The Lost Books of the Bible: The Great Rejected Texts Page 56

  22 In those days the Lord appeared to Abram in Haran, and he said to him, Behold, I spoke to you twenty years ago saying,

  23 Go forth from your land, from your birth-place and from your father's house, to the land which I have shown you to give it to you and to your children, for there in that land I will bless you, and make you a great nation, and make your name great, and in you shall the families of the earth be blessed.

  24 Now therefore arise, go forth from this place, you, your wife, and all belonging to you, also every one born in your house and all the souls you have made in Haran, and bring them out with you from here, and rise to return to the land of Canaan.

  25 And Abram arose and took his wife Sarai and all belonging to him and all that were born to him in his house and the souls which they had made in Haran, and they came out to go to the land of Canaan.

  26 Abram went and returned to the land of Canaan, according to the word of the Lord. And Lot the son of his brother Haran went with him; Abram was seventy-five years old when he went forth from Haran to return to the land of Canaan.

  27 And he came to the land of Canaan according to the word of the Lord to Abram, and he pitched his tent and he lived in the plain of Mamre, and with him was Lot his brother's son, and all belonging to him.

  28 And the Lord again appeared to Abram and said, To your offspring I will give this land; there he built an altar to the Lord who appeared to him, which is still to this day in the plains of Mamre.

  CHAPTER 14

  1 In those days there was in the land of Shinar a wise man who had understanding in all wisdom, and of a beautiful appearance, but he was poor and indigent; his name was Rikayon and he was hard set to support himself.

  2 And he resolved to go to Egypt, to Oswiris the son of Anom king of Egypt, to show the king his wisdom; for perhaps he might find grace in his sight, to raise him up and give him maintenance; and Rikayon did so.

  3 When Rikayon came to Egypt he asked the inhabitants of Egypt concerning the king, and the inhabitants of Egypt told him the custom of the king of Egypt, for it was then the custom of the king of Egypt that he went from his royal palace and was seen abroad only one day in the year, and after that the king would return to his palace to remain there.

  4 On the day when the king went forth he passed judgment in the land, and every one having a suit came before the king that day to obtain his request.

  5 When Rikayon heard of the custom in Egypt and that he could not come into the presence of the king, he grieved greatly and was very sorrowful.

  6 In the evening Rikayon went out and found a house in ruins, formerly a bake house in Egypt, and he abode there all night in bitterness of soul and pinched with hunger, and sleep was removed from his eyes.

  7 And Rikayon considered within himself what he should do in the town until the king made his appearance, and how he might maintain himself there.

  8 And he rose in the morning and walked about, and met in his way those who sold vegetables and various sorts of offspring with which they supplied the inhabitants.

  9 Rikayon wished to do the same in order to get a maintenance in the city, but he was unacquainted with the custom of the people, and he was like a blind man among them.

  10 And he went and obtained vegetables to sell for his support, and the crowd assembled about him and ridiculed him, and took his vegetables from him and left him nothing.

  11 He rose up from there in bitterness of soul, and went sighing to the bake house in which he had remained all the night before, and he slept there the second night.

  12 On that night again he reasoned within himself how he could save himself from starvation, and he devised a scheme how to act.

  13 And he rose up in the morning and acted ingeniously, and went and hired thirty strong men of the crowd, carrying their war instruments in their hands, and he led them to the top of the Egyptian sepulchre, and he placed them there.

  14 He commanded them, saying, Thus says the king, Strengthen yourselves and be valiant men, and let no man be buried here until two hundred pieces of silver be given, and then he may be buried; and those men did according to the order of Rikayon to the people of Egypt the whole of that year.

  15 In eight months time Rikayon and his men gathered great riches of silver and gold, and Rikayon took a great quantity of horses and other animals, and he hired more men, and he gave them horses and they remained with him.

  16 When the year came round, at the time the king went forth into the town, all the inhabitants of Egypt assembled together to speak to him concerning the work of Rikayon and his men.

  17 The king went forth on the appointed day, and all the Egyptians came before him and cried to him, saying,

  18 May the king live forever. What is this thing you do in the town to your servants, not to allow a dead body buried until so much silver and gold be given? Was there ever the like to this done in the whole earth, from the days of former kings, yes even from the days of Adam, to this day, that the dead should be buried only for a set price?

  19 We know it to be the custom of kings to take a yearly tax from the living, but you do not only do this, but from the dead also you exact a tax day by day.

  20 Now, O king, we can no more bear this, for the whole city is ruined on this account, and do you not know it?

  21 When the king heard all that they had spoken he was very angry, and his anger burned within him at this affair, for he had known nothing of it.

  22 And the king said, Who and where is he that dares to do this wicked thing in my land without my command? Certainly you will tell me.

  23 They told him all the works of Rikayon and his men, and the king's anger was aroused, and he ordered Rikayon and his men to be brought before him.

  24 And Rikayon took about a thousand children, sons and daughters, and clothed them in silk and embroidery, and he set them on horses and sent them to the king by means of his men, and he also took a great quantity of silver and gold and precious stones, and a strong and beautiful horse, as a present for the king, with which he came before the king and bowed down to the earth before him; the king, his servants and all the inhabitants of Egypt wondered at the work of Rikayon; they saw his riches and the presents that he had brought to the king.

  25 It greatly pleased the king and he wondered at it; and when Rikayon sat before him the king asked him concerning all his works, and Rikayon spoke all his words wisely before the king, his servants and all the inhabitants of Egypt.

  26 When the king heard the words of Rikayon and his wisdom, Rikayon found grace in his sight, and he met with grace and kindness from all the servants of the king and from all the inhabitants of Egypt, on account of his wisdom and excellent speeches, and from that time they loved him greatly.

  27 And the king answered and said to Rikayon, Thy name shall no more be called Rikayon but Pharaoh shall be your name, since you did exact a tax from the dead; and he called his name Pharaoh.

  28 The king and his subjects loved Rikayon for his wisdom, and they consulted with all the inhabitants of Egypt to make him prefect under the king.

  29 All the inhabitants of Egypt and its wise men did so, and it was made a law in Egypt.

  30 They made Rikayon Pharaoh prefect under Oswiris king of Egypt, and Rikayon Pharaoh governed over Egypt, daily administering justice to the whole city, but Oswiris the king would judge the people of the land one day in the year, when he went out to make his appearance.

  31 And Rikayon Pharaoh cunningly usurped the government of Egypt, and he exacted a tax from all the inhabitants of Egypt.

  32 And all the inhabitants of Egypt greatly loved Rikayon Pharaoh, and they made a decree to call every king that should reign over them and their descendants in Egypt, Pharaoh.

  33 Therefore all the kings that reigned in Egypt from that time forward were called Pharaoh to this day.

  CHAPTER 15

  1 In that year there was a heavy famine throughout the land of Canaan, and the inhabitants of the land could not remain on account
of the famine for it was very severe.

  2 Abram and all belonging to him rose and went down to Egypt on account of the famine, and when they were at the brook Mitzraim they remained there some time to rest from the fatigue of the road.

  3 Abram and Sarai were walking at the border of the brook Mitzraim, and Abram beheld his wife Sarai that she was very beautiful.

  4 And Abram said to his wife Sarai, Since God has created you with such a beautiful countenance, I am afraid of the Egyptians that they will kill me and take you away, for the fear of God is not in these places.

  5 Certainly then you shall do this, Say you are my sister to all that may ask you, in order that it may be well with me, and that we may live and not be put to death.

  6 And Abram commanded the same to all those that came with him to Egypt on account of the famine; also his nephew Lot he commanded, saying, If the Egyptians ask you concerning Sarai say she is the sister of Abram.

  7 And yet with all these orders Abram did not put confidence in them, but he took Sarai and placed her in a chest and concealed it among their vessels, for Abram was greatly concerned about Sarai on account of the wickedness of the Egyptians.

  8 Abram and all belonging to him rose up from the brook Mitzraim and came to Egypt; and they had scarcely entered the gates of the city when the guards stood up to them saying, Give tithe to the king from what you have, and then you may come into the town; Abram and those that were with him did so.

  9 Abram and the people that were with him came to Egypt and they brought the chest in which Sarai was concealed, and the Egyptians saw the chest.

  10 And the king's servants approached Abram, saying, What have you here in this chest which we have not seen? Now open the chest and give tithe to the king of all that it contains.

  11 Abram said, This chest I will not open, but all you demand on it I will give. And Pharaoh's officers answered Abram, saying, It is a chest of precious stones, give us the tenth of its value.

  12 Abram said, All that you desire I will give, but you must not open the chest.

  13 And the king's officers pressed Abram; they reached the chest and opened it with force, and they saw a beautiful woman was in the chest.

  14 When the officers of the king saw Sarai they were struck with admiration at her beauty, and all the princes and servants of Pharaoh assembled to see Sarai, for she was very beautiful. The king's officers ran and told Pharaoh all that they had seen, and they praised Sarai to the king; Pharaoh ordered her to be brought, and the woman came before the king.

  15 Pharaoh observed Sarai and she pleased him greatly, and he was struck with her beauty; the king rejoiced greatly on her account, and made presents to those who brought him the news concerning her.

  16 The woman was then brought to Pharaoh's house, and Abram grieved on account of his wife; he prayed to the Lord to deliver her from the hands of Pharaoh.

  17 And Sarai also prayed at that time and said, O Lord God you did tell my Lord Abram to go from his land and from his father's house to the land of Canaan, and you did promise to do well with him if he would perform your commands; now behold we have done that which you commanded us; we left our land and our families, and we went to a strange land and to a people whom we have not known before.

  18 We came to this land to avoid the famine, and this evil accident has befallen me; now therefore, O Lord God, deliver us and save us from the hand of this oppressor, and do well with me for the sake of your mercy.

  19 The Lord listened to the voice of Sarai, and the Lord sent an angel to deliver Sarai from the power of Pharaoh.

  20The king came and sat before Sarai and behold an angel of the Lord was standing over them, and he appeared to Sarai and said to her, Do not fear, for the Lord has heard your prayer.

  21 The king approached Sarai and said to her, What is that man to you who brought you here? and she said, He is my brother.

  22 The king said, It is incumbent on us to make him great, to elevate him and to do to him all the good which you shall command us. At that time the king sent to Abram silver and gold and precious stones in abundance, together with cattle, men servants and maid servants; and the king ordered Abram to be brought and he sat in the court of the king's house, and the king greatly exalted Abram on that night.

  23 The king approached to speak to Sarai and he reached out his hand to touch her when the angel struck him heavily; he was terrified and he refrained from reaching to her.

  24 And when the king came near to Sarai, the angel struck him to the ground, and acted thus to him the whole night, and the king was terrified.

  25 The angel on that night struck heavily all the servants of the king, and his whole household, on account of Sarai, and there was a great lamentation that night among the people of Pharaoh's house.

  26 And Pharaoh, seeing the evil that befell him, said, Certainly on account of this woman has this thing happened to me, and he removed himself at some distance from her and spoke pleasing words to her.

  27 The king said to Sarai, Tell me I pray you concerning the man with whom you came here; and Sarai said, This man is my husband, and I said to you that he was my brother for I was afraid that you would put him to death through wickedness.

  28 And the king kept away from Sarai, and the plagues of the angel of the Lord ceased from him and his household; Pharaoh knew that he was smitten on account of Sarai, and the king was greatly astonished at this.

  29 In the morning the king called for Abram and said to him, What is this you have done to me? Why did you say, She is my sister, since I wanted to take her as a wife, and this heavy plague has therefore come on me and my household.

  30 Now therefore here is your wife, take her and go from our land so we don’t all die on her account. And Pharaoh took more cattle, men servants and maid servants, and silver and gold, to give to Abram, and he returned to him Sarai his wife.

  31 And the king took a maiden whom he had by his concubines, and he gave her to Sarai for a handmaid.

  32 The king said to his daughter, It is better for you my daughter to be a handmaid in this man's house than to be mistress in my house, after we have seen the evil that came upon us on account of this woman.

  33 Abram arose, and he and all belonging to him went away from Egypt; and Pharaoh ordered some of his men to accompany him and all that went with him.

  34 And Abram returned to the land of Canaan, to the place where he had made the altar, where he at first had pitched his tent.

  35 Lot the son of Haran, Abram's brother, had a heavy stock of cattle, flocks and herds and tents, for the Lord was bountiful to them on account of Abram.

  36 When Abram was dwelling in the land the herdsmen of Lot quarrelled with the herdsmen of Abram, for their property was too great for them to remain together in the land, and the land could not bear them on account of their cattle.

  37 When Abram's herdsmen went to feed their flock they would not go into the fields of the people of the land, but the cattle of Lot's herdsmen did otherwise, for they were allowed to feed in the fields of the people of the land.

  38 And the people of the land saw this occurrence daily, and they came to Abram and quarrelled with him on account of Lot's herdsmen.

  39 And Abram said to Lot, What is this you are doing to me, to make me despicable to the inhabitants of the land, that you ordered your herdsman to feed your cattle in the fields of other people? Do you not know that I am a stranger in this land among the children of Canaan, and why will you do this to me?

  40 Abram quarrelled daily with Lot on account of this, but Lot would not listen to Abram; he continued to do the same and the inhabitants of the land came and told Abram.

  41 And Abram said to Lot, How long will you be to me a stumbling block with the inhabitants of the land? Now I petition you let there be no more quarrelling between us, for we are kinsmen.

  42 I request you to separate from me, go and choose a place where you may dwell with your cattle and all belonging to you, but keep yourself at a distance from me
, you and your household.

  43 And don’t be afraid in going from me, for if any one does an injury to you, let me know and I will avenge your cause from him, only remove from me.

  44 When Abram had spoken all these words to Lot, then Lot arose and lifted up his eyes toward the plain of Jordan.

  45 And he saw that all of this place was well watered, and good for man as well as affording pasture for the cattle.

  46 Lot went from Abram to that place, and he there pitched his tent and he lived in Sodom, and they were separated from each other.

  47 And Abram lived in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and he pitched his tent there, and Abram remained in that place many years.

  CHAPTER 16

  1 At that time Chedorlaomer king of Elam sent to all the neighboring kings, to Nimrod, king of Shinar who was then under his power, and to Tidal, king of Goyim, and to Arioch, king of Elasar, with whom he made a covenant, saying, Come up to me and assist me, that we may strike all the towns of Sodom and its inhabitants, for they have rebelled against me these thirteen years.

  2 These four kings went up with all their camps, about eight hundred thousand men, and they went as they were, and struck every man they found in their road.

  3 And the five kings of Sodom and Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboyim, Bera king of Sodom, Bersha king of Gomorrah, and Bela king of Zoar, went out to meet them, and they all joined together in the valley of Siddim.

  4 These nine kings made war in the valley of Siddim; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah were smitten before the kings of Elam.

  5 The valley of Siddim was full of lime pits and the kings of Elam pursued the kings of Sodom, and the kings of Sodom with their camps fled and fell into the lime pits; all that remained went to the mountain for safety. The five kings of Elam came after them and pursued them to the gates of Sodom, and they took all that there was in Sodom.