Legends of the Jews, Volume 2 — Chap. 2-04 – The Sons of Jacob

GAD'S HATRED

In the hundred and twenty-fifth year of his life Gad assembled his sons, and he spake to them: "I am the ninth son of Jacob, and I was a valiant shepherd of the flocks.

I guarded the herds, and when a lion or any other wild beast approached, I pursued it, gripped it by the foot, flung it a stone's throw from me, and killed it thus.

Once, for a space of thirty days, Joseph tended the flocks with us, and when he returned to our father, he told him that the sons of Zilpah and Bilhah slaughtered the best of the herds, and used the flesh without the knowledge of Reuben and Judah.

He had seen me snatch a lamb out of the jaws of a bear, kill the bear, and slaughter the lamb, for it was too badly injured to live.

I was wroth with Joseph for his talebearing, until he was sold into Egypt.

I would neither look upon him nor hear aught about him, for to our very faces he, blamed us, because we had eaten the lamb without seeking the permission of Judah first.

And whatever Joseph told our father, he believed.

"Now I confess my sin, that ofttimes I longed to kill him, for I hated him from the bottom of my heart, and on account of his dreams I hated him still more, and I desired to destroy him from off the land of the living.

But Judah sold him by stealth to the Ishmaelites.

Thus the God of our fathers saved him out of our hands, and He did not permit us to commit an abominable outrage in Israel.

"Hear now, my children, the words of truth, that ye may practice justice and the whole law of the Most High, and permit yourselves not to be tempted by the spirit of hatred.

Evil is hatred, for it is the constant companion of deception, it always contradicts the truth.

A

little thing it magnifies into a great thing, light it takes for darkness, the sweet it calls bitter, and it teaches slander, enkindles anger, brings on war and violence, and fills the heart with devilish poison.

I tell you my own experience, my children, that ye may drive hatred out of your hearts, and cleave to the love of the Lord.

Righteousness banishes hatred, and humility kills it, for he that fears to give umbrage to the Lord, desires not to do wrong even in his thoughts.

This is what I recognized at the last, after I had done penance on account of Joseph, for true atonement, pleasing to God, enlightens the eyes, illumines the soul with knowledge, and creates a counsel of salvation.

My penance came in consequence of a sickness of the liver that God inflicted upon me.

Without the prayers of my father Jacob, my spirit would have departed from me, for through the organ wherewith man transgresses, he is punished.

As my liver had felt no mercy for Joseph, unmerciful suffering was caused unto me by my liver.

My judgment lasted eleven months, as long as my enmity toward Joseph.

"And now, my children, each of you shall love his brother, and ye shall uproot hatred from your hearts by loving one another in word and deed and the thoughts of the soul.

For I spake peaceably with Joseph in the presence of our father, but when I went out from before him, the spirit of hatred darkened my understanding, and stirred up my soul to murder him.

If you see one that hath more good fortune than you, do not grieve, but pray for him, that his happiness may be perfect, and if one of the wicked even should grow rich in substance, like Esau, my father's brother, do not envy him.

Wait for the end of the Lord.

"This also tell unto your children, that they shall honor Judah and Levi, for from them the Lord will cause a savior to arise unto Israel.

For I know that in the end your children will fall off from God, and they will take part in all wickedness, malice, and corruptness, before the Lord."

After Gad had rested a little while, he spake again, "My children, hearken unto your father, and bury me with my fathers."

Then he drew up his feet, and slept in peace.

After five years, his sons carried his remains to Hebron unto his fathers.

[15] ASHER'S LAST WORDS

In the hundred and twenty-fifth year of his life, while be was still robust in health, Asher summoned his children unto him, and admonished them to walk in the ways of virtue and the fear of God.

He spake: "Hearken, ye sons of Asher, unto your father, and I will show you all that is right before God.

Two ways hath God put before the children of men, and two inclinations hath He bestowed upon them, two kinds of actions and two aims.

Therefore all things are in twos, the one opposite to the other.

But ye, my children, ye shall not be double, pursuing both goodness and wickedness.

Ye shall cling only to the ways of goodness, for the Lord taketh delight in them, and men yearn after them.

And flee from wickedness, for thus you will destroy the evil inclination.

Heed well the commands of the Lord, by following truth with a single mind.

Observe the law of the Lord, and have not the same care for wicked things as for good things.

Rather keep your eyes upon what is truly good, and guard it through all the commands of the Lord.

The end of man, when he meets the messengers of God and of Satan, shows whether he was righteous or unrighteous in his life.

If his soul goes out with agitation, she will be plagued by the evil spirit, whom she served with her lusts and her evil deeds; but if she departs tranquilly, the angel of peace will lead her to life eternal.

"Be not like Sodom, my children, which recognized not the angels of the Lord, that ye be not delivered into the hands of your enemies, and your land be cursed, and your sanctuary destroyed, and you be scattered to the four corners of the earth, and scorned in the confusion like stale water, until the Most High shall visit the earth, and break the heads of the dragons in the waters.

Tell this, my sons, unto your children, that they be not disobedient toward God, for I read in the tablets of the heavens that you will be contumacious and act impiously toward Him, in that you will have no care for the law of God, but you will heed human laws, and they are corrupted by reason of man's godlessness.

Therefore ye will be dispersed abroad like unto Gad and Dan, my brethren, and you will not know either your land, or your tribe, or your tongue.

Nevertheless the Lord will gather you in His faithfulness, for the sake of His gracious mercy, and for the sake of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."

And when he had made an end of saying these words, he commanded them to bury him in Hebron.

And he sank into sweet sleep, and died.

His sons did as he had commanded, and they carried him up and buried him with his fathers.

[16] BENJAMIN EXTOLS JOSEPH

Benjamin was one hundred and twenty-five years old, and he called his children to come to him.

When they appeared, he kissed them, and spake: "As Isaac was born unto Abraham in his old age, so was I born unto Jacob when he was stricken in years.

Therefore I was called Benjamin, 'the son of days.'

My mother Rachel died at my birth, and Bilhah her slave suckled me.

Rachel had no children for twelve years after bearing Joseph.

Therefore she prayed to God, and fasted twelve days, and she conceived and bare me.

Our father loved Rachel fondly, and he had longed greatly to have two sons by her.

"When I came down to Egypt, and my brother Joseph recognized me, he asked me, 'What said my brethren to my father regarding me?'

And I told him that they had sent Jacob his coat stained with blood, and had said, 'Know now whether this be thy son's coat or not.'

And Joseph said: 'This is what happened to me.

Canaanitish merchantmen stole me away with violence, and on the way they wanted to hide my coat, to make it seem as though a wild beast had met me and slain me.

But he who was about to conceal it, was torn by a lion, whereupon his companions, in great fear, sold me to the Ishmaelites.

My brethren, thou seest, did not deceive my father with a lie.'

In this wise Joseph tried to keep the deed of our brethren a secret from me.

He also summoned my brethren, and enjoined them not to make known to our father what they had done to him, and bade them repeat the tale he had told me.

"Now, my children, love ye the Lord, the God of heaven and earth, and observe His commandments, taking that good and pious man Joseph as your model.

Until the day of his death he would not have divulged what his brethren had done to him, and although God revealed their action to Jacob, he continued to deny it.

Only after many efforts, when Jacob adjured him to confess the truth, he was induced to speak out.

Even then he besought our father Jacob to pray for our brethren, that God account not the evil they had done to him as a sin.

And Jacob exclaimed, 'O my good child Joseph, thou hast shown thyself more merciful than I was!'

"My children, have you observed the mercy of the good man?

Imitate it with pure intention, that ye, too, may wear crowns of glory.

A good man has not an envious eye, he has mercy with all, even with sinners, though their evil designs be directed against him, and by his good deeds he conquers the evil, since it was ordained of God.

If you do good, the unclean spirits will depart from you, and even the wild beasts will stand in fear of you.

The inclination of a good man lies not in the power of the tempter spirit Behar, for the angel of peace guides his soul.

Flee before the malice of Beliar, whose sword is drawn to slay all that pay him obedience, and his sword is the mother of seven evils, bloodshed, corruptness, error, captivity, hunger, panic, and devastation.

Therefore God surrendered Cain to seven punishments.

Once in a hundred years the Lord brought a castigation upon him.

His afflictions began when he was two hundred years old, and in his nine hundredth year he was destroyed by the deluge, for having slain his righteous brother Abel.

And those who are like unto Cain will be chastised forever with the same punishments as his.

"Know now, my children, that I am about to die.

Practice truth and righteousness, and observe the law of the Lord and also His commandments.

This I bequeath unto you as your sole heritage, and you shall leave it to your children as an eternal possession.

Thus Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob did, they transmitted it unto us, saying, 'Observe the commands of God, until the Lord shall reveal His salvation in the sight of all the heathen.'

Then you will see Enoch, Noah, Shem, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob[17] rise up with rejoicing to new life at the right hand of God, and we brethren, the sons of Jacob, will arise also, each of us at the head of his tribe, and we will pay homage to the King of the heavens."

After Benjamin had made an end of speaking thus, he said: "I command you, my children, to carry my bones up out of Egypt and bury me near my fathers."

And when he had made an end of saying these things, he fell asleep at a good old age, and they put his body into a coffin, and in the ninety-first year of their sojourning in Egypt, his sons and the sons of his brethren brought up the bones of their father, in secret, and buried them in Hebron, at the feet of their fathers.

Then they returned from the land of Canaan, and they dwelt in Egypt until the day of the exodus from the land.

[18] III JOB