The Legends of the Jews, vol 3 | Page 8

"As a rule
the army marches forth first, and the king follows in security, but I will
precede you; and as a rule the king has the first choice of the booty, and
as much of it as he desires, but I will take no more than any one of you,
and on my return from the war I will divide my treasures of silver, gold,
and precious stones among you."
In his zeal Pharaoh did not wait to have his chariot made ready for him

he did it with his own hands, and his nobles followed his example. [15]
Samael granted Pharaoh assistance, putting six hundred chariots
manned with his own hosts at his disposal. [16] These formed the
vanguard, and they were joined by all the Egyptians, with their vast
assemblages of chariots and warriors, no less than three hundred of
their men to one of the children of Israel, each equipped with their
different sorts of weapons. The general custom was for two charioteers
to take turns at driving a car, but to overtake the Israelites more surely
and speedily, Pharaoh ordered three to be assigned to each. The result
was that they covered in one day the ground which it had taken the
Israelites three to traverse.
The mind of the Egyptians was in no wise directed toward spoil and
plunder in this expedition. Their sole and determined purpose was to
exterminate Israel, kith and kin. As the heathen lay great stress upon
omens when they are about to start out on a campaign, God caused all
their preparations to proceed smoothly, without the slightest untoward
circumstance. Everything pointed to a happy issue. [17] Pharaoh,
himself an adept in magic, had a presentiment that dire misfortune
would befall the children of Israel in the wilderness, that they would
lose Moses there, and there the whole generation that had departed
from Egypt would find its grave. Therefore he spoke to Dathan and
Abiram, who remained behind in Egypt, saying: "Moses is leading
them, but he himself knows not whither. Verily, the congregation of
Israel will lift up their voice in the wilderness, and cry, and there they
will be destroyed." He thought naturally that these visions had
reference to an imminent future, to the time of his meeting with his
dismissed slaves. But his error was profound - he was hurrying forward
to his own destruction. [18]
When he reached the sanctuary of Baal-zephon, Pharaoh, in his joy at
finding him spared while all the other idols in Egypt had been
annihilated, lost no time, but hastened to offer sacrifices to him, and he
was comforted, "for," he said, "Baal-zephon approves my purpose of
drowning the children of Israel in the sea." [19]
When the Israelites beheld the huge detachments of the Egyptian army
moving upon them, and when they considered that in Migdol there
were other troops stationed, besides, more, indeed, than their own
numbers, men, women, and children all told, great terror overwhelmed

them. [20] What affrighted them most, was the sight of the Angel of
Egypt darting through the air as he flew to the assistance of the people
under his tutelage. They turned to Moses, saying: "What has thou done
to us? Now they will requite us for all that hath happened - that their
first-born were smitten, and that we ran off with their money, which
was thy fault, for thou didst bid up borrow gold and silver from our
Egyptian neighbors and depart with their property."
The situation of the Israelites was desperate. Before them was the sea,
behind them the Egyptians, on both sides the wild beasts of the desert.
[21] The wicked among them spoke to Moses, saying, "While we were
in Egypt, we said to thee and to Aaron, 'The Lord look upon you, and
judge, because ye have made our savor to be abhorred in the eyes of
Pharaoh and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to
slay us.' Then there died many of our brethren during the days of
darkness, which was worse than the bondage in which the Egyptians
kept us. Nevertheless our fate in the desert will be sadder than theirs.
They at least were mourned, and their bodies ere buried, but our
corpses will lie exposed, consumed in the day by drought and by frost
in the night."
Moses in his wisdom knew how to pacify the thousands and myriads
under his leadership. He impressed them with the words, "Fear ye not,
stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord." "When will His salvation
come?" questioned the people, and he told them it would appear the
following day, but they protested, "We cannot wait until to-morrow."
Then Moses prayed to God, and the Lord showed him the