| Jud. 5:1 |
sake that which I gave thee. And Abraham did not gainsay him and set forth immediately. And as he went forth he said to his son: Lo, now, my son, I offer thee for a burnt offering and deliver thee into his hands who gave thee unto me. 3. And the son said to his father: Hear me, father. If a lamb of the flock is accepted for an offering to the Lord for an odour of sweetness, and if for the iniquities of men sheep are appointed to the slaughter, but man is set to inherit the world, how then sayest thou now unto me: Come and inherit a life secure, and a time that cannot be measured? What and if I had not been born in the world to be offered a sacrifice unto him that made me? And it shall be my blessedness beyond all men, for there shall be no other such thing; and in me shall the generations be instructed, and by me the peoples shall understand that the Lord hath accounted the soul of a man worthy to be a sacrifice unto him. 4. And when his father had offered him upon the altar and had bound his feet to slay him, the Most Mighty hasted and sent forth his voice from on high saying: Kill not thy son,
| Gen. 22:11 |
5. And to Isaac he gave two sons, which also were from a womb shut up, for at that time their mother was in the third year of her marriage. And it shall not be so with any other woman, neither shall any wife boast herself so, that cometh near to her husband in the third year. And there were born to him two sons, even Jacob and Esau. And
[paragraph continues] God loved Jacob, but Esau he hated because of his deeds.
6. And it came to pass in the old age of their father, that Isaac blessed Jacob and sent him into Mesopotamia, and there he begat 12 sons, and they went down into Egypt and dwelled there.
7. And when their enemies dealt evilly with them, the people cried unto the Lord, and their prayer was heard, and he brought them out thence, and led them unto the mount Sina, and brought forth unto them the foundation of understanding which he had prepared from the birth of the world; and then the foundation was moved, the hosts sped forth the lightnings upon their courses, and the winds sounded out of their storehouses, and the earth was stirred from her foundation, and the mountains and the rocks trembled in their fastenings, and the clouds lifted up their waves against the flame of the fire that it should not consume the world. 8. Then did the depth awake from his springs, and all the waves of the sea came together. Then did Paradise give forth the breath of her fruits, and the cedars of Libanus were moved from their roots. And the beasts of the field were terrified in the dwellings of the forests, and all his works gathered together to behold the Lord when he ordained a covenant with the children of Israel. And all things that the Most Mighty said, these hath he observed, having for witness Moses his beloved.
9. And when he was dying God appointed unto him the firmament, 1 and shewed him these witnesses whom now we have, saying: Let the heaven whereinto
thou hast entered and the earth wherein thou hast walked until now be a witness between me and thee and my people. For the sun and the moon and the stars shall be ministers unto us (or you).
10. And when Jesus arose to rule over the people, it came to pass in the day wherein he fought against the enemies, that the evening drew near, while yet the battle was strong, and Jesus said to the sun and the moon: O ye ministers that were appointed between the Most Mighty and his sons, lo now, the battle goeth on still, and do ye forsake your office? Stand still therefore to-day and give light unto his sons, and put darkness upon our enemies. And they did so.
11. And now in these days Sisara arose to make us his bondmen, and we cried unto the Lord our God, and he commanded the stars and said: Depart out of your ranks, and burn mine enemies, that they may know my might. And the stars came down and overthrew their camp and kept us safe without any labour.
12. Therefore will we not cease to sing praises, neither shall our mouths keep silence from telling of his marvellous works: for he hath remembered his promises both new and old, and hath shown us his deliverance,: and therefore doth Jahel boast herself among women, because she alone hath brought this good way to success, in that with her own
| Judith 13:2 |
13. O earth, go thou, go, ye heavens and lightnings, go, ye angels and hosts, [go ye] and tell the fathers in the treasure-houses of their souls, and say: The Most Mighty hath not forgotten the least of all the promises which he made with us, saying: Many wonders will I perform for your sons. And now from this day forth it shall be
known that whatsoever God hath said unto men that he will perform, he will perform it, even though man die. 14. Sing praises, sing praises, O Debbora (or, if man delay to sing praises to God, yet sing thou, O Debbora), and let the grace of an holy spirit awake in thee, and begin to praise the works of the Lord: for there shall not again arise such a day, wherein the stars shall bear tidings and overcome the enemies of Israel, as it was commanded them. From this time forth if Israel fall into a strait, let him call upon these his witnesses together with their ministers, and they shall go upon an embassy to the most High, and he will remember this day, and will send a deliverance to his covenant. 15. And thou, Debbora, begin to speak of that thou sawest in the field: how that the people walked and went forth safely, and the stars fought on their part (or, how that, like peoples walking, so went forth the stars and fought). Rejoice, O land, over them that dwell in thee, for in thee is the knowledge of the Lord which buildeth his stronghold in thee. For it was of right that God took out of thee the rib of him that was first formed, knowing that out of his rib Israel should be born. And thy forming shall be for a testimony of what the Lord hath done for his people.
16. Tarry, O ye hours of the day, and hasten not onward, that we may declare that which our understanding can bring forth, for night will come upon us. And it shall be like the night when God smote the firstborn of the Egyptians for the sake of his firstborn. 17. And then shall I cease from my hymn because the time will be hastened (or prepared) for his righteous ones. For I will sing unto him as in the renewing of the creation, and the people shall remember this deliverance, and it
shall be for a testimony unto them. Let the sea also bear witness, with the deeps thereof, for not only did God dry it up before the face of our fathers, but he did also overthrow the camp from its setting and overcame our enemies.
18. And when Debbora made an end of her words she went up with the people together unto Silo, and they offered sacrifices and burnt offerings and sounded upon the broad trumpets. 1 And when they sounded and had offered the sacrifices, Debbora said: This shall be for a testimony of the trumpets between the stars and the Lord of them.
174:1 XXXII. 1, 2. The angels were jealous of Abraham. In Jubilees it is the adversary Mastema who suggests the sacrifice of Isaac: in Pirke R. Eliezer the ministering angels intercede for Isaac. I have not found the statement of our text elsewhere.
176:1 9. appointed unto him the firmament: Disposuit ei firmamentum. Perhaps the meaning is "displayed the firmament arranged in its order."
179:1 18. on the broad trumpets: de latis psalphingis. Can this be meant to render ἐν σάλπιγξιν ἐλαταῖσ (Ps. 97:7)?