I slew all the first-born in the land ofMizraim, I sanctified them before Me; and I have taken the Levites instead ofall the first-born of the sons of Israel, and have given the Levites (as)gifts unto Aharon and to his sons from among the sons of Israel, to ministerthe service of the children of Israel in the tabernacle of ordinance, and toatone for the children of Israel, lest there be mortality among the children ofIsrael at the time when they approach the sanctuary. And Mosheh and Aharon and all the congregation of the Beni Israel didunto the Levites according to all that the Lord had commanded Mosheh concerningthe Levites, so did the sons of Israel to them. And the Levites were purified,and they washed their raiment; and Aharon presented them as an elevation beforethe Lord. And Aharon made atonement for them to purify them. And afterward theLevites went in to fulfil their ministry in the tabernacle of ordinance, beforeAharon and his sons: as the Lord had commanded Mosheh concerning the Levites,so did they unto them. And theLord spake with Mosheh, saying: This is the instruction for the Levites who arenot disqualified (profaned) by their blemishes: from one of twenty-fiveyears and upward, he shall come, according to his company, to the service ofthe tabernacle of ordinance and from fifty years of age he shall return fromthe band of the service, and serve no more. Yet he may minister with hisbrethren at the tabernacle of ordinance in keeping the watch; but he shall notdo any of the service. So shall the Levites act in their charge.
IX. Andthe Lord spake with Mosheh in the wilderness of Sinai, in the second year fromthe time of their going forth from the land of Mizraim, in the first month,saying: Let the children of Israel perform the sacrifice of the Pascha betweenthe suns at its time. On the fourteenth day of this mouth, between the suns,they shall perform it in its time; according to all its rites and all itsstatutes shall they do it. And Mosheh spake with the children of Israel toperform the sacrifice of the Pascha. They performed the Pascha, therefore, onthe fourteenth day of the month, between the suns in the wilderness of Sinai;after all that the Lord had commanded Mosheh, so did the children of Israel. But certain men, who were unclean, having been defiled by the body of aman who had died near them suddenly; as the commandment (of the Pascha) cameupon them, could not perform it on that day, which was the seventh of theiruncleanness. And they came before Mosheh and Aharon on that day; and these mensaid to him, We are unclean, on account of a man who died with us: therefore weare hindered from killing the Pascha, and shedding the blood of the Lord’soblation upon the altar at its time, that we may eat its flesh, being clean,among the children of Israel. This is one of four matters of judgment brought before Mosheh theprophet, which he decided according to the Word of the Holy One: in some ofwhich Mosheh was deliberate, because they were judgments about life; but in theothers Mosheh was prompt, they being (only) judgments concerning money: but inthose (the former) Mosheh said, I have not heard; that he might teach theprinces of the Sanhedrin who should arise after him to be deliberate injudgements regarding life, but prompt in judgments about money; and not to beashamed to ask counsel in things too hard for them, inasmuch as Mosheh himself,the Rabbi of Israel, had need to say, I have not yet heard. Therefore, saidMosheh to them, Wait until I have heard what will be commanded from before theLord concerning your case. [JERUSALEM. This is one of four matters of judgmentbrought before Mosheh, in two of which Mosheh was prompt, and in two was heslower. Concerning the unclean who could not perform the Pascha in its time,and concerning the daughters ofZelophehad, was Mosheh prompt, because the [latter] judgment was about money;but concerning the blasphemer who had reviled the sacred Name, and the gathererof wood, who wickedly profaned the Sabbath, Mosheh was deliberate, they beingdecisions involving life; and in them he said, I have not heard; that he mightteach the judges who were to come after Mosheh to be prompt in cases of mammon,but deliberate in those of life; and not to be ashamed to say, I have notheard, because Mosheh our Rabbi himself said, I have not heard. Therefore,spake he, Arise, and listen to what the Word of the Lord will prescribe toyou.] And theLord spake with Mosheh, saying: Speak with the sons of Israel, saying: A man,whether young or old, when unclean by defilement from the dead, or an issue, orthe leprosy, or who is hindered in the way of the world by the accidents of thenight, or who shall be at a distance from the threshold of his house: if suchthings happen to you, or to your generations, then may he defer to perform thePascha before the Lord. But in the second month, which is the month of Ijar, onthe fourteenth day of the month, between the suns they shall perform it; withunleavened bread and with bitters they shall eat it. They shall not leave of ittill the morning, and a bone in it shall not be broken; according to everyinstruction in the decree of the Pascha in Nisan, they shall perform it. In thePascha of Nisan (such persons) may eat unleavened bread, but not perform theoblation of the Pascha on account of their defilement; but in the Pascha ofIjar being purified they shall offer it. But the man who, being clean andundefiled by the way of the world, and not at a distance from the threshold ofhis home, neglecteth to perform the oblation of the Pascha of Nisan, that manshall be cut off from his people, because he hath not offered the Lord’soblation in its season; that man shall bear his sin. And if the stranger who issojourning with you will perform the Pascha before the Lord, he shall do itafter the proper manner of the Paschal decree, according to its form so shallhe do it. You shall have one statute, both for the sojourner and for thenative of the land. And on theday on which the tabernacle was reared the Cloud of Glory covered theTabernacle; it overspread the Tabernacle of Testimony by day, and at evening,it was over the Tabernacle like a vision of Fire until the morning. So was itcontinually, a Cloud of Glory covering it by day, and a vision of Fire bynight. And what time the Cloud of Glory was uplifted from the Tabernacle, thenthe children of Israel went forward; and at the place where the Cloud rested,there did the children of Israel rest. By the mouth of the Word of the Lord thechildren of Israel went forward, and by the Word of the Lord they rested. Allthe days that the Cloud of Glory abode upon the Tabernacle, (so long) did theyabide. And if the Cloud tarried over the Tabernacle many days the children ofIsrael observed the watch of the Word of the Lord, and did not proceed. If forthe time of a number of days, suppose the seven days of the week, the Cloud ofGlory was upon the Tabernacle, by the mouth of the Word of the Lord they rested,and by the mouth of the Word of the Lord they went forward. Or, if the Cloud ofGlory (rested only) from evening until morning, and was uplifted in themorning, then went they onward; whether by day or by night, when the Cloud waslifted up they went forward; whether it was two days, or a month, or a yearcomplete, while the Cloud of Glory made stay over the Tabernacle, abiding onit, the children of Israel abode, and journeyed not, and at the time of itsuplifting they went forward. By the mouth of the Word of the Lord they encamped, and by it they journeyed; they kept theobservance of the Word of the Lord, by the mouth of the Word of the Lordthrough Mosheh.
X. And theLord spake with Mosheh, saying: Make for thee, of thine, two trumpets of silverof solid material, the work of the artificer shalt thou make them; and let thembe thine, with which to convoke the assembly, and for the removing of thecamps. And thou shalt blow upon them, and bring together to thee all the congregationat the door of the tabernacle of ordinance. If they blow upon one (only), theprinces of the heads of the thousands of Israel shall assemble to thee. Butwhen you blow an alarm, then the camps which are on the east are to go forward;and when they blow a second alarm, the camps on the south shall go forward; theyshall blow the alarm for their journeys. And at the time of assembling thecongregation you shall blow, but not an alarm. The sons of Aharon, the priestsonly, shall blow with the trumpets, which shall be to you, for a perpetualstatute for your generations. And whenyou enter upon the order of the line of battle for your country, withoppressors who oppress you, then shall you blow the alarm on the trumpets, thatthe remembrance of you may come up for good before the Lord your God, that youmay be delivered from your enemies. And in the day of your rejoicings, and in yoursolemnities, and at the beginning of your months, you shall blow with thetrumpets over your burnt offerings and your consecrated victims, and they shallbe for a good memorial to you before the Lord your God; for Satana shall betroubled at the sound of your jubel notes: I am the Lord your God. And it wasin the second year, the second month, which is the month of Ijar, the twentiethday of the month, that the Cloud of Glory was uplifted from above theTabernacle of Testimony; and the children of Israel went forward upon theirjourneys from the wilderness of Sinai, and the Cloud of Glory rested in thewilderness of Pharan. And they went forth at the first by the mouth of the Wordof the Lord through Mosheh. The standard of the camps of the Beni Jehudah went forward by theirhosts, and the Rabba who was appointed over the host of the tribe of the BeniJehudah was Nachshon bar Amminadab; the Rabba of the Beni Issakar was Nethanel DarZuar; and the Rabba of the Beni Zebulon, Eliab bar Chelon. And the tabernaclewas taken down, and the sons of Gershon and of Merari went forward, carryingthe tabernacle. The standard of the camps of Reuben went forward by their hosts. TheRabba set over the hosts of the tribe of the Beni Reuben was Elizur barShedeur; the Rabba of the Beni Shemeon, Shelumiel bar Zurishaddai; and theRabba of the Beni Gad, Eljasaph bar Dehuel. And the family of Kehath went forward, carrying the sanctuary; and they(the men of Gershon) reared up the tabernacle against their coming. The standard of the camps of the Beni Ephraim went forward by theirhosts: the Rabba set over the host of the tribe of Ephraim was Elishama barAmmihud; the Rabba of that of Menasheh, Gamaliel bar Pedazur; and the Rabba ofBenjamin, Abidan bar Gideoni. And the standard of the camps of the Beni Dan went forward,completing all the camps according to their hosts; and the Rabba set over hishost was Ahiezer bar Ammishaddai; the Rabba of the tribe of Asher, Pagiel barAchran; and the Rabba of the Beni Naphtali, Ahira bar Enan. These are thejourneys of the children of Israel by their hosts; the Cloud of Glory waslifted up from above the tabernacle,and they went forward. And Mosheh said unto Hobab bar Reuel the Midianite, father-in-law of Mosheh,We are journeying from hence to the place of which the Lord hath said, I willgive it to you: come with us, and we willdo thee good; for the Lord hath spoken to do good unto the sojourner withIsrael. But he answered him, I will not go (with you) but to my (own) land andto my kindred will I go. But he said, Do not now leave us; for when we wereencamped in the wilderness, thou knewest how to judge, and didst teach us themethod (or business) of judgment, and thou art dear to us as the apple of oureyes. And it shall be that if thou wilt go on with us, with the good that theLord shall benefit us will we benefit thee, in the division of the land. And theywent forward from the glory of the Shekinah of the Lord had been revealed,going three days; and the Ark of the Lord’s covenant went before them. Thirtyand six miles it went that day; it preceded the camp of Israel, going threedays, to provide for them a place to encamp in. And the Cloud of the Lord’sShekinah overshadowed them by day in their going out from the encampment. And itwas when the ark should go forward, the Cloud gathered itself together andstood still, not going on, until Mosheh, standing in prayer, prayed andsupplicated mercy from before the Lord, and thus spake: Let the Word of theLord be now revealed in the power of Thy anger, that the adversaries of Thypeople maybe scattered; and let not the banner of those who hate them beuplifted before Thee. But when the ark should rest, the Cloud gathered itselfto ether and stood, but did not overspread, until Mosheh, standing in prayer,prayed and besought mercy from before the Lord, thus speaking: Return now, ThouWord of the Lord,[1] <l > in the goodness of Thy mercy, andlead Thy people Israel, and let the glory of Thy Shekinah dwell among them, and(Thy) mercy with the myriads of the house of Jakob, and with the multitudes ofthe thousands of Israel. [JERUSALEM.It was when the ark went forward. Moshehstood, with bands (outstretched) in prayer, and said, Arise now, O Word of theLord, in the power of Thy might, and let the adversaries of Thy people bescattered, and make Thine enemies flee before Thee. But when the ark rested,Mosheh lifted his hands in prayer, and said, O Word of the Lord, turn from thestrength of Thy anger, and return unto us in the goodness of Thy mercy, andbless the myriads and multiply the thousands of the children of Israel.
XI. But there were wicked men of the people, who, being discontent,devised and imagined evil before the Lord; and it was heard before the Lord,whose displeasure was moved; and a flaming fire was kindled among them from theLord, which destroyed some of the wicked in the outskirts of the house of Dan,with whom was a graven image. And the people cried to Mosheh to pray for them;and Mosheh did pray before the Lord, and the fire was extinguished where itwas. And he called the name of that place Enkindlement, because the flamingfire had been enkindled there from before the Lord. And thestrangers who had gathered together among them demanded with demand, and theyturned and wept; and the sons of Israel said, Who will give us flesh to eat? Weremember the fish which we had to eat in Mizraim freely, without (beingrestricted by prohibitory) precept, the cucumbers and melons, the leeks,onions, and potherbs. [JERUSALEM. Weremember the fish that we ate freely in Mizraim, the cucumbers and melons,leeks, onions, and potherbs.] But now our life is dried up; there is not anything;we see only the manna, as the pauper who looks upon a morsel (bestowed) by thehands. Alas for the people whose food is bread from the heavens! And somurmured they, because the manna was like coriander-seed, round, when itcame down from the heavens, and when it had been sanctified its appearance wasas the likeness of Bedilcha. And the wicked people looked about, and collected,and ground it in the mill. But he who would, bruised it in the mortar, ordressed it in the pot, or made cakes of it; and the taste of it was like thetaste of cream covered with oil. [JERUSALEM. And the people were scatteredabroad, and collected and ground it in mills, or crushed it in the mortar, ordressed it in the pan, and made cakes of it. And the taste of it was like thetaste of pastry with honey.] And when the dew came down on the camp by night,the manna descended upon it. And Moshehheard the people lamenting with their neighbours, who had gathered every man atthe gate of his tent and the displeasure of the Lord was strongly moved, and inthe eyes of Mosheh it was evil; and Mosheh said before the Lord, Why hast Thoudone ill with Thy servant, or I have not found mercy before Thee, that Thoushouldst have laid the toil of this people upon me? Have I made or borne allthis people as from the womb? are they my children, that Thou saidst to me in Mizraim,Bear the toil of them with thy strength, as the instructor of youth beareth,until they be carried into the land which Thou hast sworn unto their fathers? [JERUSALEM.Have I made all this people, have I begotten them, that Thou hast said to me,Carry them in thy bosom, as the nurse[2] <l > carrieth the sucklings, unto the landwhich thou didst swear unto their fathers?] Whence am I to find meat to giveall this people? for they are cry crying to me, say saying Give us flesh thatwe may eat. I am not able to bear all this people, for it is too weighty forme. But if Thou do this with me, to leave all the labour of them upon me, letme now die with the death in which the just have repose, if I have found mercybefore Thee, that I may not see mine evil. [JERUSALEM. That I may not see theevil of them who are Thy people.] Then spake the Lord unto Mosheh, Gathertogether in My name seventy righteous men of the elders of Israel, whom thouknowest to be elders of the people, and who were set over them in Mizraim, andbring them to the taberncle to stand there with thee. And I will be revealed inthe glory of My Shekinah, and will speak with thee there, and will amplify thespirit of prophecy that is upon thee, and bestow it upon them; and they shallsustain with thee the burden of the people, that thou mayest not bear it alone.And say thou to the people, Make ready against the morrow that you may eatflesh; because you have lamented before the Lord, saying, Who will give usflesh to eat? for it was better with us in Mizraim. The Lord therefore willgive yon flesh that you may eat. You shall not eat it one day, nor two days,nor five, nor ten, nor twenty days; for a month of days, until the smell of it comethforth from your nostrils, and it become a loathing to you; because you havebeen contemptuous against the Word of the Lord, whose glorious Shekinahdwelleth among you, and because you have wept before Him, saying, Why should wehave come out from Mizraim? But Moshehsaid, Six hundred thousand footmen are the people among whom I dwell, and Thouhast said, I will give them flesh to eat for a month of days! Shall the flocksof Araby or the cattle of Nabatea be killed for them to satisfy them, or allthe fishes of the Great Sea becollected, that they may have enough? And the Lord said to Mosheh, Can any thing fail before the Lord? Nowshalt thou see whether what I have said to thee shall come to pass or not. ThenMosheh went forth from the tabernacle, the house of the Shekinah, and told thepeople the words of the Lord. And he called together the seventy men, theelders of Israel, and placed them around the tabernacle. And the Lord wasrevealed in the glorious Cloud of the Shekinah, and spake with him. And He madeenlargement of the (Spirit of) prophecy that was upon him, so that Mosheh lostnothing thereof, but He gave unto the seventy men, the elders: and it was thatwhen the Spirit of prophecy rested upon them, they prophesied, and ceased not.
Buttwo men had remained in the camp; the name of the one Eldad, and the name ofthe second Medad, the sons of Elizaphan bar Parnak, whom Jokebed the daughterof Levi bare to him when Amram her husband had put her away; and to whom shehad been espoused before she gave birth to Mosheh. And the Spirit of prophecy restingupon them, Eldad prophesied, and said: Behold, Mosheh shall be gatheredfrom the world; and Jehoshua bar Nun, the minister of the camps, will beestablished after him, and will lead the people of the house of Israel into theland of Kenaan, and make it their inheritance.
Medadprophesied, and said: Behold, quails come up from the sea, and cover all thecamp of Israel; but they will be to the people (a cause of) an offence. Andboth of them prophesied together, and said: Behold, a king will arise from theland of Magog, at the end of the days, and will assemble kings crowned withcrowns, and captains wearing armour, and him will all nations obey. And theywill set battle in array in the land of Israel against the children of thecaptivity; but already is it provided that in the hour of distresses all ofthem shall perish by the burning blast of the flame that cometh forth frombeneath the Throne of Glory; and theircarcases shall fall upon the mountains of the land of Israel, and the wildbeasts of the field and the fowls of the sky shall come and consume their deadbodies. And afterward will all the dead of Israel live (again), and be feastedfrom the ox which hath been set apart for them from the beginning, and theyshall receive the reward of their works. And theywere of the elders who stood in the registers among them; but they had not goneforth to the tabernacle, but had hidden to escape from the dignity; yet theyprophesied in the camp. [JERUSALEM. Andthere remained two men in the camp: the name of one of them Eldad, the name ofthe second Medad, upon whom rested the Holy Spirit. Eldad prophesied, and said:Lo, Mosheh, the prophet, the scribe of Israel, will be gathered from the world,and Jehoshua bar Nun, his disciple, minister of the camps, will succeed. Medadprophesied, and said: Behold, quails come up from the sea; but they will be anoffence to the children of Israel. Both of them prophesied together, and said:At the end, the end of the days, will Gog and Magog and his host come upagainst Jerusalem; but by the hand of the King Meshiha they will fall, andseven years of days will the children of Israel kindle their fire with theirweapons of war, not going into the wilderness, nor cutting down the trees. Andthey were of the seventy sages, who went not from the tabernacle, while Eldadand Medad prophesied in the camp.] And acertain young man ran, and told to Mosheh, and said: Eldad and Medad areprophesying thus in the camp. And Jehoshua bar Nun, the minister of Mosheh,answered and said: Ribboni Mosheh, pray for mercy before the Lord, that theSpirit of prophecy may be withheld from them. But Mosheh said to him, Becausethey prophesy concerning me that I am to be gathered from the world, and thatthou art to minister after me, art thou jealous for my sake? I would that allthe Lord’s people were prophets, and that He would bestow the Spirit ofprophecy upon them. And Mosheh proceeded to the camp, he and all the elders of Israel. Andthe wind of a tempest went forth, and came violently from before the Lord, soas to have swept the world away, but for the righteousness of Mosheh andAharon: and it blew over the Great Sea, and made the quails fly from the GreatSea, and settle wherever there was place in the camp, as a day’s journey northwardand southward, and at the height as of two cubits; they flew upon the face ofthe ground, and went upon their bellies, so that (the people) were not weariedwhile they collected them. And they who had been wanting in faith arose: andall that day, and all the night, and all the day that followed, they gatheredthe quails; even he who was lame and infirm gathered ten korin, [JERUSALEM. Tenkorin,] and they spread them abroad round about the camps. The wicked ate of the flesh, yet offered no thanksgiving to Him who hadgiven it to them: but while the flesh was between their teeth, and notconsumed, the anger of the Lord waxed strong against the evil people, and theLord slew the people with a very great mortality. And he called the name ofthat place, The Graves of the Desirers of Flesh; for there they buried thepeople who had desired flesh. And from the Graves of the Desirers the peoplejourneyed to Hatseroth, and they were in Hatseroth.
XII.And Miriam and Aharon spake against Mosheh words that were not becoming withrespect to the Kushaitha whom the Kushaee had caused Mosheh to take when he hadfled from Pharoh, but whom he had sent away because they had given him thequeen of Kush, and he had sent her away. [JERUSALEM. And Miriam and Aharon spakeagainst Mosheh about the Kushaitha whom he had taken. But observe, the Kushitewife was not Zipporah, the wife of Mosheh, but a certain Kushaitha, of a fleshdifferent from every creature: whereas Zipporah, the wife of Mosheh, was of acomely form and beautiful countenance, and more abundant in good works than allthe women of her age.] And they said, Hath the Lord spoken only with Mosheh,that he should be separated from the married life? Hath He not spoken with usalso? And it was heard before the Lord. But the man Mosheh was more bowed downin his mind than all the children of men upon the face of the earth; neither caredhe for their words. And the Lordsaid to Mosheh, to Aharon, and to Miriam, Come forth, you three, to thetabernacle. And those three went forth. And the Glory of the Lord was revealedin the Cloud of Glory, and He stood at the door of the tabernacle, and calledAharon and Miriam: and those two came forth. And He said, Hear now My words,while I speak. Have any of the prophets who have arisen from the days of oldbeen spoken with as Mosheh hath been? To those (prophets) the Word of the Lordhath been revealed in apparition, speaking with them in a dream. Not so is theway with Mosheh My servant; in all the house of Israel My people he isfaithful. [JERUSALEM. Not so is My servant Mosheh among all the company (of theprophets), the chief of the chiefs of My court, faithful is he.] Speaker with speakerhave I spoken with him, who hath separated himself from the married life; butin vision, and not with mystery, revealed I Myself to him at the bush, and hebeheld the likeness of My Shekinah. And why have you not feared to speak suchwords of My servant Mosheh? And the glory of the Lord’s Shekinah ascended, andwent. And the glorious Cloud of the Lord’s Shekinah went up from above thetabernacle; and, behold, Miriam was seized with the leprosy. And Aharon lookedupon Miriam, and, behold, she had been smitten with leprosy. And Aharon said toMosheh, I beseech of thee, my lord, not to lay upon us the sin we have foolishlycommitted, and by which we have transgressed. I entreat thee that Miriam, oursister, may not be defiled with leprosy in the tent, as the dead, for it iswith her as with the infant[3] <l > which, having well fulfilled the timeof the womb, perishes at the birth: so Miriam was with us in the land ofMizraim, seeing us in our captivity, our dispersion, our servitude; but now,when the time hath come for our going forth to possess the land of Israelbehold she is kept back from us. I entreat thee, my lord, to pray for her, thather righteousness may not come to nought among the congregation. [JERUSALEM. 11.That we have sinned. 12. Let not Miriam, our sister, be a leper, polluted in thetent as one dead. For it is with her as with the infant who hath passed ninemonths in its mother’s womb, in water and in heat, without injury, but whichafter all perishes at the birth. So was Miriam, our sister, carried away withus into the desert, and with us in our trouble; but now the time hath come thatwe may enter into the land of Israel, why should she be kept from us? Pray nowfor the dead body that it may live, and that her righteousness may not fail.]And Mosheh did pray, and seek mercy before the Lord, saying: I pray through thecompassions of the merciful God, O Eloha, who hast power over the life of allflesh, heal her, I beseech thee. [JERUSALEM. O Eloha, who healest all flesh,heal her.] And the Lord said to Mosheh, If her father had corrected her, wouldshe not have been disgraced, and secluded seven days? But to-day, when Icorrect her, much more right is it that she should be dishonoured fourteendays: yet shall it suffice to seclude her seven days without the camp; and forthy righteousness will I make the Cloud of My Glory, the tabernacle, the ark,and all Israel, tarry until the time that she is healed, and then re-admitted.And Miriam was kept apart without the camp for seven days, and the people wentnot forward until the time that Miriam was healed.
XIII. But though Miriam theprophetess had made herself liable to be stricken with leprosy in this world,the doctrine is ample that in the world to come (there remaineth a reward) forthe just, and for them who keep the commandments of the law. And because Miriamthe prophetess had watched for a little hour to know what would be the fate ofMosheh; (Exod. i.;) for the sake of that merit all Israel, numbering sixtymyriads, being eighty legions, and the Cloud of Glory, the tabernacle, and thewell, went not, nor proceeded, till the time that she was healed: and afterwardthe people journeyed from Hatseroth, and encamped in the wilderness of Pharan.[JERUSALEM. But though Miriam the prophetess had become liable to leprosy, wehave ample doctrine that by keeping the commandments and precepts a man whodoeth even a little shall receive a great reward. Thus, because Miriam theprophetess had stood on the river bank for a little hour, to know what would bethe end of Mosheh, the sons of Israel, being sixty myriads, and eighty legionsin number, and the Cloud of Glory and the well, now moved not, nor went forwardfrom their place, till the time that she was healed of her leprosy; but aftershe was healed the people journeyed from Hatseroth, and encamped in thewilderness of Pharan.
[1] Observe Moses prays to the Memra. Compare to the Glossary, pp. 14-17.
[1] Or,"the conductor of children."
[1] I havetranslated freely just here.
[1] <l > Observe Moses prays to the Memra.Compare to the Glossary, pp. 14-17.
[2] <l > Or, "the conductor ofchildren."
[3] <l > I have translated freely just here.