TALES OF THE FAR-OFF DAYS

Map of Palestine in Old Testament times.

THE STORY OF THE CREATION.
"In the Beginning God Created the Heaven and the Earth."

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep: and the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, "Let there be light": and there was light. And God saw the light that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light "Day," and the darkness he called "Night." And there was evening and there was morning, one day.

And God said, "Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters." And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament "Heaven." And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.

And God said, "Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear": and it was so.

And God called the dry land "Earth"; and the gathering together of the waters called he "Seas": and God saw that it was good. And God said, "Let the earth put forth grass, herb yielding seed, and fruit tree bearing fruit after {16} its kind, wherein is the seed thereof, upon the earth": and it was so.

And the earth brought forth grass, herb yielding seed after its kind, and tree bearing fruit, wherein is the seed thereof, after its kind: and God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, a third day.

And God said, "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years: and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth:" and it was so.

And God made the two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.

And God said, "Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let the birds fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven."

And God created the great sea-monsters, and every living creature that moveth, with which the waters swarmed, after their kinds, and every winged bird after its kind: and God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth." And there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.

And God said, "Let the earth bring forth living {17} creatures after their kind, cattle and creeping things, and beasts of the earth after their kind": and it was so.

And God made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and the cattle after their kind, and everything that creepeth upon the ground after its kind: and God saw that it was good. And God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth."

And God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them: and God said unto them, "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth."

And God said, "Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for food: and to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for food:" and it was so.

And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

And the heaven and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished {18} his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it: because that in it he rested from all his work which he had created and made.

A STORY OF DISOBEDIENCE AND ITS CONSEQUENCES.
How Adam and Eve Lost Eden.

Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, "Yea, hath God said, 'Ye shall not eat of any tree of the garden?'"

And the woman said unto the serpent, "Of the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat: but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, 'Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.'"

And the serpent said to the woman, "Ye shall not surely die: for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as God, knowing good and evil."

And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and ate; and she gave also unto her husband with her, and he ate. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and the man and his wife {20} hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. And the Lord God called to the man, and said unto him, "Where art thou?"

And he said, "I heard thy voice in the garden, and 1 was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself."

And he said, "Who told thee that thou wast naked?

Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?"

And the man said, "The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat."

And the Lord God said to the woman, "What is this thou hast done?"

And the woman said, "The serpent beguiled me, and I ate."

And the Lord God said unto the serpent, "Because thou hast done this, cursed art thou above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: and I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed: he shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel."

And to Adam he said, "Because thou hast hearkened to the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, 'Thou shalt not eat of it': cursed is the ground for thy sake; in toil shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return to the ground; for out of it wast thou {21} taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return."

Then the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden the Cherubim, and the flame of a sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

THE STORY OF THE FIRST MURDER.
"Am I My Brother's Keeper?"

(After Adam and Eve were driven from the garden of Eden, two sons were born to them. They named these sons Cain and Abel.)

And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering to the Lord. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect to Abel and to his offering: but to Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. And the Lord said to Cain, "Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin croucheth at the door: and to thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him."

And it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. And the Lord said to Cain, "Where is Abel thy brother?"

And he said, "I know not: am I my brother's keeper?"

And he said, "What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground. And now cursed art thou from the ground, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand; {23} when thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a wanderer shalt thou be in the earth."

And Cain said to the Lord, "My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the ground; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that whosoever findeth me will slay me."

And the Lord said to him, "Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold." And the Lord appointed a sign for Cain, lest any finding him should smite him.

THE STORY OF THE FLOOD.
How the First Ship, "The Ark," Weathered the Storm.

THE WICKEDNESS OF THE WORLD.

The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord repented that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the Lord said, "I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the ground; both man, and beast, and creeping thing, and birds of the air; for I repent that I have made them."

But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

THE BUILDING OF "THE ARK."

Noah was a righteous man, and Noah walked with God. And Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And the earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all life had corrupted itself upon the earth.

And God said to Noah, "The end of all life is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence; and, behold, I will destroy life on the earth. Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt {25} pitch it within and without with pitch. And this is how thou shalt make it: the length of the ark three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits. A roof shalt thou make to the ark; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it. And I, behold, I do bring the flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all life from under heaven; everything that is in the earth shall die. But I will establish my covenant with thee; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee. And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female. Of the birds after their kind, and of the cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive. And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them."

Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.

THE GREAT FLOOD.

And the Lord said to Noah, "Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation. Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee seven and seven, the male and his female; and of the beasts that are not clean two, the male and his female; of the birds also of the air, seven and seven, male {26} and female: to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth. For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living thing that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the ground."

And Noah did according unto all that the Lord commanded him.

And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth. And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood. Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of birds and of everything that creepeth upon the ground, there went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, male and female, as God commanded Noah. And it came to pass after the seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth. In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.

In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah's wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark; they, and every beast after its kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind. And they went in with Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh wherein is the breath of life. And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God commanded him: and the Lord shut him in.

THE END OF THE FLOOD.
By Moritz Oppenheim, born at Hanan 1801-died 1882.

"And the dove came in to him at eventide; and, lo, in her mouth an olive leaf plucked off; so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth."

And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bore up the ark, and it was lifted up above the earth. And the waters prevailed, and increased greatly upon the earth; and the ark went upon the face of the waters. And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high mountains that were under the whole heaven were covered. Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered. And all life died that moved upon the earth, both bird, and cattle, and beast, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man: all in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died. And every living thing was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and creeping thing, and bird of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only was left, and they that were with him in the ark. And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days.

THE DOVE AND THE OLIVE LEAF.

And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that were with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters assuaged; the fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained; and the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of an hundred and fifty {30} days the waters decreased. And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat. And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month: in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen.

And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made: and he sent forth a raven, and it went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth. And he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground; but the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him to the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth: and he put forth his hand, and took her, and brought her in unto him into the ark. And he stayed yet other seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark; and the dove came in to him at eventide; and, lo, in her mouth an olive leaf plucked off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth. And he stayed yet other seven days; and sent forth the dove; and she returned not again unto him any more. And it came to pass in the six hundred and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth: and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and, behold, the face of the ground was dried. And in the second month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, was the earth dry.

And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him: every beast, every creeping {31} thing, and every bird, whatsoever moveth upon the earth, after their families, went forth out of the ark.

THE RAINBOW IN THE SKY.

And God said, "I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all life be cut off any more by the waters of the flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth. This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud, and I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all life. And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. This is the token of the covenant which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth."

THE STORY OF THE TOWER OF BABEL.

A Foolish Plan and Its Failure.

And the whole earth was of one language and of one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there. And they said one to another, "Come, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly."

And they had brick for stone, and pitch had they for mortar. And they said, "Come, let us build us a city, and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven, and let us make us a name; lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth."

And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. And the Lord said, "Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is what they begin to do: and now nothing will be withholden from them, which they purpose to do. Come, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech."

So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off building the city. Therefore was the name of it called Babel (that is, confusion); because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.

TALES OF BRAVE WOMEN

RUTH

PERSONS OF THE STORY.

PLACE OF THE STORY.

Moab.
Beth-lehem of Judah.

RUTH.

(One of the sweetest stories of the Bible is that of Ruth the Moabitess. Many of the pages of the Old Testament are filled with the noise and tumult of battle, but this tale breathes only of peace and calm, of sunny harvest days when fair Ruth gleaned in, the fields around the old town of Beth-lehem.)

And it came to pass in the days when the judges judged, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Beth-lehem-judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons. And the name {36} of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, men of Beth-lehem-judah. And they came into the country of Moab, and continued there.

And Elimelech Naomi's husband died; and she was left, and her two sons. And they took them wives of the women of Moab; the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth: and they dwelled there about ten years.

And Mahlon and Chilion died both of them; and the woman was bereft of her two children and of her husband. Then she arose with her daughters-in-law, that she might return from the country of Moab: for she had heard in the country of Moab that the Lord had visited his people in giving them bread. And she went forth out of the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her; and they went on the way to return unto the land of Judah.

And Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, "Go, return each of you to her mother's house: the Lord deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me. The Lord grant you that ye may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband."

Then she kissed them; and they lifted up their voice, and wept. And they said to her, "Nay, but we will return with thee to thy people."

And Naomi said, "Turn again, my daughters: why will ye go with me? Turn again, my daughters, go your way."

THE FAMILY OF ELIMELECH GOING TO MOAB
By Bida

"And a certain man of Beth-lehem-judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons."

And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law; but Ruth clave unto her.

And she said, "Behold, thy sister-in-law is gone back to her people, and to her god: return thou after thy sister-in-law."

And Ruth said, "Intreat me not to leave thee, and to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, if aught but death part thee and me."

And when she saw that she was steadfastly minded to go with her, she left off speaking to her. So they two went on to Beth-lehem.

And it came to pass, when they were come to Beth-lehem, that all the city was moved about them, and the women said, "Is this Naomi?"

And she said unto them, "Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full, and the Lord hath brought me home again empty: why call ye me Naomi, seeing the Lord hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me?"

So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, with her, who returned out of the country of Moab: and they came to Beth-lehem in the beginning of barley harvest.

And Naomi had a kinsman of her husband's, a man of great wealth, of the family of Elimelech; and his name was Boaz. And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, "Let {40} me now go to the field, and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor."

And she said to her, "Go, my daughter."

And she went, and came and gleaned in the field after the reapers: and she chanced to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech.

And, behold, Boaz came from Beth-lehem, and said to the reapers, "The Lord be with you."

And they answered him, "The Lord bless thee."

Then said Boaz to his servant that was set over the reapers, "What young woman is this?"

And the servant that was set over the reapers answered and said, "It is the Moabitish maiden that came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab: and she said, 'Let me glean, I pray you, and gather after the reapers among the sheaves': so she came, and hath continued even from the morning until now, save that she tarried a little in the house."

Then said Boaz to Ruth, "Hearest thou not, my daughter? Go not to glean in another field, neither pass from hence, but abide here fast by my maidens. Let thine eyes be on the field that they reap, and go thou after them: have I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee? and when thou art athirst, go to the vessels, and drink of that which the young men have drawn."

Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said to him, "Why have I found favor in thy sight that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger?"

And Boaz answered and said to her, "It hath fully been showed me, all that thou hast done to thy mother-in-law since the death of thine husband: and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity, and art come to a people which thou knewest not heretofore. The Lord recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to take refuge."

Then she said, "Let me find favor in thy sight, my lord; because thou hast comforted me, and because thou hast spoken kindly unto thine handmaid, though I am a stranger."

And at mealtime Boaz said unto her, "Come hither, and eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel in the cup."

And she sat beside the reapers: and they passed her parched grain, and she ate and was satisfied.

And when she was risen up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, "Let her glean even among the sheaves, and reproach her not. And also pull out some for her from, the bundles, and leave it, and let her glean, and rebuke her not."

So she gleaned in the field until even; and she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley. And she took it up, and went into the city: and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned.

And she said unto her, "Where hast thou gleaned today? and where hast thou worked? blessed be he that helped thee."

And she showed her mother-in-law with whom she had {42} worked, and said, "The man's name with whom I worked to-day is Boaz."

And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, "Blessed be he of the Lord, who hath not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead. The man is nigh of kin unto us, one of our near kinsmen."

And Ruth the Moabitess said, "Yea, he said unto me, 'Thou shalt keep fast by my young men, until they have ended all my harvest.'"

And Naomi said to Ruth, her daughter-in-law, "It is good, my daughter, that thou go out with his maidens, and that they meet thee not in any other field."

So she kept fast by the maidens of Boaz to glean until the end of barley harvest and of wheat harvest; and she dwelt with her mother-in-law.

And Naomi her mother-in-law said unto her, "My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee? And now is there not Boaz our kinsman, with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth barley to-night in the threshing-floor. Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee, and go down to the threshing-floor: but make not thyself known to the man, until he shall have done eating and drinking. And it shall be, when he lieth down, that thou shalt mark the place where he shall lie, and thou shalt go in, and uncover his feet, and lay thee down; and he will tell thee what thou shalt do."

And she said to her, "All that thou sayest I will do."

RUTH IN THE HARVEST FIELDS OF BOAZ
By Brück-Lajos. Born at Papa, Hungary, November 3, 1846-

And she went down unto the threshing-floor, and did according to all that her mother-in-law bade her.

And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of corn: and she came softly, and uncovered his feet, and laid her down.

And it came to pass at midnight, that the man was afraid, and turned himself: and, behold, a woman lay at his feet. And he said, "Who art thou?"

And she answered, "I am Ruth thine handmaid: spread therefore thy robe over thine handmaid; for thou art a near kinsman."

And he said, "Blessed be thou of the Lord, my daughter: thou hast showed more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning, inasmuch as thou followedst not young men, whether poor or rich. And now, my daughter, fear not; I will do to thee all that thou sayest: for all the city of my people doth know that thou art a worthy woman. And now it is true that I am a near kinsman: howbeit there is a kinsman nearer than I. Tarry this night, and it shall be in the morning, that if he will perform unto thee the part of a kinsman, well; let him do the kinsman's part: but if he will not do the part of a kinsman to thee, then will I do the part of a kinsman to thee, as the Lord liveth: lie down until the morning."

And she lay at his feet until the morning: and she rose up before one could discern another.

For he said, "Let it not be known that a woman came to the threshing-floor."

And he said, "Bring the mantle that is upon thee, and hold it."

And she held it: and he measured six measures of barley, and gave it to her: and he went into the city.

And when she came to her mother-in-law, she said, "How hast thou fared, my daughter?"

And she told her all that the man had done to her. And she said, "These six measures of barley gave he me; for he said, 'Go not empty unto thy mother-in-law.'"

Then said she, "Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall: for the man will not rest, until he has finished the thing this day."

Now Boaz went up to the gate, and sat down there: and, behold, the near kinsman of whom Boaz spoke came by; to whom he said, "Ho, kinsman! turn aside, sit down here."

And he turned aside, and sat down.

And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, "Sit ye down here."

And they sat down.

And he said to the near kinsman, "Naomi, who has come again out of the country of Moab, selleth the piece of land, which was our brother Elimelech's: and I thought to inform thee, saying, 'Buy it before them that sit here, and before the elders of my people. If thou wilt redeem it, redeem it: but if thou wilt not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know: for there is none to redeem it beside thee; and I am after thee.'"

And he said, "I will redeem it."

Then said Boaz, "The day thou buyest the field of the hand of Naomi, thou must buy it also of Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance."

And the near kinsman said, "I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I mar mine own inheritance: take thou my right of redemption on thee; for I cannot redeem it."

(Now this was the custom in former time in Israel concerning redeeming and concerning exchanging, to confirm all things; a man drew off his shoe, and gave it to his neighbor: and this was the manner of attestation in Israel.)

So the near kinsman said unto Boaz, "Buy it for thyself." And he drew off his shoe.

And Boaz said to the elders, and unto all the people, "Ye are witnesses this day, that I have bought all that was Elimelech's, and all that was Chilion's and Mahlon's, of the hand of Naomi. Moreover Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, have I purchased to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance, that the name of the dead be not cut off from among his brethren: ye are witnesses this day."

And all the people that were in the gate, and the elders, said, "We are witnesses. The Lord make the woman that is come into thine house like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of Israel: and do thou worthily in Ephrathah, and be famous in Beth-lehem."

So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife.

And a son was born to them.

And Naomi took the child, and laid it in her bosom, and became nurse unto it. And the women her neighbors gave it a name, saying, "There is a son born to Naomi"; and they called his name Obed: he is the father of Jesse, the father of David.

DEBORAH AND JAEL

PERSONS OF THE STORY.

PLACE OF THE STORY.

DEBORAH AND JAEL.

THE STORY OF TWO WOMEN WHO HELPED TO OVERCOME AND KILL A MIGHTY WARRIOR.

And the children of Israel did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord. And the Lord gave them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose host was Sisera. And the children of Israel cried to the Lord: for he had nine hundred chariots of iron; and twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel.

Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, judged Israel at that time. And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Beth-el in the hill country of Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment. And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedesh-naphtali, and said to him, "Hath not the Lord, the God of Israel: commanded, saying, 'Go to Mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun? And I will bring to thee to the river Kishon Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his host; and I will deliver him into thine hand.'"

And Barak said to her, "If thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, I will not go."

And she said, "I will surely go with thee: notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honor; for the Lord will give Sisera into the hand of a woman."

And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh. And Barak called the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali together to Kedesh; and there went up ten thousand men with him: and Deborah went up with him. Now Heber the Kenite had separated himself from the Kenites, and had pitched his tent by an oak near Kedesh. And they told Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam was gone up to Mount Tabor. And Sisera gathered together all his chariots, even nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people that were with him. And Deborah said unto Barak, "Up; for this {53} is the day in which the Lord hath delivered Sisera into thine hand: is not the Lord gone out before thee?"

So Barak went down from Mount Tabor, and ten thousand men with him. And the Lord discomfited Sisera, and all his chariots, and all his host, with the edge of the sword before Barak; and Sisera leaped down from his chariot and fled away on foot. But Barak pursued after the chariots, and after the host: and all the host of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; there was not a man left.

Howbeit Sisera fled away on foot to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite: for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite. And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said to him, "Turn in, my lord, turn in to me; fear not."

And he turned in to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug. And he said to her, "Give me, I pray thee, a little water to drink; for I am thirsty."

And she opened a bottle of milk, and gave him drink, and covered him. And he said to her, "Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be, when any man doth come and inquire of thee, and say, 'Is there any man here?' that thou shalt say, 'No.'"

Then Jael, Heber's wife, took a tent-pin, and took an hammer in her hand, and went softly to him, and smote the pin into his temples, and it pierced through into the ground; for he was in a deep sleep, and weary; so he died. And, behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said to him, "Come, and I will show thee the man whom thou seekest." And he came to her; {54} and, behold, Sisera lay dead and the tent-pin was in his temple.

So God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the children of Israel. And the hand of the children of Israel prevailed more and more against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.

Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day,--