But they charged our apostles with falsehood, wherefore we took vengeance on them, for that which they had been guilty of. Were the inhabitants therefore of those cities secure that our punishment should not fall on them by night, while they slept? Or were the inhabitants of those cities secure that our punishment should not fall on them by day, while they sported? Were they therefore secure from the stratagem of GOD?* But none will think himself secure from the stratagem of GOD, except the people who perish. And hath it not manifestly appeared unto those who have nherited the earth after the former inhabitants thereof, that if we please, we can afflict them for their sins? But we will seal up their hearts; and they shall not hearken. We will relate unto thee some stories of these cities. Their apostles had come unto them with evident miracles, but they were not disposed to believe in that which they had before gainsaid. Thus will God seal up the hearts of the unbelievers. And we found not in the greater part of them any observance of their covenant; but we found the greater part of them wicked doers. Then we sent after the above named apostles, Moses with our signs unto Pharaoh' and his princes; who treated them unjustly but behold what was the end of the corrupt doers. And Moses said, O Pharaoh, verily I am an apostle sent from the LORD of all creatures. It is just that I should not speak of GoD other than the truth. Now am I come unto you with an evident sign from your LORD: send therefore the children of Israel away with me. Pharaoh answered, If thou comest with a sign, produce it, if thou speakest truth. Wherefore he cast down his rod; and behold, it became a visible serpent. And he drew forth his hand out of his bosom; and behold, it appeared white unto d • Hereby is figuratively expressed the manner of God's dealing with proud and ungrate ful men, by suffering them to fill up the measure of their iniquity, without vouchsafing to bring them to a sense of their condition by chastisements and afflictions till they find themselves utterly lost, when they least expect it. Thought they that they could escape the vigilance of God? Shall the wicked alone be able to elude it ?"-Savary. This was the common title or name of the kings of Egypt (signifying king in the Coptic tongue), as Ptolemy was in after times; and as Cæsar was that of the Roman emperors, and Koshru that of the kings of Persia. But which of the kings of Egypt this Pharaoh of Moses was, is uncertain. Not to mention the opinions of the European writers, those of the east generally suppose him to have been al Walîd, who, according to some, was an Arab of the tribe of Ad, or, according to others, the son of Masáb, the son of Riyân, the son of Walîd' the Amalekite. There are historians, however, who suppose Kabus, the brother and predecessor of al Walîd, was the prince we are speaking of; and pretend he lived 620 years, and reigned 400; which is more reasonable, at least, than the opinion of those who imagine it was his father Masáb, or grandfather Riyân. Abulfeda says, that Masáb being one hundred and seventy years old, and having no child, while he kept the herds, saw a cow calve, and heard her say at the same time, O Masáb, be not grieved, for thou shalt have a wicked son, who will be at length cast into hell. And he accordingly had this Walîd, who afterwards coming to be king of Egypt, proved an impious tyrant. By not believing therein. The Arab writers tell enormous fables of this serpent or dragon. For they say that he was hairy, and of so prodigious a size, that when he opened his mouth, his jaws were fourscore cubits asunder, and when he laid his lower jaw on the ground, his upper reached to the top of the palace; that Pharaoh seeing this monster make towards him, fled from It. and was so terribly frightened, that he befouled himself; and that the whole assembly • Al Beidâwi. afsîr lebâb. and al Keshâf. See the Prelim. Disc. p. 6. 'Abulfeda, &c. Kitab cast down ours. Moses And when they had cast them the spectators. The chiefs of the people of Pharaoh said. This man is certainly an expert magician: he seeketh to dispossess you of your land; what therefore do ye direct? They answered, Put off him and his brother by fair promises for some time, and in the meanwhile send unto the cities persons who may assemble and bring unto thee every expert magician. So the magicians' came unto Pharaoh; and they said, Shall we surely receive a reward, if we do overcome? He answered, Yea; and ye shall certainly be of those who approach near unto my throne. They said, O Moses, either do thou cast down thy rod first, or we will answered, Do ye cast down your rods first. down, they enchanted the eyes of the men who were present, and terrified them and they performed a great enchantment. And we spake by revelation unto Moses, saying, Throw down thy rod. And behold, it swallowed up the rods which they had caused falsely to appear changed into serpents. Wherefore the truth was confirmed, and that which they had wrought vanished. And Pharaoh and his magicians were overcome there, and were rendered contemptible. And the magicians prostrated themselves, worshipping; and they said, We believe in the LORD of all creatures, the LORD of Moses and Aaron. Pharaoh said, Have ye believed on him, before I also betaking themselves to their heels, no less than 25,000 of them lost their lives in the press. They add also that Pharaoh upon this adjured Moses by God who had sent him, to take away the serpent, and promised he would believe on him, and let the Israelites go; but when Moses had done what he requested, he relapsed, and grew as hardened as before." There is a tradition that Moses was a very swarthy man; and that when he put his hand into his bosom, and drew it out again, it became extremely white and splendid, surpassing the brightness of the sun. Marracci' says we do not read in scripture that Moses showed this sign before Pharaoh. It is true the scripture does not expressly say so, but seems to be no more than a necessary inference from that passage, where God tells Moses that if they will not hearken to the first sign, they will believe the latter sign, and if they will not believe these two signs, then directs him to turn the water into blood. The Arabian writers name several of these magicians, besides their chief priest Simeon, viz. Sadûr and Ghadûr, Jaath, and Mosfa, Waran and Zamân, each of whom came attended with their disciples, amounting in all to several thousands." They provided themselves with a great number of thick ropes and long pieces of wood, which they contrived by some means to move, and make them twist themselves one over the other; and so imposed on the beholders, who at a distance took them to be true serpents." The expositors add, that when this serpent had swallowed up all the rods and cords, he made directly towards the assembly, and put them to so great a terror, that they fled, and a considerable number were killed in the crowd: then Moses took it up, and it be came a rod in his hand as before. Whereupon the magicians declared that it could be no enchantment, because in such. case their rods and cords would not have disappeared." It seems probable that all the magicians were not converted by this miracle, for some writers introduce Sadûr and Ghadûr only acknowledging Moses's miracle to be wrought by the power of God. These two, they say, were brothers, and the sons of a famous magician, then dead; out on their being sent for to court on this occasion, their mother persuaded them to go to their father's tomb, to ask his advice. Being come to the tomb, the father answered their call, and when they had acquainted him with the affair, he told them, that they should inform themselves whether the rod of which they spoke became a serpent while its masters slept, or only when they were awake; for, said he, enchant. ments have no effect while the enchanter is asleep, and therefore if it be otherwise in this case, you may be assured that they act by a divine power. These two magicians then, • Idem. Al Beidâwi. ⚫ Al Beidâwi. Π nave given you permission? Verily this is a plot which ye have contrived in the city, that ye might cast forth from thence the inhabitants thereof. But ye shall surely know that I am your master; for I will cause your hands and your feet to be cut off on the opposite sides,' then will I cause you all to be crucified. The magicians answered, We shall certainly return unto our LORD, in the next life; for thou takest vengeance on us only because we have believed in the signs of our LORD, when they have come unto us. O LORD, pour on us patience; and cause us to die Moslems." And the chiefs of Pharaoh's people said, Wilt thou let Moses and his people go, that they may act corruptly in the carth, and leave thee and thy gods? Pharaoh answered, We will cause their male children to be slain, and we will suffer their females to live; and by that means we shall prevail over them. Moses said unto his people, Ask assistance of GOD, and suffer patiently for the earth is God's, he giveth it for an inheritance unto such of his servants as he pleaseth; and the prosperous end shall be unto those who fear him. They answered, We have been afflicted by having our male children slain, before thou camest unto us, and also since thou hast come unto us. Moses said, Peradventure it may happen that our LORD will destroy your enemy, and will cause you to succeed him in the earth, that he may see how ye will act therein. And we formerly punished the people of Pharaoh with dearth and scarcity of fruits, that they might be warned. Yet when good happened unto them, they said, This is owing unto us: but if evil befel them, they attributed the same to the ill luck of Moses, and those who were with him. Was not their ill luck with GOD? but most of them knew it not. And they said unto Moses, What arriving at the capital of Egypt, on inquiry found, to their great astonishment, that when Moses and Aaron went to rest, their rod became a serpent, and guarded them while they slept. And this was the first step towards their conversion. * i. e. This is a confederacy between you and Moses, entered into before ye left the city to go to the place of appointment, to turn out the Copts, or native Egyptians, and estab lish the Israelites in their stead." That is, your right hands, and your left feet. Some say Pharaoh was the first inventor of this ignominious and painful punishment. Some think these converted magicians were executed accordingly: but others deny it, and say that the king was not able to put them to death; insisting on these words of the Koran, You two, and they who follow you, shall overcome. • Which were the stars, or other idols. But some of the commentators, from certain impious expressions of this prince, recorded in the Korân. whereby he sets up himself as the only god of his subjects, suppose that he was the object of their worship, and there. fore instead of alihataca, thy gods, read ilahalaca, thy worship." That is, We will continue to make use of the same cruel policy to keep the Israelites in subjection as we have hitherto done. The commentators say that Pharaoh came to this resolution because he had either been admonished in a dream, or by the astrologers or divines, that one of that nation should subvert his kingdom." *"The good which they had enjoyed they considered as a debt to them."-Savary. Looking on him and his followers as the occasion of those calamities. The original word properly signifies to take an ominous and sinister presage of any future event, from the flight of birds, or the like. By whose will and decree they were so afflicted, as a punishmen. or thei: wickedness. ever sign thou show unto us, to enchant us therewith, we will not believe on thee. Wherefore we sent upon them a flood, and locusts, and lice,' ana frogs, and blood; distinct miracles: but they behaved proudly, and became a wicked people. And when the plague" fell on them, they said, O Moses, entreat thy LORD for us, according to that which he hath covenanted with thee: verily if thou take the plague from off us, we will surely believe thee, and we will let the children of Israel go with thee. But when we had taken the plague from off them, until the term which God had granted them was expired, behold they broke their promise. Wherefore we took vengeance on them, and drowned them in the Red Sea; because they charged our signs with falsehood, and neglected them. And we caused the people who had been rendered weak to inherit the eastern parts of the earth and the western parts thereof, which we blessed with fertility; and the gracious word of thy LORD was fulfilled on the children of Israel, for that they had endured with patience: and we destroyed the structures which Pharaoh and his people had made, and that which they had erected. And we caused the children of Israel to pass through the sea, and they came unto a people who gave themselves up to the worship of their idols, and they said, O Moses, make us a god, in like manner as these people have gods. Moses answered, Verily ye are an ignorant people: for the religion which these follow will be destroyed, and that which they do is vain. He said, Shall I seek for you any other god than God; since he hath preferred you to the rest of the world? And remember when we delivered you from the people of Pharaoh, who grievously oppressed you; they slew your male children, and let your females live: therein was a great trial from your LORD.* And we appointed unto Moses a fast of thirty nights before we gave This inundation, they say, was occasioned by unusual rains which continued eight days together, and the overflowing of the Nile; and not only covered their lands, but came into their houses, and rose as high as their backs and necks; but the children of Israel had no rain in their quarters. As there is no mention of any such miraculous in. undation in the Mosaic writings, some have imagined this plague to have been either a pestilence, or the small-pox, or some other epidemical distemper. For the word tufân, which is used in this place, and is generally rendered a deluge, may also signify any other universal destruction or mortality. Some will have these insects to have been a larger sort of tick; others, the young locusts before they have wings.' "viz. Any of the calamities already mentioned, or the pestilence which God sent upon them afterwards. See this wonderful event more particularly described in the tenth and twentieth chapters. * That is, the land of Syria, of which the eastern geographers reckon Palestine a part, and wherein the commentators say the children of Israel succeeded the kings of Egypt and the Amalekites.' Particularly the lofty tower which Pharaoh caused to be built, that he might attack he God of Moses." These people some will have to be of the tribe of Amalek, whom Moses was com manded to destroy, and others of the tribe of Lakhm. Their idols, it is said, were images of oxen, which gave the first hint to the making of the golden calf.3 * Savary, referring the final clause to the deliverance, translates it, This was an eminent favour from the divine goodness." Al Beidâwi, Jallalo'ddin, Abulfed. Vide Korân, chap. 28, and 40. Al Beidawi. • Idem • Al Beidâwi. 'Idem. a d c Ana him the law, and we completed them by adding of ten more; and the stated time of his LORD was fulfilled in forty nights. And Moses said unto his brother Aaron, Be thou my deputy among my people during my absence and behave uprightly, and follow not the way of the corrupt doers. when Moses came at our appointed time, and his LORD spake unto him," he said, O LORD, show me thy glory, that I may behold thee. God answered, Thou shalt in no wise behold me; but look towards the mountain, and if it stand firm in its place, then thou shalt see me. But when his LORD appeared with glory in the mount, he reduced it to dust. And Moses fell down in a swoon. And when he came to himself, he said, Praise be unto thee! I turn unto thee with repentance, and I am the first of true believers. God said unto him, O Moses, I have chosen thee above all men, by honouring thee with my commissions, and by my speaking unto thee: receive therefore that which I have brought thee, and be one of those who give thanks. And we wrote for him on the tables an admonition concerning every matter, and a decision in every case, and said, Receive this with reverence; and command thy people that they live according to the most excellent precepts thereof. I will show you the dwelling of the wicked. I will turn aside from my signs those who behave themselves a The commentators say that God, having promised Moses to give him the law, directed him to prepare himself for the high favour of speaking with God in person. by a fast of thirty days; and that Moses accordingly fasted the whole month of Dhu'lkaada, but not liking the savour of his breath, he rubbed his teeth with a dentifrice, upon which the angels told him that his breath before had the odour of musk; but that his rubbing his teeth had taken it away. Wherefore God ordered him to fast ten days more, which he did; and these were the first ten days of the succeeding month Dhu'lhajja. Others, however, suppose that Moses was commanded to fast and pray thirty days only, and that during the other ten God discoursed with him.' (The Arabs reckon by nights as we do by days. This custom doubtless had its rise from the excessive heat of their climate. They dwell amidst burning sands, and while the sun is above the horizon they usually keep within their tents. When he sets they quit them, and enjoy coolness and a most delightful sky. Night is, in a great measure, to them, that which day is to us. Their poets, therefore, never celebrate the charms of a beautiful day; but these words, Leili! Leili! O night! O night! are repeated in all their songs.)-Savary. Without the mediation of any other, and face to face, as he speaks unto the angels. · This mountain the Mohammedans name al Zabir. Or, as it is literally, unto the mount. For some of the expositors pretend that God endued the nountain with life and the sense of seeing. This is not to be taken strictly. See the like expression in chap. vi. p. 99. The Mohammedans have a tradition, that Moses asked to see God on the day of Arafat, and that he received the law on the day they slay the victims at the pilgrimage of Mecca, which days are the ninth and tenth of Dhu'lhajja. These tables, according to some, were seven in number, and according to others ten. Nor are the commentators agreed whether they were cut out of a kind of lote-tree in Paradise called al Sedra, or whether they were chrysolites, emeralds, rubies, or common stone. But they say that they were each ten or twelve cubits long; for they suppose that not only the ten commandments but the whole law was written thereon: and some add that the letters were cut quite through the tables so that they might be read on both sides, which is a fable of the Jews. That is, a perfect law, comprehending all necessary instructions, as well in regard to religious and moral duties as the administration of justice. 1 viz. The desolate habitations of the Egyptians, or those of the impious tribes of Ad and Thamûd, or perhaps hell, the dwelling of the ungodly in the other world. See the Prelim. Disc. sect. iv. Vide D'Herbel. Bibl. Orient. p. 650. 'Al Beidawi, Jallalo'ddin. • Al Beidâwi, Al Beidâwi. Vide D'Herbel. ubi sup |