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And from this it is evident that MARY was the daughter of DAVID, and that JOSEPH was the son of DAVID. Therefore was MARY betrothed to JOSEPH her kinsman, as it is said in the Gospel, "O JOSEPH, son of DAVID, fear thou not to take to wife MARY thy betrothed, for that which is to be born of her is of the Holy Spirit, the Word of God." And there was born of her God, the Word, Light of Light, God of God, Son of the Father, Who came and delivered His creation; from the hand of SHEÔL, and from SATAN, and from death He hath delivered all of us who have believed in Him, He hath drawn us to His Father and hath raised us up into heaven His throne to become His heirs; for He is a lover of man, and unto Him praise belongeth for ever. Amen.
And we will begin to tell you what we have heard, and what we have found written, and what we have seen concerning the King of RÔMÊ. The kingdom of RÔMÊ was the portion and dominion of JAPHET, the son of NOAH. And sitting down they made twelve great cities, and DARIUS built the greatest cities of their kingdoms: ’AN?ÔKYÂ (ANTIOCH), DÎRESYÂ (TYRE ?), and BÂRTONYÂ (PARTHIA ?), and RÂMYÂ (ROMA ?), and those who reigned dwelt there; and King CONSTANTINE built CONSTANTINOPLE after his own name. Now the sign of the Cross having appeared to him during the battle in the form of stars cut in the heavens, he was delivered out of the hands of his enemy; and from that time onwards the Kings of RÔMÊ made their habitation there. And that DARIUS had many descendants; and from DARIUS to the days of SOLOMON were eighteen generations. And of his seed was born a man whose name was ZANBARÊS, and he made in wisdom a drawing of the astrolabe, and placed stars therein, and [he made also] a balance (i.e., clock) for the sun. And be [fore]saw what would come after, and that the kingdom would not remain to the children of JAPHET, but would depart to the seed of DAVID, of the tribe of SHEM. And when he thus saw, he sent a message to DAVID the King, saying, "Take my daughter for thy son"; and DAVID the King took her and gave her to SOLOMON his son, and SOLOMON begat a son by her and called his name "’ADRÂMÎ". And ZANBARÊS died before [this] and BAL?ASÔR, who was of his kinsmen, became king. And he lacked male offspring to reign after him upon his throne, and he was jealous lest the children of his father should reign after him. And he sent a written message to SOLOMON the King, saying, "Hail to the greatness of thy kingdom, and to thine honourable wisdom! And now, give me thy son, whom I will make king over the city of RÔMÊ. For I have not been able to beget male children, but only three daughters. And I will give him whichever of my daughters he pleaseth, and I will give him my throne, and he shall be king, he and his seed after him in the city of RÔMÊ for ever."
And when King SOLOMON had read this letter, he meditated, saying, "If I keep back my son he will send to the King of the East, who will give him his son, and that which I have planned will be made void; therefore I will give him my son." And he took counsel with his counsellors of the house of ISRAEL, and he said unto them, "We have already given our son and our children to the country of ETHIOPIA, and ISRAEL hath a kingdom there. And now, so that we may have a third kingdom, p. 123 the country of RÔMÊ, I will send thither ’ADRÂMÎS my youngest son. Hold ye not it against me as an evil thing that formerly I took away your sons, for it is a pleasing thing to God that the men of ETHIOPIA have learned His Name, and have become His people. In like manner, the men of RÔMÊ, if we give them our children, will become the people of God, and unto us moreover shall be given the name of 'People of God', being spoken of thus and called thus: The people of ISRAEL have taken the kingdom of ETHIOPIA and the kingdom of RÔMÊ. Give ye your youngest sons as before [ye gave the eldest], and let those of middle age stay in our city."
And they rose up, and took counsel, and returned, and said unto him, "We will speak this matter unto the King, and he shall do his will." And he said unto them, "Make me hear what ye would say." And they said unto him, "Thou hast already taken the eldest of our houses, and now take the youngest of their children." And he was pleased with this counsel, and he did for them as they wished. And he set forward ’ADRÂMÎ his son, who took some of the nobles of the lower grades of the house of ISRAEL, and the lot fell upon him in the name of his father SOLOMON; and they gave him a priest of the tribe of the LEVITES whose name was ’AKÎMÎ?ÊL, and they set ’ADRÂMÎ upon the king's mule, and cried out to him, "Hail! [Long] live the royal father!" And all the people said, "It is right and proper." And they anointed him with the oil of kingship, and commanded him to keep all the laws of the kingdom, and they made him to swear that he would worship no other god except the God of ISRAEL. And they blessed him as they had blessed DAVID his brother, and admonished ’ADRÂMÎ even as they had admonished DAVID, and they accompanied him on his way as far as the sea coast.
And SOLOMON the King wrote and sent a letter, saying, "Peace be to BAL?ASÔR, the King of RÔMÊ! Take my son ’ADRÂMÎ, and give him thy daughter, and make him king in the city of RÔMÊ. Thou didst wish for a king of the seed of DAVID my father, and I have done thy will. And I have sent unto thee his nobles, fourteen on his right hand and fourteen on his left, who shall keep the Law with him and be subject unto thee according to thy will."
And they arrived there with the ambassadors of the King of RÔMÊ, together with much splendour and all the equipment that was requisite for the country of RÔMÊ. And they came to the city of RÔMÊ, to BAL?ÂSÂR the King, and they repeated all that SOLOMON had sent them to say, and delivered over to him his son. And BAL?ÂSÂR rejoiced exceedingly, and gave him his eldest daughter, whose name was ’ADLÔNYÂ; and he made a great marriage feast according to the greatness of his kingdom, and established him over all his city of RÔMÊ. And he blessed him, for he was noble in stature, and his wisdom was marvellous, and he was exceedingly mighty in his strength.
And one day BAL?ÂSÂR wished to test his knowledge in the trying of cases, a man, the possessor of a vineyard, having come to him and appealed to him, saying, "My lord, ’ARSÂNÎ, the son of YÔDÂD, hath transgressed thy word, and hath laid waste my vineyard with his sheep. And behold, I have seized his sheep and they are in my house; what decision wilt thou come to in respect of me?" And the owner of the sheep came to the King and made an appeal to him, saying, "Give me back my sheep, for he hath carried them off because they went into his vineyard." And the King said unto them, "Go ye and argue your case before your King ’ADRÂMÎ, and whatsoever he shall say unto you that do." And they went and argued their case before him. And ’ADRÂMÎ asked him, saying, "How much of the vineyard have the sheep eaten? The leaves, or the tendrils, or the young grapes, or the shoots by the roots?" And the owner of the vineyard answered and said unto him, "They have eaten the tendrils and the branches that had grapes upon them, and there is nothing left of the vines except the twigs by the root." And ’ADRÂMÎ asked the owner of the sheep, saying, "Is this true?" And the owner of the sheep answered and said unto him, "My lord, they ate [only] the tendrils with leaves on them." And ’ADRÂMÎ answered and said, "This man saith that they ate the grapes: is this true?" And the owner of the sheep answered and said, "No, my lord, but they ate the blossoms before they had formed into grapes."
And ’ADRÂMÎ said unto them, "Hearken ye to the judgment which I will declare unto you. If the sheep have destroyed all the shoots from the root of the vine, then they all belong to thee. And if they have eaten the leaves of the branches, and the blossoms of the grapes, take the sheep, shear their wool, and [take also] the young of those which have not yet brought forth. But the sheep which have already brought forth young for the first time leave to the owner of the sheep." And all those who heard the judgment which he pronounced marvelled, and BAL?ÂSÂR said, "Verily, this judgment is a judgment of the people of the God of ISRAEL. Henceforward judge him that hath a case at law, wage war with him that would wage war, rule him that would be ruled, keep alive him that should be kept alive, and pass the judgment that ought to be passed according as men would be judged, and take this city to thyself and to thy seed after thee." And all the men of the city of RÔMÊ were well pleased, and they made ’ADRÂMÎ king over them, and they rejoiced in him with a great joy; for it happened thus by their will and by the Will of God. And [then] a fever seized BAL?ÂSÂR, and thereupon he sent ’ADRÂMÎ to the war, and into everything that he wished, whilst he himself remained in the city; and after this BAL?ÂSÂR died, and ’ADRÂMÎ directed the kingdom. And the city of RÔMÊ became the possession of ’ADRÂMÎ and of his generations after him, for by the Will of God the whole of the kingdom of the world was given to the seed of SHEM, and slavery to the seed of HAM, and the handicrafts to the seed of JAPHET.
The king of MEDYÂM was of the seed of SHEM. For of the seed of ISAAC was ESAU, who went forth from his mother's womb with JACOB clinging to the sole of his foot; and JACOB carried away the right of the firstborn from ESAU for the sake of a mess of pottage. And the name of ESAU'S kingdom was called, according to his name of contempt, "EDOM", for the interpretation of "EDOM" is "lentiles"; and because of this the seed of ESAU were called "EDOMITES". For through the greed of his belly he forsook and lost the right of the firstborn of the seed of SHEM. For unless the soul be restrained by temperance, it will bring down into a net the whole of the lust of the belly which is of the body. For the body is greedy, but temperance restraineth the soul, and therefore PAUL said, "That which the soul doth not wish the body wisheth; and that which the body doth not wish the soul wisheth, and each contendeth against the other." If a man willeth a thing, and his soul bandeth itself with the desire of his body he becometh like the Devil; but if he restraineth his body, and his soul bandeth itself with his desire he becometh like CHRIST. For the Apostles say that CHRIST is the Head of every man who travelleth upon the straight road. And our Lord said unto His disciples, "Walk in the Spirit, and perform ye not the lust of your bodies." And when they heard this they forsook all the lust of the flesh, and they said unto our Lord, "Behold now, we have forsaken everything and followed Thee; what is our reward?" And our Saviour said unto them, "Ye have made your bodies like unto those of the angels, and shall do mighty deeds even as do I. And behold, I have given you authority to raise the dead, and I have given you power to heal the sick, and ye shall trample upon all the power of the Enemy. And at My second coming ye shall judge and shall put to shame the Twelve Tribes of ISRAEL, because they have not believed on Me, and have treated My glory with contempt. And as for those who believe in Me, ye shall magnify them and shall make them to rejoice with you in My kingdom."
Now the King of BABYLON is of the seed of SHEM, and we will show you clearly that the King of BABYLON is of the seed of SHEM. It came to pass in days of old that there lived in the kingdom of MANASSEH, the King of ISRAEL, a certain man whose name was KARMÎN, and he was a fearer of God, and he gave many alms and oblations to the poor of ISRAEL. And when he made offerings to the house of God, he did so with sincerity, and his tithe he gave twofold; and he was good in all his ways, and there was no evil whatsoever before him. And SATAN, the enemy of all good, became envious of him, for he saw that his course of life was good. And that man was exceedingly rich in camels and horses, and flocks of sheep, and herds of cattle, and gold and silver, and fine apparel, and he used to feed the mule of the king in ’ARMÂTÊM, a city of ISRAEL. Now his native place was the country of JUDAH, his fathers' portion, but because of [his] love for wealth he departed into ’ARMÂTÊM to dwell there, and ISRAEL allowed him to settle there because of his riches; for he was exceedingly rich and had many possessions, and the governors [of JUDAH] were afraid of him.
And there was a certain depraved man of the seed of BENJAMIN, whose name was BENYÂS, who used to lead the mule of the King of ISRAEL, and KARMÎN used to feed him, together with the mule of King MANASSEH. And among the neighbours of KARMÎN there were certain men who were envious of him because of [his] pastures and wells, and because of the multitude of his flocks and herds and servants, for the region [where he had settled] was the inheritance of their fathers, and for this reason they wished to drive him away from their country. And they kept watch upon BENYÂS, the leader of the king's mule, with evil intent, and they abused KARMÎN, and said unto BENYÂS, "This KARMÎN blasphemeth, and he hath blasphemed the King of ISRAEL, the anointed of God, saying, 'This king is not the son of a free woman, but the son of an old woman servant whom [a certain man] bought for two ?ôr-measures [of grain] to work at the mill and brick-making.' Do thou take thy case against him to the king and accuse him, for we will be thy witnesses before the king, and we will not let thee be put to shame." And they made a covenant together, and they swore to him that they would bear false witness against KARMÎN, by whose tongue such a word had never been uttered, and into whose mind such a thought had never entered.
And BENYÂS went to his lord, the King, and told him all this matter. And the King said unto him, "Is there any man who hath heard this with thee?" And BENYÂS answered and said unto him, "Yea, there are some who have heard—two of the nobles of ISRAEL who belong to ’ARMÂTÊM." And the King said unto him, "Go now and bring them hither secretly so that we may find out whether they agree with thy words; [and if they do] we will cut off the head of KARMÎN." And BENYÂS departed and brought ZARYÔS and KÂRMÊLÔS, of the tribe of MANASSEH, for it had been agreed between them that they would not put him to shame before the King in the matter of their lying testimony. And these two men agreed together and planned when they were on [their] way, saying, "When we have spoken to the King if he shall ask us afterwards separately (so that he may find out the truth of our words), saying, 'Where did you hear these words?' we will each of us answer and say unto him, 'When we were drinking wine with him.' And when he shall say unto us, 'What day [was this]?' we will say, 'Five days after the new moon.' And when he saith unto us, 'What time [of the day]?' we will say unto him, 'At the ninth hour, when he was sitting with us, and we were drinking wine together.' And when he shall ask us, saying, 'What did ye drink out of? and where were ye sitting?' we will say unto him, 'Out of cups of gold, and our seats were in the hall of his house where the cushions for reclining upon were placed.'" And they agreed together on this evil plot [whilst they were] on their way.
And when they arrived in the presence of the King BENYÂS brought them forward, and the King questioned them, and they repeated to him all their lying counsel. And he asked them—according as they had surmised on the road—the occasion, and the day, and the hour of their drinking [wine] and their sitting [in the hall], and they told him. Now, God hath commanded that kings, and governors, and all those who occupy a high position shall investigate an accusation, even as God commanded MOSES.
And when the King had enquired into all this matter, he called the captain of his host who stood before him, and said unto him, "Go at dawn of day to-morrow and surround the house of KARMÎN and let not anyone of his people escape thee, neither man nor woman, and slay [them all] with the sword. And as for KARMÎN, cut off his head, and bring hither all his possessions, and his goods, and all his flocks and herds, and his gold and silver."
And those liars rejoiced and returned to their district, and they went into the house of KARMÎN and held converse with him with words of peace, and they paid him compliments, and they made jests before his face, evil being in their hearts. And then was fulfilled on them the prophecy of DAVID, who said, "Those who speak words of peace with their neighbour, and [have] evil in their hearts, reward them according to the evil of their works and according to the evil of their thoughts." And they drank themselves drunk in the house of KARMÎN, and they slept together with him. And when they had fallen asleep, behold, the Angel of God was sent to KARMÎN, and he awoke him and said unto him, "Leave all thy possessions and save thyself, for men have been commanded by MANASSEH the King to cut off thy head. Take as much of thy riches as thou canst carry, and flee into another country, for this MANASSEH is a slayer of the prophets, and a seeker after the blood of innocent men."
Then KARMÎN rose up straightway, and sought out his treasure in gold and took it, and he awoke his wife and his two sons, and he also awoke his chosen servants, and loaded them with possessions of great value, and went forth by night. And he sent off his wife and his sons with two servants to go to JERUSALEM, and departed with two of his servants to a remote country—a distance of three months' journey—and he arrived at BABYLON. And he came to BALÂ?ÔN, the King of BABYLON, and gave him a gift, and related unto him what had happened to him. And BALÂ?ÔN loved KARMÎN, and gave him a habitation near the house of his merchant, who had departed to a far country for a period of three years.
And those men who had borne lying testimony they killed in bed in KARMÎN'S house.
And the wife of the merchant loved KARMÎN, and she was seduced by him, and became with child; now the behaviour of women is bad. And the husband of the woman had left her when she was with child, and she brought forth and gave the child to a nurse who brought it up. And in the second year she went astray and became with child by KARMÎN, for the person of KARMÎN was exceeding goodly in ISRAEL. And the woman wished to throw the child whom she had conceived into the river when he was born and to wait for the merchant her husband as if she had not gone astray, and had not done anything [wrong]. Even as SOLOMON the wise man saith, "There are three things which are difficult to me in my mind, and the fourth of these I cannot comprehend:—The track of the eagle in the heavens, the path of the serpent on the rock, the track of a ship on the sea." Now the fourth of them of which he speaks concerneth the wicked woman, who, having wronged her husband, and washed herself, sitteth down like a woman who hath done nothing, and she sweareth an oath falsely.
And at that time the wife of BALÂ?ÔN, the King of BABYLON, conceived and brought forth something which was like unto an eagle, a perfect bird but altogether without wings. And she called a handmaiden who was a favourite, and sent the thing away in a wicker-basket and commanded her to cast it into the sea (i.e., river), without letting anyone know about it. And the time for the bringing forth of the wife of the merchant arrived, and she brought forth a man child, comely in form [and worthy of] compassion. And without suckling it she called to a handmaiden who was a favourite, and put it into the inner part of a box and commanded her to throw him into the sea (i.e., river), without anyone knowing about it; for she was afraid of her husband. And in the same night two women brought forth, [the merchant's wife] and the wife of the King, and at daybreak the two women sent their handmaidens to cast their children into the river.
And by the Will of God these two handmaidens met each other before they had thrown the children into the river, and they talked together. And the handmaiden of the King asked the handmaiden of the merchant, saying, "What is in thy box?" and she showed her the beautiful child. And the King's handmaiden said unto her, "Why hast thou brought him here?" And the merchant's handmaiden said unto her, "Because the wife of my lord hath gone astray with a certain ISRAELITE, and she conceived and brought forth a child, and she hath commanded me to throw him into the river." And the King's handmaiden said unto her, "Why doth she not bring up a child who is so beautiful?" And the merchant's handmaiden said unto her, "Her husband left her with child, and she brought forth a child, and is rearing him; how then can she rear this child who is of strange and alien seed?" And the merchant's handmaiden asked the King's handmaiden, saying, "What hast thou in thy box?" And the King's handmaiden said unto her, "My lady hath brought forth a child that hath not the appearance of a man but of a wingless eagle, and she hath commanded me to throw it into the river. And now, give me this child of thine that I may give it to my mistress, and do thou take this bird, and cast it into the river"; and they did so. And the handmaiden of the King took the child [of KARMÎN] to her mistress, and the Queen rejoiced, and it was reported to the King that the Queen had borne a son. And the Queen gave the boy to the nurses, and he grew up in the house of the King, and she called his name "NÂBÛKEDNÂ?AR" (NEBUCHADNEZZAR), which is, being interpreted, "By the luck of the bird."
And through this it is well known that the King of BABYLON is the seed of SHEM. And he came and overthrew JERUSALEM by the Will of God, and he carried away captive the children of ISRAEL, and he made them to wander in the town of BABYLON with the grandchildren of MANASSEH. And he was so very rich that he set up a pillar of gold on the plain of BABYLON sixty cubits high, and he was very arrogant, and he used to say, "I make the sun to shine in the heavens"; and he worshipped idols. And God abased him so that he might know Him, and He set his portion with the beasts of the field. And when he knew the Name of the Lord after seven years He had compassion upon him, and brought him back in repentance. And the kingdom of BABYLON was his, and it belonged to those who were of his seed for ever.
And the King of PERSIA is likewise of the seed of SHEM, and we will inform you concerning the matters that relate to him. JUDAH begot two sons, and he brought in TE?MÂR (TAMAR) for his eldest son, and he died. And JUDAH sent his younger son to her that he might raise up seed to his brother by his brother's wife. And he did that which God hated, and he did not wish to raise up seed to his brother as his father JUDAH had commanded him. Now when he lay with TAMAR he made his seed to go into the ground, so that it might not germinate in her womb and be called the seed of his brother, but he wished to raise up seed by his own wife in his own name. And when God saw his evil act He turned His face away from him and slew him. And JUDAH, the father-in-law of TAMAR, brought her back, and set her in the house of her father, and said unto her kinsfolk, "Keep carefully this Israelitish woman, and let her not defile herself with an alien. For I have a little son, and if God will let him grow up I will give him to her." And whilst TAMAR was living as a widow in her father's house, behold, JUDAH her father-in-law came to the place where his sheepfolds were to shear wool with great satisfaction and pleasure. And when TAMAR heard that her father-in-law had come, she cast away from her the apparel of widowhood, and she put herself in splendid apparel, and she veiled herself after the manner of a harlot, and she followed him and sat down. And he sent a message to her, saying, "I wish to company with thee." And she said unto him, "What wilt thou give me for my hire?" And he said unto her, "I will send to thee in the morning early a sucking lamb"; and she said unto him, "Give me a pledge until thou givest me the lamb." And he gave her [his] staff, and ring, and the close-fitting cap that was under his headdress. And he companied with her, and she took [the things] and departed unto her house. And he sent the lamb unto her early in the morning. And his servants enquired and said, "Where is the house of the harlot?" And they said unto him, "There is no harlot in our town"; and they returned into their city and told him that there was no harlot in their town. And JUDAH said, "Leave ye [it]; the Will of God be done."
Then TAMAR conceived and they told her father-in-law that she had conceived. And he went and took the elders of ISRAEL to the father of TAMAR, and he said unto him, "Bring to me thy daughter who hath conceived that we may stone her with stones even as MOSES commanded, for she hath brought reproach upon the house of ISRAEL." And the father and kinsfolk of TAMAR told her that her father-in-law spake thus. And she brought out the ring, and the staff, and the cap, and gave [them] to her father and her kinsfolk, and she said unto them, "The owner of these things hath seduced me; let them stone me with him with stones." And when JUDAH saw his possessions he recognized [them] and he said, "TAMAR is more righteous than I"; and he left her and came to his house. And TAMAR brought forth twins, two nations, FÂRÊS (PEREZ) and ZÂRÂ. And FÂRS (PERSIA) was founded in the name of FÂRÊS, and he ruled over it and his seed after him, and they were called "FARASÂWÎYÂN" (PERSIANS). Behold now, it is proved that the King of PERSIA is of the seed of SHEM.
And the King of MOAB is of the seed of SHEM, and we will inform you how this hath come to pass. When God made ABRAHAM to depart from his father's country into the land of KÂRÂN (HARRAN), He made LOT to pass over into the land of SODOM and GOMORRAH. And when God wished to blot out the people of SODOM and GOMORRAH, He sent His Angels MICHAEL and GABRIEL to bring out LOT and to burn up the cities of SODOM and GOMORRAH; and they destroyed them and brought out LOT with his children. And his wife turned round so that she might see the city of her father and her mother. Now the wrath of God came down on the city of SODOM [in the form of] a rain of fire from heaven, which burned up mountains, and hills, and stones, and earth. And lightnings, and forked lightnings, and peals of thunder came down mingled with the crashing of the wrath of God, and a cloud of fire which made the heat to emit smoke. And when all this uproar was being heard the Angels said unto LOT, "Turn not round after ye have gone forth from the city, turn not round that ye die not the death." But when ’A?MÂBÂ, the wife of LOT, heard this, she turned round, and she became a pillar of salt, and she existeth to this day, to this very day. And as for LOT, God made him to dwell in the mountains of ARARAT. And he planted a new vineyard, and his daughters made their father to drink wine, and they plotted a wicked plot, and they said, "How (i.e., why) shall the possession of our father be wasted (or, blotted out)? Our mother hath been destroyed on the road, and there is no one to marry us here." And they made their father drunk, and his elder daughter lay with him whilst his mind was clouded with wine, and LOT the righteous man did not know when his daughter lay with him and when she rose up from him, for his mind was clouded with strong drink. And NOAH was drunk and naked before his wife and children, and he cursed his son who laughed at him; and [the act of lying with his daughter] was not reckoned against LOT as sin, for he did it unknowingly. And his elder daughter conceived and brought forth a child, and she called him "MOAB", which is, being interpreted, "From my father on my knee". And he was the father of the MOABITES and the AGARENES. Behold now, it is clear that the King of MOAB is of the seed of SHEM.
And it came to pass that when the elder daughter of LOT had brought forth her son, she said unto the younger daughter, "Come now, let us make our father drink wine, so that thou also mayest company with him that, peradventure, thou mayest get offspring." And again they prepared wine, and again they spoke to him the words of foolishness, and said unto him, "Drink wine, O our father, so that thy heart may be comforted"; and he, the simple man, drank and became drunk. And again, when he had drunk and his mind was clouded with wine, the younger daughter came and lay with him, and again he did not know of her lying with him, or of her rising up from him. And she also conceived and gave birth to a son, and she called his name "AMMON", and he is the father of the AMALEKITES. Behold now, it is clear that the King of AMALEK is of the seed of SHEM.
And behold, the seed of SAMSON reigned over the PHILISTINES. And SAMSON was of the seed of DAN, [one] of the twelve sons of JACOB, and he was the son of a handmaiden of JACOB; and we will inform you how this SAMSON came into being. The Angel of the Lord appeared to the mother of SAMSON and said unto her, "Keep thyself from all pollution, and company with no man except thy husband, for he who shall be born of thee shall be a NAZARITE, holy to the Lord, and he shall be the deliverer of ISRAEL from the hand of the PHILISTINES." And then she brought forth SAMSON. And again the Angel appeared unto her and said unto her, "Thou shalt not let a razor go upon his head, and he shall neither eat flesh nor [drink] wine, and he shall marry no strange woman but only a woman of his own kin and from the house of his father." And how God gave him strength ye have heard in the Book of JUDGES. But he transgressed the commandment of God, and came and married a daughter of the uncircumcised PHILISTINES. And because of this God was wroth, and He delivered him into the hands of men of the uncircumcised PHILISTINES, and they blinded his eyes, and they made him act the buffoon in the house of their king. And he pulled the roof down upon them, and slew seven hundred thousand of them, and during his life he slew seven hundred thousand of them with iron, and stone, and [his] staff, and the jaw-bone of an ass. For their number was as that of the locusts, until he released ISRAEL from the service of the PHILISTINES.
And then DALÎLÂ (DELILAH) conceived by SAMSON, and whilst she was with child SAMSON died with the PHILISTINES; and DELILAH brought forth a son and she called his name "MENAHEM", which is, being interpreted, "Seed of the strong man". Now DELILAH was the sister of MAKSÂBÂ, the wife of the King of the PHILISTINES, and when SAMSON slew the King of the PHILISTINES in the house with his people and his household, and he died with him, DELILAH went to her sister MAKSÂBÂ, the Queen of the PHILISTINES. Now both women were beautiful, and they had no children, but both had conceived; MAKSÂBÂ had been with child six months by ?WÔLÂSÔN, the King of the PHILISTINES, and DELILAH had been with child four months by SAMSON; and the husbands of both were dead. And the two women loved each other exceedingly. And their love for each other was not like the love of sisters, but like that of the mother for the child, and of the child for the mother; even so was their love. And they lived together. And the dominion over those who were left of the slaughter [made] by SAMSON in the house of the king was in the hands of MAKSÂBÂ, for none of the mighty men of war of the kingdom of the PHILISTINES were left, and therefore MAKSÂBÂ ruled over those that were left. And they spake unto her morning and evening, saying, "We have no other king except thyself, and except that one that shall go forth from thy belly. If our Lord DÂGÔN will do a favour unto us that which is in thy belly shall be a son, who shall reverence our god DÂGÔN and shall reign over us. And if it be a daughter we will make her to reign over us, so that thy name and the name of ?WÔLÂSÔN our lord shall be your memorial over us."
And then MAKSÂBÂ brought forth a man-child and all the men of the PHILISTINES rejoiced, and they did homage to her and sang, saying, "DÂGÔN and BÊL have honoured her and loved MAKSÂBÂ, and the seed of ?WÔLÂSÔN is found again from MAKSÂBÂ." And DELILAH also bore a son, and the two women brought up the children in great state and dignity. And when the children were five years old they ate and played together before them, and the mothers made garments of costly stuff for them, and [set] daggers above their loins, and chains on their necks. And the people seated the son of MAKSÂBÂ on the throne of his father, and made him king over the PHILISTINES.