have been reduced to nine hundred cubits;' another, to three hundred;' another, to two hundred;' and another, to one hundred cubits ' in height.'* The rabbies also tell us that in the hour in 'which God created the first man, he made a 'double person, male and female, with two faces, 'but joined together behind; that he afterwards 'cut asunder this twofold person, thereby forming · a man and a woman, and made a back for each.' Not satisfied with making Adam a monster, they have also degraded him to the likeness of brutes. Some of the rabbies have gravely asserted that the Creator at first made Adam with a tail, like an ouran-outang, but afterwards cut it off in order to increase his beauty.† Adam and Eve were buried, according to the rabbies, in the cave of Macpelah; and the following altercation is said to have taken place there, about twelve hundred years after their death. 'When 'Abraham went to bury Sarah in the double cave, Adam and Eve arose, being unwilling to remain there any longer. They said: We have always 'been ashamed and confounded before the blessed God, on account of the sin we committed; and you are come to increase our disgrace, for your good works overwhelm us with shame. Abraham ' answered: I promise that I will intercede with C * Jalkut, p. 6. c. 3. Talmud. Babyl. Bava Bathra, c. 5. Bereshith Rabba, p. 14. c. 3, 4. apud Bartoloc. Bib. Rabb. tom. i. p. 65, 66. + Bereshith Rabba, p. 14. c. 4. p. 17. c. 1. Talmud. Cod. Berachoth, c. 9. Eruvin, c. 2. Jalkut, p. 1. n. 20. apud Bartoloc. Bib. Rabb. tom. i. p. 66–69. 'God for you, that you may not be confounded ( any more. And so Adam returned to his place; 'but Eve, by no means satisfied with this, would 'not return: whereupon Abraham, without losing 'much time, carried her in with his own hands to Adam, and buried Sarah and Eve together.'* ABRAHAM is sadly calumniated: the rabbies describe him as exercising a merciless tyranny over his family, being guilty of impiety towards God, and influencing persons who had embraced the true religion, to forsake the worship of the living God and return to idolatry.+ : Perhaps the reader never heard of the manner in which Sarah was conveyed when Abraham went into Egypt. He put her into a chest, and locked 'the same upon her face, because none should 'behold her beauty. When he was come to the 'toll, or custom-house, they said, Pay us the 'custom and he said, I will pay the custom. They said to him, Thou carriest clothes and ' he said, I will pay for the clothes. They said to him, Thou carriest gold: and he answered them, 'I will pay for my gold. They said to him further, Thou carriest the finest silk: then he said to 'them, I will pay for the finest silk. Further they 'said to him, Thou carriest pearls: and he said 'to them, I will pay for the pearls: and he was 'willing to pay custom as if he had carried such ' valuable things. But they said to him, It cannot * Jalkut Reubenì, apud Wagens. Sota, p. 293. Stehelin, vol. i. p. 250-252. + Ain Israel, par. ii. p. 19. c. 3. apud Bartolog. Bib. Rab. tom. iii. p. 529-531. 'be, but thou must open, and shew us what is 'within. And when he had opened the chest, the 'whole land of Egypt was brightly illumined by 'the lustre of Sarah.'* JOSEPH, when he was dying "took an oath of "the children of Israel, saying, God will surely "visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from "hence:" and when "the children of Israel went "up out of the land of Egypt, Moses took the bones "of Joseph with him." Thus far the Scripture. The Talmud adds the following particulars. How 'did Moses our master know where Joseph was 'buried? Serah, the daughter of Asher is said to 'have been still alive. Moses therefore went to her, and inquired: Hast thou ever discovered 'where Joseph was buried? She answered: The Egyptians prepared a molten coffin for him, and ' immersed it in the Nile, in order to make the 'waters of that river prosperous. Then Moses departed, stood on the banks of the Nile, and 'called aloud: Joseph! Joseph! the time is come, ' at which the blessed God hath sworn that he will ' deliver Israel. The time is also at hand for the ' fulfilment of the oath which thou didst impose upon Israel. If thou shew thyself, well: but if 'not, we are freed from the oath. Immediately Joseph's coffin swam upon the surface of the 'water. Nor is this to be wondered at; for we 'read in the scripture, that "iron did swim." '2 Kings vi. 5, 6. Now reasoning here from the * Bereshith Rabba, in Gen. xii. 14. f. 37. c. 1. cit. in Stehelin, vol. i. p. 88, 89. Genes. I. 25. Exod. xiii. 18, 19. 'less to the greater, may we not infer the proba'bility of this account of Joseph's coffin? For, if iron swam for the sake of Elisha, a disciple of 6 Elijah, who was himself a disciple of Moses, 'how much more credible is it that this should ' have happened on account of Moses our master?' The Talmud immediately proceeds to mention another place of deposit assigned by tradition to this coffin. 'Rabbi Nathan affirms that Joseph 'was buried in the Mausoleum of the kings: that 'Moses went and stood near that royal cemetery, ' and said, Joseph! the time is arrived in which 'God swore that he would deliver Israel: the time is also come for Israel to fulfil the oath which 'thou didst impose upon them if thou shew thyself, well: but if not, we are released from 'our obligation:-that Joseph's coffin instantly ' advanced; that Moses took it and carried it off ' with him, and that during all the years that Israel passed in the wilderness, the coffin of Joseph and the ark of the Lord marched side by side.'* SERAH, the daughter of Asher, is celebrated as a lady of uncommon longevity. Serah the 'daughter of Asher, and Jochebed the daughter ' of Levi, were among those who went down into Egypt and came up out of it. Serah shewed 'Moses the place where Joseph's coffin was sunk ' in the river; and she was that "wise woman" 'who consulted with Joab, in the affair of Sheba the son of Bichri.'+ When she died is not * Excerpt. Gemaræ, apud Wagenseil. Sota, p. 296-298. stated; but if this account were true, she must have attained to the age of at least seven hundred years. MOSES is the subject of numerous traditions: two or three anecdotes must suffice. 'And it came to pass in the third year from Moses's 'birth, that Pharaoh sat on his throne, and the queen at his right hand, and the king's daughter on his left hand, and she carried the child Moses ' in her arms; and all the grandees of the kingdom 'sat near the king; and they were sitting at table. 'And the child stretched forth his hand, and took 'the crown from the king's head, and placed it on 'his own and the king was troubled at this ' matter, and all the princes; and they wondered 'with great admiration. Then Balaam the soothsayer, who was one of the king's eunuchs, answered and said: 'Remember, I beseech thee, O lord, my king, the dream which thou hast seen, and which thy servant has interpreted. 'And now, is not this child one of the children of 'the Hebrews, who have God in the midst of 'them, and he hath done this thing with under'standing, and chosen the kingdom of Egypt for himself? -Now, if it please the king, let us 'shed his blood upon the ground, before he seize ' and take the kingdom out of thy hand, and the hope of the Egyptians concerning their king perish.' But God sent one of his holy angels, ' named Gabriel, and caused him to appear like one of the company: and the angel answered ' and said: If it please the king, let a precious 'carbuncle and a burning coal both be brought |