Pgs. 459-471

Ch. 33-36

 

                                                            SECTION XLIII.

                                                            MASEY.

 

XXXIII. These are the journeys of the Beni Israel who came out from Mizraim by

their hosts, after the miracles bad been wrought for them by the hand of Mosheh and Aharon. And Mosheh recorded their outgoings by their journeys by the Word of the Lord; and these are their journeys by their goings forth.

 

They departed from Pelusin in the mouth of Nisan, on the fifteenth day of the month; after they had eaten the sacrifice of the Pascha did the children of Israel go forth, with uncovered head, in sight of all the Mizraee. [JERUSALEM. And they went out from Pelusin in the first month.] And the Mizraee buried those whom the Lord had killed among them, even all the first‑born; and upon their idols did the Word of the Lord do judgments; their molten idols were dissolved, their idols of stone were mutilated, their idols of earthenware broken in pieces, their wooden idols turned to ashes, and their cattle gods were slain with death.

 

And the sons of Israel went forth from Pelusin, and encamped in Sukkoth, a place where they were protected by seven glorious clouds. And they removed from Sukkoth, and encamped in Etham, on the side of the wilderness. They removed from Etham, and returned unto Pumey Hiratha, which lie in front of the idol of Zephon, and encamped before Migdol. [JERUSALEM. And removing from Etham. they returned to the caravansaries of Hiratha, which are in front of the idols.] Arid from the caravansaries of Hiratha they removed, and passed through the midst of the sea, and went upon the shore of the sea, collecting onyx stones and pearls. Afterwards they proceeded three days' journey in the wilderness of Etham, and encamped in Marah. Lind they removed from Marah, and came to Elim; in Elim were twelve fountains of water for the twelve tribes, and seventy palm trees, answering to the seventy sages; and they encamped there by the waters. [JERUSALEM And they removed from Marah and came to Elim: in Elim were twelve fountains of water, answering to the twelve tribes of Israel, and seventy palm trees, answering to the seventy elders of the Sanhedrin of Israel; and they encamped there.] And they removed from Elim, and camped on the banks of the Sea of Suph; and they removed from the banks of the sea, and encamped in the wilderness of Sin; thence[1] to Dopheka, Kerak Takiph (the strong tower), Rephidim, where, because their hands were (raphin) neglectful of the words of the law, there was no water for the people to drink; thence to the Graves of those who desired flesh; thence to Hazeroth, where Miriam the prophetess was struck, with leprosy; thence to Rithema, the place of many juniper trees; thence to Rumana, whose fruit is hard;[2] thence to Libnah, whose borders are built of bricks (Iibnetha); thence to Beth Rissa; thence to Kebelath, where Korach and his companions banded together against Mosheh and Aharon; thence to the mountain whose fruit is good; thence to Harada, where they were confounded by the evil plague; thence to Makheloth, the place of congregation; thence to the lower Makheloth; thence to Tharach, and Muka, whose waters were sweet; thence to Hasmona; thence to Meredotha, the place of rebellion (or chastisement); thence to Bere‑Haktha, Gudgad, at the Rocks, Jotebath, a good and quiet place; thence to the Fords; thence to Tarnegolla, the tower of the cock; thence to the wilderness of Zin; at the Iron Mount, which is Rekem; thence to Mount Umano, on the borders of the Land of Edom. And Aharon the priest went up to Mount Umano by the Word of the Lord, and died there, in the fortieth year from the going out of the children of Israel from Mizraim, in the fifth month, on the first of the month. And Aharon was one hundred and twenty‑three years old when he died on Mount Umano.

 

And Amalek the wicked, who was combined with the Kenaanites, and reigned in Arad,‑the house of his abode was in the land of the south,‑heard that the sons of Israel were coming to wage war against them, and utterly to destroy their cities.

 

And they removed from Mount Umano, and encamped in Zalmona, a place of thorns, and narrow (or squalid), in the land of the Edomaee; and there the soul of the people was distressed on account of the way; thence to Punon, where the Lord sent burning serpents among them, and their cry went up to heaven. And they removed to Oboth; thence to the passage of the Fords, on the border of the Moabaee; thence to Dibon, the place of fortune;[3] thence to Almon Diblathaimah, where the well was hidden from them, because they had forsaken the words of the law, which are as delicious as figs (diblatha); thence to the Mount Ibraee, in front of the place of the burial of Mosheh; thence they removed and encamped in the fields of Moab, by Jordan, near Jericho; and they encamped by the Jordan, from Bethjeshimon unto the plain of Sillan in the fields of Moab.

 

And the Lord spake with Mosheh, in the fields of Moab, at the Jordan, by Jericho, saying: Speak with the sons of Israel, and say to them: When you have passed over the Jordan into the land of Kenaan, you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the country from before you, and lay waste all the houses of their worship, destroy all their molten images, and overthrow all their high places. [JERUSALEM. You shall destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you, make an end of all their idols, break their molten images, and overthrow all their high places.] And you shall drive out the inhabitants of the land, and dwell therein, for I have given you the land to possess it. And you shall inherit the land by lots, according to your families; to the tribe whose people are many you shall enlarge, and to the tribe whose people are few, you shall diminish. According to the place where one's lot falleth, there shall his place be; you shall inherit by the tribes of your fathers.

 

     But if you will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, it will be that the residue whom you have spared looking at you with an evil eye will surround you as shields (terisin) on your sides, and afflict you in the land wherein you dwell; and it shall be that as I had thought to do to them I will do to you.

 

XXXIV. And the Lord spake with Mosheh, saying: Command the sons of Israel, and say to them: When you have entered into the land of Kenaan, this shall be the land that shall be divided to you for an inheritance, the land of Kenaan by its limits. Your south border (shall be) from the Wilderness of Palms, by the iron mountain, at the confines of Edom, even the south border at the extremities of the Sea of Salt, eastward. And your border shall turn from the south to the ascent of Akrabbith, and pass on to the palms of the mountain of iron, and the going forth thereof shall be southward of Rekem Giah, and shall go onward to the tower of Adar, and pass over to Kesam. And the border shall wind round from Kesam unto Nilos, of the Mizraee, and its outgoings shall be to the west.

 

And for the western border you shall have the Great Ocean Sea; its limits are the waters of the beginning[4] with the waters of old which are in its depth; its capes and havens, its creeks and its cities, its islands and ports, its ships and its recesses:[5] this shall be your border westward.

 

And this shall be your northern border;‑from the Great Sea you shall appoint to you unto Mount Umanis.[6] From Mount Umanis you shall appoint to you (a line) as thou goest up to the entrance of Tebaria, and the outgoings of the border at its two sides, unto Kadkor Of Bar Zahama, and to Kadkol of Bar Sanigora, and Divakinos and Tarnegola unto Kesarin, where thou goest up to Abelas of Cilicia. And the border shall go on unto Keren Zekutha, and to Gibra Hatmona, and its outgoings shall be at Keria Bethsekel, and to the midst of the great court (darela rabtha), which is at Mizeha, between the towers of Hinvetha and Darmeshek: this shall be your northern limit.

 

And you shall appoint your eastern border from the of Hinvetba unto Apamea; and the border shall descend from Apamea to Dophne, eastward of Hinvetha; thence the border shall go down to the cavern of Panias, and from the cavern of Panias to the mountain of snow, and from the mountain of snow to Henan, and from Henan the border shall go down and encompass the plain of the river of Arnon, and arrive at the wilderness and the palms of the mountain of iron, take in the Waters of Contention, and rest at Ginesar, a city of the kings of the Edomites, the inheritance of the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the half tribe of Menasheh; and the border shall descend and encompass the Sea of Genesar on the east.

 

[JERUSALEM. And your border shall be southward, from the wilderness of Rekem, over against the frontier of the Edomaee, and southward shall it be to you unto the extremity of the Sea of Salt, eastward. And your South border shall go round from the ascent of Akrabim, which passeth over by the mountain of iron, and its outgoings shall be from the south unto Rekem Giah, and proceed to the buildings of the threshing floors, and pass on to Kesam. And the border shall wind round from Kesam unto Nilos Mizraim,[7] and the going out of it shall be at the sea.

 

And the (west) border shall be the Great Ocean Sea; its isles, ports, and ships, with the ancient waters that are in it, the waters of the beginning; this shall be your western border.

 

And this shall be your northern limit: from the Great Sea you shall appoint to you unto Mount Manos. From Mount Manos you shall extend to the entrance of Antiochia, and the outgoing shall be unto Abelas of the Cilicians; and the border shall go to Zapherin, and its outgoing be at the dwellings of Hainutha, unto Apamea, unto Dopline, east of Hainutha, and shall descend and come down upon the Sea of Ginesar at the west.] And the border shall descend to the Jordan, and its outgoing be at the Sea of Salt. Rekem Giah on the south, Mount Umanos on the north, the Great Sea on the west, the Sea of Salt on the east,‑this shall be your country, the Land of Israel, by the extent of its borders round about. [JERUSALEM. And it shall descend to Jordan, and have its outgoings at the Sea of Salt. This shall be your land by its limits round about.] And Mosheh commanded the sons of Israel, saying: This is the land which you are to inherit by lot, which the Lord hath commanded to give to the nine tribes and the half tribe. For the tribe of the children of Reuben, according to the house of their fathers, and tribe of Gad, and the half tribe of Menasheh have received their inheritance beyond the Jordan on the eastern side. [JERUSALEM. The two tribes and the half tribe have received their inheritance beyond Jordan‑Jericho first. Their border goeth forth on the east from the plain of the Salt Sea to Kinnereth, the city of the kingdom of the Amorites, and thence to the mountain of snow, and to Hamatha of Lebanon; thence to Hoba, on the northern side of Hainutha, of Damasek, and from Hoba to Divakinos, at the snowy mount of Kisarion, eastward of (the town of) Dan, on the west, and from thence to the Great River, the river Phrat, upon which is the order of the victories of the wars of the Lord, which are to be wrought there. And from the Great River, the Phrat, their border goeth forth to the cities of Zavatha, beyond all the Tarkon (Trechonites), unto Zimra, the royal house of Sihon, king of the Amoraee, and the royal house of Og, king of Mathnan, going to Raphiach and to Shokmezai, until thou comest to the shore of the Salt Sea. This is the portion of the two tribes and the half tribe.]

 

And the Lord spake with Mosheh, saying: These are the names of the men who shall make to you the inheritance of the land: Elazar the priest, and Jehoshua bar Nun, and one prince from each of the tribes you shall choose to give you the inheritance of the land. And these are the names of the men. Of the tribe of Jehudah, Kaleb bar Jephunneh; for Shemeon, Shemuel bar Ammihud; Benjamin, Elidad bar Kiselon; Dan, Buki bar Jageli; Joseph,J1enasheh, Haniel bar Ephod; Ephraim, Kemuel bar Shipbtan; Zebulon, Elizaphan bar Parnak; Issakar, Paltiel bar Azan; Asher, Abihud bar Shelomi; Naphtali, Pedahael bar Ammihud. These are they whom the Lord commanded to divide the inheritance of the land of Kenaan to the children of Israel.

 

XXXV. And the Lord spake with Mosheh in the plains of Moab, by Jordan‑Jericho, saying: Command the sons of Israel that they give to the Levites from their inheritance cities to dwell in, and suburbs (open spaces) to the cities round about shall you give to the Levites. [JERUSALEM. And suburbs to the cities round about them shall you give to the Levites.] And the cities shall be for them to dwell in, and the suburbs for their cattle, their property, and all their needful things. But of the cities which you give to the Levites the suburbs round the city shalt be one thousand cubits without the city round about. [JERUSALEM. But the suburbs.] And you shall measure outside the city, on the east side, two thousand cubits; on the South two thousatid, on the west two thousand, and on the north two thousand cubits, with the city in the midst; these shall be to you the suburbs of the cities. And of the cities you give to the Levites, six shall be for refuges to manslayers, that the manslayer may escape thither. Beside these you shall give them forty‑two other cities. All the cities that you give to the Levites shall be fortyeiaht cities with their suburbs. But when you give the cities from the inheritance of the Beni Israel, from the tribe wbose people are many you shall give many, and from the tribe whose people are few you shall diminish; every one shall give of his cities to the Levites, according to the inheritance he possesses.

 

And the Lord spake with Mosheh, saying: Speak with the sons of Israel, and say to them, When you have passed over Jordan unto the land of Kenaan, you shall provide you cities with streets and houses of living (boarding houses), cities of refuge shall they be to you, that thither the maiislayer may flee who hath killed a man inadvertently. And they shall be to you for cities of refuge for the manslayer from the avenger of blood, that the man may not be put to death till he shall have stood before the congregation for judgment. And these cities which yougive shall be six cities of refuge for the manslayer; three you shall appoint beyond Jordan, and three in the land of Kenaan; cities of refuge shall they be. For the sons of Israel and the sojourners among you shall be these six cities of refuge, that thither whoever hath killed a man through ignorance may flee.

 

But if he smote him with an instrument of iron and killed him, he is a murderer; and the murderer shall be surely put to death. Or if, filling his hand with a stone large enough to kill any one, he struck him, and killed him, he is a murderer, and the murderer dying shall die. Or if, filling his hand with an instrument of wood sufficient to kill any one, he struck him, and killed him, he is a murderer; the murderer shall be put to death. The avenger of blood may himself kill the manslayer, if he meet him outside of these cities; he may kill him in judgment.

 

But if (the manslayer) had assaulted in enmity and intentionally with a club or staff, or thrown stones upon him with purpose of heart, and killed him; or cherishing enmity had struck him with his hand and killed him; he is a murderer; dying he shall die. The avenger of blood may slay the homicide when he hath been condemned. But if in ignorance, without keeping of malice, he let any thing fall upon him, having no intention to kill; or if without intention he let a stone sufficient to kill any one, or any other thing, fall upon him, and kill him, without having hated, or purposed to do him harm, then the congregation shall judge between him who had smitten him, and the avenger of blood, according to these judgments; and the congregation shall release the manslayer from the hand of the avenger of blood, and make him return to his city of refuge whither he had fled; and he shall dwell there until the time that the high priest die, whom the multitude (sagia) had anointed with the oil of anointing;‑because he did not pray on the Day of Atonement in the Holy of Holies concerning the three great transgressions, that the people of the house of Israel might not be smitten for strange worship, or impure connexions, or the shedding of innocent blood, when it was in his power to obviate them by his prayer, and he prayed not, therefore hath he been condemned to die in that year.

 

But if, while the high priest is yet alive, the manslayer goeth out indeed from the bounds, of his city of refuge whither he had fled, and the avenger of blood find him without the bounds of his city of refuge, he may kill the manslayer, without being guilty of death, for he should have abode in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest; but after the high priest is dead he may return to the land of his inheritance.

 

And these indications shall be to you a decree of judgment for your generations in all your dwellings: Whosoever killeth a man, according to the word of witnesses fit to give testimony against him, the avenger of blood, or the house of judgment, shall put him to death. But one witness only shall not testify against a man to put him to death. You may not take a ransom for the release of a murderer who is guilty of death, for dying he shall die. Neither may you take ransom for him who hath fled to his city of refuge, so as that he may return to dwell in the land before the time of the high priest's decease. Nor contaminate ye the land in which you are, because innocent blood which hath not been avenged will overflow the land, and there is no atonement made for the land upon which innocent blood hath been shed, but by the shedding of the blood of him who shed it. Therefore defile not the land in which you are; for My Shekinah dwelleth in the midst of it; for I am the Lord whose Shekinah dwelleth among the children of Israel.

 

XXXVI. And the heads of the fathers of the family of the Beni Gilead bar Makir bar Menasheh, even the family of the Beni Gilead bar Joseph, came to the house of judgment, and spake before Mosheh and the princes, the chief fathers of the Beni Israel, and said: The Lord commanded Rabboni to give the land an inheritance by lot to the children of Israel, and Rabboni was commanded before the Lord to give the inheritance of our brother Zelophehad to his daughters. But if these marry into any of the tribes of the children of Israel, their inheritance will be withdrawn from that of our fathers, and will be added to the inheritance of the tribe which will have become theirs, and our lot will be diminished. And at the Jubilee of the Beni Israel their inheritance will be added to that of their tribe in which they will be; and their possession will have been withdrawn from the inheritance of our father's tribe.

 

Then Mosheh commanded the children of Israel by the Word of the Lord, saying: The tribe of the Beni Joseph have said well. This is the thing which the Lord hath cornmanded,‑not for the generations that shall arise after the division of the land, but for the daughters of Zelophehad, saying: They may be the wives of them who are proper in their eyes, only such must be of the families of their father's tribe. That the inheritance of the children of Israel may not pass about from one tribe to another: for the children of Israel shall every one keep to the inheritance of their father's tribe. (Verses 9 and 10 are wanting.) As the Lord commanded Mosheh, so did the daughters of Zelophehad; and Mahalah, Thirzah, Hogelab, Milchah and Nohah, the daughters of Zelophehad, became wives of sons of their kindred; of the family of the children of Menasheh bar Joseph were they wives, and their inheritance was with the tribe of their father's family.

 

These are the commandments and orders of judgmengts which the Lord commanded the children of Israel, by Mosheh, in the plains of Moab by the Jordan near Jericho.

 

END OF THE PALESTINIAN TARGUM ON THE

SEPHER BEMIDBAR.

 

 

[1] The expression "and they removed from" such a place occurs in the recital of all these stages. I have henceforward omitted it, and given only the place of each encampment in succession.

[1] From rimmon, "a pomegranante." (?)

[1] Beth Mazala, "the house of the planet."

[1] Or, "the creation."

[1] Or , "interior."

[1] This name is here given to Mount Lebanon.

[1] Not the Nile, but a small river falling into the Mediterranean, a little below Gaza. Compare Joshua xv. 47.