Legends of the Patriarchs and Prophets
TextThe Mussulman story is not quite the same.
One version is that both Moses and Aaron ascended Hor, knowing that one of them was to die, but uncertain which, and they found a cave, and a sarcophagus therein with the inscription on it, “I am for him whom I fit.”
Moses tried to lie down in it, but his feet hung out; Aaron next entered it, lay down, and it fitted him exactly.
Then Gabriel led Moses and the sons of Aaron out of the cave, and when they were again admitted Aaron was dead.575
Another version is this: God announced to Moses that he would call Aaron to Himself. Then Moses took his brother from the camp, and they went into the desert, till they came to a tree. When Aaron saw the shadow, he said, “O my brother, whose tree is this?”
Moses said, “God alone knows.”
Then spake Aaron, “I am weary, and the shadow is cool; suffer me to repose a little while under the tree.”
Moses said, “Lie down my brother; and may thy rest be sweet.”
Aaron lay down, and Moses sat by him till he died.
Then suddenly the tree, the shadow, and Aaron vanished; and Moses returned alone to the Israelites. They were angry with him, that he had not brought back Aaron, and they took up stones against him. But Moses cried to the Lord, and the Lord showed them Aaron on a bed, and he was dead; and the people looked, and wondered, and wept: then said a voice from heaven, “God hath taken him.” The people bewailed him many days.576
14. THE DEATH OF MOSES
When the time came for Moses to die, the Lord called Gabriel to Him, and said, “Go and bring the soul of My servant Moses to Paradise.”
The angel Gabriel answered in astonishment, “Lord, Lord, how can I venture to give death to that man, the like of whom all generations of men have not seen?”
Then the Most High called to Him Michael, and said, “Go and bring the soul of My servant Moses to Paradise.”
The angel Michael answered in fear, “Lord, Lord, I was his instructor in heavenly lore! How can I bear death to my pupil?”
Then the Most High called to Him Sammael, and said, “Go and bring the soul of My servant Moses to Paradise.”
The angel Sammael flushed red with joy. He clothed himself in anger, and grasped his sword, and rushed down upon the holy one. But he found him writing the incommunicable name of God, and he saw his face shine with divine light. Then he stood irresolute, and his sword sank with the point to earth.
“What seekest thou?” asked Moses.
“I am sent to give thee death,” answered the trembling angel. “All mortals must submit to that.”
“But not I,” said Moses, “at least from thee; I, consecrated from my mother’s womb, the discloser of divine mysteries, the mouthpiece of God, I will not surrender my soul into thy hand.”
Then Sammael flew away.
But a voice fell from heaven, “Moses, Moses, thine hour is come!”
“My Lord,” answered Moses, “give not my soul into the hands of the Angel of Death.”
Then the Bath-kol, the heavenly voice, fell again, “Be comforted. I myself will take thy soul, and I myself will bury thee.”577
Then Moses went home, and knocked at the door. His wife Zipporah opened; and when she saw him pale and trembling, she inquired the reason.
Moses answered, “Give God the praise. My hour of death is come.”
“What! must a man who has spoken with God die like ordinary mortals?”
“He must. Even the angels Gabriel, Michael, and Israfiel must die; God alone is eternal, and dies not.”
Zipporah wept and swooned away.
When she recovered her senses, Moses asked, “Where are my children?”
“They are put to bed, and are asleep.”
“Wake them up; I must bid them farewell.”
Zipporah went to the children’s bed and cried, “Arise, poor orphans! arise and bid your father farewell; for this is his last day in this world, and the first in the world beyond.”
The children awoke in terror, and cried, “Alas! who will pity us when we are fatherless? who will stand protector on our threshold?”
Moses was so moved that he wept. Then God said to him, “What mean these tears? Fearest thou death, or dost thou part reluctantly with this world?”
“I fear not death, nor do I part reluctantly with this world; but I lament these children, who have lost their grandfather Jethro and their uncle Aaron, and who now must lose their father.”
“In whom then did thy mother confide, when she cast thee in the bulrush ark into the water?”
“In Thee, O Lord.”
“Who gave thee power before Pharaoh? who strengthened thee with thy staff to divide the sea?”
“Thou, O Lord.”
“Who led thee through the wilderness, and gave thee bread from heaven, and opened to thee the rock of flint?”
“Thou, O Lord.”
“Then canst thou not trust thy orphans to Me, who am a father to the fatherless? But go, take thy staff, and extend it once more over the sea, and thou shalt have a sign to strengthen thy wavering faith.”
Moses obeyed. He took the rod of God in his hand, and he went down to the sea-beach, and he lifted the rod over the water. Then the sea divided, and he saw in the midst a black rock. And he went forward into the sea till he reached the rock, and then a voice said to him, “Smite with thy staff!” And he smote, and the rock clave asunder, and he saw at its foundations a little cavity, and in the cavity was a worm with a green leaf in its mouth. The worm lifted up its voice and cried thrice, “Praise be God, who doth not forget me, though I, a little worm, lie in loneliness here! Praised be God, who hath nourished and cherished even me!”
When the worm was silent, God said to Moses: “Thou seest that I do not fail to consider and provide for a little worm in a rock of which men know not, far in the depths of the sea; and shall I forget thy children, who know Me?”
Moses returned with shame to his home, comforted his wife and children, and went alone to the mountain where he was to die.578
And when he had gone up the mountain, he met three men who were digging a grave; and he asked them, “For whom do you dig this grave?”
They answered, “For a man whom God will call to be with Him in Paradise.”
Moses asked permission to lend a hand to dig the grave of such a holy man. When it was completed, Moses asked, “Have you taken the measure of the deceased?”
“No; we have quite forgotten to do so. But he was of thy size; lie down in it, and God will reward thee, when we see if it be likely to suit.”
Moses did so.579
The three men were the three angels Michael, Gabriel, and Sagsagel. The angel Michael, had begun the grave, the angel Gabriel had spread the white napkin for the head, the angel Sagsagel that for the feet.
Then the angel Michael stood on one side of Moses, the angel Gabriel on the other side, the angel Sagsagel at the feet, and the Majesty of God appeared above his head.
And the Lord said to Moses, “Close thine eyelids.” He obeyed.
Then the Lord said, “Press thy hand upon thy heart.” And he did so.
Then God said, “Place thy feet in order.” He did so.
Then the Lord addressed the spirit of Moses, and said, “Holy soul, my daughter! For a hundred and twenty years hast thou inhabited this undefiled body of dust. But now thine hour is come; come forth and mount to Paradise!”
But the soul answered, trembling and with pain, “In this pure and undefiled body have I spent so many years, that I have learned to love it, and I have not the courage to desert it.”
“My daughter, come forth! I will place thee in the highest heaven beneath the Cherubim and Seraphim who bear up My eternal throne.”
Yet the soul doubted and quaked.
Then God bent over the face of Moses, and kissed him. And the soul leaped up in joy, and went with the kiss of God to Paradise.
Then a sad cloud draped the heavens, and the wind wailed, “Who lives now on earth to fight against sin and error?”
And a voice answered, “Such a prophet never arose before.”
And the Earth lamented, “I have lost the holy one!”
And Israel lamented, “We have lost the Shepherd!”
And the angels sang, “He is come in peace to the arms of God!”580
But the Mussulmans narrate the last scene differently.
They say that the Angel of Death stood over Moses, as he lay in the grave, and said, “Prophet of God, I must take thy soul.”
“How wilt thou take it?”
“From thy mouth.”
“Thou canst not, for my mouth hath spoken with God.”
“Then from thine eyes.”
“Thou canst not, for my eyes have seen the uncreated Light of God.”
“Then from thy ears.”
“Thou canst not, for my ears have heard the Voice of God.”
“Then from thy hands.”
“Thou canst not, for my hands have held the diamond tables, on which was engraven the Tora.”
Then God bade the Angel of Death obtain from Rhidwan, the porter of Paradise, an apple from the garden, and give it to Moses to smell.
Moses took the apple out of the hand of the Angel of Death, and smelt at it; and as he smelt thereat, the angel drew his soul forth at his nostrils.
None know where is the grave of Moses, save Gabriel, Michael, Israfiel, and Azrael, for they buried him and defend his grave to the Judgment Day.581
By Nebo’s lonely mountain,
On this side Jordan’s wave,
In a vale in the land of Moab
There lies a lonely grave.
And no man knows that sepulchre,
And no man saw it e’er,
For the angels of God upturned the sod,
And laid the dead man there.
That was the grandest funeral
That ever passed on earth;
But no man heard the trampling,
Or saw the train go forth —
Noiselessly as the daylight
Comes back when night is done,
And the crimson streak on Ocean’s cheek
Grows into the great sun;
Noiselessly as the spring-time
Her crown of verdure weaves,
And all the trees on all the hills
Open their thousand leaves;
So without sound of music,
Or voice of them that wept,
Silently down from the mountain’s crown
The great procession swept.
And had he not high honor —
The hill-side for a pall,
To lie in state, while angels wait
With stars for tapers tall;
And the dark rock-pines, like tossing plumes.
Over his bier to wave,
And God’s own hand in that lonely land
To lay him in the grave?582
Once when the Persian Empire was at the summit of its power, an attempt was made to discover the body of Moses. A countless host of Persian soldiers was sent to search Mount Nebo. When they had reached the top of the mountain, they saw the sepulchre of Moses distinctly at the bottom. They hastened to reach the valley, and then they clearly distinguished the tomb of Moses at the summit. Thus, whenever they were at the top, they saw it at the foot; and when they were at the foot, it appeared at the top; so they were forced to abandon the prosecution of their search.583
The incident of the contention of Michael with Satan for the body of Moses mentioned by S. Jude is contained in the apocryphal “Assumption of Moses,” now lost, but which has been quoted by Origen and other Fathers.
XXXIII
JOSHUA
Hitherto Israel had required a lawgiver, and they had been given one in Moses; now they needed a general, and they were provided with one in Joshua.
After the death of Moses and his brother Aaron, the children of Israel remained seven years in the wilderness, till the forty years were accomplished. Then God conferred on Joshua the function of prophet, and ordered him to lead the chosen people out of the desert and to attack the three cities of the giants.
Joshua was of the tribe of Joseph. He was the son of Nun, who was the son of Ephraim, who was the son of Joseph; and his mother was Miriam, the sister of Moses and Aaron.584
Before Joshua led the people of the Lord to the conquest of the Holy Land, Joshua sent three deputations into Canaan; of these the first proclaimed, “Let any one who will escape death, leave the country.”
Then came the second deputation, and declared, “Let such people as will make an alliance with us, do so, and we will receive them.”
Then came the third deputation, and cried, “Let those who persist in desiring war prepare for it.”
The result of these deputations was that one nation deserted the country and settled in Africa, and that another nation made terms with Israel. But thirty-one princes made ready for war.585
Joshua marched with his army against Jericho, took the city, and slew all the men therein; they were giants, and it took a hundred men to cut off the head of each giant.
After the capture of Jericho, Joshua went against Ai, which is beside Beth-aven, on the east side of Bethel. And as the people went up, the men of Ai came forth, and routed them, and they fled.586
Then Joshua rent his clothes, and fell on his face to the earth before the ark of the Lord, until eventide, he and the elders of Israel, and put dust on their heads.
And the Lord said to Joshua, “Get thee up. I am wroth with the people, for there is amongst them a sin which is not put away, and till that accursed thing is cast out, victory shall not attend their arms.”
Now Joshua had ordered all the plunder of Jericho to be burnt with fire; but although it was heaped up, the fire would not consume it. Then he knew that the pile could not be complete, for the flames danced up, but would consume nothing, as though they waited for the entirety of their prey.
So Joshua made inquisition; and it was found that Achan (Adjezan in Arabic) had concealed a portion of the booty, which he desired to appropriate to his own use.
Then the booty taken by Achan was added to the heap, and instantly the flames roared up, and devoured the whole of the spoil.587
And when Ai was taken, Joshua said: “Enter into this town; for God has taken it from the giants, and has given it to you to be your inheritance. But when you pass through the gates, prostrate yourselves, with your heads in the dust, and adore God, saying, Hittaton, hittaton, which is by interpretation, Pardon our sins.”
Some of those who entered Ai obeyed the voice of Joshua, and God gave them a possession in that city, and their posterity retain it to this day.
But there were some ungodly men who disobeyed the voice of Joshua, and when they passed through the gates, they did not prostrate themselves, but they raised their heads to heaven, and instead of saying “hittaton,” as commanded, they said “hintaton,” asking for corn.
Then the wrath of God was kindled against these men, and fire fell from heaven, and consumed all that had said hintaton in place of hittaton.588
Near Ai there were mountains, in which reigned two kings, Kuma and Djion (Sihon). These Amorites were wealthy. When Joshua attacked these kings, they asked to make a league with the people of Israel; and they were accepted, on condition that they believed in the religion of Moses.
Another of these mountain kingdoms was governed by a king called Barak (Adoni-bezek). He also sought by submission to escape ruin, and Joshua accepted him on the same terms as Kuma and Djion.
To the west were five cities, whose inhabitants were also Amorites. The kings of these cities made war on Joshua. Joshua routed them, and these five kings took refuge in a cave. Joshua ordered the cave to be closed with a stone, whilst he pursued the routed army. Then God sent hail from heaven, and each hailstone struck down and killed a man.589
On that day Joshua cried to the Lord, for the sun hastened to go down, and it was a Friday, and he feared that he should not have utterly discomfited the host before the Sabbath came in. Then the Lord lengthened the day one hour, so as to enable him to complete his victory.590
After the battle, it was announced to him that Barak and the other kings who had made submission to him had taken advantage of the rising of the kings of the five cities to renounce their allegiance, and to return to the worship of false gods. Therefore Joshua prayed, “O Lord! because they have become unfaithful, take from them their riches, and make them poor, that they may become bondsmen; and that their king may fall into misery!”
Joshua was sick and unable to march against them. He was aged a hundred and twenty-eight years. He was a hundred years old when Moses died, and he governed Israel twenty-eight years.591
For the benefit of coin-collectors, the following information is inserted. “On the coins struck by Abraham are figured, on the obverse, an old man and an ass; on the reverse, a boy and a girl. On the coins of Joshua are, on one side a bull, on the other a unicorn. On those of David, on one side a staff and wallet, on the other a tower. On those of Mordecai, on the obverse, sackcloth and ashes; and on the reverse a crown.”592
After Joshua, Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, and Othniel, the son of Kenaz,593 Caleb’s brother, governed Israel. They collected the people, and marched against Barak (Adoni-bezek)594 and his people who had apostatized, and attacked them, and slew great numbers of them.
They took the king and cut off his thumbs. This Barak had, during his reign, treated seventy kings in like fashion, so that they were unable to pick up any thing off the ground. And when Barak was feasting, these kings were brought before him. Then he cast bread among them, but they were unable to pick it up, having no thumbs, and they were obliged to stoop to the ground, and take it in their mouths like dogs; and this caused huge merriment to the king.595
XXXIV
THE JUDGES
If Joshua, the first of the Judges, has, to a great extent, escaped the hands of legend manufacturers, the same may be said of his successors, Phinehas, Othniel, Ehud, Deborah and Barak, Gibeon, Abimelech, Tola, Jair, Jephthah, Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon. Even Samson has not been surrounded by such a multitude of traditions as might have been expected.
The Mussulmans have little to say of him, and the Jewish legends are not numerous.
The Rabbi Samuel, son of Nahaman, said that Samson once took two mountains, one in each hand, and knocked them together, as a man will strike together two pebbles. The Rabbi Jehuda said that when the Spirit of the Lord rested on him he strode in one stride from Zorah to Eshtaol. The Rabbi Nahaman added that his hair stood up, and one hair tinkled against another, so that the sound could be heard, like that of bells, from Zorah to Eshtaol.596
Abulfaraj says that Phinehas, the son of Eleazer, the son of Aaron, after the death of Joshua, was commanded by an angel to put the manna, the rods, the tables of the covenant, and the five books of Moses in a brazen urn, seal it with lead, and conceal it in a cave, as the Israelites were too wicked to be entrusted with such a treasure.597
XXXV
SAMUEL
Gjalout (Goliath) was king of the Philistines. He was of the race of the ancient giants, the Adites and the Themudites, who were from fifty to a hundred cubits in height.
The children of Israel were grievously oppressed by him, and they besought God to send them a prophet who would reinstruct them in the law of Moses, and in the true religion. For thirty years they besought God, but no prophet was given to them. In the meanwhile, the Philistines oppressed them more and more, and whenever the Israelites rose against them they defeated the Israelites with great slaughter.
There died a man of the tribe of Levi, Rayyan (Elkanah), son of Elkama, who was descended from Aaron the brother of Moses. The elders of Israel hearing that he had died, leaving his wife pregnant, went to her and surrounded her with the greatest care and comforts.
There was amongst them a wise man named Hil (Eli) who was high-priest; to him they confided the care of the widow. In time she bore a son, who was named Ischmawil (Samuel).
Eli brought up the child Samuel in the temple, to the age of seven years, and he taught him the Pentateuch and the religion of Moses.
Samuel regarded Eli as his father, because he had been brought up by him, and he loved and reverenced him greatly.
One night when he was asleep, Gabriel came into the room and made a noise, so that Samuel awoke.
He saw no one, so he called to Eli, “Master! didst thou summon me?”
Eli replied, “No, my son, I did not summon thee.”
Next night the same occurred; so also the third night.
Then Eli thought that God wished to give to Samuel the gift of prophecy; therefore he said, “My son, if thou art called again in the night, reply, Here am I; what wouldest Thou? I am in Thy hands.”
Samuel did so. Then Gabriel appeared to him and communicated to him the message of God.
Samuel told Eli that the Lord had given him the gift of prophecy, by the mouth of His messenger Gabriel.
Then Eli was rejoiced, and he announced the glad tidings to all Israel.
Eli had two sons whom he had instructed in the art of offering sacrifice according to the law of Moses, but he had taught them nothing else. Eli himself moreover neglected to sacrifice, and he allowed his sons to live after their lusts, unrestrained by his paternal and priestly rebuke.
Therefore God spake to Samuel that He would punish Eli and his sons; but Samuel feared to show it to the high priest.
Then said Eli to him, “Has God given thee a message to me?”
And Samuel answered, “God has said, Why hast thou neglected to offer sacrifice, so that thy sons add thereto or detract therefrom? And why hast thou not constrained them? Because of this sin, I shall deliver thee into the hands of an enemy, who shall slay thy sons, and take the ark, and cause thee to perish also.”598
Then Gjalout came, and made war against the children of Israel, and there was a great battle, and Hophni and Phinehas, the sons of Eli, were slain, and the ark was taken; and Eli fell backward from off his seat when he heard the news, and his neck brake, and he died.
In the ark, that now fell into the hands of the Philistines, were preserved the tables of the Law, which God had given to Moses, and a basin in which the angels washed and purified the hearts of the prophets, and the mitre and breastplate and potificial robes of Aaron.
The Israelites had been accustomed, in times of peril, to produce the ark, and it had delivered them from evil by virtue of the sacred relics it contained. As for the Shekinah which rested upon it, and from which the ark took its name of Tabut-Shekinah, the Mussulman authors assure us it had the form of a leopard, which, whenever the ark was carried against the enemies of God’s people, rose on its legs, and uttered so potent a roar, that the foes of Israel fell to the ground. These authors, however, derive this fable from Rabbinic writers.599
The king of the Philistines, having obtained possession of the ark, placed it in a draught-house, purposing thereby to express his hatred of the Jews, and his contempt for that which they regarded as most sacred.
But a terrible disease broke out among the Philistines, and the ark was sent from Gaza to another city. There the plague appeared immediately, and the Philistines were at length obliged to return the ark to the Israelites.
In the mean time, the Israelites, in consternation at the loss of their ark, gathered about Samuel, and besought him to consecrate a king for them, who might go forth to battle before them, and recover for them the ark.
Then Samuel said: “If I consecrate a king for you, will you not desert him, and refuse to obey him?”
But they all protested, “We will follow him wherever he leads, and we will obey all his commands.”600
Then Schareh, who was surnamed Thalout (Saul), on account of the greatness of his stature, was chosen by Samuel to be their king. He was poor, and by trade a water-carrier, and his ancestors had all been water-carriers.
Now the father of Saul had lost an ass, which had escaped into the desert. Saul went after it.
Then Samuel came to meet him, and said to him: “Thou shalt reign as king over the people of Israel.”
Saul replied: “O prophet of God! thou knowest that my tribe is the least among the tribes, and that I am the poorest among the members of my tribe.”
Samuel said: “Nevertheless, God has ordered that so it should be.”
Then he poured on his head the sacred oil which had been brought to Samuel out of heaven by Gabriel.
But some say that this oil belonged to Joseph the son of Jacob, and it was preserved by the prophets. When this oil was poured on Saul’s head and face, it made his skin brilliant and pure.
Now the prophets all came out of the tribe of Levi, and the tribe of Benjamin was despised greatly by the Israelites. And when they heard that their king was from that tribe, and was a water-carrier, they were angry, and exclaimed, “Why should he reign over us? We are as worthy to reign as he!”601
Samuel answered, “God gives power to whom He wills.”
The Israelites said, “Show us a sign.”
Samuel brought the sacred oil forth, and it boiled in the presence of Saul.602
But that did not suffice them. They then asked another sign; and Samuel said, “The ark shall return.”
And they lifted their eyes, and lo! the ark was coming to them attached to the tails of two cows, and angels guided the cows.603
Then the children of Israel doubted no longer, but accepted Saul as their king.
Then said Samuel to the people: “The God of your fathers has sent me unto you, to promise you victory over the Philistines, and deliverance from your bondage, if you will turn and leave your evil ways.”
“What shall we do?” asked one of the elders, “that we may obtain the favor of God?”
Samuel answered, “Ye must pray to God alone, and offer no sacrifices to idols, nor eat the flesh of swine, or blood; neither must you eat any thing which is not slaughtered in the name of the Most High. Ye must assist one another, honor your parents, entreat your wives with kindness, and support the widows, orphans, and poor. Ye shall believe in the prophets who have gone before me, especially in Abraham, for whom God turned a fiery pile into a pleasure garden; in Ishmael, whose neck God made as a flint stone, and for whom He opened a fountain in the stony desert; and in Moses, who with his staff opened twelve clay paths through the sea. Also ye shall believe in the prophets who shall follow after me, especially in Isa Ibn Mariam (Jesus, Son of Mary), the Spirit of God, and in Mohammed Ibn Abd-Allah.”
“And who is this Isa?” asked one of the elders of Israel.
“Isa,” pursued Samuel, “is the prophet foretold in the Tora as the Word of God. His mother Mariam (Mary) shall conceive him by the will of God, and by a breath of the angel Gabriel. In his mother’s womb will he praise the almighty power of God, and testify to the immaculate purity of his mother; afterwards will he heal the sick and crippled, will quicken the dead, and will create living birds out of clay.604 His godless cotemporaries will deal cruelly with him, and will crucify him; but God will deceive their eyes and will let another die in his room, and he will be carried up into heaven like the prophet Idris (Enoch).”
“And Mohammed,” asked the same Israelite, “who is he? His name sounds strange in our ears, never have we heard that name before.”
“Mohammed,” answered Samuel, “does not belong to the race of Israel; he will descend from the seed of Ishmael, and he will be the last and greatest of the prophets, before whom Moses and Christ will bend at the Resurrection Day. His name, which signifies the Much Praised, is prophetic of the laud and honor he will receive from all creatures on earth, and all the angels in heaven. The miracles he will work are numberless, so that a man’s life is not long enough to relate them all. I shall be able to tell you only the events of a single night.
“One fearful night of tempest, in which neither cock will crow nor dog bark, Mohammed shall be aroused from sleep by Gabriel, who shall appear to him in the shape he has when he appears before God, with seven hundred wings streaming with light; between each a space such as a fleet-footed horse could scarce traverse in five hundred years. Gabriel will lead the prophet forth into the open air, where the wondrous horse Borak will be ready. That is the horse on which Abraham mounted when he made his pilgrimages from Syria to Mecca. This horse has two wings as an eagle, and feet like a dromedary, and a body like a costly gem, shining like the sun, and a head like the fairest maiden. On this wondrous beast, whose brow bears the inscription, ‘There is no God save God, and Mohammed is his prophet,’ he will mount and ride, first to Medina, then to Sinai, thence to Bethlehem, and finally to Jerusalem, to view the holy places, and at them to offer up his prayers. From Jerusalem he will ascend on a golden ladder, with rungs of rubies, emeralds, and jacinths, into the seventh heaven, where he will be instructed in all the mysteries of the creation, and the governance of the world. He will see the blessed in all their joy, in Paradise, and the sinners, in all their pain, in Hell. There will he see many pasturing wild cattle in unfruitful fields. These are they who in the time of life used the gifts of God without giving to those in need. Others will he see running about, and carrying in one hand fresh, and in the other putrid, meat, and as often as they attempt to taste the former, a fiery rod will smite them on the hand, till they devour the latter. This is the punishment of those who have violated marriage, and have preferred forbidden pleasures. Others have a swollen body, swelling daily more and more; these are the fraudulent and avaricious. Others have their tongues and lips fastened together with iron clamps; these are the slanderers and backbiters. Between Paradise and Hell sits Adam, laughing with joy when the gate of Heaven opens to receive one of his sons, and he hears the songs and shouts of the blessed; weeping with self-reproach when the gate of Hell uncloses to take in one of his descendants, and he hears the sobbing of the damned. On this night will Mohammed also see, besides Gabriel, the other angels, who have each seventy thousand heads, and in each head seventy thousand faces, and in each face seventy thousand mouths, and in each mouth seventy thousand tongues, wherewith they cease not day or night to praise God in seventy thousand diverse languages. He will also see the angel of atonement, who is half fire, half ice; also the angel who watches the treasure of fire with gloomy countenance and flashing eyes; also the angel of death, with a great writing-table in his hand, whereon are inscribed many names, and from which at every instant he wipes off several hundreds; finally, the angel who guards the waters, and weighs in great scales the water allotted to each spring and well, and brook and river; and the angel who bears up the throne of God on his shoulders, and has a horn in his mouth, wherewith he will blow the blast that is to wake the dead. Moreover, the prophet will be conducted through many seas of light near to the throne itself, which is so great that the whole world will be beside it as a link in a coat of mail dropped in the desert. What will be further revealed to him,” answered Samuel, “is unknown to me; this only I know, that, after having contemplated the Majesty of God a bowshot off, he will descend the ladder precipitately, and, mounting Borak, will return to Mecca. Now the whole of this journey, his sojourn in Medina, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, and the seventh heaven, will occupy so little time, that a water-pitcher which he upset as he left the house in Mecca will not have run all its waters out by his return.”