fol of him ? And, at their defire, Jhe brought his mother to them. So we reftored
him to his mother, that her mind might be fet at eafe, and that lhe might not
be afflifted ; and that lhe might know that the promife of God was true : but
the greater part of mankind know not the truth. And when M oses had attained
his age of full ftrength, and was become a perfeft man, we bellowed on
him wifdom and knowledge : and thus do we reward the upright. And he
went into the city, at a time when the inhabitants thereof obferved not what
puffed in the ftreets * : and he found therein two men fighting ; the one being
ot his own party, and the other of his enemies b. And he who was of his
party, begged his afliftance againft him who was of the contrary party ; and
M oses Itruck him with his fill, and flew him : but being forry for what had
happened, he faid, This is of the work of the devil for he is a feducing and
an open enemy. And he faid, O L ord, verily I have injur’d my own Toul;
wherefore forgive me. So God forgave him ; for he is ready to forgive, and
merciful. He faid, O L ord, by the favours with which thou halt favoured
me, I will not be an alfiftant to the wicked for the future. And the next
morning he was afraid in the city, and looked about him, as one apprehenfm
óf danger : and behold, he whom he had affilted the day before, cried out
unto him for help a fécond time. But M oses faid unto him, Thou art plain*
ly a quarrelfome fellow. And when he fought to lay hold on him who was
an enemy unto them both, he faid, O Moses, doll thou intend to kill rriè,;
as thou killedll a man yelterdayd ? Thou feekelt only to be an oppreflor in
the earth, and feekelt not to be a reconciler of quarrels. And a certain man'
came from the farther part of the city, running haltily, and faid, O M oses,
Verily the magiftrates are deliberating concerning thee, to put thee to death:
depart therefore ; I certainly advife thee well. Wherefore he departed out of
the city in great fear, looking this way and that, left he Jhould be purfittl
And he faid, O L ord, deliyer me from the unjull people. And when he
was journeying towards M adian, he faid, Peradventure my L ord will direft
me in the right way '. And when he arrived at the water of M adian, he
found
a When the inhabitants obferved not, &c.] viz.
At noon; at which time it is ufual, in thofe countries,
for people to retire to fleep: or, as others
rather fuppofe, a little within night.
b The one being of his own party, and the
other o f his enemies j] i. e. The one being an
Ifraelite, of his own religion and nation, and
the other an idolatrous Egyptian.
c This is the work v f the. devilM oham m ed
allows that Mofes killed the Egyptian wromgfbltyvj
but, to excufe it, fuppofes that he ftruck him
without defigning to kill him.
d He faid, O Mofes, w ilt tkou kill.me, *&c.]
Some fuppofe thefe words to have been fpoken
by the Ifraelite, who, becaufe Mofes had reprimanded
him, imagined he. was ^oing to ftrike
him > and others, by .the Egyptian, who either
knew or fufpe&ed that Mofes- had killed his coun-
tryimaii the day before.
• c A certain man j] This perfon, fays the tradition,
was an Egyptian, and Pharaoh's uncle’s
fbn, but a true believer; who finding that the
king had been informed of what Mofes had done,
and defigned to put him to death, gave him immediate
notice to provide for his fafety by flight.
Peradventure my L ord w ill direft me, &c.]
Pox.Mofes knew not the way, and coming to a
place where three roads met* committed him-
felf to the guidance of G od, and took the
middle road, which was the right; providence
like wife fo ordering' it, that his purfuers took the
other two roads, and milled him 1. Some fay
that he was. led by an angel in the appearance of
a traveller 2.
found about the well a company of men, who were watering their flocks.
And he found, befides them, two women, who kept off their fleep at a dif-
tance. And he faid unto them, What is the matter with you ? They anfwer-
ed, We (ball not water our flocks until the fliepherds (hall have driven away
theirs; for our father is an old man, ftricken in years. So M oses watered
their fleep for them a j and afterwards retired to the fhade, faying, O L ord,
verily I ftand in need of the good which thou lhalt fend down unto me. #
And one of the damfelsb came unto him, walking bafhfully, and faid, My
father calleth thee, that he may recompence thee for the trouble which thou
haft taken in watering our fleep for us. And when he was come unto Shoaib,
and had told him the {lory of bis adventures, • he faid unto him, Fear not;
thou haft efcaped from unjuft people. And one of the damfels faid, My father*
hire him for certain wages : the beft fervant thou canft hire, is an able and
trufty perfonc. And Shoaib faid unto M oses, Verily I will give thee one of
thefe my two daughters in marriage, on condition that thou ferve me for hire
eight’years: and if thou fulfill ten years, it is in thine own bread ; for I feek
not to impofe a hardlhip on thee : and thou fhalt find me, if G od pleafe, a
man of probity. M oses anfwered, Let this be the covenant between me and
thee: whichfoever of the two terms I fliall fulfil, let it be no crime in me if I
then quit thy fervice ; and God is witnefs of that which we fay. And when
Moses had fulfilled the termd, and was journeying with his family towards
Egypt, he faw fire on the fide of mount Sinai. And he faid unto nis family,
Tarry ye here; for I fee fire : peradventure I may bring you thence fome tidings
of'the way6, or at leaft a brand out of the fire, that ye may be warmed.
And when he was come thereto, a voice cried unto him from the right fide
of the valley, in the facred bottom, from the tree, faying, O M oses, verily
I am God, the L ord of all creatures: caft down now thy rod. And when
he faw it that it moved, as though it had been a ferpent, he retreated and
fled, and returned not. And God faid unto him, O M oses, draw near, and
fear not 5 for thou art fafe. Put thy hand into thy bofome, and it ihall
come
* Mofes watered their fheep for them ;] By rolling
away a ftone of a prodigious weight, which
had been laid over the mouth of the well by the
fliepherds, and required no lefs than feven men
(tho’ fome name a much larger number) to remove
i t 1.
b One o f the damfels j] This was Sefura (or
Zipporab) the elder, or, as others fuppofe, the
younger daughter of Shoaib, whom Mofes afterwards
married.
c An able and trufty perfon;] The girl, being
asked by her father how fhe knew Mofes dè-
ferved this character, told him that he had removed
the vaft ftone abovementioned, without
any afliftance ; and that he looked not in hér
face, but held down his head till he had heard her
meffage, and delired her to walk behind him,
becaufe the wind ruffled her garments a little,
and difcovered fome part of her legs a.
d When Mofes had fulfilled the term;] viz.
The longeft term of ten years. The Mohammedans
fay, after the Jews 3, that Mofes received
from Shoaib the rod of the prophets (which
was a branch of a myrtle of paradife, and had
defended to him from Adam) to keep off the wild
"beads from his fheep ; and that this was the rod
with which he performed all thofe wonders in
1 lidem lnterp. Y ahya.
Tirke, c. 40. (s7 .
9 lidem. 3 V, Shalf. hakkab. p- 12, R, E l ie z ,