Chapter 91
bulun in Sidon, in the portion which fell to their children.
44. And Dan was buried in the city of his children in Eshtael, and they buried Naphtali and Asher in Kadesh-Naphtali, each man in his place which he had given to his children.
45. And they buried the bones of Joseph in Shechem, in the part of the field which Jacob had purchased from Hamor, and which Joseph received for an inheritance.
46. And they buried Benjamin in Jerusalem opposite the Jebusite, which was given to the children of Benjamin; the children of Israel buried their fathers each man in the city of his children.
47. And at the end of two years Joshua, the son of Nun, died at the age of one hundred and ten years, and the time which Joshua judged Israel was twenty eight years, and Israel served the Lord all the days of his life.
48. And the other affairs of Joshua and his battles and his reproofs with which he reproved Israel, and all which he had commanded them, and the names of the cities which the children of Israel possessed in his days, behold, they are written in the Book of the Words of Joshua to the children of Israel, and in the Book of the Wars of the Lord, which Moses and Joshua and the children of Israel had written.
49. And the children of Israel buried Joshua at the border of his inheritance, in TimnathSerach, which was given to him in Mount Ephraim.
50. And Eleazer, the son of Aaron, died in those days, and they buried him in a hill belonging to Phineas his son, which was given to him in Mount Ephraim.
1. AT that time, after Joshua's death, the children of the Canaanites were still in the land, and the Israelites resolved to drive them out.
2. And the children of Israel asked the Lord, saying, who shall go up first for us to the Canaanites to fight against them? And the Lord said: Judah shall go up.
3. And the children of Judah said to Simeon, go up with us into our lot, and we will fight against the Canaanites and we likewise will go up with you in your lot. So the children of Simeon went with the children of Judah.
4. And the children of Judah went up and fought against the Canaanites. So the Lord delivered the Canaanites into the hands of the children of Judah, and they smote them in Bezek, ten thousand men.
5. And they fought with Adoni-Bezek in Bezek, and he fled from them, and they pursued him and caught him, and they took hold of him and cut off his thumbs and great toes.
6. And Adoni-Bezek said, three score and ten kings having their thumbs and great toes cut off, gathered their meal under my table. As I have done, so God requited me; and they brought him to Jerusalem and he died there.
7. And the children of Simeon went with the children of Judah, and they smote the Canaanites with the edge of the sword.
8. And the Lord was with the children of Judah, and they possessed the mountain, and the children of Joseph went up to Bethel, the same is Luz, and the Lord was with them.
9. And the children of Joseph spied out Bethel, and the watchmen saw a man going forth from the town, and they caught him and said unto him, show us now the entrance of the town and we will show kindness to thee.
10. And that man showed them the entrance of the town, and the children of Joseph came and smote the town with the edge of the sword.
11. And the man with his family they sent away, and he went to the Hittites and he built a city, and he called the name thereof Luz. So, all the Israelites dwelt in their cities, and the children of Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders, who had lengthened their days after Joshua, and saw the great work of the Lord, which he had performed for Israel.
12. And the elders judged Israel after the death of Joshua for seventeen years.
13. And all the elders also fought the battles of Israel against the Canaanites, and the Lord drove the Canaanites from before the children of Israel in order to place the Israelites in their land.
14. And He accomplished all the words, which he had spoken to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and the oath which he had sworn, to give to them and to their children, the land of the Canaanites.
15. And the Lord gave to the children of Israel the whole land of Canaan, as He had sworn to their ancestors, and the Lord gave them rest from those around them, and the children of Israel dwelt securely in their cities.
16. Blessed be the Lord forever, amen, and amen.
17. Strengthen yourselves, and let the hearts of all you that trust in the Lord be of good courage! 188 . A FINAL NOTE ON SECOND SAMUEL g The original Book of Jasher ought to have been considerably longer, because the following passage, taken from Second Samuel ch. i, v. 18 to 27, lacks from the Venice Edition of
1625. ------- And David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son; also he bade them to teach the children of Judah the Song of the Bow: behold, it is written in the Book of Jasher [see also Jasher ch. Lvi, v. 9 ]: The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places. – How are the mighty fallen! – Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon; lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph. Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew, neither let there be rain, upon you, nor fields of offerings, for there the shield of the mighty is vilely cast away, the shield of Saul, as though he had not been anointed with oil. From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan turned not back, and the sword of Saul returned not empty. Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were not divided: they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions. Ye daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you in scarlet, and with other delights, who put on ornaments of gold upon your apparel. – How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! – O Jonathan, thou wast slain in thine high places. I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: very pleasant hast thou been unto me: thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women. – How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished! – n