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Life of Moses
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Slavonic Version

Lord, bless, Father.

When Jacob was 87 years old, he gave birth to Levi, Levi was 49 when he gave birth to the Army, Gayid, Hebron and Kayat. And Kayat at the age of 60 gave birth to Amram. And 
Amram was a 100 years old when he gave birth to Aaron, Miriam and Moses in the 101st year of the Israelites' coming to Egypt. And Moses was the seventh from the tribe of Abraham, his mother was Agavef, the daughter of Levi.

One day King Pharaoh saw a dream: here he sits on his royal throne in Egypt and looked up his eyes, and saw an old man who stood opposite him, and had in his hands the scales. And he put in one cup all the Egyptian elders and all his nobles, and put the other lambs on another bowl. Waking up early the next morning, (the king) called all his servants and told them the dream.
And the people were frightened with great fear, and the wise man said: "There will be an evil in Egypt soon." And the king said: "What will be, tell us."

 

And Balaam said to the king: "The Israelites will have a baby and waste all the kingdom of Egypt, know this, king, write in the laws of Egypt, so that in the water every child born to the Jews can be drowned, let them kill him."

And Pharaoh called the midwives of the Hebrews and ordered them to kill the babies, and to throw others into the river. But the grandmothers were afraid of God and did not do as the king of Egypt the Pharaoh commanded them. (...) The Jewish wives went to the field and gave birth there. The angels of God bathed the newborns and weighed them, and put two stones in both hands, so that one of them sucked the oil, and the other - honey.

 

And the Egyptians went out on the field to seek them, but by the command of God the earth had opened and accepted them. The same followed the plows and their plows and could not find them, because God hid them. And when they (children) grew up on the field, they came to their homes in plenty. And the Jewish people multiplied, and became stronger in Egypt. The King of the Egyptian, Pharaoh, did not like that the Israelis were multiplying.

There was a husband among the Israelis named Amram. And he took to himself his wife Agavef, his cousin. And she gave birth to that daughter and called her by the name of Mariam. And in those days the sons of Ham began to do evil to the children of Israel. Amram begot and begot a son and gave him the name Aaron.

 

In those days, Pharaoh began to shed the blood of infants in the earth, and to throw others into the river. Then many parted with their wives, Amram and his wife parted.

 

And at the end of the 3rd year, the Spirit of God, fell upon Mariam and, prophesying, she said: "This son will be born to my father this year, and he will save Israel from the power of Egypt." Hearing this from Mariam, Amram returned to his wife and knew her in the sixth month, and, having conceived, she gave birth to a son, and named him Melkia. And the house of light was filled, and the wife saw how beautiful her child was, and held him for 3 months in hiding.

In those days the Egyptians ordered to carry their young children to Jewish homes, to see whether the child would respond to the Jewish child of the Egyptian. And the wife, fearing this, made a reed basket, smearing the bottom of her inside with clay, and on the outside with tar, and put the child there, and let the basket between the river reeds. Her sister, standing at a distance, was looking at him.

And God sent heat to the land of Egypt, and people were tormented by the heat. And Pharaoh's daughter Fermuf went down to the river to swim with the girls and with many women. And she saw a reed basket floating on the river, and sent a slave to take it. And when she opened it, she saw in it a crying baby, and felt sorry for him, and said:
"This one is from Jewish children." And she gave him the name of Moses, explaining that she had taken it from the water.

 

And they brought the women of Egypt to nurse him, but he did not want to suck, because from God it was (destined) to return to his mother's breast. And Miriam said: "If you want, I'll bring you a female wet nurse from the Jews, and she will give you that baby." And she went and brought his mother, and Pharaoh's daughter said to her: "Feed this child to me, and I'll put two silver coins for you for a day." And she took from her (child) and nurtured him.

At the end of the second year they brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and he was her son. And in the third year from the birth of Moses, Pharaoh was sitting at the table, and the queen to his right. Fermuf was sitting to his left. The child was in her arms, and around him sat the nobles. Suddenly the child, stretching, took off the crown from the king's head and laid it on his head. And the king and his nobles were frightened.

 

And Balaam the magician exclaimed and said: "Remember, master, the dream that you saw, and the way your servant interpreted it to you. This Jewish child carries within him the Spirit of God, and it consciously did so, for he wants to take the kingdom of Egypt. So after all, Abraham, his grandfather, acted when the king intercepted their glory: Abimelech, the king of the expelled Gararsky, and he himself came to Egypt and called his wife his sister in order to destroy their king. So also Isaac acted with foreigners and got his strength from foreigners, he wanted to kill their king, capture them, and he also gave his wife for his sister. And also by cunning, Jacob took away his brother's primacy and blessing. He went to Padan-Aram to Laban, his uncle from the maternal side, and took away his daughter, his cattle, and his whole house. And he fled to the land of Canaan, and returned. And his sons sold Joseph, and he was in prison, until the king thy father saw a dream. Took him out of prison and exalted above all the nobles of Egypt because he interpreted the dream. And when God sent famine to the land, he sent for his father and his brothers to Egypt, and brought them. And he fed them without pay. We also bought ourselves into slavery. If you want, king, we'll kill this baby, so that when he grows up, he does not take your kingdom away from you and that the hope of Egypt does not perish."

And God sent the archangel Gabriel, who took the form of one of the royal princes, and he said: "If you want, king, let them bring a precious sparkling stone and burning coals and put them in front of the child. If he stretches out his hand to the stone, then know that he did it consciously, then we kill him. If, however, he extends his hand to the fire, we learn that he has not done it by reason and will let him live." And it pleased the king and his nobles. And they brought to him a precious stone and burning coals.

 

And the angel of the Lord sent the hand of the child to the fire. And taking coal, Moses touched them to the tip of the tongue, and from this became a gouge. And they did not kill him. And Moses lived in Pharaoh's house for 15 years, grew up with royal children and walked in the same clothes.

 

And at the end of the year 15 he wanted to see his father and mother, and went to them. And he came to his brothers, and saw an Egyptian who beat a Jew out of his brothers. And looking around, back and forth, and not noticing anyone, he killed an Egyptian and buried him in the sand. The next day Moses went to his brothers and saw two cursing men and asked: "O villain, why do you offend your friend?" And he said to him: "Who put you as judge over us, or do you want to kill me, just as yesterday killed an Egyptian?" Moses was frightened and said: "Apparently, it became known."


This rumor reached Pharaoh's ears. And Pharaoh commanded to kill Moses. And God sent his archangel Michael, he assumed the appearance of Pharaoh's apprentice, and took the sword from his hand, and cut off his head. And the angel took Moses by the right hand, and brought him out of the land of Egypt. And he settled him outside the limits of Egypt at a distance of 40 versts.

 

And Aaron was left alone, and he began to prophesy in Egypt to the children of Israel. And he said, "Cast down every idol in Egyptian filth, but do not be polluted." And they did not listen to him. And God said they would destroy them, but he remembered the covenant he laid with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and Pharaoh's power increased over the sons of Israel until he sent his word and remembered them.


At that time there was a war between the Ethiopians and the sons of the East and between the Arameans. And Kikanos, the king of Saracen, went out to fight against the Arameans and the sons of the East. And king Kikanos defeated the Arameans, and the sons of the East and took them prisoner.

And Balaam came running from Egypt to Kikanos, for his prophecy had not come true. And Balaam had two sons, Anos and Akris, they sowed discord in the city, and with them were the worst people. And Balaam planned with local people to renounce King Kikanos, and they did not let him enter the city. And his people obeyed Balaam, swore to him, and made him king over all.

His son was appointed a voivode, and the walls of this city were high erected on both sides, and on the third side ditches and pits large without number were dug out, and on the fourth side Balaam collected many snakes and scorpions by conspiracy and sorcery . They closed the city and did not allow it to enter or enter it.

And so, when King Kikanos returned with the soldiers and, raising their eyes, they saw such high city walls, they were surprised and said: "Our people, while we fought for a long time, strengthened our city, saying: No matter how the army came to us "". But when they came to the city, they saw the gates of the city at the castle". and they told the gatekeepers: "Open the gate to enter our city." But they did not want to open them because of the ban on Balaam the sorcerer. And they did not let the army enter, leaving it before the gates.

 

And one 130 men perished from the soldiers of Kikanos in one day, and on the next day they fought on the river bank. And 30 riders entered the water, wishing to get over to the other side, and could not. And they drowned in the ditches. And the king commanded to chop down trees and make rafts to swim over them. And they did so, and went on rafts into these ditches, and their whirlpool turned them, and on that day 200 men sank on 10 rafts. And on the third day, soldiers approached from the side where the snakes lived, and could not do anything. And the snakes ate a 107 men. And they (warriors) withdrew from them, and they stood near the city for 9 years, and they did not allow them to either take it or enter it.

 

And when the Egyptians stood against him, Moses fled from Egypt and came to Kikanos, the king of Saracen. Moses was 18 years old when he fled from the Pharaoh. And he came to Kikanos to the camp, and the king and all his nobles and his soldiers received him, for he is noble and rich. was in their eyes. And he was as tall as a yew, his face shone like the sun, his courage was great. And Moses became an adviser to the king.

And by the end of the ninth year the king of Saracen Kikanos was ill, and on the seventh day he died. And the slaves smeared with oil and buried at the city gate. And they built a beautiful and very high chamber above him and wrote on the stone about all his wars and all his courage. And so, when they erected the stone, they conferred with each other:
"What should we do? If we fight with this city, then we'll die, whether we will do something to stay here, then all the Aramaic kings and sons of the East will know that our king has died, and they will suddenly attack us and chase us completely, so let's go yes and put a king for ourselves. We'll settle the city until we take it." They quickly took off their clothes and left them in a pile, making a big mountain. And they established Moses and said: "Live for ever, king!" And all the greats and all the people swore to him. And Moses took to himself the wife of Kikanos, with consent and at her will. Moses was 27 years old when he became king over the Saracens.

 

On the second day of his reign, the whole people gathered and said to him: "King, think about what to do: nine years have passed since we did not see our wives and children." And the king answered his people: "If you listen to me, know that this city will be given into our hands. If we fight with them, as in the beginning, then we will die a lot, like the first time. If we go on rafts in the pools, then many of us will drown, as well as the first time. Now, standing up, go to the forest and bring the young flocks of storks, each his own. Take care of them until they grow up. Teach them to fly like a hawk."

 

And they went (men) and brought the stork, as Moses commanded them. And so, when the storks grew, the king ordered them to starve them for seven days. And people did that. The third day came, and the king said to them: "Put on your armor and sit on your horses and take each one's armpit into your hand, and let's go to the city to the place where the snakes are." And the king said: "Let the storks go." And they let them out, and the storks flew to the snakes, and ate them, and that place emptied.

And the king and the people saw that the serpents were lost and the place was cleansed, and the people blew trumpets and encircled the city, and took it. And everyone went back to his house. And they killed 1000 and 100 urban residents that day, and not a single person was killed from outside. And Balaam the wise man saw that the city was taken, with his two sons, jumped on horses and fled to the land of Midian, to King Balak. After all, they were magicians and sorcerers, of whom it is written in Paremia, who taught how to erase the tribe of Jacob from the face of the earth. (...)

 

Moses sat on the throne of Saracen, and the wife of Kikanos was married to him. Moses, fearing God, did not come to her, remembering how Abraham had sworn to Eleazar, his slave: "Do not take a wife from the Canaanite's daughter for my son!" Isaac also ordered Jacob, his son, not to be related to the sons of Hamov, since they were sold into slavery to the sons of Simov and the sons of Afetov. And Moses was afraid of his God, and did not touch the wife of Kikanos, for she was from the sons of Hamov.

King Moses gained strength and fought with the demigods and overcame them, and defeated in time of wars, like Jacob, his grandfather. In the 40th year of the reign Moses sat on the throne, and the queen was away from him. And the queen turned to the people and the nobles: "Already now 40 years, as Moses reigns over you, and he did not touch me, and did not bow to our gods. Now listen to me, Saracen sons! From now on, Moses will not be king over you. Here is Mukaris, my son, he will reign over you. It is better to obey your master's son than a stranger." And all the people argued about this until the evening and did not want to let Moses go. But the queen overpowered. And the next day, early in the morning, Mukaris was appointed king over all. And the people were afraid to put their hand on Moses, for they feared swearing against him. They gave him great gifts and released him with honor. And Moses went out from there by his way. Moses was 67 years old when he left Saracens. All this was created by God. And the time came, prepared from the first days, to bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt. And Moses went to Midian, fearing to return to Egypt.

 

And as he sat by the well, the seven daughters of Raguel the Midian came to feed their father's sheep. They approached the well and collected water to water the sheep. But the shepherds of Midian came and drove them away. And then Moses got up and protected them, and watered their sheep. They returned to their father and told what Moses did and how he saved them and watered their sheep. And Raguel sent for him and called him to his house. He shared bread with him, and Moses told him how he fled from Egypt and how he reigned over the Saracens, and how they took the kingdom away from him and released him. And when Raguel heard the story, he cried out in his heart: "I will put him in prison and so I will please the Saracens. It's a fugitive." So they seized Moses and put him in prison, and he was in prison for 10 years.

But Zipporah, Raguel's daughter, took pity on him, she fed him bread and water. And when the 10 years ended, Zipporah said to her father: "This Jew, whom you put in prison, is already there for the tenth year, and no one is looking for him and asking about him. If it pleases your eyes, my father, you should send to see if this man is alive or has died." Her father did not know that she was feeding him. And Raguel said: "I have never seen in the world that a man who has been in prison for ten years without bread and water, was alive." And Zipporah answered her father: "Did you not hear, my father, that God is Jewish and formidable and always surprises with miracles? Did not he deliver Abraham from the Chaldean furnace, Isaac from the sword, Jacob from the angel's hand, when he fought with him in the crossing? And after all, God accomplished many miracles for his friend, freed him from the Egyptians, and from the sword of Pharaoh, and still can deliver him." And these words were pleasant to Raguel. And he did as his daughter said; he sent to the prison to find out what had happened to Moses. And they saw that he was praying to the God of his fathers. And they released him from prison, shaved him, changed his prison garments, and Moses ate bread with Raguel.

And Moses came to the garden to Raguel that was behind his palace, and prayed to his God, who did wonders and freed him from that prison. When he was praying, he looked up and saw that a mace was stuck in the middle of the garden. And he went up to the mace, and on it was written the name of the Lord God of hosts. And when he came near, he pulled it out, and it turned out that in his hands the mace was a staff, with which the miracles of God were made, when He created the heaven and the earth and everything in them, the sea and rivers, and all their fish. And when He drove Adam out of the Garden of Eden, Adam took that staff with him in his hands. And this staff passed from Adam to Noah, Noah passed it to Sem and his offspring and so on until the staff reached the hands of Abraham. Abraham gave it to Isaac, and Isaac gave it to Jacob. And Jacob, when he fled to the limits of the Aramaic, took the staff with him. He gave it to Joseph, bypassing his brothers and sisters. And when, after the death of Joseph, the Egyptians ravaged the house of Joseph, it was Raguel's palm, and he planted it in the middle of the garden.

 

And all the warriors who wished to get his daughter (as wife) wanted to take it, and they could not do it until Moses who was destined came, and he pulled it. And it so happened that Raguel saw the staff in Moses' hands and was surprised. And he gave his daughter Zipporah as his wife. Moses lived 70 and 6 years, when he left the dungeon and took Zipporah to be his wife. And scribbling set off by the women of the family of Jacob, no less destiny fell to her than Sarah, and Rebekah, and Rachel, and Leah.

Having conceived, Moses gave birth to a son and named him Gershom, saying that he was empty in a strange land. But he did not perform circumcision on him, because his father-in-law Raguel had so ordered. And at the end of the third year he prayed and gave birth to a son and named him Eleazar, saying that "the God of my father was my helper, he delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh." (...)

At that time Moses walked through the wilderness, (grazing) the flock of his father-in-law, with the staff of God in his hands. And he went up to the mountain of Horivsk and saw that there was a bush, enveloped in a burning flame, but it did not burn from the flame. And Moses said to himself: "What kind of vision do I see, I will approach and see why the burning bush burns in the burning fire, why does it burn?" Moses said in surprise: "Fire burns up everything alive and eats, why does the bush remain burning? I look at the fire and in the middle of it I see a blossoming bush." Moses began to approach her, saying: "Oh, an extraordinary miracle, I see a flaming fire, and not a single leaf from this bush has come off". Then the Lord called to him from the bush and said: "Moses, Moses!" He replied: "What is this, Lord?" The Lord replied: "Do not come here, but take off your shoes, for the place on which you stand, Is a holy land."

You hear how Vladyka makes him reverent and, with fear, tells you to listen to what has been said. For the removal of shoes means a renunciation of worldly sorrows, but also it is said that the consecration of the earth will come when the Lord Himself, clothed with the flesh of man, will walk on foot on the ground.

 

And the Lord said to Moses: "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob." And Moses turned away his face, dreading to look upon God.

You see, accursed Jew, how a bush, having taken fire, did not burn out, in spite of nature! The bush was in the image of the Virgin, as this unquenchable fire by the will of God did not burn the plants, so God's word preserved imperishable her virginity after the birth. Understand that God can do anything he wants. So, in fact, our Most Blessed Lady, the Mother of God, having taken God into the womb, remained burning, and after her birth she again was a pure virgin. "Wherever God wants, there the law of nature recedes." Born of her the Lord God confirmed the faith and fierce nations were tamed, and the whole world pacified like a man!

 

And again the Lord said to Moses, "I have seen the afflictions of my people in Egypt, but you, having gone there will lead my people, for all who sought your soul died. And those who stayed after them, are no longer able to harm you." Then Moses said to the Lord, "Who am I, Lord, that you want me to lead your people? But I ask you, Lord, choose another who can (do this), or give me a sign that my people will believe me, that I saw you." And the Lord said to Moses: "Throw off your rod, which you hold in your hand, to the ground." Moses threw the rod, and immediately it became a huge creeping serpent. And when he saw him, Moses leaped. And the Lord said to him: "Do not be afraid, Moses, hold it by the tail." Moses bent down and grabbed the snake by the tail, and it again became a rod.

Also, You see, Ô Jew, how a serpent has turned into a rod! Is not everything subject to God's accomplishment? so indeed is our Law. In the time of King Constantine was the miracle worker Spyridon, Bishop of Cyprus. Once he saw a certain pawnbroker, who was carrying a beggar. And this Elder Spiridon, seeing a creeping snake, turned it in the name of Christ into a golden hryvnia and gave it to the usurer. And so the beggar again ransomed, and brought a pledge to the old man. Spiridon, the wise one, turned it into a serpent again and released it to the ground.

 

Moses said to the Lord God: "I beg of you, Lord, for I am tongue-tied by you, since I began to speak!" The Lord said to Moses: "Who gave the mouth to man? Who made him deaf, or dumb, or blind? It's me, Lord God. I want you, tongue-tied, to shame the wise men of Egypt."

Look, then, Ô Jew to his words, what the Lord God said to Moses! Even if the Lord created the mute, and the deaf, and the blind, and the sighted, then everything is possible for God to create, as it has been.

 

Moses returned to Midian and told everything in the ear of his father-in-law. His father-in-law Raguel answered: "Go in peace." Moses went up and went with his wife and children. And when he stopped, the angel of God descended and wanted to kill Moses, because he did not circumcise the flesh to his sons, he transgressed the covenant that God made with Abraham. And Zipporah hastened, took a plate of stone, and cut off her sons, and delivered her husband from the hand of an angel.

The Lord appeared to Aaron and Levi in ​​Egypt, when they walked along the bank of the river, and said: "Go to meet Moses in the wilderness." And Aaron went and met him in the wilderness, in the grievance of God, and kissed him. And lifting up his eyes, he saw his wife and children, and asked: "Who are they?" And Moses answered: "This is my wife and my children, whom God gave me in Midian." And evil flashed in the eyes of Aaron, and he said: "Let the wife and children go to her father's house." And Moses did so. And Zipporah and her two sons went to her father's house until the time when God remembered about his people and brought them out of Egypt by the hand of Pharaoh.

 

And Moses told Aaron all that the Lord had spoken to him. And they came to Egypt, and appeared in the congregation of the sons of Israel, and told them of all the speeches of God, and the people rejoiced in their words. And the next day they went early to Pharaoh's house, taking with him God's staff. And when they approached the gates of the royal house, there were two lions tied with iron chains, so that no man could enter or leave, unless the king himself told him to enter, and then the breadwinner would come, feed the lions and lead the man to the king.

And Moses and Aaron went up and lifted the staff against the lions, and the lions were freed. And Moses and Aaron came to the king's house, and the lions entered with them, rejoicing. And as Pharaoh saw it, he was very surprised and horrified, for the sight of them was like that of the sons of God. And the king said to them, "What do you want?" And they answered him: "Let us go into the wilderness to offer a sacrifice to the Lord our God and serve him." Pharaoh was very frightened and told them: "Now go to your home, and tomorrow you will come to me." And they did as the king commanded them.

 

And when they left, the king sent and called Balaam the sorcerer and his sons Enos and Akris and all the magicians of Egypt. And they came to the king, and the king told them about what Moses and Aaron had said. And the sorcerers said to him: "But how did they pass, answer us?" And the king said: "They only lifted a staff to the lions, and those were freed, and ran to them, rejoicing." Balaam answered saying: "Our king, these are the same sorcerers like us, and now they go call them, let them come, and we will test their words."

And the king did so, sent for them. They took the staff of God in their hands and came to the king and said to him the words of God: "Let the people of Israel go, and they shall offer a sacrifice to the Lord their God." And the king said to them, "But who will believe you that you are the messengers of God and have come, obeying His words? What banner do you make before me, that I may believe your words?" And Aaron quickly threw his club before the king and his grandees. And it became this big creeping snake. And the sorcerers did the same, they threw their wands, and they became serpents. But, God had thus allowed the sorcerers of Egypt to change their sticks into snakes, not so that they would tell Pharaoh that Moses is a sorcerer and that he did all this by sorcery; but rather so that they would oppose him with a strong resistance, until they exhausted themselves. And the serpent that was from the rod of Moses lifted up his head and devoured all their serpents. And Balaam, the wise man said: "It has already happened in former days that the snake of another was eating, like the sea fish eating others, and now make your club like it used to be; if you can, and our eaten clubs will be the same, then we recognize that the Spirit of God is in you." And he held out his hand to Aaron and grabbed the snake by the tail, and his mace appeared in his hand, and their maces were the same as they were.

And Pharaoh commanded to bring him the scriptures of all the Egyptian gods, and read it before them, and he said: "I did not find in these scriptures your God, and his name did not see." They answered, and said to the king: "Adonai of Sabaoth is his name." And Pharaoh said, "Where is Adonai, that I see him and his voice hear, and let the Israelites go? If I do not see Adonai, I will not let the Israelis go." And they said: "The name of the Jewish God is upon us from the first days of ours, and now let us go, so that we go into the wilderness and make a sacrifice to our God. Since Israel came to Egypt, He did not receive anything from our hands. If you do not let us go, then know that He will be angry and destroy the land with Egyptian pestilence or sword." And Pharaoh said unto them, "Tell me of his strength and power." And they answered: "He made the heavens and all their power, and the earth with all that is on it, and the sea, and all the fishes. And he created light, and gave birth to darkness, and rains, and gives the earth a drink. And he created man, and cattle, and wild beasts, and the birds of the air, and the fishes of the sea. He also created you in the womb of your mother. He put in you the spirit of life and nurtured you, and planted the kingdom of your kingdom upon the throne. He will take your soul from you and bring you back to the land from which you were taken."

 

And Pharaoh was angry and said: "But who among all human gods can do this to me? I made all with my own hand!" And he became very furious with them and ordered violence against them. And the Egyptians tortured the Israelites. And Moses cried out to the Lord God, saying, "Why did you betray your people, Lord?" And the Lord said to Moses: "You will see that I will make Pharaoh a mighty hand, I will let you go, and I will take you out of his land with a high arm. I am the Lord God who appeared to Abraham, to Jacob, to Isaac, and I laid down my covenant for them to give them the land of Canaan, I want to abide in the same land myself."

And God angered his anger against Pharaoh and his people. And he struck with the plague of the great Pharaoh and the Egyptians. He turned their waters into blood and brought the toads on their land, and when they drank water, the toads fell into their belly toward them, and there they croaked. And they climbed into their houses, their quads, and their beds, and louses two cubits high, attacked their bosoms, their body, and above their wrists. And God sent wild beasts against them, to tear them, and snakes, scorpions and mice, and into their eyes gadflies. They climbed into houses and on their roofs, shutting themselves there. But the beast Nilonith, who lives in the sea, climbed up on the roofs with his paws ten cubits long; he climbed up on the roofs of the house and opened them, and with his paw he broke the locks.

 

And God sent fierce beasts upon them, and they searched them, and he struck all their cattle. And God kindled their flesh with fire, and there were pimples on them from head to toe, and their whole body was stunned. And he hanged hailsones on their vineyards and on all the trees of Egypt, and nothing remained on them. And the grass of the field withered, and the people, and the cattle that was found on it, died of hunger. And the locusts attacked them, and devoured what was left of the hail, and the Egyptians rejoiced, saying: "This is our food," and many of them were annoyed!

 

And God sent a strong wind from the sea, he seized the locusts and threw it into the sea, putting too much salt on them, and not a single one remained in all the land of Egypt. And the LORD sent to them darkness for seven days, so that no man could see, nor lift his hand to his mouth. But there were also Jews who did not listen to Moses and Aaron, saying: "We will not go into the wilderness, we will die of hunger and pestilence". And God beat them in darkness those three days, so that the Egyptians would not see, and they would not rejoice, nor say: "As for us the wrath of God, so on them."

 

And God produced thorns in the vineyards. And he took every firstborn of the land of Egypt, from man to beast, even the images of the firstborn that were written on the walls, those made of wood were destroyed, and gold or silver were melted. And those first-born, who had been buried shortly before, were taken out by the dogs and put them before their fathers and their mothers. And the sons of Hamov cried out in a terrible voice.

 

And the Lord called Moses and Aaron and said: "This night I will kill every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from man and beast, and to all the Egyptian gods I will take revenge, I am the Lord God of each one of you. On this night kill a pure and unblemished lamb and sprinkle its blood on the thresholds of the houses, and there shall be blood on the banner of your houses, in which you will find yourselves, and when they see the blood, they shall cover you, and none of you shall die." The Jewish people did as Moses commanded (by order) of the Lord.

See, O Hebrew, how you have found omens of blood on the thresholds of the houses, for the blood of the spotless lamb is the image of the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is called the Holy of Holies, and which will rest in the hearts of holy men and women, in unity - threefold.

Then there was the anointing of the blood, which now is the blood of Christ; the anointing of the blood, then the sprinkling of the thresholds of the doors, is now the sprinkling of the soul and body by holy baptism.


That night, they killed all the firstborn of Egypt, because Israel was named the first-born, and he accepted many executions and torments from the Egyptians, therefore the first-born Egyptians were killed, from man and to beast. And there was no place where they would not cry, but not in the sons of Israel.

 

And the nations cried to the king, saying: "O king, let the sons of Israel go. If not, then we'll all die because of them." The king was frightened and sent to Moses and Aaron, saying: "If you want to sacrifice to the Lord your God, go all of you."

 

Then all of them went away with silver, gold and clothes, each one calling his friend. So they went, leaving the Egyptians with nothing, for the people of Israel were languishing in Egypt, building their cities and temples, and receiving no payment. So the Lord commanded them to take this tribute as payment for their work. And they let the servants of God go with provisions and many gifts, according to the covenant of God established with Abraham, their grandfather.

And they arose, and Moses began to search for the person who had told Jacob that Joseph was alive in Egypt, and how to find the bones of Joseph, for Joseph had sworn an oath, saying, "By the grace of God, which the Lord hath given thee, take me away in my bones." 

 

How did Joseph's bones remain in Egypt after 400 years? When Judah told his sister Dinah, Jacob's daughter, that Joseph was alive, she turned to her father and said, "Father, Joseph is still alive!" He put his hand on her head and said: "May you live long". And so she lived 400 years, and she revealed to Moses, where the bones of Joseph were.

 

There is a river in Egypt called Voilday, where the bones of Joseph were transported in a tin casket. Indeed, at first the Egyptians feared the departure of the sons of Israel, they thought to hold back the sons of Israel by enclosing the bones of Joseph in a tin casket and secretly immersing it in the river, saying: "If they cannot take with them the bones of Joseph, the sons of Israel will not come out of Egypt". After the Lord said to Moses: "Bring my people out of Egypt with all their goods". God changed seven nights into one.

 

And Moses asked about Joseph's bones, walking with candles. And Mary met him and said to him: "There are bones of Joseph in the river, in Voilday". And Moses, taking candles and 30 men with him, came to the river and said: "Bring down the bones of Joseph to the top!" But they did not appear. And again for the second time he said, and did not appear. The third time he wrote on the parchment: "Voilday take it out and put it on the water." And the casket of Joseph appeared. Moses rejoiced and took the casket, but did not take the parchment. But one cruel Jew approached and took him. And they took many skulls of their fathers with them.

Many Egyptians went with them for three days. And at the end of the third day they said to Moses and Aaron: "You have walked three days, and tomorrow return to Egypt, as you've been told." Then, answering them said: "The Lord commanded us not to return to Egypt, but to go to the land that exudes milk and honey." Then the Egyptians began to fight, but they beat many of them. And they hurt them badly. And some escaped from them and told Pharaoh about what the Israelites did.

 

And Pharaoh said to all the elders of Egypt and all the people: "See, how the Israelites deceived us, fled from us." And the sovereigns of Egypt said: "What should we do? Let us leave the sons of Israel, now they no longer work for us." And Pharaoh said, "Let us go after them, and since there is a desert before them, when they see us following them, they will return in terror." And Pharaoh pursued after them, taking all his men and 600 chariots of choice, and on them stood three warriors in full arms. And overtook them opposite to Epavlya, between Maglas, directly at Sefomara, there is a place in the so-called Cosmaty.


And looking back, the sons of Israel saw that the Egyptians were chasing after them, and the people cried to Moses, saying: "It would be better for us a grave in Egypt than this place in the wilderness to which you brought us!" And Moses answered them, "The Lord God is protecting us, and you will be silent!" And the Lord God showed His wonders. And Moses stretched out his hand upon the sea, and smote the roc with the staff into the Red Sea, as the Lord had said to him, and the sea divided into twelve ways, and each went his own way, and they passed through dryness in the midst of the sea.
 

Then the symbol of the miracle was illustrated in the image of the marriage of a young virgin. And because Moses was the separator of the waters, here the archangel Gabriel revealed the mystery of your wonderful miraculous birth, O my Creator! And Israel passed on foot the depth of the sea, without getting wet, then the Virgin gave birth to Christ without seed. The sea after the passage of the Israelites became impassable, and the virgin after the birth of Immanuel remained virgin For Yeshua and the eternal God appeared on behalf of mankind, and the cloud became his veil.

 

Pharaoh chased after them and as he was in the middle of the sea with his soldiers in chariots and horses, so all the Egyptians were drowned. And Moses smote the staff in the sea, and the water covered them both there and here, and none of them escaped. And the sea became their tomb.

 

Also God Pharaoh delivered from drowning, and the angel of God led him to the city of Nineveh, and he was there king for nine years. (. . .)

Like a snake, whose eyes have become old and blind, and who dies of hunger for 40 days and 40 nights, until the strength of his body weakens, then suddenly he sheds his ragged skin and is renewed, so you, Ô Jew, foolish and speechless, like a serpent, who read the prophecies, and know the time of the age - renew your body and open your eyes, take off your ragged clothes, which are unbelief, renew yourself in the holy baptism, come to Christ and be like us. Then of Miriam, the sister of Moses and Aaron, and how, when she saw a miracle, she glorified God, having gathered a choir of women. She herself took a tambourine, and commanded other women to take two brass plates, and to strike a third. She herself, being filled with the Holy Spirit, began to sing praises to the Lord. (...)

 

Have you heard, Ô Jew, of this wonderful miracle, how the sons of Israel crossed the middle of the sea on dry land? Did you hear, O Hebrews, how Pharaoh hardened himself against God? But you have become like Pharaoh in all things, seeing all the divine signs that Christ, the Son of God, gives, and you have hardened your heart, like Pharaoh who was unbelieving and was swallowed up in the depth of the sea.

 

Now look, you wicked Jew, that you are no better than Pharaoh, but how he died because of his madness, so you lost your mind. (...)

 

Afterwards the sons of Israel rose from the sea of ​​the Red into the desert called Surya, and walked through the desert for three days and three nights, but could not drink water, because it was very bitter, and they called this place "bitterness".

 

And the people were angry with Moses, saying: "What shall we drink? And we, and our cattle, will die from this water, in Egypt water was sweet for us, and in this wilderness our bodies fall, burning with thirst of water. Show us now the water to drink!" And the people were angry with Moses.

 

Moses prayed to God about these people, and the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, holding in his hands 3 branches of wood: pine, cedar and cypress. And the angel of the Lord said to Moses, "Bring these branches together by weaving in the sign of the image of the Holy Trinity and put them in the water of Meribah, and by this you will make the Meribah waters mellow. This branch will turn into a large tree, this branch will reach the four sides of the universe. And this tree is Salvation to the world. This tree will defeat the cunning of the first enemy." And about what else to do, the Angel said to Moses, and then left him.

 

And Moses did as the Angel of the Lord commanded him. He wove the branches of the tree and stuck them in a spring by the shore. And Moses said: "This tree is the source of life for the whole world, this tree will be highly honored. The time will come when it will be cut down. Then the Most High will appear. But when he appears to the whole world in the flesh, sanctifying the sin of the female nature, then the true light will rise to this tree by the hands of the ungodly. And you will see our lives with your own eyes. These lawless ones will go to perdition, but those who climb to the tree will make the whole world bow down. And as this tree waters the water, so the blood of the crucified one will sanctify this tree. For as the tree sweetens the waters of the Meribah, so the cross of Christ will overcome the bitterness of the unbelief of the heathen. And now, you who murmur against me, be silent, from this tree the evil water has changed, come, bail out and drink, and feed your cattle."

And at that same hour the waters of Meribah were mellowed, and all the people and cattle began to drink it.

Have you understood, o Jew, henchman of cursed Pharaoh, how the Lord in the Holy Trinity was represented by the intertwining of various tree branches? How did Moses prophesy about the incarnation of the Most High, about the crucifixion on the tree, and about the salvation of the world? 

 

After this, Moses took the sons of Israel and led them to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and nine branches of dates.

These springs represented the twelve supreme apostles of the Lord, who spread like rivers throughout the world. But they do not dry up. Thus, the apostles of the Lord went to each people and proclaimed the greatness of God in its language. For the Lord God said to them, "I am sending you out like a sheep into a flock of wolves, so do not worry about how, what or where to speak. The Holy Spirit will teach you instantly, as it should be."

 

The nine branches of the date represent the nine apostolic disciples, for as dates grow with a sweet taste, so the apostles preach to the Gentiles with their sweet teachings and lead them to an intelligent faith through their instruction. (...)

Then Moses ascended from Tabor of Moab to the top of Mount Phasgah, which is opposite to Jericho, and the Lord showed him the whole land of Gilead to Dan, and all the land of Ephraim, and all the land of Manasseh, and all the land of Judah to the utmost sea, and the wilderness and the surrounding villages of the city Jericho. And the Lord said to Moses, "This is the land that I swore to your fathers to Abraham, to Isaac, to Jacob, saying, 'I will give it to your offspring.' And I showed it to your eyes, but you will not go in there."

And Moses the servant of the Lord died in the land of Moab, near the house of Fagor. At the death of his was here Michael, the archistratigus of the power of the Lord. And so the devil shamelessly insulting was here. And he argued over the body of Moses, because he had committed, it is said, the murder of an Egyptian, and other falsely erected accusations. He was answered by the archistratigus Michael, who said: "God forbid, the all-evil devil."  For Michael, the archistratigus of the power of the Lord, did not dare, he did not dare to condemn Moses unjustly, and, preaching the greatness of the Godhead, Michael said: "God forbid, the all-evil Devil", and, exposing his cruel shamelessness, for which he was overthrown, the archistratigus in the name of the Lord forbade him to proclaim the greatness of the Godhead. And immediately the cunning devil disappeared. The Apostle Judah also testified it in the first epistle. Therefore, the sons of Israel did not know about the body of Moses even to this day.

Moses was one 120 years old when he died, and all the sons of Israel wept for him for thirty days in Tabor of Moab, near the Jordan, near Jericho.

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