Study Desk

And the High-priest said - Are these things, so?

And, he, said - Brethren and fathers, hearken! The God of Glory, appeared unto our father Abraham, while he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Haran, -

And said unto him - Get thee forth, out of thy land, and from among thy kindred, and come unto the land which, unto thee, I will point out.

Then, coming forth out of the land of the Chaldeans, he dwelt in Haran; and, from thence, when his father was dead, he removed him into this land, in which, ye, now dwell;

And gave him no inheritance therein, not even a place to set his foot on; and yet promised to give it unto him in possession, and unto his seed after him, when as yet he had not a child.

But God, spake thus - His seed shall be a sojourner in a foreign land, and they will bring it into bondage, and ill-treat it four-hundred years;

And, the nation unto which they shall be in bondage, will, I, judge - said God; and, after these things, shall they come forth, and render divine service unto me, in this place.

And he gave unto him a covenant of circumcision; and, thus, he begat Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac, Jacob, and Jacob, the twelve patriarchs.

And, the patriarchs, being jealous of Joseph, gave him up into Egypt; and, God, was, with him,

And rescued him out of all his tribulations, and gave him favour and wisdom before Pharaoh king of Egypt; and he appointed him governor over Egypt and all his house.

And there came a famine upon all Egypt and Canaan, and great tribulation, and our fathers could not find pasture.

But Jacob, hearing there was corn in Egypt, sent off our fathers, first;

And, the second time, Joseph was made known unto his brethren, and, the race of Joseph was made, manifest, unto Pharaoh.

And Joseph, sending forth, called for Jacob his father, and all the kindred, consisting of seventy-five souls;

And Jacob went down into Egypt. And he died, he, and our fathers;

And were brought over into Shechem, and laid in the tomb which Abraham had purchased, for a price of silver, of the sons of Hamor in Shechem.

Now, just as the time of the promise was drawing near wherewith God had agreed with Abraham, the people grew, and were multiplied in Egypt, -

Until there arose another sort of king over Egypt, who had not known Joseph.

The same, dealing craftily with our race, ill-treated our fathers, so as to cause their babes to be exposed, to the end they might not be suffered to live.

In which season, Moses, was born, and was exceeding goodly, - who was nourished up three months in the house of his father;

But, when he was exposed, the daughter of Pharaoh rescued him, and nourished him for herself, as a son.

And, so Moses was trained in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in his words and works.

And, when there was being fulfilled unto him a period of forty years, it came up on his heart to look after his brethren the sons of Israel;

And, seeing one being wronged, he defended him, and avenged him that was getting worn out, smiting the Egyptian.

But he supposed his brethren would understand that, God, through his hand, would give them deliverance; whereas they understood not.

On the following day also, he appeared unto them, as they were contending, and would have reconciled them in peace, saying - Men! ye are, brothers! Wherefore wrong ye one another?

But, he that was wronging his neighbour, thrust him away, saying - Who hath appointed, thee, to be ruler and judge over us?

Art, thou, wishing, to kill me, in the same way thou didst kill, yesterday, the Egyptian?

And Moses fled at this saying, and became a sojourner in the land of Midian, where he begat two sons.

And, when forty years were fulfilled, there appeared unto him, in the desert of Mount Sinai, a messenger, in a flame of fire, in a bush.

And, Moses, seeing it, marvelled at the sight; and, as he was going near to observe, there came a voice of the Lord -

I, am the God of thy fathers, The God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. And Moses becoming, terrified, durst not observe.

And the Lord said unto him - Loose the sandals of thy feet; for, the place whereon thou art standing, is, hallowed ground.

I have, indeed seen, the ill-treatment of my people that is in Egypt, and, unto their groaning, have I hearkened, and have come down to rescue them. Now, therefore, come! I will send thee into Egypt.

The same Moses whom they had refused, saying - Who hath appointed thee to be ruler and judge? the same, both as ruler and redeemer, did God send, by the hand of the messenger who had appeared unto him in the bush:

The same, led them forth, doing wonders and signs in Egypt, and in the Red Sea, and in the desert, forty years:

The same, is the Moses that said unto the sons of Israel - A prophet, unto you, will God raise up, from among your brethren, like unto me:

The same, is he that came to be in the assembly in the desert, with the messenger who was speaking with him in Mount Sinai, and with our fathers, he who welcomed living utterances, to give unto us:

Unto whom, our fathers would not become obedient, but thrust him away, and turned in their hearts unto Egypt,

Saying unto Aaron - Make as gods who shall go before us; for, as for this Moses who brought us forth out of Egypt, we know not what hath befallen him!

And so they fell to calf-making in those days, and offered sacrifice unto the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their hands.

But God, turned, and delivered them up to be doing divine service unto the host of heaven, - just as it is written in a book of the prophets - Victims and sacrifices did ye offer unto me, forty years in the desert, O house of Israel?

Nay! but ye took with you the tent of Moloch, and the star of the god Rephan, - the forms which ye made to bow down unto them: therefore will I carry you away beyond Babylon.

The tent of witness, was with our fathers in the desert, according as he who was speaking unto Moses, gave instructions, to make it, according to the model which he had seen.

Which our fathers succeeding to, also brought in, with Joshua, when taking possession of the nations, which God put out from before our fathers until the days of David;

Who found favour before God, and asked to find a habitation for the God of Jacob.

But, Solomon, built him a house.

Although indeed, the Most High, not in hand-made places, dwelleth; just as, the prophet, saith -

Heaven is my thrown, and, the earth, is my footstool: What manner of house, will ye build me, saith the Lord, - Or what shall be the place of my resting?

Hath not, my hand, made all these things?

Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in hearts and in ears, ye, always, against the Holy Spirit, do strive! As your fathers, ye also:

Which of the prophets, did not your fathers persecute? Yea they slew them who declared beforehand concerning the coming of the Righteous One - of whom, now, ye, have become, betrayers and murderers!

Who, indeed, received the law through ranks of messengers, - and guarded it not.