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The Antiquities of the Jews - Table of Contents
The Antiquities of the Jews
Written by Flavius Josephus
Translated by William Whiston
Book Three
Chapter 5
How Moses Ascended Up To Mount Sinai, And
Received Laws From God, And Delivered Them To The Hebrews
1. Now Moses called the multitude together, and told them that
he was going from them unto mount Sinai to converse with God; to
receive from him, and to bring back with him, a certain oracle;
but he enjoined them to pitch their tents near the mountain, and
prefer the habitation that was nearest to God, before one more
remote. When he had said this, he ascended up to Mount Sinai,
which is the highest of all the mountains that are in that
country (9) and is not only very difficult to be ascended by
men, on account of its vast altitude, but because of the
sharpness of its precipices also; nay, indeed, it cannot be
looked at without pain of the eyes: and besides this, it was
terrible and inaccessible, on account of the rumor that passed
about, that God dwelt there. But the Hebrews removed their tents
as Moses had bidden them, and took possession of the lowest
parts of the mountain; and were elevated in their minds, in
expectation that Moses would return from God with promises of
the good things he had proposed to them. So they feasted and
waited for their conductor, and kept themselves pure as in other
respects, and not accompanying with their wives for three days,
as he had before ordered them to do. And they prayed to God that
he would favorably receive Moses in his conversing with him, and
bestow some such gift upon them by which they might live well.
They also lived more plentifully as to their diet; and put on
their wives and children more ornamental and decent clothing
than they usually wore.
2. So they passed two days in this way of feasting; but on the
third day, before the sun was up, a cloud spread itself over the
whole camp of the Hebrews, such a one as none had before seen,
and encompassed the place where they had pitched their tents;
and while all the rest of the air was clear, there came strong
winds, that raised up large showers of rain, which became a
mighty tempest. There was also such lightning, as was terrible
to those that saw it; and thunder, with its thunderbolts, were
sent down, and declared God to be there present in a gracious
way to such as Moses desired he should be gracious. Now, as to
these matters, every one of my readers may think as he pleases;
but I am under a necessity of relating this history as it is
described in the sacred books. This sight, and the amazing sound
that came to their ears, disturbed the Hebrews to a prodigious
degree, for they were not such as they were accustomed to; and
then the rumor that was spread abroad, how God frequented that
mountain, greatly astonished their minds, so they sorrowfully
contained themselves within their tents, as both supposing Moses
to be destroyed by the Divine wrath, and expecting the like
destruction for themselves.
3. When they were under these apprehensions, Moses appeared as
joyful and greatly exalted. When they saw him, they were freed
from their fear, and admitted of more comfortable hopes as to
what was to come. The air also was become clear and pure of its
former disorders, upon the appearance of Moses; whereupon he
called together the people to a congregation, in order to their
hearing what God would say to them: and when they were gathered
together, he stood on an eminence whence they might all hear
him, and said, "God has received me graciously, O Hebrews, as he
has formerly done; and has suggested a happy method of living
for you, and an order of political government, and is now
present in the camp: I therefore charge you, for his sake and
the sake of his works, and what we have done by his means, that
you do not put a low value on what I am going to say, because
the commands have been given by me that now deliver them to you,
nor because it is the tongue of a man that delivers them to you;
but if you have a due regard to the great importance of the
things themselves, you will understand the greatness of Him
whose institutions they are, and who has not disdained to
communicate them to me for our common advantage; for it is not
to be supposed that the author of these institutions is barely
Moses, the son of Amram and Jochebed, but He who obliged the
Nile to run bloody for your sakes, and tamed the haughtiness of
the Egyptians by various sorts of judgments; he who provided a
way through the sea for us; he who contrived a method of sending
us food from heaven, when we were distressed for want of it; he
who made the water to issue out of a rock, when we had very
little of it before; he by whose means Adam was made to partake
of the fruits both of the land and of the sea; he by whose means
Noah escaped the deluge; he by whose means our forefather
Abraham, of a wandering pilgrim, was made the heir of the land
of Canaan; he by whose means Isaac was born of parents that were
very old; he by whose means Jacob was adorned with twelve
virtuous sons; he by whose means Joseph became a potent lord
over the Egyptians; he it is who conveys these instructions to
you by me as his interpreter. And let them be to you venerable,
and contended for more earnestly by you than your own children
and your own wives; for if you will follow them, you will lead a
happy life you will enjoy the land fruitful, the sea calm, and
the fruit of the womb born complete, as nature requires; you
will be also terrible to your enemies for I have been admitted
into the presence of God and been made a hearer of his
incorruptible voice so great is his concern for your nation, and
its duration."
4. When he had said this, he brought the people, with their
wives and children, so near the mountain, that they might hear
God himself speaking to them about the precepts which they were
to practice; that the energy of what should be spoken might not
be hurt by its utterance by that tongue of a man, which could
but imperfectly deliver it to their understanding. And they all
heard a voice that came to all of them from above, insomuch that
no one of these words escaped them, which Moses wrote on two
tables; which it is not lawful for us to set down directly, but
their import we will declare (10)
5. The first commandment teaches us that there is but one God,
and that we ought to worship him only. The second commands us
not to make the image of any living creature to worship it. The
third, that we must not swear by God in a false matter. The
fourth, that we must keep the seventh day, by resting from all
sorts of work. The fifth, that we must honor our parents. The
sixth that we must abstain from murder. The seventh that we must
not commit adultery. The eighth, that we must not be guilty of
theft. The ninth, that we must not bear false witness. The
tenth, that we must not admit of the desire of any thing that is
another's.
6. Now when the multitude had heard God himself giving those
precepts which Moses had discoursed of, they rejoiced at what
was said; and the congregation was dissolved: but on the
following days they came to his tent, and desired him to bring
them, besides, other laws from God. Accordingly he appointed
such laws, and afterwards informed them in what manner they
should act in all cases; which laws I shall make mention of in
their proper time; but I shall reserve most of those laws for
another work, (11) and make there a distinct explication of
them.
7. When matters were brought to this state, Moses went up again
to Mount Sinai, of which he had told them beforehand. He made
his ascent in their sight; and while he staid there so long a
time, (for he was absent from them forty days,) fear seized upon
the Hebrews, lest Moses should have come to any harm; nor was
there any thing else so sad, and that so much troubled them, as
this supposal that Moses was perished. Now there was a variety
in their sentiments about it; some saying that he was fallen
among wild beasts; and those that were of this opinion were
chiefly such as were ill-disposed to him; but others said that
he was departed, and gone to God; but the wiser sort were led by
their reason to embrace neither of those opinions with any
satisfaction, thinking, that as it was a thing that sometimes
happens to men to fall among wild beasts and perish that way, so
it was probable enough that he might depart and go to God, on
account of his virtue; they therefore were quiet, and expected
the event: yet were they exceeding sorry upon the supposal that
they were deprived of a governor and a protector, such a one
indeed as they could never recover again; nor would this
suspicion give them leave to expect any comfortable event about
this man, nor could they prevent their trouble and melancholy
upon this occasion. However, the camp durst not remove all this
while, because Moses had bidden them afore to stay there.
8. But when the forty days, and as many nights, were over, Moses
came down, having tasted nothing of food usually appointed for
the nourishment of men. His appearance filled the army with
gladness, and he declared to them what care God had of them, and
by what manner of conduct of their lives they might live
happily; telling them, that during these days of his absence he
had suggested to him also that he would have a tabernacle built
for him, into which he would descend when he came to them, and
how we should carry it about with us when we remove from this
place; and that there would be no longer any occasion for going
up to Mount Sinai, but that he would himself come and pitch his
tabernacle amongst us, and be present at our prayers; as also,
that the tabernacle should be of such measures and construction
as he had shown him, and that you are to fall to the work, and
prosecute it diligently. When he had said this, he showed them
the two tables, with the ten commandments engraven upon them,
five upon each table; and the writing was by the hand of God.
Continue on to
Book
Three,
Chapter 6,
The Antiquities of the Jews
by
Flavius Josephus
Return to
The Antiquities of the Jews - Table of Contents
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