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CHAPTER XXVII.

XXVII. And after this he armed of the people 300,000 men and went up to fight against the Amorites, 2 and slew on the first day 800,000 men, and on the second day he slew about 500,000. 2. And when the third day came, certain men of the people spake evil against Cenez, saying: Lo now, Cenez alone lieth in his house with his wife and his concubines, and sendeth us to battle, that we may be destroyed before our enemies. 3. And when the servants of Cenez heard, they brought him word. And he commanded a captain of fifty, and he brought of them thirty-seven men 3

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who spake against him and shut them up in ward. 4. And their names are these: Le and Uz, Betul, Ephal, Dealma, Anaph, Desac, Besac, Gethel, Anael, Anazim, Noac, Cehec, Boac, Obal, Iabal, Enath, Beath, Zelut, Ephor, Ezeth, Desaph, Abidan, Esar, Moab, Duzal, Azath, Phelac, Igat, Zophal, Eliesor, Ecar, Zebath, Sebath, Nesach and Zere. And when the captain of fifty had shut them up as Cenez commanded, Cenez said: When the Lord hath wrought salvation for his people by my hand, then will I punish these men. 5. And so saying, Cenez commanded the captain of fifty, saying: Go and choose of my servants 300 men, and as many horses, and let no man of the people know of the hour when I shall go forth to battle; but only in what hour I shall tell thee, prepare the men that they be ready this night. 6. And Cenez sent messengers, spies, to see where was the multitude of the camp of the Amorites. And the messengers went and spied, and saw that the multitude of the camp of the Amorites was moving among the rocks devising to come and fight against Israel. And the messengers returned and told him according to this word. And Cenez arose by night, he and 300 horsemen with him, and took a trumpet in his hand and began to go down with the 300 men. And it came to pass, when he was near to the camp of the Amorites, that he said to his servants: Abide here and I will go down alone and view the camp of the Amorites. And it shall be, if I blow with the trumpet ye shall come down, but if not, wait for me here.

7. And Cenez went down alone, and before he went down he prayed, and said: O Lord God of our fathers, thou hast shewn unto thy servant the marvellous things which thou hast prepared to do

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by thy covenant in the last days: and now, send unto thy servant one of thy wonders, and I will overcome thine adversaries, that they and all the nations and thy people may know that the Lord delivereth not by the multitude of an host, neither by the strength of horsemen, when they shall perceive the sign of deliverance which thou shalt work for me this day (or horsemen, and that thou, Lord, wilt perform a sign of salvation with me this day). Behold, I will draw my sword out of the scabbard and it shall glitter in the camp of the Amorites: and it shall be, if the Amorites perceive that it is I, Cenez, then I shall know that thou hast delivered them into mine hand. But if they perceive not that it is I, and think that it is another, then I shall know that thou hast not hearkened unto me, but hast delivered me unto mine enemies. But and if I be indeed delivered unto death, I shall know that because of mine iniquities the Lord hath not heard me, and hath delivered me unto mine enemies; but he will not destroy, his inheritance by my death.

8. And he set forth after he had prayed, and heard the multitude of the Amorites saying: Let us arise and fight against Israel: for we know that our holy Nymphs are there among them and will deliver them into our hands. 9. And Cenez arose, for the spirit of the Lord clothed him as a garment, and he drew his sword, and when the light of it shone upon the Amorites like sharp lightning, they saw it, and said: Is not this the sword of Cenez which hath made our wounded many? Now is the word justified which we spake, saying that our holy Nymphs have delivered them into our hands. Lo, now, this day shall there be feasting for the Amorites, when our enemy is

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delivered unto us. Now, therefore, arise and let everyone gird on his sword and begin the battle.

10. And it came to pass when Cenez heard their words, he was clothed with the spirit of might and changed into another man, and went down into the camp of the Amorites and began to smite them. And the Lord sent before his face the angel Ingethel (or Gethel), who is set over the hidden things, and worketh unseen, (and another) angel of might helping with him: and Ingethel smote the Amorites with blindness, so that every man that saw his neighbour counted them his adversaries, and they slew one another. And the angel Zeruel, who is set over strength, bare up the arms of Cenez lest they should perceive him; and Cenez smote of the Amorites forty and five thousand men, and they themselves smote one another, and fell forty and five thousand men. 11. And when Cenez had smitten a great multitude, he would have loosened his hand from his sword, for the handle of the sword clave, 1 that it could not be loosed, and his right hand had taken into it the strength of the sword.

Then they that were left of the Amorites fled into the mountains; but Cenez sought how he might loose his hand: and he looked with his eyes and saw a man of the Amorites fleeing, and he caught him and said to him: I know that the Amorites are cunning: now therefore shew me how I may loose my hand from this sword, and I will let thee go. And the Amorite said: Go and take a man of the Hebrews and kill him, and while his blood is yet warm hold thine hand beneath and receive his blood, so shall thine hand be loosed. And (Zenez said: As the Lord

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liveth, if thou hadst said, Take a man of the Amorites, I would have taken one of them and saved thee alive: but forasmuch as thou saidest "of the Hebrews" that thou mightest show thine hatred, thy mouth shall be against thyself, and according as thou hast said, so will I do unto thee. And when he had thus said Cenez slew him, and while his blood was yet warm, he held his hand beneath and received it therein, and it was loosed.

12. And Cenez departed and put off his garments, and cast himself into the river and washed, and came up again and changed his garments, and returned to his young men. Now the Lord cast upon them a heavy sleep in the night, and they slept and knew not any thing of all that Cenez had done. And Cenez came and awaked them out of sleep; and they looked [upon him] with their eyes and saw, and behold, the field was full of dead bodies: and they were astonished in their mind, and looked every man on his neighbour. And Cenez said unto them: Why marvel ye? Are the ways of the Lord as the way of men? For with men a multitude prevaileth, but with God that which he appointeth. And therefore if God hath willed to work deliverance for this people by my hands, wherefore marvel ye? Arise and gird on every man your swords, and we will go home to our brethren.

13. And when all Israel heard the deliverance that was wrought by the hands of Cenez, all the people came out with one accord to meet him, and said: Blessed be the Lord which hath made thee ruler over his people, and hath shown that those things are sure which he spake unto thee: that which we heard by speech we see now with our eyes, for the work of the word of God is manifest.

14. And Cenez said unto them: Ask now your

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brethren, and let them tell you how greatly they laboured with me in the battle. And the men that were with him said: As the Lord liveth, we fought not, neither knew we anything, save only when we awaked, we saw the field full of dead bodies. And the people answered: Now know we that when the Lord appointeth to work deliverance for his people, he hath no need of a multitude, but only of sanctification.

15. And Cenez said to the captain of fifty which had shut up those men in prison: Bring forth those men that we may hear their words. And when he had brought them forth, Cenez said to them: Tell me, what saw ye in me that ye murmured among the people? And they said: Why askest thou us? Why askest thou us? Now therefore command that we be burned with fire, for we die not for this sin that we have now spoken, but for that former one wherein those men were taken which were burned in their sins; for then we did consent unto their sin, saying: Peradventure the people will not perceive us; and then we did escape the people. But now have we been (rightly) made a public example 1 by our sins in that we fell into slandering of thee. And Cenez said: If ye yourselves therefore witness against yourselves, how shall I have compassion upon you? And Cenez commanded them to be burned with fire, and cast their ashes into the place where they had burned the multitude of the sinners, even into the brook Phison.

16. And Cenez ruled over his people fifty and seven years, and there was fear upon all his enemies all his days.


Footnotes

158:2 XXVII. 1. The Amorites. In XXV. 1, the enemy were the Philistines, Allophyli. But the Amorites, of whose idols so much has been said in the interim, seem to have absorbed Philo's attention.

158:3 3. I can only make thirty-six names from the manuscripts unless Eliesor is divided into two.

161:1 11. Kenaz's hand cleaves to his sword like that of Eleazar, the mighty man in 2 Sam. 23:10.

163:1 15. made a public example: transducti. In the old Latin Bible versions transduco renders παραδειγματίζω, ἐλέγχω.


Next: Chapter XXVIII