 
SPECIAL TEXT: "And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, in all the signs and the wonders which the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt to Pharoah, and to all his servants, and to all his land, and in all that mighty hand, and in all the great terror which Moses showed in the sight of all Israel."—EZRA (supposedly). NOTES.1. Abraham: "He was a person of great sagacity, both for understanding all things, and persuading his hearers, and not mistaken in his opinions; for which reason he began to have higher notions of virtue than others had, and he determined to renew and to change the opinion all men happened then to have concerning God; for he was the first that ventured to publish this notion, that there was but One God, the Creator of the universe; and that as to other (gods), if they contributed anything to the happiness of men, that each of them afforded it only according to his appointment, and not by their own power. This his opinion was derived from the irregular phenomena that were visible both at land and sea, as well as those that happen to the sun, and moon, and all the heavenly bodies; thus, "if (said he) these bodies had power of their own, they would certainly take care of their own regular motions; but since they do not preserve such regularity, they make it plain that so far as they co-operate to our advantage, they do it not of their own abilities, but as they are subservient to him that commands them, to whom alone we ought justly to offer our honor and thanksgiving." For which doctrines, when the Chaldeans, and other people of Mesopotamia, raised a tumult against him, he thought fit to leave that country; and at the command, and by the assistance of God, he came and lived in the land of Canaan. And when he was there settled, he built an altar, and performed a sacrifice to God. Berosus mentions our father Abram without naming him, when he says thus: "In the tenth generation after the flood, there was among the Chaldeans a man, righteous and great, and skilful in the celestial science." But Hecataeus does more than mention him; for he composed, and left behind him, a book concerning him. And Nicolaus of Damascus, in the fourth book of his history, says thus: 'Abram reigned at Damascus, being a foreigner, who came with an army out of the land above Babylon, called the land of the Chaldeans; but, after a long time, he got him up, and removed from that country also, with his people, and went into the land then called the land of Canaan, but now the land of Judea, and this when his posterity were become a multitude; as to which posterity of his, we relate their history in another work. Now the name of Abram is even still famous in the country of Damascus; and there is showed a village named from him, 'The habitation of Abram.'" (Antiquities of the Jews, Josephus, pp. 31-32.) 2. The Restoration of Lands Made by Joseph: "However, the famine increased among the Egyptians; * * * * But when their money failed them, they bought corn with their cattle, and their slaves, and if any of them had a small piece of land, they gave up that to purchase them food, by which means the king became the owner of all their substance; and they were removed some to one place, and some to another, that so the possession of their country might be firmly afforded to the king; excepting the lands of the priests for their country continued still in their own possession. And indeed this sore famine made their minds, as well as their bodies, slaves: and at length compelled them to procure a sufficiency of food by such dishonorable means. But when this misery ceased, and the river overflowed the ground, and the ground brought forth its fruits plentifully, Joseph came to every city, and gathered the people thereto belonging together, and gave them back entirely the land which, by their own consent, the king might have possessed alone, and alone enjoyed the fruits of it. He also exhorted them to look on it as every one's own possession; and to fall to their husbandry with cheerfulness; and to pay as a tribute to the king, the fifth part of the fruits for the land which the king when it was his own restored to them. These men rejoiced upon their becoming unexpectedly owners of their lands, and diligently observed what was enjoined them. And by this means Joseph procured to himself a greater authority among the Egyptians, and greater love to the king from them. Now this law, that they should pay the fifth part of their fruits as tribute, continued until their latter kings." (Josephus, Antiquities, p. 52.) 3. Character of Moses. "Now Moses lived in all one hundred and twenty years; a third part of which time, abating one month, he was the people's ruler; and he died on the last month of the year, which is called by the Macedonians 'Dystrus,' but by us 'Adar,' on the first day of the month. He was one that exceeded all men that ever were, in understanding, and made the best use of what that understanding suggested to him. He had a very graceful way of speaking, in addressing the multitude, and as to his other qualifications, he had such a full command of his passions, as if he hardly had any such in his soul, and only knew them by their names, as rather perceiving them in other men than in himself. He was also such a general of an army as is seldom seen, as well as such a prophet as was never known, and this to such a degree, that whatsoever he pronounced you would think you heard the voice of God himself. So the people mourned for him thirty days: nor did ever any grief so deeply affect the Hebrews as did this upon the death of Moses; nor were those that had experienced his conduct the only persons that desired him, but those also that perused the laws he left behind him, had a strong desire after him, and by them gathered the extraordinary virtue he was master of. And this shall suffice for the declaration of the manner of the death of Moses." (Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, p. 98.) 4. The Greatness and Influence of Moses. "Where shall we find one that combines in his personality so many greatnesses as Moses, if I may say so? He was the liberator of his people, but he spurned crowns and scepters, and did not, as many others after him did, put a new yoke on the neck from which he had taken the old one. * * * * * And his republic was not of short duration. It lasted through all the storms of barbaric wars and revolutions—hundreds of years, down to the days of Samuel, that all-stout-hearted republican who could endure no kings. * * * * But the republic he founded stands unique in the history of the world, for it was altogether based upon an idea—the idea of the unity of God and the righteousness of his will. Think of it! Among a nation escaped from bondage, too degraded even to be led to war, that needed the education, the hammering, as it were, into a people for forty years, to go among them with the sublimest truth that the human mind ever can conceive and to say of them: 'Though you are now benighted and enslaved, any truth that I know is not too good for you nor any child of God." * * * * As a teacher of morality why need I praise him? As a teacher of statecraft in the highest and best sense, who surpassed him? The great wonder is that that man speaks the language of today. The problems which we have not yet succeeded in solving were already present to his mind, and he founded a nation in which the difference between the poor and the rich was almost abolished. The laborer was not only worthy but sure of his hire. No aristocrat could rule over his subjects and no priesthood could ever assume the government which, alas! according to history, means the opposition of the nation. How did that man of that vast mind, how did he combine all these great talents? And yet that man, how tender his heart was! Why, friends, it is a thousand pities that you cannot hear the deep sorrow, the sadness that is to be heard in his original words. When an over-zealous disciple came to him and told that they were prophesying in his name, and they said: 'Hinder them, master, hinder them. Why, if they prophesy what will become of thine own authority?' I fancy I see his venerable head sink upon his breast and he saying: 'Indeed art thou zealous for me? Would that all the people of God were prophets, and that God gave his Spirit to them.'" (Rabbi Gottheil, The World's Parliament of Religions, (Barrows), pp. 674-5.) Footnotes |
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