fJ S f i
m a m l I J i
them wicked doers. Then we fent, after the abovenamed apoftles, M o s e s
with’our figns unto P h a r a o h “ and his princes who treated them unjuftlyk
but behold what was the end of the corrupt doers. And M o s e s faid, 0
P h a r a o h , verily I am an apoftle fen t from the L o r d of all creatures. It is
juft that I fhould not fpeak of G o d other than the truth. Now am I come unto
you with an evident fign from your L o r d : fend therefore the children of I s r a e l
away with me. P h a r a o h anfwered, If thou comeft with a fign, produce
it, if thou fpeakeft truth. Wherefore he caft down his rod ; ana behold, it
became a vifible ferpent'. And he drew forth his hand out o f h is b o fm ; and
behold it appeared white unto the fpeftatorsd. The chiefs of che people of
P h a r a o h laid, This man is certainly an expert magician : he feeketh to dif-
poffefs you.of your land ; what therefore do ye direct ? They anfwered, Put
off him and his brother by fa ir promifes f o r fome time, and in the mean while
fend unto the cities, and aflemble the inhabitants, that they may bring unto
thee -every expert magician. So the magicianse came unto P h a r a o h ; and
they
* Pharaoh.'] This was the common title or
name of the kings of Egypt, (fignifying king
in the Coptic tongue,) as Ptolemy was in
after times, and as* Cafar was that of the
Roman emperors, and Kbofru that of the kings
of Perjia. But which of the kings o f Egypt,
this Pharaoh of Mofes was, is uncertain. Not to
mention the opinions of the European writers,
thofe of the eaft generally fuppofe him to have
teen al Walid, who, according to fome, was an
Arab of the tribe of Ad, ox, according to others,
the fon of Ma/db, the fon of Riydn, the fon of
Walid 1 the Amalekite'1 . There are hiftorians
however who fuppofe Kab&s the'brother and prp-
deceflorof al Walid was the prince we are fpeak-
ing/o f ; and pretend he lived fix hundred and
. twenty years', and reigned four hundred. Which
is/ more reafonable, at leaft, than the opinion of
thofe who imagine it was his father Mafab, or
grandfather Riydn3. Abulfeda fays, that Mafab
being one hundred and feventy years old^ and
having no child, while he kept the herds faw
a cow calve, and heard her fay, at the fame time,
O Mafab, be not grieved, for thou Jhalt have a
wicked fon, who will be at length caft into hell.
And he accordingly had this Walid, who afterwards
morning to be king of Egyptl proved an
impious tyrant.
° Who treated them unjuftly \] By not believing
therein.
c A vifible ferpent;] the Arab writers tell e-
normous fables of this ferpent or dragon- For
they fay that he was hayy, aftd of fq prodigious
a fize, that when the opened his mouth,
his jaws were fourfcore cubits afunder, and
when he laid his lower jaw- on the ground, his
upper reached to the top of the palate; that
Pharaoh feeing this monitor make towards him, l
fled from it, and was fo terribly frightened, that,
be befouled himfelf; and that the whole affem-
bly alfo betaking themfelves to their heels, no lefs
than twenty five thoufand of them loft their fives
in the prefs. They add that Pharaoh upon this
adjured Mofeshy G od who had fent him, to take
away the ferpent, and promifed he would be-
Jieve on him, and let the Ifraelites go.-} but when
Mofes had done what he requefted, he relapfed,
and grew as hardened as before 4.
d He drew forth his hand and it became white;]
There is a tradition that Mofes was a very fwar-
thy manj and that when he put his hand into
his bofom, and drew it out again, it became extremely
white and fplendid, furpafling the bright-
nefs* Of the fun1. Marracci6 fays we. do not
read in fcripture that Mofes fhe.wed this fign before
Pharaoh. It is true,, the fcripture does not
exprefsly fay fo, but it feenis to be no more than
a neceffary inference from that paflage, where
G od tells Mofes- that if they'will not hearken to
the firft fign, they will believe the latter fign,-
and if they will not believe thefe two figns,
then direfts him to turn the water into blood7 •
0 The magiciansThe Arabian writers name
feveral of thefe magicians, befides their chief
prieft Simeon, viz. Sadur* and Ghadurfjdath,
and Mosfa, Waran and Ztimdri^cach of whom
came attended with their1 difciples, 'amounting
in all to feveral thoufands 8.
«Orient.art. Moufa,j>. 643, tAc. A l K essai.
mm
they laid» Shall we furely receive a reward, if we da overcome? He anfwered
Tea; and ye Ihall certainly be of thofe who approach near.«»/« my throne.
They faid, O M o s e s , either do thou caft down thy rod f i r f t , or we will caft
down ours. M oses anfwered, Do ye caft down your rods fir f t . And when
they had caft them down, they inchanted the eyes of the men who were prefent,
and terrified them; and they performed a great inchantmenta. And we fpake
by revelation unto M o s e s , faying, Throw down thy rod. And behold, itfwal-
lowed up the rods which they had caufed falfely to appear,changed into fe r -
pents*. Wherefore the truth was confirmed, and that which they had
wrought, vanilhed. And P haraoh and his magicians were overcome there,
and were rendred contemptible. And the magicians proftrated themfelves,
worlhipping ; and they .faid, We believe in the . L o r d of all creatures,
the L o r d of M o s e s and A a r o n c. P h a r a o h faid, Have ye believed
on him, before I have given you permiflion ? Verily this is a plot which ye
have contrived in the city, that ye might caft forth from thence the inhabitants
thereofd. But ye Ihall furely know that I am your mafter -, f o r I will
caufe your hands and your feet to be cut off on the oppofite fides% then will
I caufe.you all to be crucified f. The magicians anfwered, We Ihall certainly
return unto our L o r d , in the next l i f e ; for thou takeft vengeance or} us only
becaufe we have, believed in the figns of our L o r d , when they have come unto
us. O L o r d , pour on us patience ; and caufe us to die Mollems s. And
S the
* And they performed a great inchantment.]
They provided themfelves with a great number
of thick ropes and long pieces of wood which
they contrived, by fome means, to move, and
make them twift themfelves one over the other;
and fo impofed on the beholders, who at a distance
took them to be true ferpents x.
6 Behold, it fwallowed up the rods, &c.] The
expofitors add, that when this ferpent had fwallowed
up all the rods and cords, he made direftly
towards the aflembly, and put them into fo great
a terror, that they fled, and a confiderable number
were killed in the croud : then Mofes took it
UP> and. it became a rod in his hand as before.
Whereupon the magicians declared that it could
be no enchantment, becaufe in fuch cafe their
tods and cords would not have difappeared 2.
And the magicians proftrated themfelves worfbip-
ping,8cc.] It feems probable that all the magicians
were not converted by this miracle, for fome
Writers introduce Sddur and Ghadur only, acknowledging
Mofes'$ miracle to bewroughtby the
power of G o d ; Thefe two, they fay, were
rothers, and the fons of a famous magician, then
ead j but on their being fent for to court on this
occafion, their mother perfuaded them to go to
f eir father’ s tomb, to ask his advice. Being
come to the tomb, the father anfwered their call,
311 ■ when they had, acquainted him with the affair,
he told them, that they fhould inform themfelves
whether the rod of which they fpoke
became a ferpent while its mafters flept, or only
when they were awake; for, faid he, in-
chantments have no effeft while the enchanter is
afleep, and therefore iF it be otherwife in this
cafe, you may be allured that they aft by a divine
power. Thefe two magicians then, arriving
at the capital of Egypt, on enquiry found,
to their great aftonifhment, that when Mofes and
Aaron went to reft, their rod became a ferpert,
and guarded them whife they flept3, And this
was the firft ftep towards their converiion.
d This is a plot'which ye have contrived,
&c.] i.e, This is a confederacy between you and
Mofes, entered into before ye left the city to get
to the place of appointment, to turn out the
Copts, or native Egyptians, and eftablifh the Ifraelites
in their Head +.
‘ On the oppofite fide',] That is, your right
hands, and your left feet.
f And I will caufe you all to be crucified.] Some
fay Pharaoh was the firft in venter of this ignominious
and painful punifhment.
6 Some think thefe converted magicians were
executed .accordingly: but others deny it, and
fay that the king was not able to put them to
death; infilling on thefe words of the' Koran 5,
Tou two, and they who follow you, Jhall overcome.
^ ,^ E.1DAW1, D’Herbelot, ubifup. andKoranjc. 20. 2 Al Beidawi. 3 T.D’H er-
L* wijup. * A l BeidaWi. 1 Chap. 28.