The Wilderness

A¹nd the children of Israel proceeded from Rephidim and they encamped in the wilderness of Sinai, in the third month from their going forth from Egypt.

² At that time came Reuel the Midianite, the father-in-law of Moses, with Zipporah his daughter and her two sons, for he had heard of the wonders of the Lord which he had done to Israel, that he had delivered them from the hand of Egypt. ³ And Reuel came to Moses to the wilderness where he was encamped, where was the mountain of God. ⁴ And Moses went forth to meet his father-in-law with great honor, and all Israel was with him. ⁵ And Reuel and his children remained amongst the Israelites for many days, and Reuel knew the Lord from that day forward. ⁶ And in the third month from the children of Israel's departure from Egypt, on the sixth day thereof, the Lord gave to Israel the ten commandments on Mount Sinai. ⁷ And all Israel heard all these commandments, and all Israel rejoiced exceedingly in the Lord on that day. ⁸ And the glory of the Lord rested upon Mount Sinai, and he called to Moses, and Moses came in the midst of a cloud and ascended the mountain. ⁹ And Moses was upon the mount forty days and forty nights; he ate no bread and drank no water, and the Lord instructed him in the statutes and judgments in order to teach the children of Israel. ¹⁰ And the Lord wrote the ten commandments which he had commanded the children of Israel upon two tablets of stone, which he gave to Moses to command the children of Israel.

A¹²nd notwithstanding all (these) signs and wonders the prince Mastêmâ was not put to shame because he took courage and cried to the Egyptians to pursue after thee with all the powers of the Egyptians, with their chariots, and with their horses, and with all the hosts of the peoples of Egypt.

¹³ And I stood between the Egyptians and Israel, and we delivered Israel out of his hand, and out of the hand of his people, and the Lord brought them through the midst of the sea as if it were dry land. ¹⁴ And all the peoples whom he brought to pursue after Israel, the Lord our God cast them into the midst of the sea, into the depths of the abyss beneath the children of Israel, even as the people of Egypt had cast their children into the river He took vengeance on 1,000,000 of them, and one thousand strong and energetic men were destroyed on account of one suckling of the children of thy people which they had thrown into the river. ¹⁵ And on the fourteenth day and on the fifteenth and on the sixteenth and on the seventeenth and on the eighteenth the prince Mastêmâ was bound and imprisoned behind the children of Israel that he might not accuse them. ¹⁶ And on the nineteenth we let them loose that they might help the Egyptians and pursue the children of Israel. ¹⁷ And he hardened their hearts and made them stubborn, and the device was devised by the Lord our God that He might smite the Egyptians and cast them into the sea. ¹⁸ And on the fourteenth we bound him that he might not accuse the children of Israel on the day when they asked the Egyptians for vessels and garments, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and vessels of bronze, in order to despoil the Egyptians in return for the bondage in which they had forced them to serve. ¹⁹ And we did not lead forth the children of Israel from Egypt empty handed.

A¹t that time, in the hundred and eightieth year of the Israelites going down into Egypt, there went forth from Egypt valiant men, thirty thousand on foot, from the children of Israel, who were all of the tribe of Joseph, of the children of Ephraim the son of Joseph.

² For they said the period was completed which the Lord had appointed to the children of Israel in the times of old, which he had spoken to Abraham. ³ And these men girded themselves, and they put each man his sword at his side, and every man his armor upon him, and they trusted to their strength, and they went out together from Egypt with a mighty hand. ⁴ But they brought no provision for the road, only silver and gold, not even bread for that day did they bring in their hands, for they thought of getting their provision for pay from the Philistines, and if not they would take it by force. ⁵ And these men were very mighty and valiant men, one man could pursue a thousand and two could rout ten thousand, so they trusted to their strength and went together as they were. ⁶ And they directed their course toward the land of Gath, and they went down and found the shepherds of Gath feeding the cattle of the children of Gath. ⁷ And they said to the shepherds, Give us some of the sheep for pay, that we may eat, for we are hungry, for we have eaten no bread this day. ⁸ And the shepherds said, Are they our sheep or cattle that we should give them to you even for pay? so the children of Ephraim approached to take them by force. ⁹ And the shepherds of Gath shouted over them that their cry was heard at a distance, so all the children of Gath went out to them. ¹⁰ And when the children of Gath saw the evil doings of the children of Ephraim, they returned and assembled the men of Gath, and they put on each man his armor, and came forth to the children of Ephraim for battle. ¹¹ And they engaged with them in the valley of Gath, and the battle was severe, and they smote from each other a great many on that day. ¹² And on the second day the children of Gath sent to all the cities of the Philistines that they should come to their help, saying, ¹³ Come up unto us and help us, that we may smite the children of Ephraim who have come forth from Egypt to take our cattle, and to fight against us without cause. ¹⁴ Now the souls of the children of Ephraim were exhausted with hunger and thirst, for they had eaten no bread for three days. And forty thousand men went forth from the cities of the Philistines to the assistance of the men of Gath. ¹⁵ And these men were engaged in battle with the children of Ephraim, and the Lord delivered the children of Ephraim into the hands of the Philistines.

A¹nd Moses the son of Amram was still king in the land of Cush in those days, and he prospered in his kingdom, and he conducted the government of the children of Cush in justice, in righteousness, and integrity.

² And all the children of Cush loved Moses all the days that he reigned over them, and all the inhabitants of the land of Cush were greatly afraid of him. ³ And in the fortieth year of the reign of Moses over Cush, Moses was sitting on the royal throne whilst Adoniah the queen was before him, and all the nobles were sitting around him. ⁴ And Adoniah the queen said before the king and the princes, What is this thing which you, the children of Cush, have done for this long time? ⁵ Surely you know that for forty years that this man has reigned over Cush he has not approached me, nor has he served the gods of the children of Cush. ⁶ Now therefore hear, O ye children of Cush, and let this man no more reign over you as he is not of our flesh. ⁷ Behold Menacrus my son is grown up, let him reign over you, for it is better for you to serve the son of your lord, than to serve a stranger, slave of the king of Egypt. ⁸ And all the people and nobles of the children of Cush heard the words which Adoniah the queen had spoken in their ears. ⁹ And all the people were preparing until the evening, and in the morning they rose up early and made Menacrus, son of Kikianus, king over them. ¹⁰ And all the children of Cush were afraid to stretch forth their hand against Moses, for the Lord was with Moses, and the children of Cush remembered the oath which they swore unto Moses, therefore they did no harm to him. ¹¹ But the children of Cush gave many presents to Moses, and sent him from them with great honor. ¹² So Moses went forth from the land of Cush, and went home and ceased to reign over Cush, and Moses was sixty-six years old when he went out of the land of Cush, for the thing was from the Lord, for the period had arrived which he had appointed in the days of old, to bring forth Israel from the affliction of the children of Ham. ¹³ So Moses went to Midian, for he was afraid to return to Egypt on account of Pharaoh, and he went and sat at a well of water in Midian. ¹⁴ And the seven daughters of Reuel the Midianite went out to feed their father's flock. ¹⁵ And they came to the well and drew water to water their father's flock.

A¹t that time died Baal Channan son of Achbor, king of Edom, and was buried in his house in the land of Edom.

² And after his death the children of Esau sent to the land of Edom, and took from there a man who was in Edom, whose name was Hadad, and they made him king over them in the place of Baal Channan, their king. ³ And Hadad reigned over the children of Edom forty-eight years. ⁴ And when he reigned he resolved to fight against the children of Moab, to bring them under the power of the children of Esau as they were before, but he was not able, because the children of Moab heard this thing, and they rose up and hastened to elect a king over them from amongst their brethren. ⁵ And they afterward gathered together a great people, and sent to the children of Ammon their brethren for help to fight against Hadad king of Edom. ⁶ And Hadad heard the thing which the children of Moab had done, and was greatly afraid of them, and refrained from fighting against them. ⁷ In those days Moses, the son of Amram, in Midian, took Zipporah, the daughter of Reuel the Midianite, for a wife. ⁸ And Zipporah walked in the ways of the daughters of Jacob, she was nothing short of the righteousness of Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah. ⁹ And Zipporah conceived and bare a son and he called his name Gershom, for he said, I was a stranger in a foreign land; but he circumcised not his foreskin, at the command of Reuel his father-in-law. ¹⁰ And she conceived again and bare a son, but circumcised his foreskin, and called his name Eliezer, for Moses said, Because the God of my fathers was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh.

I¹n the end of years died Saul king of Edom, and Baal Chanan the son of Achbor reigned in his place.

² In the sixteenth year of the reign of Moses over Cush, Baal Chanan the son of Achbor reigned in the land of Edom over all the children of Edom for thirty-eight years. ³ In his days Moab rebelled against the power of Edom, having been under Edom since the days of Hadad the son of Bedad, who smote them and Midian, and brought Moab under subjection to Edom. ⁴ And when Baal Chanan the son of Achbor reigned over Edom, all the children of Moab withdrew their allegiance from Edom. ⁵ And Angeas king of Africa died in those days, and Azdrubal his son reigned in his stead. ⁶ And in those days died Janeas king of the children of Chittim, and they buried him in his temple which he had built for himself in the plain of Canopia for a residence, and Latinus reigned in his stead. ⁷ In the twenty-second year of the reign of Moses over the children of Cush, Latinus reigned over the children of Chittim forty-five years. ⁸ And he also built for himself a great and mighty tower, and he built therein an elegant temple for his residence, to conduct his government, as was the custom. ⁹ In the third year of his reign he caused a proclamation to be made to all his skilful men, who made many ships for him. ¹⁰ And Latinus assembled all his forces, and they came in ships, and went therein to fight with Azdrubal son of Angeas king of Africa, and they came to Africa and engaged in battle with Azdrubal and his army.