SECTION XXXVI.

BEHAALOTHECA.

      VIII. AND the Lord spake with Mosheh, saying: Speak with Aharon, and say to him: When thou dost kindle the lamps upon the face of the candelabrum, the seven lamps shall be burning (together). And Aharon did so: on the face of the candelabrum he made the lamps burn, as the Lord commanded Mosheh. And this work of the candelabrum was of beaten gold, from its shaft to its lilies, beaten (gold) according to the pattern which the Lord had showed to Mosheh, so had he made the candelabrum.

      And the Lord spake with Mosheh, saying: Bring near the Levites from among the sons of Israel, and purify them. And thus shalt thou do to them to purify them. Sprinkle upon them the water of purification, and make the razor to pass over all their flesh, and let them wash their vestments, and they shall be clean. And let them take a young bullock, and his mincha of flour, sprinkled with oil; and a second bullock, a young bullock shalt thou take, for the sin offering. And bring the Levites before the tabernacle of ordinance, and assemble all the congregation of the children of Israel.

      And thou shalt bring the Levites before the Lord; and the sons of Israel shall lay their hands upon the Levites; and Aharon shall offer the Levites[1] as an elevation before the Lord from the sons of Israel, that they may perform the service of the Lord. And the Levites shall lay their hands upon the head of the bullocks, and make the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, before the Lord, to make an atonement for the Levites. And thou shalt set the Levites before Aharon, and before his sons, and offer them up (as) an elevation before the Lord. And thou shalt thus separate the Levites from among the sons of Israel, that the Levites may minister before Me. And afterward shall the Levites enter, to minister (in) the tabernacle of ordinance; for thou wilt have purified them, and offered them up as an elevation. For by a separation are they separated unto Me from among the sons of Israel, instead of every firstborn who openeth the womb of ail the children of Israel have I taken them (to be) before Me. For Mine are all the firstborn of the children of Israel, of man and of beast: in the day that I slew all the firstborn in the land of Mizraim did I sanctify them before Me. And I have taken the Levites instead of all the firstborn of the sons of Israel. And the Levites I have given as a gift[2] unto Aharon and to his sons, from among the sons of Israel, to minister the service for the children of Israel in the tabernacle of ordinance, and to make atonement for the children of Israel, that death may not be among the children of Israel when the children of Israel come nigh to the sanctuary.

      And Mosheh and Aharon, and all the congregation of the sons of Israel, did unto the Levites according to all that the Lord commanded Mosheh for the Levites; so did the sons of Israel to them. And the Levites were purified, and they cleansed their raiment, and Aharon offered them (as) an elevation before the Lord; and Aharon made an atonement for them to purify them. And afterwards the Levites went in to perform their service in the tabernacle of ordinance before Aharon and before his sons; as the Lord had commanded Mosheh concerning the Levites, so did they unto them.

      And the Lord spake with Mosheh, saying: This is (the law) of the Levites: from a son of five-and-twenty years and upward he shall come with the bands in their service (in the) tabernacle of ordinance, and from fifty years old he shall return from the company of the ministers, and work no longer; but minister with his brethren at the tabernacle of ordinance in keeping the custody; yet the service he shall not perform: so shalt thou do with the Levites in their charge.

      IX. And the Lord spake with Mosheh, in the wilderness of Sinai, in the second year of their going forth from the land of Mizraim, in the first month, saying: Let the children of Israel perform the Pascha in its time. On the fourteenth day of this month, between the suns, they shall perform it in its time according to all the rites of it, and according to all the form of it shall they do it. And Mosheh spake with the sons of Israel to perform the Pascha. And they performed the Pascha in Nisan, on the fourteenth day of the month, between the suns, in the wilderness of Sinai; according to all that the Lord had commanded Mosheh, so did the children of Israel.

      But there were men who were unclean by defilement, (having touched) the body of a (dead) man, and they could not make the Pascha on that day; and they came before Mosheh and before Aharon that day, and the men said to him: We are unclean, by the defilement of the life of a man, and are, therefore, restrained from offering the oblation of the Lord in its time among the sons of Israel.  And Mosheh said to them, Wait, till I shall have heard what will be commanded from before the Lord about your case. And the Lord spake with Mosheh, saying: Speak with the sons of Israel, saying: If any man be unclean by the defilement of the life of a man, or be in the way, afar off' from you or from your dwellings, he shall perform the Pascha before the Lord in the second month,[3]  on the fourteenth day, between the suns, they shall perform it; with unleavened (bread) and with bitter (herbs) shall they eat it: they shall not leave of it till the morning, and a bone of it shall not be broken; according to all the rites of the Pascha shall they perform it. But the man who is clean, and is not upon a journey, and forbeareth to perform the Pascha, that man shall be cut off from his people: because he hath not offered the Lord's oblation in its time, that man shall bear his guilt.And if a stranger sojourn with you, and will perform the Pascha before the Lord, according to the rites of the Pascha, and according to the forms thereof, so shall he do: one statute shall you have, for the stranger, and for the native of the land.

      And on the day that the Tabernacle was erected the Cloud covered the Tabernacle of the Testimony; and at evening there was upon the Tabernacle as the vision of Fire, until the morning.  So was it continually; the Cloud covered it (by day), and the appearance of the Fire in the night. And according as the Cloud was uplifted above the Tabernacle, the sons of Israel afterward went on; and at the place where the Cloud rested, there did the sons of Israel encamp. By the Word of the Lord the sons of Israel journeyed, and by the Word of the Lord they encamped; all the days that the Cloud rested, they remained. However long the time the Cloud was upon the Tabernacle, (however) many the days, the sons of Israel kept the watch of the Word of the Lord, and journeyed not. And if the Cloud was over the tabernacle a number of days, according to the Word of the Lord they remained, and by the Word of the Lord they went forward. Or if the Cloud was (over the Tabernacle only) from the evening till the morn, and the Cloud was uplifted in the morning, they went forward; whether (in the) days or nights the Cloud was uplifted, they went forward; whether it was two days, or a month, or a longer season, (time by time,) the Cloud was in staying upon the Tabernacle to remain thereon, the children of Israel remained, and went not forward; but at the lifting up of it. they proceeded. By the Word of the Lord they abode, and by the Word of the Lord they proceeded; they observed the watch of the Word of the Lord, upon the Word of the Lord through Mosheh.

      X.  And the Lord spake with Mosheh, saying: Make thee two trumpets of silver, beaten shalt thou make them, and they shall be for thee to convoke the assembly, and to move forward the host. And they shall blow with them, and bring all the congregation together unto thee, at the door of the tabernacle of

ordinance. And if they blow with but one, the chiefs, the heads of thousands of Israel, shall gather together to thee. When you blow with a full note, (or alarm,) the host that encampeth eastward shall go forward, and when you blow with the second alarm, the hosts that encamp southward shall go on; an alarm[4] shall they blow for their journeys. But when the congregation is to be gathered together, you shall blow, but not with the alarm.  And the sons of Aharon, the priests, are to blow with the trumpets; and this shall be to you a perpetual statute for your generations.

      And when you enter upon the battle fight for your country, with the oppressors who oppress you, ye shall blow the alarm with the trumpets, that your remembrance may come for good before the Lord your God, (and) that you may be delivered from them who hate you.

      And on the day of your rejoicing, and on your solemnities, and at the beginning of your months, ye shall blow with the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over your consecrated victims; and they shall be for a memorial before your God: I am the Lord your God.

      And it was in the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth day of the month, that the Cloud was uplifted from above the Tabernacle of the Testimony, and the children of Israel went forward upon their journeys from the wilderness of Sinai; and the Cloud rested in the wilderness of Pharan. And they went forward at the first by the Word of the Lord through Mosheh. In the first place the standard of the camp of the Beni Jehudah went forward by their hosts; and over the host was Nachshon bar Aminadab. And over the host of the tribe of the Beni Issakar, Nethanel bar Zuar.  And over the host of the tribe of the Beni Zebulun, Eliab bar Chelon.

      And the tabernacle was taken down, and the sons of Gershon went forward, and the sons of Merari, carrying the tabernacle.

      And the standard (or order) of the camp of Reuben went forward by their hosts, and over its host was Elizur bar Shedeur: and over the host of the tribe of the Beni Shemeun was Shelumiel bar Zurishaddai. And over the host of the Beni Gad was Eljasaph bar Dehuel. And the sons of Kehath went forward, carrying the sanctuary, and (the Gershonites and sons of Merari) set up the tabernacle against they came.

      And the standard of the camps of the Beni Ephraim went forward by their hosts, and over his host was Elishama bar Amihud. And over the host of the tribe of the Beni Menasheh was Gamliel bar Phedazur. And over the host of the tribe of the Beni Benyamin, Abidan bar Gideoni.

      And the standard of the camps of the Beni Dan went forward collecting each camp according to their hosts; and over his host was Achiezer bar Amishaddai.

And over the host of the tribe of the Beni Asher, Phagiel bar Akran; and over the host of the tribe of the Beni Naphtali, Achira bar Enan. These are the journeys of the sons of Israel, and according to their hosts they went forward.

      And Mosheh said unto Hobab bar Reuel, the Midianite, the father-in-law of Mosheh, We are journeying to the place of which the Lord hath said, I will give it unto you: come thou with us, and we will do thee good; for the Lord hath spoken, to bring good upon Israel. But he said to him, I will not go (with you), but to my country and to my kindred will I go.  And he said, Leave us not, I beseech thee; for thou knowest how we should encamp in the wilderness; and the great things that will be done for us thou wilt see with thine eyes. And it shall be that if thou wilt go with us, with the good by which the Lord shall do us good, will we do good to thee.

      And from the mountain on which the glory of the Lord had been revealed they went forward, journeying three days; and the ark of the Lord's covenant went before them, three days' journey, to provide for them a place of encampment.

And the Cloud of Glory of the Lord overspread them by day as they went forth from their encampments. And when the ark went forward, Mosheh said: Reveal thyself, O Lord, that Thine enemies may be scattered, and Thy adversaries may flee before thee. And when it rested, he said: Return, O Lord, and dwell in Thy glory among the multitudes of the thousands of Israel.

      XI. But the people were discontented (or, were fomenting evil) before the Lord; and it was heard before the Lord, and His anger was strongly moved, and a fire was kindled against them from before the Lord, and it consumed the outskirts of the camp. And the people cried unto Mosheh, and Mosheh prayed before the Lord, and the fire was subdued. And Mosheh called the name of that place Enkindlement; because the fire had been kindled against them from before the Lord.

      And the mixed multitude who were among them demanded with demand; and the children of Israel also turned, and wept, and said: Who will feed us with flesh? We remember the fish which we ate in Mizraim freely, the cucumbers and melons, the cresses and onions and garlick. But now our soul longeth, yet there is nothing before our eyes but manna. Now the manna was like the seed of coriander, and its appearance as the appearance of bedilcha. And the people went about and gathered; and he who would ground it in mills, or he who would beat it in the mortar, and they dressed it in the pan, and made cakes of it, and its taste was like the taste of a confection of oil. And when the dew came down upon the camp at night, the manna descended upon it.

      And Mosheh heard the people lamenting with their families, a man at the door of his tent. And the displeasure of the Lord grew very strong, as in the eyes of Mosheh it was evil. And Mosheh said before the Lord, Wherefore hast Thou done painfully to Thy servant, and why have I not found mercy before Thee, that Thou hast put the burden of all this people upon me? Am I father to all this people, or are they my children, that Thou hast said to me, Carry them in thy strength, as the nurse carrieth the suckling, unto the land which Thou hast covenanted to their fathers? Whence shall I have flesh to give to all this people? for they lament to me, saying: Give us flesh to eat. I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me. And if Thou do thus with me, kill me, I pray, if I have found mercy before Thee, that I may not see my wretchedness. And the Lord said to Mosheh, Gather unto Me seventy men of the elders  of Israel, whom thou knowest to be elders[5] of the people, and the overseers[6] thereof, and bring them to the tabernacle of ordinance, and let them stand there with thee; and I will reveal Myself, and will speak with thee there; and I will make enlargement[7] of the Spirit that is upon thee, and put it upon them, that they may bear with thee the burden of the people, and thou mayest not sustain it by thyself alone. And say thou to the people, Prepare yourselves for the morrow, and you shall eat flesh; for that you have lamented before the Lord, saying: Who will give us flesh, that we may eat? for it was better with us in Mizraim; and I will give you flesh, and you shall eat. Not one day shall you eat (it), nor two days, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days;  but for a month of days, until you loathe it, and it be an offence to you; because you have felt, dislike to the Word of the Lord, whose Shekinah dwelleth among you; and before whom you have wept, saying: Why came we out of Mizraim? But Mosheh said, The people among whom I am are six hundred thousand footmen; and Thou hast said, I will give them flesh to eat for a month of days. Shall the oxen and sheep be slaughtered for them, to satisfy them, or all the fish of the sea be gathered that they may be satisfied? And the Lord said to Mosheh: Is the "Word of the Lord restrained? Now shalt thou see whether My saying come to pass with thee or not.

      And Mosheh went forth, and told the people the words of the Lord, and gathered together seventy men of the elders of the people, and set them round about the tabernacle. And the Lord was revealed in the Cloud, and spake with him, and he made enlargement of the Spirit that was upon him, and imparted to the seventy men, the elders; and it came to pass that when the Spirit of prophecy rested upon them they prophesied, and ceased not. But two men remained in the camp, the name of the one Eldad, and the name of the second Medad; and the Spirit of prophecy rested upon them; and, though they were in the writings, they had not come out of the camp; but they prophesied in the camp. And a young man ran, and showed to Mosheh, and said: Eldad and Medad do prophesy in the camp. And Jehoshua bar Nun, the minister of Mosheh from his youth, answered and said, Ribboni Mosheh, put them in bond. But Mosheh said, Art thou jealous for my sake?[8]  I would that all the people of the Lord did prophesy, and that the Lord would confer the Spirit of prophecy upon them. And Mosheh returned to the camp, he and the elders of Israel. And the wind proceeded from before the Lord, and the quails flew abroad from the sea, and it bare them upon the camp as (the breadth of) a day's journey here, and a day's journey there, round about the camp, and as at a height of two cubits over the face of the ground. And the people were up all that day, and all the night, and all the day after it, and collected the quails; he who collected least (gathered together) ten heaps; and they spread them abroad, round about the camp.

      While yet the flesh was between their teeth, and they had not yet finished, the displeasure of the Lord was manifested strongly against the people, and the Lord inflicted death among the people with a very great mortality. And he called the name of that place, The Graves of the Demanders;[9] because there they buried the people who demanded. From the Graves of the Demanders the people journeyed to Hatseroth, and they were in Hatseroth.

      XII. And Miriam and Aharon spake against Mosheh, because of the fair woman[10] whom he had taken, because the fair woman who .had been sent away he had taken. And they said, Hath the Lord spoken only with Mosheh? Hath He not spoken with us also? And it was heard before the Lord. [But the man Mosheh was very humble,[11] more than all the men who were upon the face of the earth.]

And the Lord spake suddenly with Mosheh, and to Aharon and to Miriam: Come forth, you three, to the tabernacle of ordinance; and those three went forth. And the Lord was revealed in the pillar of the Cloud, and stood at the door of the tabernacle: and He called Aharon and Miriam, and they two came forth. And He said, Hear now My words. If there be prophets with you, I the Lord will reveal Myself (to them) in visions, in dreams will I speak with them. But not so (with) My servant Mosheh; over all My house faithful is he. Speaker with speaker will I speak with him; in apparition, and not in similitudes; and he shall behold the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And how is this, that you have not been afraid to speak against My servant, against Mosheh? And the displeasure of the Lord was strong against them, and He went up. And the Cloud went up from over the tabernacle. And, behold, Miriam was white as snow; and Aharon looked upon Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous. And Aharon said to Mosheh, My lord, I entreat that thou wouldst not lay this sin upon us, in that we have acted foolishly, and have transgressed. Let not this one, I entreat, be separated from among us, for she is our sister. Pray, now, over this dead flesh which is in her, that she may be healed. And Mosheh prayed before the Lord, saying: O God, I beseech Thee, heal her now. But the Lord said to Mosheh, If her father, correcting, had corrected her, ought she not to have been ashamed seven days? Let her be shut up seven days without the camp, and afterward be admitted. And Miriam was shut up without the camp seven days; and the people journeyed not until Miriam was brought in. And afterward the people journeyed from Hatseroth, and encamped in the wilderness of Pharan.



[1] Literally, Òshall elevate an elevation.Ó The elevation not always done bodily.

[2] Lit., Òdelivered ones: those made over.Ó Heb., Nethinim.

[3] The regular time was the first month.

[4] Trumpet notes: Tekeha, Shevorim, Teruha.

[5] Sam. Vers., Òthe sages.Ó

[6] Sam. Vers., Òscribes.Ó

[7] Heb., ÒI will take away of the Spirit.Ó LXX., idem. Syr., ÒI will diminish from the Spirit.Ó

[8] ÒArt thou jealous with my jealousy?Ó

[9] Heb., Kibroth Hattaavah, Òthe Graves of Desire.Ó

[10] Ittha Shaphirtha. Heb., Ha-isha ha Kushith, Òthe woman the Ethiopian.Ó

[11] Or, Òbent down.Ó Comp. verses 14, 15.