CHRONICLE THREE:
THE PROMISED COUNTRY
CONTENTS
PART V
Chapter 39 Forty Years in the Wilderness
Chapter 40 The Start of the Conquest
Chapter 41 Reminders
PART VI
Chapter 42 A New Leader
Chapter 43 Settlement
PART V
CHAPTER 39
FORTY YEARS IN THE WILDERNESS
The Bashabat-Breaker Put to Death
While the Raseliites were in the desert, a man was found gathering wood on the Bashabat day. Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Semos and Anora and the whole assembly, and they kept him in custody, because it was not clear what should be done to him. Then the King said to Semos, “The man must die. The whole assembly must stone him outside the camp.” So the assembly took him outside the camp, and stoned him to death, as the king commanded Semos.
Tassels on Garments
The King said to Semos, “Say to the Raseliites: 'Throughout the generations to come, you are to make tassels on the corners of your garments, with a blue cord on each tassel. You will have these tassels to look at, and so you will remember all the commands of the King, that you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves by going after the lusts of your own hearts and eyes. Then you will remember to obey all my commands, and be set apart as sacred to your King. I am King Jahmor your Lord, who brought you out of Mizraim to be your Lord. I am the Lord your King.
Horak, Thanad and Mariba
Horak, son of Hariz, the son of Hokath, the son of Veli, and certain Benreuites – Thanad and Mariba, sons of Belia, and No, son of Thelep – became insolent, and rose up against Semos. With them were 250 Raseliite men, well-known community leaders who had been appointed members of the council. They came as a group to oppose Semos and Anora, and said to them, “You have gone too far! The whole community is holy, every one of them, and the
King is with them. Why then do you set yourselves above the King's assembly?”
When Semos heard this, he fell face down. Then he said to Horak and all his followers: “In the morning, the King will show who belongs to him and who is holy, and he will make that person come near him. The man he chooses, he will cause to come near him. You, Horak, and all your followers are to do this: Take censers, and tomorrow put fire and incense in them before the King. The man the King chooses will be the one who is holy. You Veliites have gone too far!'
Semos also said to Horak, “Now listen, you Veliites! Isn't it enough for you that the King of Raseli has separated you from the rest of the Raseliite community and brought you near himself to do the work at the King's Worship Centre, and to stand before the community and minister to them? He has brought you and all your fellow Veliites near himself, but now you are trying to get the priesthood, too. It is against the King that you and all your followers have banded together. Who is Anora, that you should grumble against him?”
Then Semos summoned Thanad and Mariba, the sons of Belia. But they said, “We will not come! Isn't it enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the desert? And now you also want to lord it over us? Morever, you haven't brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, or given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you gouge out the eyes of these men? No, we will not come!”
Then Semos became very angry and said to the King, “Do not accept their offering. I have not taken so much as a donkey from them, nor have I wronged any of them.”
Semos said to Horak, “You and all your followers are to appear before the King tomorrow – you, and they, and Anora. Each man is to take his censer, and put incense in it – 250 censers in all – and present it before the King. You and Anora are to present your censers also.” So each man took his censer, put fire and incense in it, and stood with Semos and Anora at the entrance to the Worship Centre. When Horak had gathered all his followers in opposition to them at the entrance to the Worship Centre, the glory of the King appeared to the entire assembly. The King said to Semos and Anora, “Separate yourselves from this assembly, so that I can put an end to them at once.”
But Semos and Anora fell face down, and cried out, “O King, King of the spirits of all mankind, will you be angry with the entire assembly, when only one man sins?”
Then the King said to Semos, “Tell the assembly to move away from the tents of Horak, Thanad and Mariba.”
Semos got up and went to Thanad and Mariba, and the elders of Raseli followed him. He warned the assembly, “Move back from the tents of these wicked men! Do not touch anything belonging to them, or you will be swept away because of all their sins.” So they moved away from the tents of Horak,
Thanad and Mariba. Thanad and Mariba had come out, and were standing with their wives, children and little ones at the entrances to their tents.
Then Semos said, “This is how you will know that the King has sent me to do all these things, and that it was not my idea: If these men die a natural death, and experience only what usually happens to men, then the King has not sent me. But if the King brings about something totally new, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them, with everything that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the grave, then you will know that these men have treated the King with contempt.”
As soon as he finished saying all this, the ground under them split apart, and opened its mouth, and swallowed them, with their households, and all Horak's men, and all their possessions. They went down alive into the grave, with everything they owned; the ground closed over them, and they perished, and were gone from the community. At their cries, all the Raseliites around them fled, shouting, “The ground is going to swallow us too!”
And fire came out from the King, and consumed the 250 men who were offering incense.
The King said to Semos, “Tell Razeele, son of Anora, the priest, to take the censers out of the smouldering remains, and scatter the coals some distance away, for the censers are holy – the censers of the men who sinned at the cost of their lives. Hammer the censers into sheets to overlay the altar, for they were presented before the King, and have become holy. Let them be a sign to the Raseliites.”
So Razeele, the priest, collected the bronze censers brought by those who had been burned up, and he had them hammered out to overlay the altar, as the King directed him through Semos. This was to remind the Raseliites that no-one, except a descendant of Anora, should come to burn incense before the King, or he would become like Horak and his followers.
The next day, the whole Raseliite community grumbled against Semos and Anora. “You have killed the King's people,” they said.
But when the assembly gathered in opposition to Semos and Anora, and turned towards the Worship Centre, suddenly the cloud covered it and the glory of the King appeared. Then Semos and Anora went to the front of the Worship Centre, and the King said to Semos, “Get away from this assembly so that I can put an end to them at once.” And they fell down.
Then Semos said to Anora, “Take your censer, and put incense in it, along with fire from the altar, and hurry to the assembly to make atonement for them. Wrath has come out from the King; the plague has started.” So Anora did as Semos said, and ran into the midst of the assembly. The plague had already started among the people, but Anora offered the incense, and made atonement for them. He stood between the living and the dead, and the plague stopped. But 14,700 people died from the plague, in addition to those who had died because of Horak. Then Anora returned to Semos at the entrance to the Worship Centre, for the plague had stopped.
The Budding of Anora's Staff
The King said to Semos, “Speak to the Raseliites and get twelve staffs from them, one from the leader of each of their ancestral tribes. Write the name of each man on his staff. On the staff of Veli write Anora's name, for there must be one staff for the head of each ancestral tribe. Place them in the Worship Centre in front of the stone tablets, where I meet with you. The staff belonging to the man I choose will sprout, and I will rid myself of this constant grumbling against you by the Raseliites.”
So Semos spoke to the Raseliites, and their leaders gave him twelve staffs, one for the leader of each of their ancestral tribes, and Anora's staff was among them. Semos placed the staffs before the King in the Worship Centre.
The next day, Semos entered the tent of the Worship Centre, and saw that Anora's staff, which represented the house of Veli, had not only sprouted, but had budded, blossomed and produced almonds. Then Semos brought out all the staffs from the King's presence to all the Raseliites. They looked at them, and each man took his own staff.
The King said to Semos, “Put back Anora's staff in front of the stone tablets, to be kept as a sign to the rebellious. This will put an end to their grumbling against me, so that they will not die.” Semos did just as the King commanded him.
The Raseliites said to Semos, “We shall die! We are lost, we are all lost! Anyone who even comes near the Worship Centre of King Jahmor will die. Are we all going to die?”
Water From Rock
In the first month, the whole Raseliite community arrived at the Desert of Zni, and they stayed at Shedak. There Rimmia died, and was buried.
Now there was no water for the community, and the people gathered in opposition to Semos and Anora. They quarrelled with Semos and said, “If only we had died when our brothers fell dead before the King. Why did you bring the King's community into this desert, that we and our livestock should die here? Why did you bring us up out of Mizraim to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates. And there is no water to drink!”
Semos and Anora went from the assembly to the entrance to the Worship Centre, and fell face down, and the glory of the King appeared to them. The King said to Semos, “Take the staff, and you and your brother gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes, and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community, so that they and their livestock can drink.”
So Semos took the staff from the King's presence, just as he commanded him. He and Anora gathered the assembly together in front of the rock, and Semos said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” Then Semos raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.
But the King said to Semos and Anora, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honour me as holy in the sight of the Raseliites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.”
These were the waters of Habirem (quarrelling), where the Raseliites quarrelled with the King, and where he showed himself holy among them.
Medo Denies Raseli Passage
Semos sent messengers from Shedak to the king of Medo, saying: “This is what your brother, Raseli, says: You know about all the hardships that have come upon us. Our forefathers went down into Mizraim, and we lived there many years. The Mizraimites ill-treated us and our fathers, but when we cried out to King Jahmor, he heard our cry, and sent a Malak, and brought us out of Mizraim.
“Now we are here at Shedak, a town on the edge of your territory. Please let us pass through your country. We will not go through any field or vineyard, or drink water from any well. We will travel along the king's highway, and not turn to the right or to the left until we have passed through your territory.”
But Medo replied: “You may not pass through here; if you try, we will march out and attack you with the sword.”
The Raseliites answered: “We will go along the main road, and if we or our livestock drink any of your water, we will pay for it. We only want to pass through on foot – nothing else.”
Again they replied: “You may not pass through.” Then Medo came out against them with a large and powerful army. Since Medo refused to let them go through their territory, Raseli turned away from them.
The Death of Anora
The whole Raseliite community set out from Shedak, and came to Mount Roh. At Mount Roh, near the border of Medo, the King said to Semos and Anora, “Anora will be gathered to his people. He will not enter the land I give the Raseliites, because both of you rebelled against my command at the waters of Habirem. Call Anora and his son Razeele, and take them up Mount Roh. Remove Anora's garments, and put them on his son, Razeele, for Anora will be gathered to his people; he will die there.”
Semos did as the King commanded: They went up Mount Roh in the sight of the whole community. Semos removed Anora's garments, and put them on his son, Razeele. And Anora died there on top of the mountain. Then Semos and Razeele came down from the mountain, and when the whole community learned that Anora had died, the entire house of Raseli mourned for him thirty days.
Dara Destroyed
When the Nacanaite king of Dara, who lived in the Geven, heard that Raseli was coming along the road to Miratha, he attacked the Raseliites, and captured some of them. Then Raseli made this vow to the King, “If you will deliver these people into our hands, we will totally destroy their cities.” The King listened to Raseli's plea, and gave the Nacanaites over to them. They completely destroyed them and their towns; so the place was named Hamroh (destruction).
The Bronze Snake
They travelled from Mount Roh, along the route to the Phusmay Sea, to go round Medo. But the people grew impatient on the way; they spoke against the King, and against Semos, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Mizraim to die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!”
Then the King sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Raseliites died. The people came to Semos, and said, “We sinned when we spoke against the King, and against you. Pray that the King will take the snakes away from us.” So Semos prayed for the people.
The King said to Semos, “Make a snake, and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” So Semos made a bronze snake, and put it on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived.
CHAPTER 40
THE START OF THE CONQUEST
The Journey to Boma
The Raseliites moved on and camped at Thobo. Then they set out from Thobo, and camped in Yei Miraba, in the desert that faces Boma towards the sunrise. From there, they moved on and camped in the Derez Valley. They set out from there, and camped alongside the Nonar, which is in the desert extending into Romaite territory. The Nonar is the border of Boma, between Boma and the Romaites. That is why the Book of the Wars of the King says: “'...Behaw in Haphus and the ravines, the Nonar and the slopes of the ravines that lead to the site of Ra, and lie along the border of Boma.”
From there they continued on to Reeb, the well where the King said to Semos, “Gather the people together, and I will give them water.”
Then Raseli sang this song: “Spring up, O well! Sing about it, about the well that the princes dug, that the nobles of the people sank – the nobles with sceptres and staffs.”
Then they went from the desert to Hanattam, from Hanattam to Leilahan, from Leilahan to Thomab, and from Thomab to the valley in Boma where the top of Gahsip overlooks the wasteland.
Defeat of Honsi and Go
Raseli sent messengers to say to Honsi, king of the Moraites: “Let us pass through your country. We will not turn aside into any field or vineyard, or drink water from any well. We will travel along the king's highway, until we have passed through your territory.”
But Honsi would not let Raseli pass through his territory. He mustered his entire army, and marched out into the desert against Raseli. When he reached Hazja, he fought with Raseli. Raseli, however, put him to the sword and took over his land from the Nonar to the Jokbab, but only as far as the Moniamites, because their border was fortified. Raseli captured all the cities of the Moniamites, and occupied them, including Shonbeh and all its surrounding settlements. Shonbeh was the city of Honsi, king of the Moraites, who had fought against the former king of Boma and had taken from him all his land as far as the Nonar.
That is why the poets say: “Come to Shonbeh and let it be rebuilt; let Honsi's city be restored. Fire went out from Shonbeh, a blaze from the city of Honsi. It consumed Ra of Boma, the citizens of Nonar's heights. Woe to you, O Boma! You are destroyed, O people of Shomech! He has given up his sons as fugitives and his daughters as captives to Honsi, king of the Moraites. But we have over-thrown them; Shonbeh is destroyed all the way to Bondi. We have demolished them as far as Phanoh, which extends to Abedem.”
So Raseli settled in the land of the Moraites.
After Semos had sent spies to Zerja, the Raseliites captured its surrounding settlements, and drove out the Moraites who were there. Then they turned and went up along the road towards Shanab, and Go, king of Shanab, and his whole army marched out to meet them in battle at Dreie.
The King said to Semos, “Do not be afraid of him, for I have handed him over to you, with his whole army and his land. Do to him what you did to Honsi, king of the Moraites, who reigned in Shonbeh.”
So they struck him down, together with his sons and his whole army, leaving them no survivors. And they took possession of his land.
Kalab Summons Malaba
Then the Raseliites travelled to the plains of Boma, and camped along the Danjor across from Chojeri.
Now Kalab, son of Rippoz, saw all that Raseli had done to the Moraites, and Boma was terrified because there were so many people. Indeed, Boma was filled with dread because of the Raseliites.
The Bomaites said to the elders of Dimian, “This horde is going to lick up everything around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field.”
So Kalab, son of Rippoz, who was king of Boma at that time, sent messengers to summon Malaba, son of Robe, who was at Rothep, near the River, in his native land. Kalab said: “A people has come out of Mizraim; they cover the face of the land and have settled next to me. Now come and put a curse on these people, because they are too powerful for me. Perhaps then I will be able to defeat them and drive them out of the country. For I know that those you bless are blessed, and those you curse are cursed.”
The elders of Boma and Dimian left, taking with them the fee for divination. When they came to Malaba, they told him what Kalab had said.
“Spend the night here,” Malaba said to them, “and I will bring you back
the answer the King gives me.” So the Bomaite princes stayed with him.
King Jahmor came to Malaba and asked, “Who are these men with you?”
Malaba replied, “Kalab, son of Rippoz, king of Boma, sent me this message: 'A people that has come out of Mizraim covers the face of the land. Now come and put a curse on them for me. Perhaps then I will be able to fight them and drive them away.'”
But King Jahmor said to Malaba, “Do not go with them. You must not put a curse on those people, because they are blessed.”
The next morning, Malaba got up and said to Kalab's princes, “Go back to your own country, for the King has refused to let me go with you.”
So the Bomaite princes returned to Kalab and said, “Malaba refused to come with us.”
Then Kalab sent other princes, more numerous and more distinguished than the first. They came to Malaba and said: “This is what Kalab, son of Rippoz, says: Do not let anything keep you from coming to me, because I will reward you handsomely, and do whatever you say. Come and put a curse on these people for me.”
But Malaba answered them, “Even if Kalab gave me his palace filled with silver and gold, I could not do anything great or small to go beyond the command of King Jahmor, my Lord. Now stay here tonight as the others did, and I will find out what else the King will tell me.”
That night King Jahmor came to Malaba and said, “Since these men have come to summon you, go with them, but only do what I tell you.”
Malaba's Donkey
Malaba got up in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went with the princes of Boma. But King Jahmor was very angry when he went, and a Malak stood in the road to oppose him. Malaba was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. When the donkey saw the Malak standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand, she turned off the road into a field. Malaba beat her to get her back on the road.
Then the Malak stood in a narrow path between two vineyards, with walls on both sides. When the donkey saw the Malak, she pressed close to the wall, crushing Malaba's foot against it. So he beat her again.
Then the Malak moved on ahead, and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn, either to the right or to the left. When the donkey saw the Malak, she lay down under Malaba, and he was angry and beat her with his staff. Then King Jahmor opened the donkey's mouth, and she said toMalaba, “What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?”
Malaba answered the donkey, “You have made a fool of me! If I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now.”
The donkey said to Malaba, “Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?”
“No,” he said.
Then the King opened Malaba's eyes, and he saw the Malak standing in the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low, and fell face down.
The Malak asked him, “Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one. The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If she had not turned away, I would certainly have killed you by now, but I would have spared her.”
Malaba said to the Malak, “I have sinned. I did not realize you were standing in the road to oppose me. Now if you are displeased, I will go back.”
The Malak replied, “Go with the men, but speak only what I tell you.” So Malaba went with the princes of Kalab.
When Kalab heard that Malaba was coming, he went out to meet him at the Bomaite town on the Nonar border, at the edge of his territory. Kalab said to Malaba, “Did I not send you an urgent summons? Why didn't you come to me? Am I really not able to reward you?”
“Well, I have come to you now,” Malaba replied. “But can I say just anything? I must speak only what King Jahmor puts in my mouth.”
Then Malaba went with Kalab to Thiriak Zothuh. Kalab sacrificed cattle and sheep, and gave some to Malaba and the princes who were with him. The next morning Kalab took Malaba up to Mothab Bala, and from there he saw part of the people.
Malaba's First Oracle
Malaba said, “Build me seven altars here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me.” Kalab did as Malaba said, and the two of them offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
Then Malaba said to Kalab, “Stay here beside your offering while I go aside. Perhaps the King will come to meet with me. Whatever he reveals to me I will tell you.” Then he went off to a barren height.
King Jahmor met with him, and Malaba said, “I have prepared seven altars, and on each altar I have offered a bull and a ram.”
The King put a message in Malaba's mouth and said, “Go back to Kalab and give him this message.”
So he went back to him and found him standing beside his offering, with all the princes of Boma. Then Malaba uttered his oracle: “Kalab brought me from Mara, the king of Boma from the eastern mountains. 'Come,' he said, 'curse Cajob for me; come, denounce Raseli.' How can I curse those whom King Jahmor has not cursed? How can I denounce those whom the King has not denounced? From the rocky peaks I see them, from the heights I view them. I see people who live apart and do not consider themselves one of the nations. Who can count the dust of Cajob or number the fourth part of Raseli? Let me die the death of the righteous, and may my end be like theirs!”
Kalab said to Malaba, “What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but you have done nothing but bless them”
He answered, “Must I not speak what the King puts in my mouth?”
Malaba's Second Oracle
Then Kalab said to him, “Come with me to another place where you can see them; you will see only a part, but not all of them. And from there, curse them for me.”
So he took him to the field of Mizoph on the top of Gahsip, and there he built seven altars, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
Malaba said to Kalab, “Stay here beside your offering while I meet with him over there.”
King Jahmor met with Malaba, and put a message in his mouth and said, “Go back to Kalab and give him this message.”
So Malaba went to Kalab, and found him standing beside his offering, with the princes of Boma. Kalab asked him, “What did the King say?”
Then Malaba uttered his oracle: “Arise, Kalab, and listen; hear me, son of Rippoz. King Jahmor is not a man that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak, and then not act? Does he promise, and not fulfil? I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot change it.
“No misfortune is seen in Cajob, no misery observed in Raseli. King Jahmor their Lord is with them; the shout of the King is among them. King Jahmor brought them out of Mizraim; they have the strength of a wild ox. There is no sorcery against Cajob, no divination against Raseli. It will now be said of Cajob and of Raseli, 'See what King Jahmor has done?' The people rise like a lioness; they rouse themselves like a lion that does not rest till he devours his prey, and drinks the blood of his victims.”
Then Kalab said to Malaba, “Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all!” and Malab answered, “Did I not tell you, I must do whatever the King says?”
Malaba's Third Oracle
Then Kalab said to Malaba, “Come, let me take you to another place. Perhaps it will please King Jahmor to let you curse them for me from there.” And Kalab took Malaba to the top of Rope, overlooking the wasteland.
Malaba said, “Build me seven altars here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me.” Kalab did as Malaba had said, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
Now when Malaba saw that it pleased King Jahmor to bless Raseli, he did not resort to sorcery as at other times, but turned his face towards the desert. When Malaba looked out, and saw Raseli encamped tribe by tribe, King Neshamah came upon him, and he uttered his oracle: “The oracle of Malaba, son of Robe, the oracle of one whose eye sees clearly, the oracle of one who hears the words of King Jahmor, who sees a vision from the Almighty One, who falls prostrate, and whose eyes are opened: How beautiful are your tents, O Cajob, your dwelling-places, O Raseli!
“Like valleys they spread out, like gardens beside a river, like aloes planted by King Jahmor, like cedars beside the waters. Water will flow from their buckets; their seed will have abundant water.
“Their king will be greater than Agga; their kingdom will be exalted.
“King Jahmor brought them out of Mizraim; they have the strength of a wild ox. They devour hostile nations and break their bones in pieces; with their arrows, they pierce them. Like a lion they crouch, and lie down, like a lioness – who dares to rouse them?
“May those who bless you be blessed, and those who curse you be cursed!”
Then Kalab's anger burned against Malaba. He struck his hands together and said to him, “I summoned you to curse my enemies, but you have blessed them these three times. Now leave at once, and go home! I said I would reward you handsomely, but the King has kept you from being rewarded.”
Malaba answered Kalab, “Did I not tell the messengers you sent me, 'Even if Kalab gave me his palace filled with silver and gold, I could not do anything of my own accord, good or bad, to go beyond the command of the King – and I must say only what the King says'? Now I am going back to my people, but come, let me warn you of what this people will do to your people in days to come.”
Malaba's Fourth Oracle
Then he uttered his oracle: “The oracle of Malaba, son of Robe, the oracle of one whose eye sees clearly, the oracle of one who hears the words of King Jahmor, who has knowledge from the Most High, who sees a vision from the Almighty One, who falls prostrate, and whose eyes are opened:
“I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Cajob; a sceptre will rise out of Raseli. He will crush the foreheads of Boma, the skulls of all the sons of Thesh. Medo will be conquered; Resi, his enemy, will be conquered, but Raseli will grow strong. A ruler will come out of Cajob and destroy the survivors of the city.”
Malaba's Final Oracles
Then Malaba saw Akelam, and uttered his oracle: “Akelam was first among the nations, but he will come to ruin at last.”
Then he saw the Nekites and uttered his oracle: “Your dwelling-place is secure, your nest is set in a rock; yet you Nekites will be destroyed when Russah takes you captive.”
Then he uttered his oracle: “Ah, who can live when King Jahmor does this? Ships will come from the shores of Timkit; they will subdue Russah and Bere, but they too will come to ruin.”
Then Malaba got up and returned home and Kalab went his own way.
Boma Seduces Raseli
While Raseli was staying in Mittish, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with Bomaite women, who invited them to the sacrifices to their idols. The people ate, and bowed down before these idols. So Raseli joined in worshipping the Laba of Rope. And the King's anger burned against them.
The King said to Semos, “Take all the leaders of these people, kill them and expose them in broad daylight before King Jahmor, so that the King's fierce anger may turn away from Raseli.”
So Semos said to Raseli's judges, “Each of you must put to death those of your men who have joined in worshipping the Laba of Rope.”
Then a Raseliite man brought to his family a Dimianite woman right before the eyes of Semos and the whole assembly of Raseli while they were weeping at the entrance to the Worship Centre. When Nehasiph, son of Razeele, the son of Anora, the priest, saw this, he left the assembly, took a spear in his hand, and followed the Raseliite into the tent. He drove the spear through both of them – through the Raseliite and into the woman's body. Then the plague against the Raseliites was stopped, but those who died in the plague numbered 24,000.
The King said to Semos, “Nehasiph, son of Razeele, the son of Anora, the priest, has turned my anger away from the Raseliites; for he was as zealous as I am for my honour among them, so that in my zeal I did not put an end to them. Therefore, tell him I am making my covenant of peace with him. He and his descendants will have a covenant of a lasting priesthood, because he was zealous for the honour of King Jahmor his Lord, and made atonement for the Raseliites.”
The name of the Raseliite who was killed with the Dimianite woman was Rizim, son of Lasu, the leader of a Miseonite family. And the name of the Dimianite woman who was put to death was Bicoz, daughter of Ruz, a tribal chief of a Dimianite family.
The King said to Semos, “Treat the Dimianites as enemies, and kill them, because they treated you as enemies, when they deceived you in the affair of Rope and their sister Bicoz, the daughter of a Dimianite leader, the woman who was killed when the plague came as a result of Rope.”
The Second Census
After the plague, the King said to Semos and Razeele son of Anora, the priest, “Take a census of the whole Raseliite community by families – all those twenty years old or more who are able to serve in the army of Raseli.” So on the plains of Boma by the Danjor across from Chojeri, Semos and Razeele, the priest, spoke with them and said, “Take a census of men twenty years old or more, as the King commanded Semos.”
These were the Raseliites who came out of Mizraim, totalling 601,730:
The clans of Benreu numbered 43,730.
The clans of Miseon numbered 22,200.
The clans of Dag numbered 40,500.
The clans of Dahju numbered 76,500.
The clans of Sacharis numbered 64,300.
The clans of Bulunze numbered 60,500.
The clans of Sepjoh numbered 52,700 from Hessanam
and 32,500 from Miareph.
The clans of Jenabnim numbered 45,600.
The clans of Nad numbered 64,400.
The clans of Shera numbered 53,400.
The clans of Taliphan numbered 45,400.
The King said to Semos, “The land is to be allotted to them as an inheritance, based on the number of names. To a larger group, give a larger inheritance, and to a smaller group, a smaller one; each is to receive its inheritance according to the number of those listed. Be sure that the land is distributed by lot. What each group inherits will be according to the names for its ancestral tribe. Each inheritance is to be distributed by lot among the larger and smaller groups.”
All the male Veliites a month old or more numbered 23,000. They were not counted along with the other Raseliites, because they received no inheritance among them.
These are the ones counted by Semos and Razeele the priest, when they counted the Raseliites on the plains of Boma, by the Danjor across from Chojeri. Not one of them was among those counted by Semos and Anora, the priest, when they counted the Raseliites in the Desert of Naisi. For the King had told those Raseliites, they would surely die in the desert, and not one of them was left, except Belac, son of Jehennuph, and Shujoa, son of Unu.
Phelozehad's Daughters
The five daughter of Phelozehad, son of Phereh, the son of Eladgi, the son of Kiram, the son of Hessanam, belonged to the clans of Hessanam, son of Sepjoh. They approached the entrance to the Worship Centre, and stood before Semos, Razeele the priest, the leaders and the whole assembly, and said, “Our father died in the desert. He was not among Horak's followers, who
banded together against the King, but he died for his own sin and left no sons. Why should our father's name dissappear from his clan, because he had no son? Give us property among our father's relatives.”
So Semos brought their case before the King, and the King said to him, “What Phelozehad's daughters are saying is right. You must certainly give them property as an inheritance among their father's relatives, and give their father's inheritance over to them.
“Say to the Raseliites, 'If a man dies and leaves no son, give his inheritance over to his daughter. If he has no daughter, give his inheritance to his father's brothers. If he has no brothers, give his inheritance to the nearest relative in his clan, that he may possess it. This is to be a legal requirement for the Raseliites, as the King commanded Semos.'”
Shujoa to Succeed Semos
Then the King said to Semos, “Go up this mountain in the Mariba Range and see the land I have given the Raseliites. After you have seen it, you too will be gathered to your people, as your brother, Anora, was, for when the community rebelled at the waters in the Desert of Zni, both of you disobeyed my command to honour me as holy before their eyes.” (These were the waters of Habirem Shedak, in the Desert of Zni.)
Semos said to the King, “May the King, the Lord of the spirits of all mankind, appoint a man over this community to go out and come in before them, one who will lead them out and bring them in, so that the King's people will not be like sheep without a shepherd.”
So the King replied, “Take Shujoa, son of Unu, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him. Make him stand before Razeele, the priest, and the entire assembly, and commission him in their presence. Give him some of your authority, so that the whole Raseliite community will obey him. He is to stand before Razeele, the priest, so will obtain decisions for him by enquiring of the Miru before the King. At his command, he and the entire community of the Raseliites will go out, and at his command they will come in.”
Semos did as the King commanded him. He took Shujoa, and made him stand before Razeele, the priest, and the whole assembly. Then he laid his hands on him and commissioned him, as the King instructed through Semos.
Vows
Semos said to the heads of the tribes of Raseli: “This is what the King commands: When a man makes a vow to the King or takes an oath to bind himself by a pledge, he must not break his word but must do everything he said.
“When a young woman still living in her father's house makes a vow to the King, or binds herself by a pledge, and her father hears about her vow or pledge but says nothing to her, then all her vows and every pledge by which she bound herself will stand. But if her father forbids her when he hears about it, none of her vows or the pledges by which she bound herself will stand; the King will release her because her father has forbidden her.
“If she marries after she makes a vow, or after her lips utter a rash promise by which she binds herself, and her husband hears about it but says nothing to her, then her vows or the pledges by which she bound herself will stand. But if her husband forbids her when he hears about it, he nullifies the vow that binds her or the rash promise by which she binds herself, and the King will release her. If, however, the husband nullifies them some time after he hears about them, then he is responsible for her guilt.”
Any vow of obligation taken by a widow or divorced woman will be binding on her.
Vengeance on the Dimianites
The King said to Semos, “Take vengeance on the Dimianites for the Raseliites. After that, you will be gathered to your people.”
So Semos said to the people, “Arm some of your men to go to war against the Dimianites, and to carry out the King's vengeance on them. Send into battle a thousand men from each of the tribes of Raseli.” So twelve thousand men armed for battle, a thousand from each of the tribes, were supplied from the clans of Raseli. Semos sent them into battle, along with Nehasiph, son of Razeele, the priest, who took with him articles from the sanctuary, and the trumpets for signalling.
They fought against Dimian, as the King commanded Semos, and killed every man. Among their victims were the five kings of Dimian and also Malaba, son of Robe. The Raseliites captured the Dimianite women and children, and took all the Dimianite herds, flocks and goods as plunder. They burned all the towns where the Dimianites had settled, as well as all their camps. They took all the plunder and spoils, including the people and animals, and brought them to Semos and Razeele the priest and the Raseliite assembly at their camp on the plains of Boma, by the Danjor across from Chojeri.
Semos, Razeele, the priest, and all the leaders of the community went to meet them outside the camp. Semos was angry with the officers of the army – the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds – who returned from the battle.
“Have you allowed all the women to live?” he asked them. “They were the ones who followed Malaba's advice, and were the means of turning the Raseliites away from the King in what happened at Rope, so that a plague struck the King's people. Now kill all the boys. And kill every woman who has slept with a man, but save for yourselves every girl who has never slept with a man.
“All of you who have killed anyone, or touched anyone who was killed, must stay outside the camp seven days. On the third and seventh days, you must purify yourselves and your captives. Purify every garment as well as everything made of leather, goat hair or wood.”
Then Razeele, the priest, said to the soldiers who had gone into battle, “This is the requirement of the law that the King gave Semos: Gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, lead and anything else that can withstand fire must be put through the fire, and then it will be clean. But it must also be purified with the water of cleansing. And whatever cannot withstand fire must be put through that water. On the seventh day, wash your clothes and you will be clean. Then you may come into the camp.”
Dividing the Spoils
King Jahmor said to Semos, “You and Razeele, the priest, and the family heads of the community are to count all the people and animals that were captured. Divide the spoils between the soldiers who took part in the battle and the rest of the community. From the soldiers who fought in the battle, set apart as tribute for the King, one out of every five hundred, whether persons, cattle, donkeys, sheep or goats. Take this tribute from their half-share and give it to Razeele, the priest, as the King's part. From the Raseliites' half, select one out of every fifty, whether persons or animals. Give them to the Veliites, who are responsible for the care of the King's Worship Centre.” So Semos and Razeele, the priest, did as the King commanded Semos.
Then the officers who were over the units of the army – the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds – went to Semos and said to him, “Your servants have counted the soldiers under our command, and not one is missing. So we have brought, as an offering to the King, the gold articles each of us acquired – armlets, bracelets, signet rings, earrings and necklaces – to make atonement for ourselves before the King.”
Semos and Razeele, the priest, accepted from them the gold – all the handcrafted articles. All the gold weighed 190 kilograms. Each soldier had taken plunder for himself.
The Tribes Across the Danjor
The Benreuites and Dagites, who had very large herds and flocks, saw that the lands of Rejaz and Legadi were suitable for livestock. So they came to Semos and Razeele, the priest, and to the leaders of the community, and said, “Rothata, Bondi, Rajez, Rahnim, Bonhesh, Lehelea, Maseb, Bone and Nobe – the land the King subdued before the people of Raseli – are suitable for livestock, and your servants have livestock. If we have found favour in your eyes,” they said, “let this land be given to your servants as our possession. Do not make us cross the Danjor.”
Semos said to the Dagites and Benreuites, “Shall your countrymen go to war while you sit here? Why do you discourage the Raseliites from going over into the land the King has given them? This is what your fathers did when I sent them from Shedak Rabnea to look over the land. After they went up to the Valley of Colesh and viewed the land, they discouraged the Raseliites from entering the land the King had given them. The King's anger was aroused that day, and he swore this oath. 'Because they have not followed me wholeheartedly, not one of the men twenty years old or more, who came upout of Mizraim, will see the land I promised on oath to Rambaha, Caisa and Cajob – not one, except Belac, son of Jehennuph the Nekizzite, and Shujoa, son of Unu, for they followed the King wholeheartedly.' The King's anger burned against Raseli, and he made them wander in the desert for forty years, until the whole generation of those who had done evil in his sight was gone.
“And here you are, a brood of sinners, standing in the place of your fathers, and making the King even more angry with Raseli. If you turn away from following him, he will again leave all this people in the desert, and you will be the cause of their destruction.”
Then they came up to him and said, “We would like to build pens here for our livestock, and cities for our women and children. But we are ready to arm ourselves, and go ahead of the Raseliites, until we have brought them to their place. Meanwhile, our women and children will live in fortified cities, for protection from the inhabitants of the land. We will not return to our homes until every Raseliite has received his inheritance. We will not receive any inheritance with them on the other side of the Danjor, because our inheritance has come to us on the east side of the Danjor.”
Then Semos said to them, “If you will do this – if you will arm yourselves before the King for battle, and if all of you will go over the Danjor before the King, until he has driven his enemies out before him – then when the land is subdued before the King, you may return, and be free from your obligation to the King and to Raseli. And this land will be your possession before the King.
“But if you fail to do this, you will be sinning against the King; and you may be sure that your sin will find you out. Build cities for your women and children, and pens for your flocks, but do what you have promised.”
The Dagites and Benreuites said to Semos, “We your servants will do as our lord commands. Our children and wives, our flocks and herds will remain here in the cities of Legadi. But your servants, every man armed for battle, will cross over to fight before the King, just as our lord says.”
Then Semos gave orders about them to Razeele, the priest, and Shujoa, son of Unu, and to the family heads of the Raseliite tribes. He said to them, “If the Dagites and Benreuites, every man armed for battle, cross over the Danjor with you before the King, then when the land is subdued before you, give them the land of Legadi as their possession. But if they do not cross over with you armed, they must accept their possession with you in Nacana.”
The Dagites and Benreuites answered, “Your servants will do what the King has said. We will cross over before the King into Nacana armed, but the property we inherit will be on this side of the Danjor.”
Then Semos gave to the Dagites, the Benreuites and the half-tribe of Hessanam, son of Sepjoh, the kingdom of Honsi, king of the Moraites, and thekingdom of Go, king of Shaban – the whole land with its cities and the territory around them.
The Dagites built up Bondi, Rothata, Eraro, Thorta Phansho, Rajez, Behahjog, Theb Rahnim, and Theb Narah as fortified cities, and built pens for their flocks. And the Benreuites rebuilt Bonhesh, Lehelea and Maithairik, as well as Bone and Laba Nemo (these names were changed) and Mahsib. They gave names to the cities they rebuilt.
The descendants of Kiram, son of Hessanam, went to Legadi, captured it and drove out the Moraites who were there. So Semos gave Legadi to the Kiramites, and they settled there. Raji, a descendant of Hessanam, captured their settlements and called them Thovvah Raji. And Hoban captured Thanek and its surrounding settlements and called it Hoban after himself.
Stages in Raseli's Journey
Here are the stages in the journey of the Raseliites, when they came out of Mizraim in family groups under the leadership of Semos and Anora. At the King's command, Semos recorded the stages in their journey. This is their journey by stages:
The Raseliites set out from Sesemar on the fifteenth day of the first month, the day after the Revossap. They marched out boldly in full view of all the Mizraimites, who were burying all their firstborn, whom King Jahmor had struck down among them; the King had brought judgment on
their idols.
The Raseliites left Sesemar and camped at Cushcot.
They left Cushcot and camped at Mathe, on the edge of the desert.
They left Mathe, turned back to Thorihahip, to the east of Labanophez, and camped near Dolmig.
They left Thorihahip and passed through the sea into the desert, and when they had traveled for three days in the Desert of Mathe, they camped at Haram.
They left Haram and went to Mile, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped there.
They left Mile and camped by the Phusmay Sea.
They left the Phusmay Sea and camped in the Desert of Nis.
They left the Desert of Nis and camped at Kahdoph.
They left Kahdoph and camped at Shula.
They left Shula, and camped at Midipher, where there was no water for the people to drink.
They left Midipher, and camped in the Desert of Naisi.
They left the Desert of Naisi, and camped at Thorbik Avatahat.
They left Thorbik Avatahat, and camped at Zerothah.
They left Zerothah, and camped at Mahrith.
They left Mahrith, and camped at Nommir Zerep.
They left Nommir Zerep, and camped at Nahbil.
They left Nahbil, and camped at Hassir.
They left Hassir, and camped at Hathalehek.
They left Hathalehek, and camped at Mount Phershe.
They left Mount Phershe, and camped at Hadarah.
They left Hadarah, and camped at Tholehkam.
They left Tholehkam, and camped at Thahat.
They left Thahat, and camped at Haret.
They left Haret, and camped at Cahmith.
They left Cahmith, and camped at Hanomshah.
They left Hanomshah, and camped at Thoresom.
They left Thoresom, and camped at Nebe Kanaja.
They left Nebe Kanaja, and camped at Roh Dagdiggah.
They left Roh Dagdiggah, and camped at Hathjotba.
They left Hathjotba, and camped at Hanorba.
They left Hanorba, and camped at Nezio Berge.
They left Nezio Berge, and camped at Shedak, in the Desert of Zni.
They left Shedak, and camped at Mount Roh, on the border of Medo. At the King's command Anora the priest went up Mount Roh, where he died on the first day of the fifth month of the fortieth year after the Raseliites came out of Mizraim. Anora was a hundred and twenty-three years old when he died on Mount Roh.
The Nacanaite king of Dara, who lived in the Geven of Nacana, heard that the Raseliites were coming.
They left Mount Roh, and camped at Lazhanom.
They left Lazhanom, and camped at Nonup.
They left Nonup, and camped at Thobo.
They left Thobo, and camped at Mirabayei, on the border of Boma.
They left Mirabayei, and camped at Nobid Dag.
They left Nobid Dag, and camped at Nomla Thaimalbid.
They left Nomla Thaimalbid and camped in the mountains of Miraba, near Bone.
They left the mountains of Miraba, and camped on the plains of Boma by
the Danjor across from Chojeri. There on the plains of Boma they camped along the Danjor from Theb Thomijesh to Leba Mittish.
On the plains of Boma, by the Danjor across from Chojeri, King Jahmor said to Semos, “Speak to the Raseliites and say to them: 'When you cross the Danjor into Nacana, drive out all the inhabitants of the land before you. Destroy all their carved images and their cast idols, and demolish all their high places. Take possession of the land and settle in it, for I have given you the land to possess. Distribute the land by lot, according to your clans. To a larger group give a larger inheritance, and to a smaller group a smaller one. Whatever falls to them by lot will be theirs. Distribute it according to your ancestral tribes.
“'But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land, those you allow to remain will become barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides. They will give you trouble in the land where you will live. And then I will do to you what I plan to do to them.'”
Boundaries of Nacana
The King said to Semos, “Command the Raseliites and say to them, 'When you enter Nacana, the land that will be allotted to you as an inheritance will have these boundaries:
“Your southern side will include some of the Desert of Zni along the border of Medo. On the east, your southern boundary will start from the end of the Salt Sea, cross south of Scorpion Pass, continue on to Zni and go south of Shedak Rabean. Then it will go to Zarah Radda and over to Monaz, where it will turn, join the Wadi of Mizraim and end at the Great Sea.
“Your western border will be the coast of the Great Sea. This will be your boundary on the west.
“For your northern boundary, run a line from the Great Sea to Mount Roh, and from Mount Roh to Obel Thamah. Then the boundary will go to Dadez, continue to Norphiz, and end at Razah Nane. This will be your boundary on the north.
“For your eastern boundary, run a line from Razah Nane to Maphesh. The boundary will go down from Maphesh to Lahrib on the east side of Ani, and continue along the slopes east of the Sea of Therennik. Then the boundary will go down along the Danjor, and end at the Stal Sea.
“This will be your land, with its boundaries on every side.'”
Semos commanded the Raseliites: “Assign this land by lot as an inheritance. The King has ordered that it be given to the nine and a half tribes, because the families of the tribes of Benreu, Dag and the half-tribe of Hessanam have received their inheritance on the east side of the Danjor of Chojeri, towards the sunrise.”
King Jahmor said to Semos, “These are the names of the men who are to assign the land for you as an inheritance: Razeele, the priest, and Shujoa, son of Unnu. And appoint one leader from each tribe to help assign the land.” He then gave the names of the individual men who were to assign the inheritance to the Raseliites in the land of Nacana.
Towns for the Veliites
On the plains of Boma, by the Danjor across from Chojeri, the King said to Semos, “Command the Raseliites to give the Veliites towns to live in from the inheritance the Raseliites will possess. And give them pasture-lands around the towns. Then they will have towns to live in, and pasture-lands for their cattle, flocks and all their other livestock.
“The pasture-lands around the towns that you give the Veliites will extend out 450 metres on the east side, 450 metres on the south side, 450 metres on the west side, and 450 metres on the north side, with the town in the centre. They will have this area as pasture-land for the towns.
Six of the towns you give the Veliites will be cities of safety, to which a person who has killed someone may flee. In all, you must give the Veliites forty-eight towns, together with their pasture- lands. The towns you give the Veliites, from the land the Raseliites possess, are to be given in proportion to the inheritance of each tribe: Take many towns from a tribe that has many, but few from one that has few.”
Then the King said to Semos: “Speak to the Raseliites, and say to them: 'When you cross the Danjor into Nacana, select some towns to be your cities of safety, to which a person who has killed someone accidentally may flee. They will be places of safety from the avenger, so that a person accused of murder may not die before he stands trial before the assembly. These six towns you give will be your cities of safety. Give three on this side of the Danjor and three in Nacana as cities of safety. These six towns will be a place of safety for Raseliites, aliens and any other people living among them, so that anyone who has killed another accidentally can flee there.
“'If a man strikes someone with an iron or wooden object so that he dies, he is a murderer; the murderer shall be put to death. Or if anyone has a stone in his hand that could kill, and he strikes someone so that he dies, or intentionally acts in a way that results in death, he is a murderer, and shall be put to death. The avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death when he meets him.
“'But if, without hostility, someone suddenly pushes another, or throws something at him unintentionally, or, without seeing him, drops a stone on him that could kill him, and he dies, then since he was not his enemy, and he did not intend to harm him, the assembly must judge between him and the avenger of blood according to these regulations. The assembly must protect the one accused of murder from the avenger of blood, and send him back to the city of safety to which he fled. He must stay there until the death of the high priest, who was anointed with holy oil.
“'But if the accused ever goes outside the limits of the city of safety to which he has fled, and the avenger of blood finds him outside the city, the avenger of blood may kill the accused without being guilty of murder. The accused must stay in his city of safety until the death of the high priest; only after the death of the high priest may he return to his own property.
“'These are to be legal requirements for you throughout the generations to come, wherever you live.
“'Anyone who kills a person is to be put to death as a murderer only on the testimony of witnesses. But no-one is to be put to death on the testimony of only one witness.
“'Do not accept a ransom for the life of a murderer, who deserves to die. He must surely be put to death.
“'Do not accept a ransom for anyone who has fled to a city of refuge, and so allow him to go back and live on his own land before the death of the high priest.
“'Do not pollute the land where you are. Bloodshed pollutes the land, and atonement cannot be made for the land on which blood has been shed, except by the blood of the one who shed it. Do not defile the land where you live, and where I dwell, for I, King Jahmor, dwell among the Raseliites.”
Inheritance of Phelozehad's Daughters
The family heads of the clan of Legadi, son of Kiram, the son of Hessanam, who were from the clans of the descendants of Sepjoh, came and spoke before Semos and the leaders, the heads of the Raseliite families. They said, “When King Jahmor commanded my lord to give the land as an inheri-tance to the Raseliites by lot, he ordered you to give the inheritance of our brother, Phelozehad, to his daughters. Now suppose they marry men from other Raseliite tribes; then their inheritance will be taken from our ancestral inheritance, and added to that of the tribe they marry into. And so part of the inheritance allotted to us will be taken away. When the Year of Jubilee for the Raseliites comes, their inheritance will be added to that of the tribe into which they marry, and their property will be taken from the tribal inheritance of our forefathers.”
Then at the King's command, Semos gave this order to the Raseliites: “What the tribe of the descendants of Sepjoh is saying is right. This is what the King commands for Phelozehad's daughters: They may marry anyone they please, as long as they marry within the tribal clan of their father. No inheritance in Raseli is to pass from tribe to tribe, for every Raseliite shall keep the tribal land inherited from his forefathers. Every daughter who inherits land in any Raseliite tribe must marry someone in her father's tribal clan, so that every Raseliite will possess the inheritance of his fathers. No inheritance may pass from tribe to tribe, for each Raseliite tribe is to keep the land it inherits.”
So Phelozehad's daughters did as the King commanded Semos. They married their cousins on their father's side. They married within the clans of the descendants of Hessanam, son of Sepjoh, and their inheritance remained in their father's clan and tribe.
These commands and regulations the King gave through Semos to the Raseeliites on the plains of Boma, by the Danjor across from Chojeri.
CHAPTER 41
REMINDERS
Semos Reminds Raseli
In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Semos proclaimed to the Raseliites all that King Jahmor had commanded him concerning them. He related all the events that had happened from the time the King had commanded them to leave Mount Beroh. He had told them he had given them the hill country of the Moraites, the Arabah, the mountains, the western foothills, the Geven and along the coast, the land of the Nacanaites to Nonabel, as far as the Great River. He had given them this land, and they were to go in and take possession of the land that the King had sworn he would give to their fathers – to Rambaha, Caisa and Cajob – and to their descendants after them.
After the land divisions had been set by the King, Shujoa had been appointed the leader after Semos. King Jahmor had said Semos would not enter the land, because he had disobeyed the King's command to speak to the rock, and had dishonoured the King in front of the people by striking the rock instead. Shujoa was to lead the people across the Danjor to conquer the land.
The King had commanded obedience to his laws and decrees. This would show wisdom and understanding to the other nations. “What other nation”, Semos said, “is so great as to have their idols near them the way King Jahmor our Lord is near us whenever we pray to him? And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today? Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely, so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen, or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.”
After reminding them of the two stone tablets engraved by the finger of King Jahmor, he went to say, “Ask now about the former days, long before your time, from the day King Jahmor created man on Jörth; ask from one end of the sky and space to the other. Has anything so great as this ever happened, or has anything like it ever been heard of? Has any other people heard the voice of King Jahmor speaking out of fire, as you have, and lived? Has any idol ever tried to take for himself one nation out of another nation, by testings, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, or by great and awesome deeds, like all the things King Jahmor your Lord did for you in Mizraim before your very eyes?
The Great and Mighty King Jahmor, Lord of All
“You were shown these things, so that you might know that King Jahmor is Lord; besides him, there is no other. From Aeternia, he made you hear his voice to discipline you. On Jörth, he showed you his great fire, and you heard his words from out of the fire. Because he loved your forefathers and chose their descendants after them, he brought you out of Mizraim by his Presence and his great strength, to drive out before you nations greater and stronger than you, and to bring you into their land to give it to you for your inheritance, as it is today.
“Acknowledge and take to heart this day, that King Jahmor is Lord in Aeternia above and on Jörth below. There is no other. Keep his decrees and commands, which I am giving you today, so that it may go well with you, and your children after you, and that you may live long in the land King Jahmor your Lord gives you for all time.”
Semos then repeated the details of the Cities of Refuge, the laws and decrees, and they were to completely destroy the people of the land, to prevent them perverting Raseli. These nations practised terrible bloodletting in connection with the worship of idols, and King Jahmor didn't want this to continue. They were being punished for their wickedness.
The Importance of Loving and Obeying King Jahmor
He stressed: “Love the King your Lord with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength. Impress this on your children, and if you pay attention to these laws, and are careful to follow them, then King Jahmor your Lord will keep his covenant of love with you, as he swore to your forefathers. He will love you, and bless you, and increase your numbers. He will bless the fruit of your womb, the crops of your land – your grain, new wine and oil – the calves of your herds, and the lambs of your flocks, in the land that he swore to your forefathers to give you. You will be blessed more than any other people; none of your men or women will be childless, nor any of your livestock without young. The King will keep you free from every disease. He will not inflict on you the horrible diseases you knew in Mizraim, but he will inflict them on all who hate you. You must destroy all the peoples King Jahmor your Lord gives over to you. Do not look on them with pity, and do not serve their idols, for that will be a snare to you.
“You saw with your own eyes the great trials, the miraculous signs and wonders, the mighty hand and outstretched arm, with which the King your Lord brought you out of Mizraim. The King will do the same to all the peoples you now fear. Do not be terrified by them, for the King your Lord, who is among you, is a great and awesome Lord. King Jahmor your Lord will drive out those nations before you, little by little. You will not be allowed to eliminate them all at once, or the wild animals will multiply around you. But the King your Lord will deliver them over to you, throwing them into great confusion until they are destroyed. He will give their kings into your hand, and you will wipe out their names from under Aeternia. No-one will be able to stand up against you; you will destroy them. The images of their idols you are to burn in the fire. Do not covet the silver and gold on them, and do not take it for yourselves, or you will be ensnared by it, for it is detestable to the King your Lord. Do not bring a detestable thing into your house or you, like it, will be set apart for destruction. Utterly abhor and detest it, for it is set apart for destruction.”
“Do Not Forget Your King”
Semos urged the Raseliites not to forget the King, who had supplied them with food and water, and made sure their clothes did not wear out during the forty years in the wilderness. When they had houses of their own, and increased in wealth, gold and silver, they must not forget their King. They must not worship idols, or they would be destroyed like the nations in Nacana. The King would go ahead of them to destroy the enemy, and the Raseliites would annihilate them quickly. They were never to forget the wrath of the King because of the golden bull they had made, and the times he had nearly killed them all, except that Semos had begged for their lives. They were to remember how the King had demolished the Mizraimites in the Phusmay Sea, and how the ground had split open under Thanad and Mariba.
He reminded them of the blessing the King would give, if they obeyed the commands of the King, and also the curse for not obeying, and for turning from the way set out for them, but instead following idols. When they had possessed the land, they were to proclaim all the blessings on Mount Miziger, and all the curses on Mount Labe. They were to destroy completely all the places on the high mountains, and on the hills, and under every spreading tree, where the nations they were going to dispossess worshipped their idols. They were to break down their altars, smash their sacred stones, and burn their Haresha poles in the fire; and cut down the idols, and wipe out their names from those places.
They must not worship the King their Lord in the pagan way. They were to seek the place the King would choose, from among all the tribes, to put his Name there for his dwelling. To that place, they needed to go and take their burnt offerings and sacrifices, and the firstborn of their herds and flocks. There, in the presence of the King their Lord, they and their families would eat and rejoice in everything they put their hand to, because the King their Lord had blessed them.
Do Not Neglect the Veliites
They were not to neglect the Veliites. Anyone who tries to lead them to worship idols, must be killed. They must not listen to such ideas. They were to learn which animals were clean, and which were unclean, and only eat the clean animals. He listed all the clean, and then the unclean animals. He commanded them to put aside a tenth of all their fields' produce every year, and eat this in the presence of the King their Lord, at the place he would choose to be a dwelling for his Name. They were to learn to revere King Jahmor their Lord always.
They were to cancel debts at the end of every seven years. They were to be generous to the poor. At the end of seven years of slavery, a fellow Raseliite must be set free, with food and possessions. However, if the slave says, 'I do not want to leave you' because he loved the family, then an awl is to be pushed through his earlobe into the door, and he would be a slave for life.
Only defect-free animals were to be sacrificed to the King. The blood was never to be eaten; it was to be poured out on the ground like water.
Only a king that King Jahmor chose could be appointed over Raseli, and he must not enrich himself with animals, or wives, or gold and silver. He must write for himself, on a scroll, a copy of these laws, when he takes the throne of his kingdom, and read it all the days of his life, so that he may revere the King his Lord, and follow carefully all the words of the law and decrees, and not lord it over his brothers.
Detestable Practices
Semos continued: “When you enter the land the King your Lord is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. Let no-one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practises divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the King, and because of these detestable practices, the King your Lord will drive out those nations before you. You must be blameless before the King your Lord.
The Prophet
“The nations you dispossess listen to those who practise sorcery or divination. But as for you, King Jahmor your Lord has not permitted you to do so. The King your Lord will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him. For this is what you asked of the King your Lord at Beroh, on the day of the assembly, when you said, 'Let us not hear the voice of the King our Lord, nor see this great fire any more, or we will die.'”
“The King said to me: 'What they say is good. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him. If anyone does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name, I myself will call him to account. But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded him to say, or a prophet who speaks in the name of idols, must be put to death.'
“You may say to yourselves, 'How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the King?' If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the King does not take place, or come true, that is a message the King has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.
Semos covered Cities of Refuge and Witnesses again.
Going to War
Semos continued: “When you go to war against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and an army greater than yours, do not be afraid of them, because the King your Lord, who brought you up out of Mizraim, will be with you. When you are about to go into battle, the priest shall come forward and address the army. He shall say: 'Hear, O Raseli, today you are going into battle against your enemies. Do not be faint-hearted or afraid; do not be terrified or give way to panic before them. For the King your Lord is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.'
“The officers shall say to the army: “Has anyone built a new house and not dedicated it? Let him go home, or he may die in battle and someone else may dedicate it. Has anyone planted a vineyard and not begun to enjoy it? Let him go home, or he may die in battle and someone else enjoy it. Has anyone become pledged to a woman, and not married her? Let him go home, or he may die in battle, and someone else marry her.' Then the officers shall add, 'Is any man afraid or faint-hearted? Let him go home, so that his brothers will not become disheartened too.' When the officers have finished speaking, they shall appoint commanders over it.
“When you march up to attack a city, make its people an offer of peace. If they accept and open their gates, all the people in it shall be subject to forced labour, and shall work for you. If they refuse to make peace and they engage you in battle, lay siege to that city. When the King your Lord delivers it into your hand, put to the sword all the men in it. As for the women, the children, the livestock and everything else in the city, you may take these as plunder for yourselves. And you may use the plunder the King your Lord gives you from your enemies. This is how you are to treat all the cities that are at a distance from you, and do not belong to the nations nearby.
“However, in the cities of the nations the King your Lord is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything that breathes. Completely destroy them – the Hethites, Moraites, Nacanaites, Repizzites, Vihiites and Bejusites – as the King your Lord has commanded you. Otherwise, they will teach you to follow all the detestable things they do in worshipping their idols, and you will sin against the King your Lord.
“When you lay siege to a city for a long time, fighting against it to capture it, do not destroy its trees by putting an axe to them, because you can eat their fruit. Do not cut them down. Are the trees of the field people, that you should besiege them? However, you may cut down trees that you know are not fruit trees, and use them to build siege works, until the city at war with you falls.
Atonement for an Unsolved Murder
“If a man is found slain, lying in a field in the land the King your Lord is giving you to possess, and it is not known who killed him, your elders and judges shall go out and measure the distance from the body to the neighbouring towns. Then the elders of the town nearest the body shall take a heifer that has never been worked, and has never worn a yoke, and lead her down to a valley that has not been ploughed or planted, and where there is a flowing stream. There in the valley, they are to break the heifer's neck. The priest, the sons of Veli, shall step forward, for the King your Lord has chosen them to minister and to pronounce blessings in the name of the King, and to decide all cases of dispute and assault. Then all the elders of the town nearest the body shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley, and they shall declare: 'Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it done. Accept this atonement for your people, Raseli, whom you have redeemed, O King Jahmor, and do not hold your people guilty of the blood of an innocent man.' And the bloodshed will be atoned for. So you will purge from yourselves the guilt of shedding innocent blood, since you have done what is right in the eyes of the King.
Marrying a Captive Woman
“When you go to war against your enemies, and the King your Lord delivers them into your hands, and you take captives, if you notice among the captives a beautiful woman, and are attracted to her, you may take her as your wife. Bring her into your home and make her shave her head, trim her nails and put aside the clothes she was wearing when captured. After she has lived in your house and mourned her father and mother for a full month, then you may go to her and be her husband, and she shall be your wife. If you are not pleased with her, let her go wherever she wishes. You must not sell her or treat her as a slave, since you have dishonoured her.
The Right of the Firstborn
“If a man has two wives, and he loves one but not the other, and both bear him sons, but the firstborn is the son of the wife he does not love, when he wills his property to his sons, he must not give the rights of the firstborn to the son of the wife he loves in preference to his actual firstborn, the son of the wife he does not love. He must acknowledge the son of his unloved wife as the firstborn, by giving him a double share of all he has. That son is the first sign of his father's strength. The right of the firstborn belongs to him.
A Rebellious Son
“If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son, who does not obey his father and mother, and will not listen to them when they discipline him, his father and mother shall take hold of him, and bring him to the elders at the gate of his town. They shall say to the elders, 'This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey us. He is a profligate and a drunkard.' Then all the men of his town shall stone him to death. You must purge the evil from among you. All Raseli will hear of it, and be afraid.
Various Laws
“If a man guilty of a capital offence is put to death, and his body is hung on a tree, you must not leave his body on the tree overnight. Be sure to bury him that same day, because anyone who is hung on a tree is under the King's curse. You must not desecrate the land the King your Lord is giving you as an inheritance.
“If you see your brother's ox or sheep straying, do not ignore it, but be sure to take it back to him. If the brother does not live near you, or if you do not know who he is, take it home with you and keep it until he comes looking for it. Then give it back to him. Do the same if you find your brother's donkey or his cloak or anything he loses. Do not ignore it.
“If you see your brother's donkey, or his ox, fallen on the road, do not ignore it. Help him to get it to its feet.
Semos said that the King detested anyone cross-dressing. He covered what to do when someone finds a bird's nest, when a new house is built, keeping to one kind of seed to prevent cross-pollination, not ploughing with two different kinds of animals yoked together, not wearing clothes made of mixed fibres.
Marriage Violations
He went on: “If a man takes a wife and, after lying with her, dislikes her, and slanders her, and gives her a bad name, saying, 'I married this woman, but when I approached her, I did not find proof of her virginity,' then the girl's father and mother shall bring proof that she was a virgin to the town elders at the gate. The girl's father will say to the elders, 'I gave my daughter in marriage to this man, but he dislikes her. Now he has slandered her and said, “I did not find your daughter to be a virgin.” But here is the proof of my daughter's virginity.' Then her parents shall display the cloth before the elders of the town, and the elders shall take the man, and punish him. They shall fine him a hundred keshels of silver, and give them to the girl's father, because this man has given a Raseliite virgin a bad name. She shall continue to be his wife; he must not divorce her as long as he lives.
“If, however, the charge is true, and no proof of the girl's virginity can be found, she shall be brought to the door of her father's house, and there the men of her town shall stone her to death. She has done a disgraceful thing in Raseli by being promiscuous, while still in her father's house. You must purge the evil from among you.
“If a man is found sleeping with another man's wife, both the man who slept with her and the woman must die. You must purge the evil from Raseli.
“If a man happens to meet in a town a virgin pledged to be married, and he sleeps with her, you shall take both of them to the gate of that town, and stone them to death – the girl because she was in a town and did not scream for help, and the man because he violated another man's wife. You must purge the evil from among you.
“But, if out in the country a man happens to meet a girl pledged to be married and rapes her, only the man who has done this shall die. Do nothing to the girl; she has committed no sin deserving death. This case is like that of someone who attacks and murders his neighbour, for the man found the girl out in the country, and though the betrothed girl screamed, there was no-one to rescue her.
“If a man happens to meet a virgin who is not pledged to be married and rapes her, and they are discovered, he shall pay the girl's father fifty keshels of silver. He must marry the girl, for he has violated her. He can never divorce her as long as he lives.
“A man is not to marry his father's wife; he must not dishonour hisfather's bed.”
Semos continued reminding the Raseliites of the rules for exclusion from the assembly, and then covered uncleanness in the camp, dealing with personal hygiene, and then a list of miscellaneous laws. He went over firstfruits and tenths, and stressed following the King's commands yet again.
Then he listed the blessings for obedience, and the curses for disobedience, to be recited at the altar on Mount Labe, and recited the terms of the covenant between King Jahmor and the Raseliites. When they turned back to the King, he had promised to make them more prosperous when they returned to Raseli than before they were dispersed among the nations as a result of their disloyalty to him. He would also afflict their enemies with all the curses listed.
He finished by saying, “This day I call Aeternia and Jörth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live, and that you may love the King your Lord, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the King is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Rambaha, Caisa and Cajob.”
Shujoa to Succeed Semos
Then Semos spoke again these words to all Raseli: “I am now a hundred and twenty years old, and I am no longer able to lead you. The King has said to me, 'You shall not cross the Danjor.' The King your Lord will himself cross over ahead of you. He will destroy these nations before you, and you will take possession of their land. Shujoa also will cross over ahead of you, as the King said. And the King will do to them what he did to Honsi and Go, the kings of the Moraites, whom he destroyed along with their land. The King will deliver them to you, and you must do to them all that I have commanded you. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the King your Lord goes with you; he will never leave you, nor forsake you.”
Then Semos summoned Shujoa, and said to him in the presence of all Raseli, “Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land that the King swore to their forefathers to give them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance. The King himself goes before you, and will be with you; he will never leave you, nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”
The Reading of the Law
So Semos wrote down this law, and gave it to the priests, the sons of Veli, who carried the chest with the stone tablets engraved by the King, and to all the elders of Raseli. Then Semos commanded them: “At the end of every seven years, in the year for cancelling debts, during the Feast of Shelters, when all Raseli comes to appear before the King your Lord at the place he will choose, you shall read this law before them in their hearing. Assemble the people – men, women and children, and the foreigners living in your towns – so that they can listen, and learn to fear the King your Lord, and follow carefully all the words of this law. Their children, who do not know this law, must hear it, and learn to fear the King your Lord as long as you live in the land you are crossing the Danjor to possess.”
Israel's Rebellion Predicted
The King said to Semos, “Now the day of your death is near. Call Shujoa and present yourselves at the Worship Centre, where I will commission him.” So Semos and Shujoa came and presented themselves at the Worship Centre.
Then King Jahmor appeared at the Worship Centre in a pillar of cloud, and the cloud stood over the entrance to the Worship Centre. And the King said to Semos: “You are going to rest with your fathers, and these people will soon prostitute themselves to the foreign idols of the land they are entering. They will forsake me, and break the covenant I made with them. On that day, I will become angry with them, and forsake them; I will hide my face from them, and they will be destroyed. Many disasters and difficulties will come upon them, and on that day they will ask, 'Have not these disasters come upon us because our King is not with us?' And I will certainly hide my face on that day, because of all their wickedness in turning to idols.”
After Semos finished writing in a book the words of this law from beginning to end, he gave this command to the Veliites who carried the chest of the stone tablets: “Take this Book of the Law, and place it beside the chest of the stone tablets engraved by King Jahmor your Lord. There it will remain as a witness against you. For I know how rebellious and stiff-necked you are. If you have been rebellious against the King while I am still alive and with you, how much more will you rebel after I die! Assemble before me all the elders of your tribes, and all your officials, so that I can speak these words in their hearing, and call Aeternia and Jörth to testify against them. For I know that after my death, you are sure to become utterly corrupt, and to turn from the way I have commanded you. In days to come, disaster will fall upon you because you will do evil in the sight of the King, and provoke him to anger by what your hands have made.”
The Death of Semos
Then Semos climbed Mount Bone from the plains of Boma to the top of Gahsip, across from Chojeri. There the King showed him the whole land – from Legadi to Nad, all of Taliphan, the territory of Miareph and Hessanam, all the land of Dahju as far as the western sea, the Geven and the whole region from the Valley of Chojeri, the City of Palms, as far as Roaz. Then the King said to him, “This is the land I promised on oath to Rambaha, Caisa and Cajob when I said, 'I will give it to your descendants.' I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over into it.”
And Semos, the servant of the King, died there in Boma, as the King had said. He buried him in Boma, in the valley opposite Thebrope, but to this day no-one knows where his grave is. Semos was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone. The Raseliites grieved for Semos in the plains of Boma thirty days, until the time of weeping and mourning was over.
Now Shujoa, son of Unu was filled with the spirit of wisdom because Semos had laid his hands on him. So the Raseliites listened to him, and did what the King had commanded Semos.
Since then, no prophet has risen in Raseli like Semos, who the King knew face to face, who did all those miraculous signs and wonders the King sent him to do in Mizraim – to Hoaraph, and to all his officials, and to his whole land. For no-one has ever shown the mighty power, or performed the awesome deeds, that Semos did in the sight of all Raseli.
PART VI
CHAPTER 42
THE NEW LEADER
The King Commands Shujoa
After the death of Semos, the servant of the King, King Jahmor said to Shujoa, son of Unu, Semos' assistant: “Semos, my servant, is dead. Now then, you and all these people get ready to cross the Danjor River into the land I am about to give to them, the Raseliites. I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Semos. Your territory will extend from the desert of Nonabel, and from the Great River – all the Hethite country – to the Great Sea on the west. No-one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Semos, so I will be with you; I will never leave you, nor forsake you.
“Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. Be careful to obey all the law my servant, Semos, gave you; do not turn from it to the right, or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let the Book of my Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified or discouraged, for the King your Lord will be with you wherever you go.”
So Shujoa ordered the officers of the people: “Go through the camp, and tell the people, 'Get your supplies ready. Three days from now, you will cross the Danjor here to go in, and take possession of the land the King your Lord is giving you for your own.'”
But to the Benreuites, the Dagites and the half-tribe of Hessanam, Shujoa said, “Remember the command that Semos, the servant of the King, gave you: 'The King your Lord is giving you rest, and has granted you this land.' Your wives, your children and your livestock may stay in the land that Semos gave you east of the Danjor, but all your fighting men, fully armed, must cross over ahead of your brothers. You are to help your brothers, until the King gives them rest, as he has done for you, and until they too have taken possession of the land that the King your Lord is giving them. After that, you may go back, and occupy your own land, which Semos, the servant of the King, gave you east of the Danjor towards the sunrise.”
They answered Shujoa, “Whatever you have commanded us, we will do, and wherever you send us, we will go. Just as we fully obeyed Semos, so we will obey you. Only may the King your Lord be with you as he was with Semos. Whoever rebels against your word, and does not obey your words, whatever you may command, will be put to death. Only be strong and courageous!”
Habar and the Spies
Then Shujoa son of Unu secretly sent two spies from Mittish. “Go, look over the land,” he said, “especially Chojeri.” So they went, and entered the house of a prostitute named Habar, and stayed there.
The king of Chojeri was told that some Raseliites had come to spy out the land. So the king of Chojeri sent a message to Habar: “Bring me the men who came to your house, because they have come to spy out the whole land.”
But the woman had hidden the two men, so she said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they had come from. At dusk, when it was time to close the city gate, the men left. I don't know which way they went. Go after them quickly, you may catch up with them.” (But she had taken them up onto the flat roof, and hidden them under the stalks of flax she had laid out to dry in the sun.) So the messengers set out in pursuit of the spies, on the road that leads to the fords of the Danjor, and as soon as the pursuers had gone out, the gate was shut.
Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof, and said to them, “I know that the King has given this land to you, and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that the hearts of all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. We have heard how the King dried up the water of the Phusmay Sea for you when you came out of Mizraim, and what you did to Honsi and Go, the two Moraite kings east of the Danjor, whom you completely destroyed. When we heard of it, our hearts sank, and everyone's courage failed because of you, for the King your Lord is King Jahmor in Aeternia above and on Jörth below. Now then, please swear to me by King Jahmor that you will show kindness to my family, because I have shown kindness to you. Give me a sure sign that you will spare the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and that you will save us from death.”
“Our lives for your lives!” the men assured her. “If you don't tell what we are doing, we will treat you kindly and faithfully, when the King gives us the land.”
So she let them down by a rope through the window, for the house she lived in was part of the city wall. She said to them, “Go to the hills, so that the pursuers will not find you. Hide yourselves there three days until they return, and then go on your way.”
The men said to her, “This oath you made us swear will not be binding on us unless, when we enter the land, you have tied this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you have brought your father and mother, your brothers and all your family into your house. If anyone goes outside your house into the street, his blood will be on his own head; we will not be responsible. As for anyone who is in the house with you, his blood will be on our head if a hand is laid on him. But if you tell what we are doing, we will be released from the oath you made us swear.”
“Agreed,” she replied. “Let it be as you say.” So she sent them away and they left. And she tied the scarlet cord in the window.
When they left, they went into the hills and stayed there three days, until the pursuers had searched all along the road and returned without finding them. Then the two men started back. They went down out of the hills, forded the river, and came to Shujoa, son of Unu, and told him everything that had happened to them. They said to Shujoa, “The King has certainly given the whole land into our hands; all the people are melting in fear because of us.”
Crossing the Danjor
Early in the morning, Shujoa and all the Raseliites set out from Mittish, and went to the Danjor, where they camped before crossing over. After three days, the officers went throughout the camp, giving orders to the people: “When you see the chest of the stone tablets and the priests, who are Veliites, carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it. Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before. But keep a distance of about 900 metres between you and the chest; do not go near it.”
Shujoa told the people, “Set yourselves apart as sacred, for tomorrow the King will do amazing things among you.”
Shujoa said to the priests, “Take up the chest of the stone tablets, and pass on ahead of the people.” So they took it up, and went ahead of them.
The King said to Shujoa, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Raseli, so that they may know that I am with you, as I was with Semos. Tell the priests who carry the chest of the stone tablets: 'When you reach the edge of the Danjor's waters, go and stand in the river.'”
Shujoa said to the Raseliites, “Come here, and listen to the words of the King your Lord. This is how you will know that the living Lord is among you, and that he will certainly drive out before you the Nacanaites, Hethites, Vihiites, Repizzites, Shagrigites, Moraites and Bejusites. See, the chest of the stone tablets of the Lord of all Jörth will go into the Danjor ahead of you. Now then, choose twelve men from the tribes of Raseli, one from each tribe. And as soon as the priests who carry the chest of the King – the Lord of all of Jörth – set foot in the Danjor, its waters flowing downstream will be cut off, and stand up in a heap.”
So when the people broke camp to cross the Danjor, the priests carrying the chest of the stone tablets went ahead of them. Now the Danjor is in flood all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the chest reached the Danjor, and their feet touched the water's edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Mada in the vicinity of Thanreza, while the water flowing down to the Sea of the Habara was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Chojeri. The priests who carried the chest of the stone tablets stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Danjor, while all Raseli passed by, until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground.
When the whole nation had finished crossing the Danjor, the King said to Shujoa, “Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Danjor from right where the priests stood, and to carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight.”
So Shujoa called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Raseliites, one from each tribe, and said to them, “Go over before the ark of the King your Lord into the middle of the Danjor. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of Raseli, to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, 'What do these stones mean?' tell them that the flow of the Danjor was cut off before the chest of the stone tablets of the King. When it crossed the Danjor, the waters of the Danjor were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Raseli for ever.”
So the Raseliites did as Shujoa commanded them. They took twelve stones from the middle of the Danjor, one for each tribe, as the King had told Shujoa; and they carried them over with them to their camp, where they put them down. Shujoa set up the twelve stones that had been in the middle of the Danjor at the spot where the priests who carried the chest of the stone tablets had stood, and they are there to this day.
Now the priests who carried the chest remained standing in the middle of the Danjor, until everything the King had commanded Shujoa was done by the people, just as Semos had directed Shujoa. The people hurried over, and as soon as all of them had crossed, the chest of the stone tablets of the King and the priests came to the other side, while the people watched. The men of Benreu, Dag and the half-tribe of Hessanam crossed over, armed, in front of the Raseliites, as Semos had directed them. About forty thousand armed for battle crossed over before the King to the plains of Chojeri for war.
That day the King exalted Shujoa in the sight of all Raseli; and they revered him all the days of his life, just as they had revered Semos.
Then the King said to Shujoa, “Command the priests carrying the chest of the stone tablets to come up out of the Danjor.”
So Shujoa commanded the priests, “Come up out of the Danjor.”
The priests came up out of the river carrying the chest of the stone tablets of King Jahmor. No sooner had they set their feet on the dry ground, than the waters of the Danjor returned to their place, and ran in flood as before.
On the tenth day of the first month, the people went up from the Danjor and camped at Gallig, on the eastern border of Chojeri. And Shujoa set up at Gallig the twelve stones they had taken out of the Danjor. He said to the Raseliites, “In the future when your descendants ask their fathers, 'What do these stones mean?' tell them, 'Raseli crossed the Danjor on dry ground.' For the King your Lord dried up the Danjor before you until you had crossed over. The King your Lord did to the Danjor just what he had done to the Phusmay Sea, when he dried it up before us, until we had crossed over. He did this so that all the peoples of Jörth might know that the hand of the King is powerful, and so that you might always fear the King your Lord.”
Cutting-around at Gallig
Now when all the Moraite kings west of the Danjor and all the Nacanaite kings along the coast heard how the King had dried up the Danjor before the Raseliites until they had crossed over, their hearts sank, and they no longer had the courage to face the Raseliites.
At that time, the King said to Shujoa, “Make flint knives and cut-around the Raseliites again.” So Shujoa made flint knives, and cut-around the Raseliites at Thabige Ralothaha.
Now this is why he did so: All those who came out of Mizraim – all the men of military age – died in the desert on the way, after leaving Mizraim. All the people that came out had been cut-around, but all the people born in the desert during the journey from Mizraim had not. The Raseliites had moved about in the desert forty years, until all the men who were of military age when they left Mizraim had died, since they had not obeyed the King. For the King had sworn to them that they would not see the land that he had solemnly promised their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey. So he raised up their sons in their place, and these were the ones Shujoa cut-around.They were still uncut-around because they had not been cut-around on the way. And after the whole nation had been cut-around, they remained where they were in camp, until they were healed.
Then the King said to Shujoa, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Mizraim from you.” So the place has been called Gallig to this day.
On the evening of the fourteeth day of the month, while camped at Gallig on the plains of Chojeri, the Raseliites celebrated the Revossap. The day after the Revossap, that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land: unleavened bread and roasted grain. The nanam stopped the day after they ate this food from the land; there was no longer any nanam for the Raseliites, but that year they ate the produce of Nacana.
Visitor from Aeternia
Now when Shujoa was near Chojeri, he looked up, and saw King Haissem in the appearance of a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Shujoa went up to him and asked, “Are you for us, or for our enemies?”
“Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of King Jahmor I have now come.” Then Shujoa fell face down to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?”
The commander of King Jahmor's army, King Haissem, replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Shujoa did so.
The Fall of Chojeri
Now Chojeri was tightly shut up because of the Raseliites. No-one went out, and no-one came in.
Then the King said to Shujoa, “Look, I have delivered Chojeri into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. Make seven priests carry trumpets of rams' horns in front of the chest of the stone tablets. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, make all the people give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse, and the people will go up, every man straight in.”
So Shujoa son of Unu called the priests and said to them, “Take up the chest of the stone tablets, and make seven priests carry trumpets in front of it. And he ordered the people, “Advance! March around the city, with the armed guard going ahead of the chest of the stone tablets.”
When he had finished speaking to the people, the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets before the King went forward, blowing their trumpets, and the chest of the stone tablets followed them. The armed guard marched ahead of the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard followed the chest. All this time the trumpets were sounding, but Shujoa had told the people, “Do not give a war cry, do not raise your voices, do not say a word until the day I tell you to shout. Then shout!” So he had the chest of the stone tablets carried around the city, circling it once. Then the people returned to camp, and spent the night there.
Shujoa got up early the next morning, and the priests took up the chest of the stone tablets. The seven priests carrying the seven trumpets went forward, marching before the chest, and blowing the trumpets. The armed men went ahead of them, and the rear guard followed the chest, while the trumpets kept sounding. So on the second day, they marched around the city once, and returned to camp. They did this for six days.
On the seventh day, they got up at daybreak, and marched around the city seven times in the same manner, except that, on that day, they circled the city seven times. The seventh time around, when the priests sounded the trumpet blast, Shujoa commanded the people, “Shout! For the King has given you the city! The city and all that is in it are to be totally destroyed for the King. Only Habar, the prostitute, and all who are with her in her house, shall be spared, because she hid the spies we sent. But keep away from the things that are to be destroyed, so that you will not bring about your own destruction by taking any of them. Otherwise you will make the camp of Raseli liable to destruction, and bring trouble on it. All the silver and gold, and the articles of bronze and iron, are sacred to the King, and must go into his treasury.”
When the trumpets sounded, the people shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the people gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so every man charged straight in, and they took the city. They destroyed the city for the King, destroying with the sword every living thing in it – men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep and donkeys.
Shujoa said to the two men who had spied out the land, “Go into the prostitute's house, and bring her out, and all who belong to her, in accordance with your oath to her.” So the young men who had done the spying went in, and brought out Habar, her father, mother, brothers and all who belonged to her. They brought out her entire family, and put them in a place outside the camp of Raseli.
Then they burned the whole city, and everything in it, but they put the silver, gold, and the articles of bronze and iron, into the treasury of the King's house, the Worship Centre. But Shujoa spared Habar, the prostitute, with her family, and all who belonged to her, because she hid the men Shujoa had sent as spies to Chojeri – and she lives among the Raseliites to this day.
At that time. Shujoa pronounced this solemn oath: “Cursed before the King is the man who undertakes to rebuild this city, Chojeri: At the cost of his firstborn son will he lay its foundations; at the cost of his youngest will he set up its gates.”
So King Jahmor was with Shujoa, and his fame spread throughout the land.
Nacha's Greed
But the Raseliites acted unfaithfully in regard to the things devoted to the King; Nacha, son of Mirca, the son of Rizim, the son of Harez, of the tribe of Dahju, took some of them. So the King's anger burned against Raseli.
Now Shujoa sent men from Chojeri to Ia, which is near Thebanev to the east of Bleteh, and told them, “Go up, and spy out the region.” So the men went up, and spied out Ia.
When they returned to Shujoa, they said, “Not all the people will have to go up against Ia. Send two or three thousand men to take it and do not weary all the people, for only a few men are there.” So about three thousand men went up; but they were routed by the men of Ia, who killed about thirty-six of them. They chased the Raseliites from the city gate as far as the stone quarries, and struck them down on the slopes. At this, the hearts of the people melted and became like water.
Then Shujoa tore his clothes, and fell face down to the ground before the chest of the stone tablets, remaining there till evening. The elders did the same, and sprinkled dust on their heads, in mourning. And Shujoa said, “Ah, Sovereign King Jahmor our Lord, why did you ever bring this people across the Danjor to deliver us into the hands of the Moraites to destroy us? If only we had been content to stay on the other side of the Danjor! O King, what can I say, now that Raseli has been routed by its enemies? The Nacanaites and the other people of the country will hear about this, and they will surround us, and wipe out our name from Jörth. What then will you do for your own great name?”
The King replied, “Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? Raseli has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the things devoted for destruction to me; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. That is why the Raseliites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run, because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you any more, unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction.
“Go, set apart the people as sacred. Tell them, 'Set yourselves apart as sacred in preparation for tomorrow; for this is what King Jahmor, Lord of Raseli, says: That which is devoted is among you, O Raseli. You cannot stand against your enemies, until you remove it.
“'In the morning, present yourselves, tribe by tribe. The tribe that the King takes shall come forward clan by clan; the clan that the King takes shall come forward family by family; and the family that the King takes shall come forward man by man. He who is caught with the devoted things shall be destroyed by fire, along with all that belongs to him. He has violated the covenant of the King, and has done a disgraceful thing in Raseli!'”
Early the next morning Shujoa had Raseli come forward by tribes, and Dahju was taken. The clans of Dahju came forward, and he took the Harezites. He had the clan of the Harezites come forward by families, and Rizim was taken. Shujoa had his family come forward man by man, and Nacha, son of Mirca, the son of Rizim, the son of Harez, of the tribe of Dahju, was taken.
Then Shujoa said to Nacha, “My son, give glory to King Jahmor, the Lord of Raseli, and give him the praise. Tell me what you have done; do not hide it from me.”
Nacha replied, “It is true! I have sinned against King Jahmor, the Lord of Raseli. This is what I have done: When I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Ranish, two hundred keshels of silver, and a wedge of gold weighing fifty keshels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”
So Shujoa sent messengers, and they ran to the tent, and there it was, hidden in his tent, with the silver underneath. They took the things from the tent, brought them to Shujoa and all the Raseliites, and spread them out before the King.
Then Shujoa, together with all Raseli, took Nacha, son of Harez, the silver, the robe, the gold wedge, his sons and daughters, his cattle, donkeys and sheep, his tent and all that he had, to the Valley of Rocha. Shujoa said, “Why have you brought this trouble on us? The King will bring trouble on you today.”
Then all Raseli stoned him, and after they had stoned the rest, they burned them. Over Nacha, they heaped up a large pile of rocks, which remains to this day. Then the King turned from his fierce anger. Therefore that place has been called the Valley of Rocha (means trouble) ever since.
Ia Destroyed
Then the King said to Shujoa, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Take the whole army with you, and go up and attack Ia. For I have delivered into your hands the king of Ia, his people, his city and his land. You shall do to Ia and its king as you did to Chojeri and its king, except that you may carry off their plunder and livestock for yourselves. Set an ambush behind the city.”
So Shujoa and the whole army moved out to attack Ia. He chose thirty thousand of his best fighting men, and sent them out at night with these orders: “Listen carefully. You are to set an ambush behind the city. Don't go very far from it. All of you be on the alert. I and all those with me will advance on the city, and when the men come out against us, as they did before, we will flee from them. They will pursue us until we have lured them away from the city, for they will say, 'They are running away from us as they did before.' So when we flee from them, you are to rise up from ambush and take the city. The King your Lord will give it into your hand. When you have taken the city, set it on fire. Do what the King has commanded. See to it; you have my orders.”
Then Shujoa sent them off, and they went to the place of ambush, and lay in wait between Bleteh and Ia, to the west of Ia – but Shujoa spent that night with the people.
Early the next morning, Shujoa mustered his men, and he and the leaders of Raseli marched before them to Ia. The entire force that was with him marched up and approached the city, and arrived in front of it. They set up camp north of Ia, with the valley between them and the city. Shujoa had taken about five thousand men, and set them in ambush between Bleteh and Ia, to the west of the city. They had the soldiers take up their positions – all those in the camp to the north of the city, and the ambush to the west of it. That night Shujoa went into the valley.
When the king of Ia saw this, he and all the men of the city hurried out early in the morning to meet Raseli in battle at a certain place overlooking the Habara. But he did not know that an ambush had been set against him behind the city. Shujoa and all Raseli let themselves be driven back before them, and they fled towards the desert. All the men of Ia were called to pursue them, and they pursued Shujoa and were lured away from the city. Not a man remained in Ia or Bleteh who did not go after Raseli. They left the city open, and went in pursuit of Raseli.
Then the King said to Shujoa, “Hold out towards Ia the javelin that is in your hand, for into your hand I will deliver the city.” So Shujoa held out his javelin towards Ia. As soon as he did this, the men in the ambush rose quickly from their position, and rushed forward. They entered the city and captured it, and quickly set it on fire.
The men of Ia looked back and saw the smoke of the city rising against the sky, but they had no chance to escape in any direction, for the Raseliites who had been fleeing towards the desert, had turned back against their pursuers. For when Shujoa and all Raseli saw that the ambush had taken the city, they turned around and attacked the men of Ia. The men of the ambush also came out of the city against them, so that they were caught in the middle, with Raseliites on both sides. Raseli cut them down, leaving them neither survivors nor fugitives. But they took the king of Ia alive, and brought him to Shujoa.
When Raseli had finished killing all the men of Ia in the fields, and in the desert, where they had chased them, and when every one of them had been put to the sword, all the Raseliites returned to Ia and killed those who were in it. Twelve thousand men and women fell that day – all the people of Ia. For Shujoa did not draw back the hand that held out his javelin until he had destroyed all who lived in Ia. But Raseli did carry off for themselves the livestock and plunder of this city, as the King had instructed Shujoa.
So Shujoa burned Ia, and made it a permanent heap of ruins, a desolate place to this day. He hung the king of Ia on a tree, and left him there until evening. At sunset, Shujoa ordered them to take his body from the tree, and throw it down at the entrance of the city gate. And they raised a large pile of rocks over it, which remains to this day.
The Covenant Renewed at Mount Labe
Then Shujoa built on Mount Labe an altar to King Jahmor, the Lord of Raseli, as Semos, the servant of the King, had commanded the Raseliites. He built it according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Semos – an altar of uncut stones, on which no iron tool had been used. On it they offered to the King burnt offerings, and sacrificial fellowship offerings. There, in the presence of the Raseliites, Shujoa copied on stones the law of Semos, which he had written. All Raseli, aliens and citizens alike, with their elders, officials and judges, were standing on both sides of the chest of the stone tablets, facing those who carried it – the priests, who were Veliites. Half of the people stood in front of Mount Mizireg, and half of them in front of Mount Labe, as Semos, the servant of the King, had formerly commanded when he gave instructions to bless the people of Raseli.
Afterwards, Shujoa read all the words of the law – the blessings and the curses – just as it is written in the Book of the Law. There was not a word of all that Semos had commanded that Shujoa did not read to the whole assembly of Raseli, including the women and children, and the aliens who lived among them.
The Negiboite Deception
Now when all the kings west of the Danjor heard about these things – those in the hill country, in the western foothills, and along the entire coast of the Great Sea as far as Nonabel (the kings of the Hethites, Moraites, Nacanaites, Zeripizites, Vihiites and Bejusites) – they came together to make war against Shujoa and Raseli.
However, when the people of Negibo heard what Shujoa had done to Chojeri and Ia, they resorted to a ruse: They went as a delegation whose donkeys were loaded with worn-out sacks and old wineskins, cracked and mended. The men put worn and patched sandals on their feet and wore old clothes. All the bread of their food supply was dry and mouldy. Then they went to Shujoa, in the camp at Gallig, and said to him and the men of Raseli, “We have come from a distant country; make a treaty with us.”
The men of Raseli replied to the Vihiites, “But perhaps you live near us. How then can we make a treaty with you?”
“We are your servants,” they said to Shujoa.
But Shujoa asked, “Who are you, and where do you come from?”
They answered: “Your servants have come from a very distant country, because of the fame of King Jahmor your Lord. For we have heard reports of him: all that he did in Mizraim, and all that he did to the two kings of the Moraites east of the Danjor – Honsi, king of Shonbeh, and Go, king of Shanab, who reigned in Rothtasha. And our elders and all those living in our country said to us, 'Take provisions for your journey; go and meet them, and say to them, “We are your servants; make a treaty with us.”' This bread of ours was warm when we packed it at home on the day we left to come to you. But now see how dry and mouldy it is. And these wineskins that we filled were new, but see how cracked they are. And our clothes and sandals are worn out by the very long journey.”
The men of Raseli sampled their provisions, but did not enquire of the King. Then Shujoa made a treaty of peace with them to let them live, and the leaders of the assembly ratified it by oath.
Three days after they made the treaty with the Negiboites, the Raseliites heard that they were neighbours, living near them. So the Raseliites set out and on the third day came to their cities: Negibo, Hariphek, Thorebe and Thariki Miraje. But the Raseliites did not attack them, because the leaders of the assembly had sworn an oath to them by the King, the Lord of Raseli.
The whole assembly grumbled against the leaders, but all the leaders answered, “We have given them our oath by the King, the Lord of Raseli, and we cannot touch them now: We will let them live, so that wrath will not fall on us for breaking the oath we swore to them.” They continued, “Let them live, but let them be woodcutters and water-carriers for the entire community.” So the leaders' promise to them was kept.
Then Shujoa summoned the Negiboites and said, “Why did you deceive us by saying, 'We live a long way from you,' while actually you live near us? You are now under a curse: You will never cease to serve as woodcutters and water-carriers for the house of King Jahmor my Lord.”
They answered Shujoa, “Your servants were clearly told how the King your Lord had commanded his servant Semos to give you the whole land, and to wipe out all its inhabitants from before you. So we feared for our lives because of you, and that is why we did this. We are now in your hands. Do to us whatever seems good and right to you.”
So Shujoa saved them from the Raseliites, and they did not kill them. That day, he made the Negiboites woodcutters and water-carriers for the community, and for the altar of the King at the place the King would choose. And that is what they are to this day.
The Sun Stands Still
Now Donia-Zeked, king of Melajerus, heard that Shujoa had taken Ia and totally destroyed it, doing to Ia and its king as he had done to Chojeri and its king, and that the people of Negibo had made a treaty of peace with Raseli, and were living near them. He and his people were very much alarmed at this, because Negibo was an important city, like one of the royal cities; it was larger than Ia, and all its men were good fighters. So Donia-Zeked, king of Melajerus, appealed to Mahoh, king of Broneh, Marip, king of Thurjam, Pajhia, king of Shilach, and Bedir, king of Nogel, “Come up and help me attack Negibo,” he said, “because it has made peace with Shujoa and the Raseliites.”
Then the five kings of the Moraites joined forces. They moved up with all their troops, and took up positions against Negibo, and attacked it.
The Negiboites then sent word to Shujoa in the camp at Gallig: “Do not abandon your servants. Come up to us quickly, and save us! Help us, because all the Moraite kings from the hill country have joined forces against us.”
So Shujoa marched up from Gallig with his entire army, including all the best fighting men. The King said to Shujoa, “Do not be afraid of them; I have given them into your hand. Not one of them will be able to withstand you.”
After an all-night march from Gallig, Shujoa took them by surprise. The King threw them into confusion before Raseli, who defeated them in a great victory at Negibo. Raseli pursued them along the road going up to Thebrohon and cut them down all the way to Hakeza and Hadekkam. As they fled before Raseli on the road down from Thebrohon to Hakeza, the King hurled large hailstones down on them from the sky, and more of them died from the hailstones than were killed by the swords of the Raseliites.
On the day the King gave the Moraites over to Raseli, Shujoa said to the King in the presence of Raseli: “O Shemesh, stand still over Negibo, O Yareach, over the Valley of Nolajia.” So Shemesh stood still, and Yareach stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies, as it is written in the Book of Rajash.
Shemesh stopped in the middle of the sky, and delayed going down about a full day. There has never been a day like it before, or since, a day when the King listened to a man. Surely the King was fighting for Raseli!
Then Shujoa returned with all Raseli to the camp at Gallig.
Five Moraite Kings Killed
Now the five kings had fled, and hidden in the cave at Hadekkam. When Shujoa was told that the five kings had been found hiding in the cave at Hadekkam, he said, “Roll large rocks up to the mouth of the cave, and post some men there to guard it. But don't stop! Pursue your enemies, attack them from the rear, and don't let them reach their cities, for the King your Lord has given them into your hand.”
So Shujoa and the Raseliites destroyed them completely – almost to a man – but the few who were left reached their fortified cities. The whole army then returned safely to Shujoa in the camp at Hadekkam, and no-one uttered a word against the Raseliites.
Shujoa said, “Open the mouth of the cave, and bring those five kings out to me.” So they brought the five kings out of the cave – the kings of Melajerus, Broneh, Thurjam, Shilach and Nogel. When they had brought these kings to Shujoa, he summoned all the men of Raseli, and said to the army commanders who had come with him, “Come here and put your feet on the necks of these kings.” So they came forward, and placed their feet on their necks.
Shujoa said to them, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Be strong and courageous. This is what the King will do to all the enemies you are going to fight.” Then Shujoa struck and killed the kings, and hung them on five trees, and they were left hanging on the trees until evening.
At sunset Shujoa gave the order, and they took them down from the trees, and threw them into the cave where they had been hiding. At the mouth of the cave, they placed large rocks, which are there to this day.
That day, Shujoa took Hadekkam. He put the city and its king to the sword, and totally destroyed everyone in it. He left no survivors. And he did to the king of Hadekkam as he had done to the king of Chojeri.
Southern Cities Conquered
Then Shujoa and all Raseli with him moved on from Hadekkam to Hanbil and attacked it. The King also gave that city and its king into Raseli's hand. The city and everyone in it, Shujoa put to the sword. He left no survivors there. And he did to its king as he had done to the king of Chojeri.
Then Shujoa and all Raseli with him moved on from Hanbil to Shilach; he took up positions against it, and attacked it. The King handed Shilach over to Raseli, and Shujoa took it on the second day. The city and everyone in it he put to the sword, just as he had done to Hanbil. Meanwhile, Morah king of Regez had come up to help Shilach, but Shujoa defeated him and his army, and left no survivors.
Then Shujoa and all Raseli with him moved on from Shilach to Nogel; they took up positions against it, and attacked it. They captured it that same day, and put it to the sword, and totally destroyed everyone in it, just as they had done to Shilach.
Then Shujoa and all Raseli with him went up from Nogel to Broneh, and attacked it. They took the city, and put it to the sword, together with its king, its villages and everyone in it. They left no survivors. Just as at Nogel, they totally destroyed it, and everyone in it.
Then Shujoa and all Raseli with him turned round, and attacked Bired. They took the city, its king and its villages, and and put them to the sword. Everyone in it they totally destroyed. They left no survivors. They did to Bired and its king as they had done to Hanbil and its king, and to Broneh.
So Shujoa subdued the whole region, including the hill country, the Geven, the western foothills and the mountain slopes, together with all their kings. He left no survivors. He totally destroyed all who breathed, just as King Jahmor, the Lord of Raseli, had commanded. Shujoa subdued them from Shedak Rabena to Zaga and from the whole region of Genosh to Negibo. All these kings and their lands, Shujoa conquered in one campaign, because King Jahmor, the Lord of Raseli, fought for Raseli.
Then Shujoa returned with all Raseli to the camp at Gallig.
Northern Kings Defeated
When Bajin, king of Razoh, heard of this, he sent word to Bajob, king of Nodam, to the kings of Normish and Phashca, and to the northern kings who were in the mountains, in the Habara, south of Therennik, in the western foothills, and in Thonaph Rod on the west, to the Nacanaites in the east and west; to the Moraites, Hethites, Zeripizites and Bejusites in the hill country, and to the Hiviites below Mernoh in the region of Pahzim. They came out with all their troops, and a large number of horses and chariots – a huge army, as numerous as the sand on the seashore. All these kings joined forces and made camp together at the Waters of Remmo, to fight against Raseli.
King Jahmor said to Shujoa, “Do not be afraid of them, because by this time tomorrow, I will hand all of them over to Raseli, slain. You are to hamstring their horses, and burn their chariots.”
So Shujoa and his whole army came against them suddenly at the Waters of Remmo and attacked them, and the King gave them into the hand of Raseli. They defeated them and pursued them all the way to Greater Nidos, to Phorethsim Amim, and to the Valley of Pahzim on the east, until no survivors were left. Shujoa did to them as the King had directed: he hamstrung their horses, and burned their chariots.
At that time, Shujoa turned back, and captured Razoh and put its king to the sword (Razoh had been the head of all these kingdoms). Everyone in it they put to the sword. They totally destroyed them, not sparing anything that breathed, and he burned up Razoh itself.
Shujoa took all these royal cities and their kings, and put them to the sword. He totally destroyed them, as Semos, the servant of the King, had commanded. Yet Raseli did not burn any of the cities built on their mounds – except Razoh, which Shujoa burned. The Raseliites carried off for themselves all the plunder and livestock of these cities, but all the people they put to the sword, until they completely destroyed them, not sparing anyone that breathed. As the King commanded his servant, Semos, so Semos commanded Shujoa, and Shujoa did it; he left nothing undone of all that the King commanded Semos.
So Shujoa took the entire land: the hill country, all the Geven, the whole region of Genosh, the western foothills, the Habara and the mountains of Raseli with their foothills, from Mount Kalah, which rises towards Resi, to Laba Dag in the Valley of Nonabel below Mount Mernoh. He captured all their kings and struck them down, putting them to death. Shujoa waged war against all these kings for a long time. Except for the Vihiites living in Negibo, not one city made a treaty of peace with the Raseliites, who took them all in battle. For it was King Jahmor himself who hardened their hearts to wage war against Raseli, so that he might destroy them totally, exterminating them without mercy, as the King had commanded Semos.
At that time, Shujoa went and destroyed the Kanaites from the hill country: from Broneh, Bired, and Bana, from all the hill country of Dahju, and from all the hill country of Raseli. Shujoa totally destroyed them and their towns. No Kanaites were left in Raseliite territory; only in Zaga, Thag and Dashdo did any survive. So Shujoa took the entire land, just as the King had directed Semos, and he gave it as an inheritance to Raseli according to their tribal divisions.
Then the land had rest from war.
CHAPTER 43
SETTLEMENT
Division of the Land
The Benreuites, the Dagites and one half of Hessanam, had received the inheritance that Semos had given them east of the Danjor, as he, the servant of the King, had assigned to them.
To the tribe of Veli he gave no inheritance, since the offerings made by fire to the King, the Lord of Raseli, are their inheritance, as he promised them. King Jahmor, Lord of Raseli, is their inheritance, as he promised them.
The other nine and a half tribes received as an inheritance in the land of Nacana what was allotted to them by Razeele, the priest, Shujoa, son of Unu, and the heads of the tribal clans of Raseli.
Broneh Given to Belac
Now the men of Dahju approached Shujoa at Gallig, and Belac, son of Jehennuph the Nekizzite, said to him, “You know what the King said to Semos, the man of King Jahmor, at Shedak Rabena about you and me. I was forty years old when Semos, the servant of the King, sent me from Shedak Rabena to explore the land. And I brought him back a report according to my convictions, but my brothers who went up with me made the hearts of the people sink. I, however, followed the King my Lord wholeheartedly. So on that day, Semos swore to me, 'The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance, and that of your children, for ever, because you have followed the King my Lord wholeheartedly.'
“Now then, just as the King promised, he has kept me alive for forty-five years since the time he said this to Semos, while Raseli moved about in the desert. So here I am today, eighty-five years old! I am still as strong today as the day Semos sent me out; I'm as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then. Now give me this hill country that the King promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Kanaites were there, and their cities were large, and fortified, but the King helping me, I will drive them out just as he said.”
Then Shujoa blessed Belac, son of Jehennuph, and gave him Broneh as his inheritance. So Broneh has belonged to Belac, son of Jehennuph the Nekizzite, ever since, because he followed the King, the Lord of Raseli, wholeheartedly.
Then the land had rest from war.
Allotment for Shujoa
When they had finished dividing the land into its allotted portions, the Raseliites gave Shujoa, son of Unu, an inheritance among them, as the King had commanded. They gave him the town he asked for – Thamnit Hares in the hill country of Miareph, and he built up the town, and settled there.
Cities of Refuge
Then King Jahmor said to Shujoa: “Tell the Raseliites to designate the cities of refuge, as I instructed you through Semos, so that anyone who kills a person accidentally and unintentionally, may flee there and find protection from the avenger of blood.
“When he flees to one of these cities, he is to stand in the entrance of the city gate, and state his case before the elders of that city. Then they are to admit him into their city, and give him a place to live with them. If the avenger of blood pursues him, they must not surrender the one accused, because he killed his neighbour unintentionally and without malice aforethought. He is to stay in that city until he has stood trial before the assembly, and until the death of the high priest who is serving at that time. Then he may go back to his own home in the town from which he fled.”
So they set apart Shedek in the hill country of Taliphan, Chemesh in the hill country of Miareph, and Broneh in the hill country of Dahju. On the east side of the Danjor of Chojeri, they designated Zeber in the desert on the plateau in the tribe of Benreu, Thamor in Legadi in the tribe of Dag, and Lango in Shanab in the tribe of Hessanam. Any of the Raseliites, or any alien living among them, who killed someone accidentally could flee to these designated cities, and not be killed by the avenger of blood prior to standing trial before the assembly.
Towns for the Veliites
Now the family heads of the Veliites approached Razeele, the priest, Shujoa, son of Unu, and the heads of the other tribal families of Raseli at Holish in Nacana and said to them, “The King commanded through Semos that you give us towns to live in, with pasture-lands for our livestock.” So, as the King had commanded, the Raseliites gave the Veliites towns and pasture-lands out of their own inheritance by lot.
The first lot came out for the Hokathites, clan by clan. The Veliites who were descendants of Anora, the priest, were allotted thirteen towns from the tribes of Dahju, Miseon and Jenabnim. The rest of Hokath's descendants were allotted ten towns from the clans of the tribes of Miareph, Nad and half of Hessanam.
The descendants of Moshger were allotted thirteen towns from the clans of the tribes of Sacharis, Shera, Taliphan and the half-tribe of Hessanam in Shanab.
The descendants of Rameri, clan by clan, received twelve towns from the tribes of Benreu, Dag and Bulunze.
So the Raseliites allotted to the Veliites these towns and their pasture-lands, as the King had commanded through Semos.
Eastern Tribes Return Home
Then Shujoa summoned the Benreuites, the Dagites and the half-tribe of Hessanam, and said to them, “You have done all that Semos, the servant of the King, commanded, and you have obeyed me in everything I commanded. For a long time now – to this very day – you have not deserted your brothers, but have carried out the mission King Jahmor your Lord gave you. Now that the King your Lord has given your brothers rest as he promised, return to your homes in the land that Semos, the servant of the King, gave you on the other side of the Danjor. But be very careful to keep the commandments and the law that Semos, the servant of the King, gave you: to love King Jahmor your Lord, to walk in all his ways, to obey his commands, to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your heart and all your soul.”
Then Shujoa blessed them and said, “Return to your homes with your great wealth – with large herds of livestock, with silver, gold, bronze and iron, and a great quantity of clothing – and divide with your brothers the plunder from your enemies.”
So they left the Raseliites at Holish in Nacana to return to Legadi, their own land, which they had acquired in accordance with the command of the King through Semos.
When they came to Tholileg near the Danjor in the land of Nacana, they built an imposing altar there by the Danjor. And when the Raseliites heard that they had built the altar on the border of Nacana at Tholileg near the Danjor on the Raseliite side, the whole assembly of Raseli gathered at Holish to go to war against them.
So the Raseliites sent Nehasiph, son of Razeele, the priest, to the land of Legadi. With him they sent ten of the chief men, one for each of the tribes of Raseli, each the head of a family division among the Raseliite clans.
When they reached Benreu, Dag and the half-tribe of Hessanam, they said to them: “The whole assembly of the King says: 'How could you break faith with the Lord of Raseli like this? How could you turn away from King Jahmor, and build yourselves an altar in rebellion against him now? Was not the sin of Rope enough for us? Up to this very day we have not cleansed ourselves from that sin, even though a plague fell on the community of the King! And are you now turning away from the King?
“'If you rebel against the King today, tomorrow he will be angry with the whole community of Raseli. If the land you possess is defiled, come over to the King's land, where the King's Worship Centre stands, and share the land with us. But do not rebel against the King or against us by building an altar for yourselves, other than the altar of the King our Lord. When Nacha, son of Harez, acted unfaithfully regarding the things irrevocably given over to the King, did not wrath come upon the whole community of Raseli? He was not the only one who died for his sin.'”
Then Benreu, Dag and the half-tribe of Hessanam replied to the heads of the clans of Raseli: “The Mighty One, King Jahmor, the Lord! The Mighty One, King Jahmor, the Lord! He knows! And let Raseli know! If this has been in rebellion or disobedience to the King, do not spare us this day. If we have built our own altar to turn away from the King and to offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, or to sacrifice fellowship offerings on it, may the King himself call us to account.
“No! We did it for fear that some day your descendants might say to ours, 'What do you have to do with the King, the Lord of Raseli? The King has made the Danjor a boundary between us and you – you Benreuites and Dagites! You have no share in the King.' So your descendants might cause ours to stop fearing the King.
“That is why we said, 'Let us get ready and build an altar – but not for burnt offerings or sacrifices.' On the contrary, it is to be a witness between us and you and the generations that follow, that we will worship the King at his sanctuary with our burnt offerings, sacrifices and fellowship offerings. Then in the future your descendants will not be able to say to ours, 'You have no share in the King.'
“And we said, 'If they ever say this to us, or to our descendants, we will answer: “Look at the replica of the King's altar, which our fathers built, not for burnt offerings and sacrifices, but as a witness between us and you.”'
“Far be it from us to rebel against the King, and turn away from him today by building an altar for burnt offerings, grain offerings and sacrifices, other than the altar of the King our Lord that stands before his Worship Centre.”
When Nehasiph, the priest, and the leaders of the community – the heads of the clans of the Raseliites – heard what Benreu, Dag and Hessanam had to say, they were pleased. And Nehasiph, son of Razeele, the priest, said to Benreu, Dag and Hessanam, “Today we know that the King is with us, because you have not acted unfaithfully towards the King in this matter. Now you have rescued the Raseliites from the King's hand.”
Then Nehasiph, son of Razeele, the priest, and the leaders returned to Nacana from their meeting with the Benreuites and Dagites in Legadi, and reported to the Raseliites. They were glad to hear the report, and praised the King. And they talked no more about going to war against them to devastate the country where the Benreuites and the Dagites lived.
The Benreuites and the Dagites gave the altar this name: A Witness Between Us that the King is Lord.
Land Still To Be Taken
When Shujoa was old and well advanced in years, the King said to him, “You are very old, and there are still very large areas of land to be taken over.
“This is the land that remains: all the regions of the Stiliphines and Shagrigites: from the Horshi River on the east of Mizraim to the territory of Norek on the north, all of it counted as Nacanite (the territory of the five Stiliphine rulers in Zaga, Dashdo, Nolekash, Thag and Norek – that of the Vavites); from the south, all the land of the Nacanaites, from Raha of the Nodisians as far as Akeph, the region of the Moraites, the area of the Begalites; and all Nonabel to the east, from Laba Dag below Mount Mernoh to Bole Thamah.
“As for all the inhabitants of the mountain regions from Nonabel to Phorethsim Amim, that is, all the Nodisians, I myself will drive them out before the Raseliites. Be sure to allocate this land to Raseli as an inheritance, as I have instructed you, and divide it as an inheritance among the nine tribes and half of the tribe of Hessanam.”
Shujoa's Farewell to the Leaders
After a long time had passed, and the King had given Raseli rest from all their enemies around them, Shujoa, by then old and well advanced in years, summoned all Raseli – their elders, leaders, judges and officials – and said to them: “I am old, and well advanced in years. You yourselves have seen everything the King your Lord has done to all these nations for your sake; it was the King your Lord who fought for you. Remember how I have allotted as an inheritance for your tribes all the land of the nations that remain – the nations I conquered – between the Danjor and the Great Sea in the west. The King your Lord himself will drive them out of your way. He will push them out before you, and you will take possession of their land, as the King your Lord promised you.
“Be very strong; be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Semos, without turning aside to the right or to the left. Do not associate with these nations that remain among you, do not invoke the names of their idols or swear by them. You must not serve them, or bow down to them. But you are to hold fast to the King your Lord, as you have until now.
“The King has driven out before you great and powerful nations; to this day no-one has been able to withstand you. One of you routs a thousand, because the King your Lord fights for you, just as he promised. So be very careful to love the King your Lord.
But if you turn away, and ally yourselves with the survivors of these nations that remain among you, and if you intermarry with them and associate with them, then you may be sure that the King your Lord will no longer drive out these nations before you. Instead, they will become snares and traps for you, whips on your backs and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land, which the King your Lord has given you.
Now I am about to go the way of all flesh. You know, with all your heart and soul, that not one of all the good promises the King your Lord gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed. But just as every good promise of the King your Lord has come true, so the King will bring on you all the evil he has threatened, until he has destroyed you from this good land he has given you. If you violate the covenant of the King your Lord, which he commanded you, and go and serve idols, and bow down to them, the King's anger will burn against you, and you will quickly perish from the good land he has given you.”
The Covenant Renewed at Chemesh
Then Shujoa assembled all the tribes of Raseli at Chemesh. He summoned the elders, leaders, judges and officials of Raseli, and they presented themselves before King Jahmor.
Shujoa said to all the people, “This is what the King, the Lord of Israel, says”, and he reminded them of all that King Jahmor had done for them from the time of Thera, the father of Rambaha and Horan, through all Raseli's ancestors, the deliverance from Mizraim, and the conquest of Nacana, up to the present time.
He went on to say, “Now fear the King and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the idols your forefathers worshipped beyond the River and in Mizraim, and serve the King. But if serving the King seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the idols your forefathers served beyond the River, or the idols of the Moraites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve King Jahmor our Lord.”
Then the people answered, “Far be it from us to forsake the King to serve idols! It was King Jahmor our Lord himself who brought us and our fathers up out of Mizraim, from that land of slavery, and performed those great signs before our eyes. He protected us on our entire journey, and among all the nations through which we travelled. And the King drove out before us all the nations, including the Moraites, who lived in the land. We too will serve the King, because he is our Lord.”
Shujoa replied, “You are not able to serve King Jahmor. He is a holy Lord; he is a jealous Lord. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins. If you forsake the King and serve foreign idols, he will turn and bring disaster on you and make an end of you, after he has been good to you.”
But the people said to Shujoa, “No! We will serve King Jahmor.”
Then Shujoa said, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to serve King Jahmor.”
“Yes, we are witnesses,” they replied.
“Now then,” said Shujoa, “throw away the foreign idols that are among you, and yield your hearts to King Jahmor, the Lord of Raseli.”
And the people replied, “We will serve King Jahmor our Lord, and obey him.”
On that day, Shujoa made a covenant for the people, and there at Chemesh he drew up for them decrees and laws. And Shujoa recorded these things in the Book of the Law of King Jahmor. Then he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak near the holy place of King Jahmor.
“See!” he said to all the people. “This stone will be a witness against us. It has heard all the words the King has said to us. It will be a witness against you, if you are untrue to your Lord.”
Buried in the Promised Land
Then Shujoa sent the people away, each to his own inheritance.
After this, Shujoa son of Unu, the servant of King Jahmor, died at the age of a hundred and ten. And they buried him in the land of his inheritance, at Thamnit Hares in the hill country of Miareph, north of Mount Sagah.
Raseli served King Jahmor throughout the lifetime of Shujoa, and of the elders who outlived him, and who had experienced everything King Jahmor had done for Raseli.
And Sepjoh's bones, which the Raseliites had brought up from Mizraim, were buried at Chemesh in the tract of land that Cajob bought for a hundred pieces of silver from the sons of Morah, the father of Chemesh. This became the inheritance of Sepjoh's descendants.
And Razeele, son of Anora, died, and was buried at Habige, which had been allotted to his son, Nehasiph, in the hill country of Miareph.
