THE BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES OF PHILO

TRANSLATED FROM THE OLD LATIN VERSION

BY

M. R. JAMES, LITT.D., F.B.A.

CHAPTER X.

X. Now when the king of Egypt was dead another king arose, and afflicted all the people of Israel. But they cried unto the Lord and he heard them, and sent Moses and delivered them out of the land of Egypt: and God sent also upon them 10 plagues and smote them. Now these were the plagues, namely, blood, and frogs, and all manner of flies, 1 hail, and death of cattle, locusts and gnats, and darkness that might be felt, and the death of the firstborn. Ex. 14:8

2. And when they had gone forth thence and were journeying, the heart of the Egyptians was yet again hardened, and they continued to pursue them, and found them by the Red Sea. And the children of Israel cried unto their God and spake to Moyses saying: Lo, now is come the time of our destruction, for the sea is before us and the multitude of enemies behind us, and we in the midst. Was it for this that God brought us out, or are these the covenants which he made with our fathers saying: To your seed will I give the land wherein ye dwell? and now let him do with us that which seemeth good in his sight.

3. Then did the children of Israel sever their counsels into three divisions of counsels, 2 because of the fear of the time. For the tribe of Ruben and of Isachar and. of Zabulon and of Symeon said: Come, let us cast ourselves into the sea, for it is better for us to die in the water than to be slain of our enemies. And the tribe of Gad and of Aser and of Dan and Neptalim said: Nay, but let us return with them, and if they will give us our lives, we will serve them. But the tribe of Levi and of Juda and Joseph and the tribe of Benjamin said: Not so, but let us take our weapons and fight them, and God will be with us.

4. Moses also cried unto the Lord and said: O Lord God of our fathers, didst thou not say unto me: Go and tell the sons of Lia, God hath sent me unto You? And now, behold, thou hast brought thy people to the brink of the sea, and the enemy follow after them: but thou, Lord, remember thy name.

5. And God said: Whereas thou hast cried unto me, take thy rod and smite the sea, and it shall be dried up. And when Moses did all this, God rebuked the sea, and the sea was dried up: the seas of waters stood still and the depths of the earth appeared, and the foundations of the dwelling-place were laid bare at the noise of the fear of God and at the breath of the anger of my Lord. 1

6. And Israel passed over on dry land in the midst of the sea. And the Egyptians saw and went on to pursue after them, and God hardened their mind, and they knew not that they were entering into the sea. And so it was that while the Egyptians were in the sea God commanded the sea yet again, and said to Moses: Smite the sea yet once again. And he did so. And the Lord commanded the sea and it returned unto his waves, and covered the Egyptians and their chariots and their horsemen unto this day.

7. But as for his own people, he led them forth into the wilderness: forty years did he rain bread from heaven for them, and he brought them quails from the sea, and a well of water following them 2 brought he forth for them. And in a pillar of cloud he led them by day and in a pillar of fire by night did he give light unto them. Ps. 78:52

Footnotes

104:1 X. 1. All manner of flies, pammixia. See p. 23 .
104:2 3. The idea of the divided counsels of the tribes comes from Deborah's song (Judges 5:15, 15:16): "for the divisions of Reuben there were great searchings of heart." It appears in Jashar, but there four divisions are given.
105:1 5. The breath of the anger of my Lord. This sudden adopting of the first person does not occur again. R omits mei here.
105:2 7. A well of water following them. Cf. 1 Cor. 10:4, and XI. 15 of our text, which agrees very closely with the wording of the Targum of Onkelos on Numbers. See Thackeray, St. Paul and Contemporary Jewish Thought, p. 206, etc., on the genesis of the legend. He shows that it arises from a current interpretation of Num. 20:61 seq. The Bible has: (16) And from thence (they journeyed) to Beer. . (18) And from the wilderness (they journeyed) to Mattanah, (19) And from Mattanah to Nahaliel, and from Nahaliel to Bamoth. The Targum of Onkelos has: (16) "And thence was given them the well (Beer = well) . . . (18) It was given to them from (in) the wilderness (Mattanah =gift). (19) And from (the time) that it was given them, it descended with them to the rivers, and from the rivers it went up with them to the height (Nahaliel = rivers of God, Bamoth = height)." This Targum represents first-century teaching: the later Targum of Palestine amplifies the theme to some extent. See also Driver in Expositor, 1889, I. 15.

THE BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES OF PHILO

TRANSLATED FROM THE OLD LATIN VERSION

BY

M. R. JAMES, LITT.D., F.B.A.

CHAPTER IX.

IX. 3 And it came to pass after the departure of Joseph, the children of Israel were multiplied and increased greatly.

Ex. 1:6, 1:7And there arose another king in Egypt which knew not Joseph: and he said to his people: Lo, this people is multiplied more than we. Come let us take counsel against them that they multiply not. And the king of Egypt commanded all his people saying: Every son that shall be born to the He brews, cast into the river, but keep the females alive.

Ex. 1:8, 1:9 And the Egyptians answered their king saying: Let us slay their males and keep their females, to give them to our bondmen for wives: and he that is born of them shall be a bondman and serve us. And this is that that did appear most evil before the Lord. Ex. 1:22

2. Then the elders of the people assembled the people with mourning and mourned and lamented saying: An untimely birth have the wombs of our wives suffered. Our fruit is delivered over to our enemies and now we are cut off. Yet let us appoint us an ordinance, that no man come near his wife, lest the fruit of their womb be defiled, and our bowels serve idols: for it is better to die childless, until we know what God will do.

3. And Amram answered and said: It will sooner come to pass that the age shall be utterly abolished and the immeasurable world fall, 1 or the heart of the depths touch the stars, than that the race of the children of Israel should be diminished. And it shall be, when the covenant is fulfilled whereof God when he made it spake to Abraham saying: Surely thy sons shall dwell in a land that is not theirs, and shall be brought into bondage and afflicted 400 years.--And lo, since the word was passed which God spake to Abraham, there are 350 years. (And) since we have been in bondage in Egypt it is 130 years.

4. Now therefore I will not abide by that which ye ordain, but will go in and take my wife and beget sons, that we may be made many on the earth. For God will not continue in his anger, neither will he always forget his people, nor cast forth the race of Israel to nought upon the earth, neither did he in vain make his covenant with our fathers: yea, when as yet we were not, God spake of these things.

5. Now therefore I will go and take my wife, neither will I consent to the commandment of this king. And if it be right in your eyes, so let us do all of us, for it shall be, when our wives conceive, they shall not be known to be great with child until 3 months are fulfilled, like as also our mother Thamar 1 did, for her intent was not to fornication, but because she would not separate herself from the sons of Israel she took thought and said: It is better for me to die for sinning with my father-in-law than to be joined to Gentiles. And she hid the fruit of her womb till the 3rd month, for then was it perceived. And as she went to be put to death she affirmed it 2 saying: The man whose is this staff and this ring and goatskin, of him have I conceived. And her device delivered her out of all peril.

6. Now therefore let us also do thus. And it shall be when the time of bringing forth is come, if it be possible, we will not cast forth the fruit of our womb. And who knoweth if thereby God will be provoked, to deliver us from our humiliation?

7. And the word which Amram had in his heart was pleasing before God: and God said: Because the thought of Amram is pleasing before me, and he hath not set at nought the covenant made between me and his fathers, therefore, lo now, that which is begotten of him shall serve me for ever, and by him will I do wonders in the house of Jacob, and will do by him signs and wonders for my people which I have done for none other, and will perform in them my glory and declare unto them my ways.

8. I the Lord will kindle for him my lamp to dwell in him, and will show him my covenant which no man hath seen, and manifest to him my great excellency, and my justice and judgments and will shine for him a perpetual light. For in ancient days I thought of him, saying: My spirit shall not be a mediator among these men for ever, for they are flesh, and their days shall be 120 years. 1

9. And Amram of the tribe of Levi went forth and took a wife of his tribe, and it was so when he took her, that the residue did after him and took their wives. Now he had one son and one daughter, and their names were Aaron and Maria,

10. And the spirit of God came upon Maria by night, and she saw a dream, 2 and told her parents in the morning saying: I saw this night, and behold a man in a linen garment stood and said to me: Go and tell thy parents: behold, that which shall be born of you shall be cast into the water, for by him water shall be dried up, and by him will I do signs, and I will save my people, and he shall have the captaincy thereof always. And when Maria had told her dream her parents believed her not.

11. But the word of the king of Egypt prevailed against the children of Israel and they were humiliated and oppressed in the work of bricks.

12. But Jochabeth conceived of Amram and hid the child in her womb 3 months, for she could not hide it longer: because the king of Egypt had appointed overseers of the region, that when the Hebrew women brought forth they should cast the males into the river straightway. And she took her child and made him an ark of the bark of a pine-tree and set the ark on the edge of the river.

13. Now the boy was born in the covenant of God and in the covenant of his flesh.

14. And it came to pass, when they cast him out, all the elders gathered together and chode with Amram saying: Are not these the words which we spake saying: "It is better for us to die childless than that our fruit should be cast into the water?" And when they said so, Amram hearkened not to them.

15. But the daughter of Pharao came down to wash in the river according as she had seen in a dream, 1 and her maids saw the ark, and she sent one of them and took it and opened it. And when she saw the child and looked upon the covenant, 2 that is, the testament in his flesh, she said: He is of the children of the Hebrews.

16. And she took him and nourished him and he became her son, and she called his name Moyses. But his mother called him Melchiel. 3 And the child was nourished and became glorious above all men, and by him God delivered the children of Israel, as he had said.

Footnotes

99:3 IX. 1. A Midrash quoted by Cohn (p. 317) agrees that the Egyptians desired to marry the Hebrew girls. Jashar and other authorities also say that Amram, in common with others, put away his wife when the Egyptian decree was promulgated.
100:1 3. in uictoria minuatur seculum: utterly, εἰσ νῖκοσ. The Hebraism (למנצח) occurs again, XII. 6, and perhaps in XLIX. 6.
101:1 5. Tamar. Here the author first introduces a story from the past history of Israel by way of illustration: it is his constant practice later on.
101:2 Affirmed it: statuit hoc. Perhaps "presented" the staff, etc.
102:1 8. fin. The point of the quotation is that Moses was 120 years old when he died. Cf. II. 2.
102:2 10. Miriam's vision. In Jashar and elsewhere (e.g. Talmud Bab. Megillah, tr. Rodkinson, p. 36) Miriam prophesies the birth of Moses. Cf. Cohn, p. 318.
103:1 15. according as she had seen in a dream. The usual story is that God sent a great heat upon Egypt, so that the people were constrained to bathe (Jashar, etc.).
103:2 covenant. Zaticon = διαθήκην. The Midrashim (Cohn, l.c.) agree that Moses was born circumcised.
103:3 16. Melchiel. Syncellus and Cedrenus say that he was called by his parents Melchias. Clement of Alexandria (Strom. I. 23) says they called him Ioacim, and he "had a third name after the assumption, as the initiated (μύσται) say, viz. Melchi." Jashar (and Jerahmeel) give a number of names, but Melchiel is not among them.

THE BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES OF PHILO

TRANSLATED FROM THE OLD LATIN VERSION

BY

M. R. JAMES, LITT.D., F.B.A.

CHAPTER VIII.

VIII. But Abram went forth thence and dwell in the land of Chanaan, and took with him Loth his brothers son, and Sarai his wife. And because Sarai was barren and had no offspring, then Abram took Agar her maid, and she bare him Ismahel. And Ismahel begat 12 sons. Gen. 12:5, Gen. 16:1, Gen. 25:12

2. 1 Then Loth departed from Abram and dwelt in Sodom [but Abram dwelt in the land of Cam]. And the men of Sodom were very evil and sinners exceedingly. Gen. 13:12, 13:13

3. And God appeared unto Abraham saying: Unto thy seed will I give this land; and thy name shall be called Abraham, and Sarai thy wife shall be called Sara. Ana I will give thee of her an eternal seed and make my covenant with thee. And Abraham knew Sara his wife, and she conceived and bare Isaac. Gen. 13:14, 17:3, Gen. 17:16, Gen. 21:2, 21:3

4. And Isaac took him a wife of Mesopotamia, the daughter of Bathuel, which conceived and bare him Esau and Jacob. And Esau took to him for wives Judin the daughter of Bereu, and Basemath the daughter of Elon, and Elibema the daughter of Anan, and Manem the daughter of Samahel. Gen. 25:20, Gen. 26:3, 36

5. And <<Basemath>> bare him Adelifan, and the sons of Adelifan were Temar, Omar, Seffor, Getan, Tenaz, Amalec. And Judin bare Tenacis, Ieruebemas, Bassemen, Rugil: and the sons of Rugil were Naizar, Samaza; and Elibema bare Auz, Iollam, Coro. Manem bare Tenetde, Thenatela. Gen. 36:11,1 Chron. 1:36, Gen. 36:12, 1 Chron. 1:37

6. And Jacob took to him for wives the daughters Gen. of Laban the Syrian, Lia and Rachel, and two concubines, Bala and Zelpha. And Lia bare him Ruben, Simeon, Levi, Juda, Isachar, Zabulon, and Dina their sister. But Rachel bare Joseph and Benjamin. Bala bare Dan and Neptalim, and Zelpha bare Gad and Aser. These are the 12 sons of Jacob and one daughter.

7. And Jacob dwelt in the land of Chanaan, and Sichem the son of Emor the Correan forced his daughter Dina and humbled her. And Simeon and Levi the sons of Jacob went in and slew all their city with the edge of the sword, and took Dina their sister, and went out thence.

8. 1 And thereafter Job took her to wife and begat of her 14 sons and 6 daughters, even 7 sons and 3 daughters before he was smitten with affliction, and thereafter when he was made whole 7 sons and 3 daughters. And these are their names: Eliphac, Erinoe, Diasat, Philias, Diffar, Zellud, Thelon: and his daughters Meru, Litaz, Zeli. And such as had been the names of the former, so were they also of the latter.

9. Now Jacob and his 12 sons dwelt in the land of Chanaan: and his sons hated their brother Joseph, whom also they delivered into Egypt, to Petephres the chief of the cooks of Pharao, and he abode with him 14 years. Gen. 37

10. And it came to pass after that the king of Egypt had seen a dream, that they told him of Joseph, and he declared him the dreams. And it was so after he declared his dreams, that Pharao made him prince over all the land of Egypt. At that time there was a famine in all the land, as Joseph had foreseen. And his brethren came down into Egypt to buy food, because in Egypt only was there food. And Joseph knew his brethren, and was made known to them, and dealt not evilly with them. And he sent and called his father out of the land of Chanaan, and he came down unto him.

Gen. 41,42

11. 1 And these are the names of the sons of Israel which came down into Egypt with Jacob, each one with his house.

Gen. 46:8

The sons of Reuben, Enoch and Phallud, Esrom and Carmin; the sons of Simeon, Namuhel and Iamin and Dot and Iachin, and Saul the son of a Canaanitish woman. Gen. 46:9, 46:10

The sons of Levi, Gerson, Caat and Merari: but the sons of Juda, Auna, Selon, Phares, Zerami. Gen. 46:11, 46:12

The sons of Isachar, Tola and Phua, Job and Sombram. The sons of Zabulon, Sarelon and Iaillil. And Dina their sister bare 14 sons and 6 daughters.

Gen. 46:13, 46:14

And these are the generations of Lia whom she bare to Jacob. All the souls of sons and daughters were 72. Gen. 46:15

12. Now the sons of Dan were Usinam. 1 The sons of Neptalim, Betaal, Neemmu, Surem, Optisariel. And these are the generations of Balla which she bare to Jacob. All the souls were 8.

Gen. 46:25, Gen. 46:23, 46:24

13. But the sons of Gad: . . . Sariel, Sua, Visui, Mophat and Sar: 2 their sister the daughter of Seriebel, Melchiel. These are the generations of Zelpha the wife of Jacob which she bare to him. And all the souls of sons and daughters were in number 10. Gen. 46:16, 46:17

14. And the sons of Joseph, Ephraim and Manassen: and Benjamin begat Gela, Esbel, Abocmephec, Utundeus. And these were the souls which Rachel bare to Jacob, 14. And they went down into Egypt and abode there 210 years. Gen. 46:20, 46:21

Footnotes

96:1 VIII. 2. [But Abram dwelt in the land of Cam] obviously intrusive, repeated from ver. 1, Cam being for Canaan.
97:1 8. That Job married Dinah after his affliction is told in the Testament of Job and the Targum on Job. etc. Note that Philo disregards the Biblical names of Job's daughters, though he accepts the Bible story of Job.
98:1 11 seq. On the names here see Appendix on Readings.
99:1 Read: Usin. But the sons of N.
99:2 Read: But the sons of Gad (gap, to Sariel: and the sons of Aser). . . . Mophat, and Sara their sister: and the sons of Beria, Heber, Melchiel.

THE BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES OF PHILO

TRANSLATED FROM THE OLD LATIN VERSION

BY

M. R. JAMES, LITT.D., F.B.A.

CHAPTER VII.

VII. And it came to pass after these things, that the people of the land turned not from their evil thoughts: and they came together again unto their princes and said: The people shall not be overcome for ever: and now let us come together and build us a city and a tower which shall never be removed.

2. And when they had begun to build, God saw the city and the tower which the children of men were building, and he said: Behold, this is one people and their speech is one, and this which they have begun to build the earth will not sustain, neither will the heaven suffer it, beholding it: and it shall be, if they be not now hindered, that they shall dare all things that they shall take in mind to do. Gen. 11:6

3. Therefore, lo, I will divide their speech, and scatter them over all countries, that they may not know every man his brother, neither every man understand the speech of his neighbour. And I will deliver them to the rocks, and they shall build themselves tabernacles of stubble and straw, and shall dig themselves caves and shall live therein like beasts of the field, and thus shall they continue before my face for ever, that they may never devise such things. And I will esteem them as a drop of water, and liken them unto spittle: 1 and unto some of them their end shall come by water, and other of them shall be dried up with thirst.

4. And before all of them will I choose my servant Abram, and I will bring him out from their land, and lead him into the land which mine eye hath looked upon from the beginning when all the dwellers upon earth sinned before my face, and I brought on them the water of the flood: and then I destroyed not that land, but preserved it. Therefore the fountains of my wrath did not break forth therein, neither did the water of my destruction come down upon it. For there will I make my servant Abram to dwell, and I will make my covenant with him, and bless his seed, and will be called his God for ever.

5. Howbeit when the people that dwelt in the land had begun to build the tower, God divided their speech, and changed their likeness. 2 And they knew not every man his brother, neither did each understand the speech of his neighbour. So it came to pass that when the builders commanded their helpers to bring bricks they brought water, and if they asked for water, the others brought them straw. And so their counsel was broken and the), ceased building the city: and God scattered them thence over the face of all the earth. Therefore was the name of that place called Confusion, because there God confounded their speech, and scattered them thence over the face of all the earth.

Footnotes

95:1 VII. 3. I will liken them unto spittle (also XII. 4). The source is Isa. 40:15; but this clause is not in our present Hebrew text. It occurs, however, in the LXX; it is also in 4 Esdras 6:56, Apoc. Bar. 82:5, both of which books are believed to have been written in Hebrew. We need not, therefore, count its occurrence in Philo as implying dependence on the LXX. Compare the combinations of phrases from Isaiah in XXVI. 13.
95:2 5. changed their likeness. J adds "into that of monkeys," probably from the Book of Jashar (see Migne, Dict. des Apocryphes II. s. v. Yaschar). The Greek Apocalypse of Baruch describes the builders of the Tower as changed into bestial forms. The story of the workmen misunderstanding each other is in Bereshith Rabbah, Jashar, etc.