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Chronicles of Jerahmeel, by M. Gaster [1899], at sacred-texts.com


XXXVI. (1) And a great terror was upon the cities that were round about them, and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob; for they said, 'If two sons of Jacob were able to do this thing' (namely, to exterminate a whole town), how much more would they exterminate the whole world if all the sons of Jacob gathered together?' This terror of them fell upon the cities, for the Lord let the terror fall upon all the nations, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob. The sages say, 'They did not pursue them during that same year, but after (seven) years they pursued them, for they came back and settled there again.' The kings of the Amorites assembled themselves, when they heard that Jacob and his sons had again settled in Shekhem. They came to slay them, saying, 'It is not enough for them to have killed all the men of Shekhem, now they come also to take possession of their land.'

(2) When Judah beheld them coming, he was the first to spring in the midst of their ranks, and was soon engaged in fight with Ishub, King of Tapuaḥ, who was covered with iron and brass from head to foot, standing in the middle of his lines (of soldiers). He rode a powerful steed, and he could throw his javelins with both hands from horseback, in front and behind, and never missed his aim even to a hair's breadth, for he was a mighty and powerful man, and could manage his spear with either hand. Judah was not at all frightened when he saw him, despite his strength,

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but he picked up a heavy stone from the ground, weighing about sixty shekels, and threw it at him at a distance of two parts of a furlong; i.e., 170 cubits and one-third of a cubit. Whilst the king was advancing against Judah, dressed in iron armour and throwing his spears, Judah struck him with the stone upon his shield and rolled him off his horse. (3) Judah hastened to approach him, in order to kill him before he could get up again from the ground, but the king rallied quickly and sprang upon his feet. Now he began to fight with Judah, shield against shield. He drew his sword and tried to smite the head of Judah, but Judah lifted up his shield and received the blow aimed at him; the shield broke into two pieces. Judah thereupon ducked and slashed with his, sword at the feet of the king and cut them off from the ankles. The king fell to the ground and his sword slipped out of his hands. Judah sprang upon him and cut off his head.

(4) Whilst he was busy stripping him of his armour, nine comrades of the dead man attacked him. Judah broke the head of the first who approached him with a stone, and killed him on the spot. He let his shield drop out of his hand, which Judah seized, and defended himself with it against the other eight. His brother Levi came to his rescue and shot the King of Ga‘ash with an arrow. Judah succeeded then in killing the eight. Jacob then killed (Zehori), King of Shiloh, with an arrow, and they could not stand against the children of Jacob, but all turned and fled, and the sons of Jacob pursued them. And Judah killed on that day a thousand men before sunset.

(5) The remaining sons of Jacob came out from Shekhem, from the side where they had been standing, and pursued them among the mountains, until they came to Ḥaṣor. There, before the town of Ḥaṣor, they had to fight more than they had fought in the vale of Shekhem. (6) Jacob shot with his arrows and killed Pir‘athaho, King of Ḥaṣor, and Susi, King of Sartan, and Laban, King of Horan (or Ḥeldon, ###), and Shakir (or Shikkor), King of Mahna(im). Judah was the first to climb up the wall of Ḥaṣor. Four

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warriors attacked Judah and fought with him, till Naphtali came to his rescue, for he followed Judah upon the wall; but before he came up, Judah had killed the four warriors. Judah stood now on the right side of the wall, and Naphtali on the left, and they killed all the people that were there. The other sons of Jacob jumped upon the wall after them, and destroyed it, and on that same day they took the town of Ḥaṣor, and killed all the warriors, and they did not leave one single man. After that they carried away the booty.

(7) The following day they went to Sartan. There was a great multitude of people, and the fight was a very heavy one, for it was a town built upon a height, with high walls, and it was difficulty to approach in consequence of these walls; yet they subdued it on that same clay, and got upon the walls. The first to climb them was Judah, on the east, after him came Gad on the west, Simeon and Levi climbed up on the north, and Reuben and Dan on the south, whilst Naphtali and Issachar put fire to the gates of the town. The fight was very fierce upon the walls, and their remaining comrades went up to their assistance. They all stood now against a huge tower (wherein the inhabitants had fled, defying from there the assailants). That was before Judah had taken the tower. But he soon went up to the top of the tower and killed two hundred men on the roof, and the other sons of Israel killed the rest, not leaving one single man, for these were all powerful and valiant warriors. They carried away the whole booty and returned to their places.

(8) Now they went against Tapuaḥ, for its inhabitants had tried to rob them of their spoil. First they killed all the men who had come out for the purpose of robbing them of the booty. Afterwards they rested on the waters of Jishub (###), north of Tapuaḥ. Early in the morning of the third day they marched towards Tapuaḥ. Whilst they were gathering their booty, the inhabitants of Shilo came out and attacked them. But they were all beaten and killed before noon, and they entered with the fugitives

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into Shilo, and did not allow them to stand up against the sons of Jacob. On that same day they occupied the town and carried away the spoil thereof. The troop of their company which they had left against Tapuaḥ came now to meet them with the booty from Tapuaḥ.

(9) On the fourth day they marched against the camp of Shakir (###). Some of the camp came out to rob them of the booty. They (the sons of Jacob) had gone down into the valley, and the (men from Shakir) ran after them, but when they tried to ascend again they were killed. After that the men from the camp of Shakir threw stones upon them; but the sons of Jacob occupied the town, and killed all the warriors, and added the booty from this town to the booty they had formerly collected.

(10) On the fifth day they went to Mount Ga‘ash. There lived a great multitude of the Amorites. Ga‘ash was a fortified town of the Amorites. They fought against it, but could not well subdue it because it had three walls, one wall inside the other. And the inhabitants began to defy and to reproach the sons of Jacob. (11) Judah waxed wroth, and he was the first to jump upon the wall. He would have met his death there had not his father Jacob come to his rescue. He first bent his bow and shot his arrows with his right hand, then he drew his sword and killed right and left, until Dan sprang upon the wall and assisted Judah. (From the right-hand side the inhabitants threw stones at him, and from inside they fought him, and they all tried to push him down the wall.) Dan drove them away from the wall. After Dan, Simeon, Levi and Naphtali came up, and they killed so many of the inhabitants that the blood flowed like a river. (And when the sun was near its setting they had taken the town and killed all the warriors) and they carried away the booty.

(12) On the sixth day all the Amorites came without arms and promised to keep peace (and friendship, and they gave unto Jacob Timna‘ and the whole land of Hararyah). Then made Jacob peace with them, and the sons of Jacob restored them all the sheep they had

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captured from them, and in returning them gave double, two for one. And Jacob built Timnah (###), and Judah built Zabel (###). And from that time on they lived in peace with the Amorites. This it was that Jacob said to Joseph, "I have given thee a portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow."


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