[A traveller who flourished in the ninth century. According to his narrative, he was a native of East Africa. He seems to have travelled in Spain and Babylon.]
Eldad Leaves His Native Place Beyond the Rivers of Cush[63]
And in this manner did I go forth from beyond the rivers of Cush: I and a Jew of the tribe of Asher boarded a small ship to trade with the sailors. And it came to pass at midnight that the Lord caused a very great and strong wind to blow, so that the ship was wrecked. And the Lord ordained that I should seize hold upon a plank. And when my companion saw this, he likewise seized hold upon that plank with me. And we went up and down with it, until the sea cast us forth amidst a people whose name is Romaranus. They are black Cushites of tall stature, without clothes and without raiment; for they are like animals, and eat men.
When we came to their country, they seized hold upon us. Seeing that my companion was corpulent, plump, and fat, they slew him and devoured him, while he shouted: ‘Woe is me, that I should know this people, that the Cushites should eat my flesh.’ But me they cast aside, for I had been sick on the ship; and they put me in chains, till I should grow fat and plump. They brought me delicious dishes of forbidden food; but I ate nothing, and hid the food. When they asked me whether I ate, I replied: ‘Yes, I ate.’
I stayed with them a long time, till God, blessed be He, performed a miracle for me, and there came upon them a big army from another place, who took them captive, and plundered them, and slew some of them. And these took me with them among the captives. Those wicked people were fire-worshippers; every morning they would build a great fire, to which they would bow and prostrate themselves. I dwelt with them four years, until they brought me one day to the city of Azin.
A Jewish merchant of the tribe of Issachar met me, and bought me for thirty-two pieces of gold, and returned with me to his country. They inhabit the mountains of the sea-coast, and are under the rule of Media and Persia. And they fulfil this verse: ‘This book of the Law shall not depart out of thy mouth.’[64] They have no yoke of the kingdom, but only the yoke of the Law. They have among them captains of hosts, but they do not contend with any man except about the Law. They live in prosperity and ease; there is no adversary, nor evil occurrence. They occupy an area of ten days’ journey by ten days’ journey, and have abundant cattle and camels and asses and servants; but they do not rear horses. They have no weapons, except a knife for killing animals. There is no extortion, nor robbery among them; even if they find garments or money on the road, they do not stretch forth their hands to take them. But there live near them wicked people, fire-worshippers, who take their mothers and sisters for wives. These, however, neither harm them, nor benefit them. They have a judge; when I asked about him, they told me that his name was Nahshon. The four modes of executing criminals are practised by them. They speak in the holy tongue and in the Persian tongue.
The children of Zebulun inhabit the mountains of Paran, and are on the border of Issachar. And they make tents of hairy skins which are brought to them from Armenia. They reach as far as the river Euphrates, and engage in commerce. The four modes of executing criminals are practised by them in a fitting manner.
The tribe of Reuben dwell opposite to them, behind mount Paran. They live in peace, love, brotherhood, and friendship. They go together to battle, and attack wayfarers; and they divide the booty among them. They walk in the way of the kings of Media and Persia, and speak in the holy tongue and in the Persian tongue. They possess the Bible, Mishnah, Talmud, and Haggadah. Every Sabbath they expound the reasons for the commandments in the holy tongue, and the explanations are given in the Persian tongue.
The tribe of Ephraim and the half-tribe of Manasseh dwell there, in the mountains of Nejd, the city of Mecca, where is the idolatry of Ishmaelites. These are of abhorred soul and cruel heart; they possess horses, and attack wayfarers, and do not spare their enemies. They have nothing but booty to live upon. They are great warriors; one of them vanquishes a thousand.
The tribe of Simeon and the other half-tribe of Manasseh dwell in the land of the Chaldeans, six months’ journey from the temple. They are more numerous than all the others, and collect tribute from twenty-five kingdoms; some of the Ishmaelites pay them tribute.
We in our country say that we have a tradition that ye, children of the exile, are of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, living under the rule of the adherents of the idolatrous religion, in the unclean land, scattered among the Romans, who destroyed the house of our God, and among the Greeks and Ishmaelites. May their sword enter into their own heart, and may their bows be broken!
We also have a tradition, handed down from man to man, that we are the children of Dan. At first we were in the land of Israel, dwelling in tents. And there were not among all the tribes of Israel brave warriors like us. When Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin, and made two golden calves, rebelled, so that the kingdom of the house of David was divided, the tribes assembled together, and said: ‘Arise, and make war against Rehoboam and against Jerusalem.’ But the children of Dan replied: ‘Why should we fight against our brethren and against the son of our lord, David, king of Israel and Judah? Far be it, far be it from us!’ At that time the elders of Israel said: ‘There are no mighty men among all the tribes of Israel like the tribe of Dan.’ Whereupon they said to the children of Dan: ‘Arise, and make battle against the children of Judah.’ But they replied: ‘By the life of the head of Dan our father, we shall not make war with our brethren, and we shall not shed their blood.’
Whereupon the children of Dan took their swords and spears and bows, and prepared themselves to depart from the land of Israel; for we saw that it was not possible to remain there. They said: ‘Let us go now, and find a resting-place; for if we wait till the end, they will destroy us.’ We took counsel, and determined to go to Egypt to lay it waste, and to destroy all its inhabitants. But our princes said to us: ‘Is it not written: “Ye shall see them again no more for ever?”[65] How then can ye prosper?’ Then they said: ‘Let us go against Amalek, or against Edom, or against Ammon and Moab, to destroy them, that we may dwell in their place.’ But our princes replied: ‘It is written in the Torah that the Holy One restrained the Israelites from passing through their border.’[66]
Finally they took counsel to go to Egypt, but not by the way our fathers had gone, nor to lay it waste, but in order to pass to the river Pishon, to the land of Cush.
And it came to pass, when we drew near to Egypt, that trembling seized hold upon the Egyptians. And they sent word to us: ‘Are ye for war or for peace?’ We replied: ‘For peace: we shall pass through your land to the river Pishon, for there we shall find a resting-place.’ And it came to pass, because they did not believe us, that all the Egyptians stood on their watch until we had passed through their land and reached the land of Cush, which we found to be a good and fertile land, having fields, vineyards, gardens, and parks. The inhabitants of Cush did not prevent the children of Dan from dwelling with them, for we took the land by force. And it came to pass, because we wanted to slay all of them, that they became tributaries, paying taxes to the Israelites. And we dwelt with them many years, until we were fruitful, and multiplied exceedingly. And we had great wealth.
