to duft. And M oses fell down iri a fwoon. And when he came to him_
felf, he faid, Praife be unto thee ! I turn unto- thee with\ repentance, and
I am the firft of true believers*. G od laid unto him, O M oses, I have chofen-
thee above a ll men, by honouring thee with my commiffions, and by my fpeak-
ing unto thee : receive therefore that which I have brought thee, and be one
of thole who'give thanks h. And'we wrote for him om the tablesc an admonition
concemingjevety matter, and a decifion-in every cafed, and {aid, Receive
this with reverence ; and command thy people that theydive accordino-
to the moft excellent precepts thereof. I will Ihew you the dwelling of the
wicked*. I will turn afide from my figns thofe who behave themfelves proudly
in the earth, without juftice : and although they fee every lign, yet they
lhall not believe therein t and although they fee the way of righteoufnefs yet
they lhall not take that way ; but if they fee the way of error they fhall take
that way. This fh a ll come to pafs becaufe they accufe our. figns, of impofture,
and negleft the fame. But as for them who deny the truth of our ligns and the
meeting of the life to come, their works lhall be vain : lhall they be rewarded
otherwife than according ft what they lhall have wrought ? And the people
of M oses after his departure, took a corporeal calf , made of their ornaments8,
which lowedh. Did they not fee that it fpake not unto.them, neither dire&ed
them in the y?.ay ? yet they took it fo r their god, and. acted wickedly... But
when they repented with forrow', and faw that they had gone,aftray, they faid,,
Verily if our L ord have not mercy upon us, and forgive us not, we lhall certainly
become o f the number of thofe who perilh. And when, M oses returned
unto his people, full of wrath and indignation, he faid,. An evil thing is it
that ye have committed after my departure.; have ye haitened.the command
of
* I am the fr ft of. true, believers.] This is- not
to be taken ftfidtly. See the ,Kke expreflion in
chap. 6. p. 100.
b The Mohammedans have a tradition, that
Mofes asked to fee G od on the day of Arafat,, and
that he received the law on the day they flay the
victims at the pilgrimage of Mecca-, which days
are the ninth and tenth of Dhu'lhajja.
c The t a b l e s tables,,according to ibme,
were feven- in number, and according to others
ten. Nor are the commentators agreed whether
they were cut out of a kind of lote*-tree. iri
paradife called al Sedra, ok whether they were
chryfolites, emeralds, rubies, or common
ftone 1 *. But they lay .that they were each ten or
twelve cubits long; for they fuppofe that not only
the; ten commandments but the Whole law was
written thereon: and fome add that the letters
were cut quite through the tables lo that they
might be read on both fides ai- which is a fable
of the fews.
d An admonition concerning every matterand a
decifion in every cafe',] That is, a perfect-law,
comprehending all neceflary inftrudlions as wcH
in regard to religious and moral,duties, as the
adminiftration of juftice.
* I will Jhew you tide dwelling of the wicked']
Viz. the defolate habitations of the Egyptians,
or thofe of the impious tribes of Ad and Tba-
mud, or perhaps hell, the dwelling of the ungodly
in the other world.
* A corporeal calf That is, as lome underftand
it,, conlifting of flelh and blood j or, as others,
being a. mere body or mafs of metal, without a
foul 3.
8 O f their ornaments;] Such-as their rings and
bracelets of gold and filver +.
h Which lowedj] See chap. 20. and the notes
tp chap.- 2. p. 6, 7.
- Father Marracci feems not-to have.underftood
the meaning of thi s phrafe, having li terally tranf-
lated the Arabic words, wa larntna J'okita fi eidt-
him, without any manner of fenfe, Et cum caderc
fa£lus fuijfet. in manibus eorum. '
1 ^ /B eidawi. a r . D’Herbel. ubifupra. 3 A IB eid.awu See chap. 20, and the
notes to chap. 2. p. 6, 7. 4 V. ibid..
of your L o rd* ? And he threw down the tables and took his brother by the
hair o f the head, and dragged him unto him. rind A a r o n faid unto him,
Son of my mother, Verily the people prevailed againft me % and it wanted
little but they had flain me : make not my. enemies therefore to rejoice over
me neither place me with the wicked people. M o s e s faid, O L o r d , forgive
me and my brother, and receive us into thy mercy ; for thou art the moft
merciful of thofe who exercife .mercy. Verily as for them who took the calf fo r
their god, indignation fhall overtake them from their L o r d 1*, and ignominy in
this life: thus will we reward thofe who imagine falfhood. But unto them who
do evil, and afterwards repent, and believe in G o d , verily thy.L ord w ill
thereafter«!'? clement and merciful. And when the anger of M oses was appealed,
he took the tables'A and in what was written thereon was a direftion
and mercy, unto thofe who feared their L o r d . And M oses chofe out of his
people feventy men, to go up, with him to the. mountain at the timeappointed
by us: and when a ftorm of thunder and lightening had taken, them awayf,
he laid, O L o r d , if thou hadft pleafed, thou hadft deftroyed them before,
and me alfo s wilt thou deftroy us for that which the fooliih men among us
have committed ? This is only thy trial; thou wilt thereby lead into error
whom thou pleafeft, and thou wilt direft whom thou pleafeft. Thou art our
protedtor, therefore forgive us, .and be merciful unto us ; for thou art the beft
of thofe who forgive. And write down for us good in this world, and in
the life to come; for unto thee are we directed. G od anfwered, I will in-
flift my punifhment on whom I pleafe ; and my mercy extendeth over all
things: and I will write down good unto thofe who lhall fear me, and give alms,
and who lhall believe in our figns •, who lhall follow the apoftle, the illiterate
prophet,8, whom they lhall find written down h with them in the law and
the gofpel: he will command them that which is juft, and will forbid them
that which is evil; and will allow unto them, as lawful the good things which
were before fo rb id d en ', and will prohibit thofe which are bad1 ; and he will
eafe them of their heavy burthen, and of the yokes which were upon them *.
And thofe who believe on him, and honour him, and affift him, and follow
the light, which hath been fent down with him, Jhall be happy. Say, Omen,
Verily I am, the mefienger of G od unto you all m : unto him belongeth the kingdom
* Have ye haftened the command of your L ord?]
By negledting his precepts, and bringing down
his fwift vengeance on you.
b And he threw down the tables ;] Which were
all broken and taken up to heaven,' except one
°nly J and this, they fay, contained the threats
and judicial ordinances, and was afterwards put
into the ark1. .
c Prev ailed againft me j]; Literally, rendred me
weak.
d See chap. 2. p. 7.
* The tables j] Or the fragments of that which ’»fas left.
f See chap. z. p. 7. and chap. 4. p. 79.
8 The illiterate prophet;] That is Mohammed'.
See the Prelim. Difc. §. II. p. 42.
" Written down',] i. e. Both foretold by name
and certain defeription.
1 See chap. 3. p. 42.
fc And will prohibit thofe which are bad j] As
the eating of blood and fwines flelh, and the taking
of ufury, &c.
1 See chap. 2. p. 34.
m Unto you all j] That is, to all mankind in
general, and not to one particular nation, as the.
former prophets were fent.
1 A l Beidawi. V. D’Herbeo.. ubi/up. p. 649.