The Garden of Eden 12

The Garden of Eden 12

That was the end of Zebah and Zalmunna, and of Oreb the Raven and Zeeb

the Wolf, and their fierce soldiers with them.

 

 

 

 

XX

 

THE MIGRATION OF DAN

 

 

The Children of Israel were divided into thirteen tribes, as the

American people before the Revolution were divided into thirteen

colonies. For each of the twelve sons of Jacob became the founder of a

tribe, except Joseph, who became the founder of two tribes, Ephraim and

Manasseh. The Promised Land was divided among these thirteen tribes or

colonies. But the tribe of Dan was not satisfied. They thought that the

land which was given them was not large enough.

 

So the tribe of Dan sent five men to find another place for them to live

in, and away they went into the north to find it; as if, in the early

days, the colony of Rhode Island had sent men to find them a new country

in the woods of Maine. And on the way, they came to the house of a man

named Micah.

 

Now Micah had stolen some money which belonged to his mother. He had

taken eleven hundred pieces of silver. But afterwards he was very sorry

for the wrong thing which he had done, and he brought back the silver.

And his mother took some of the silver and had it made into two images,

to look like God: though nobody knows how God looks. And they built a

little church, which they called the House of God, and in the church

they put the images so that they might look at them while they said

their prayers. And the neighbors used to come to Micah’s church; and

Micah’s son conducted the service till they could get a regular

minister.

 

One day, there came walking along the road by Micah’s house a young man

named Jonathan, who was out in the world in search of his fortune. And

he stopped to speak to Micah. He told Micah that his name was Jonathan,

and that he was a grandson of Moses, and that he was a regular minister.

 

And Micah said, “Where are you going, Jonathan?”

 

And Jonathan said, “Oh, I am just wandering around looking for a good

place in which to stay.”

 

And Micah said, “Stay here with me, and take the service in my little

church, and be a father and a priest to me and my family, and I will

give you a salary. Every year you shall have ten pieces of silver and

your board and clothes.” That satisfied Jonathan, and he became the

minister of Micah’s church.

 

Now Jonathan, in his wanderings, had become acquainted with the tribe

of Dan, so that the five men who were looking for a new country knew him

well. And they came to the house of Micah just at church time, and heard

the priest saying the service. And they said one to another, “That is a

familiar voice. It sounds like the voice of Jonathan.” So they went in

and found Jonathan. And they said, “Jonathan, who brought you here? What

are you doing in this place? How much wages do you get?” And Jonathan

answered all their questions. And the spies said, “Pray for us, that we

may have a prosperous journey.”

 

Then on they went, and presently they came to a little town called

Laish. It stood beside the sources of the Jordan, and all around was a

fair and fertile country. Moreover, the people were so far away from any

neighbors that they had no walls, but lived quiet and secure, and never

thought of danger. The five spies agreed that this was the very spot for

which they were looking. So they went back to the tribe of Dan and said,

“We have found the very place. It is a wide and beautiful land, with

woods and water, and the people know nothing about war. Come, let us go,

and take the place away from them.” For this, you remember, was so long

ago that people thought that some things were right which we now know to

be wrong.

 

So six hundred bold men of the tribe of Dan took weapons of war in their

hands and started on the march for Laish. And as they went, they passed

the house of Micah. And the five spies said, “Do you know what is here?

This man has images of gods, made of gold and silver. Might they not be

useful for us?” So the six hundred stood at Micah’s gate, and the five

went quietly into Micah’s church, and brought the images.

 

But Jonathan saw them, and he cried out and said, “What are you doing?”

 

And they said, “Hold your peace, lay your hand upon your mouth, and go

with us, and be to us a father and a priest. Is it not better to be the

minister of a tribe than the minister of one man?”

 

And Jonathan, when he heard that, was very glad. He let the spies steal

Micah’s images, and he himself went with them. So they all went upon the

way to Laish.

 

Now when they had gone a good way, they heard a noise of shouting; and

they looked back, and who should come running along the road but Micah

and his neighbors. And they turned and said to Micah, “What is the

matter with you? Why do you follow us and make all this noise?”

 

And Micah cried, “You have stolen both my priest and my gods, and away

you go. And you say, ‘What is the matter with you?’”

 

And the men of Dan said, “Micah, take our advice: don’t talk so loud.

Some of us might possibly get mad and hurt you!” So they went their way.

And when Micah saw that they were too many for him, he turned and went

back to his house. Then the men of Dan took Laish and settled in that

country; and they built a church for Micah’s images, and Jonathan became

their priest.

 

 

 

 

XXI

 

THE RIDDLE OF THE LION AND THE BEES

 

 

On the side of a green hill, in the midst of the Promised Land, lived a

man named Manoah and his wife. They belonged to the tribe of Dan, but

had stayed behind when the six hundred went out to settle in the land of

Laish. In the distance, along the edge of the sky, lay the sea; and

between the hill and the sea were miles and miles of yellow cornfields,

with vineyards here and there, and groves of olive trees. But all of

this fair country belonged to the Philistines. And the Philistines and

the Children of Israel were enemies; and after the six hundred boldest

men of Dan had gone, the Philistines were very bad to those who were

left. Indeed, all of the Children of Israel were afraid of them.

 

Now as Manoah and his wife looked out from their hillside over the

Philistine country, they said often one to another, “Oh, that we had a

good stout son to defend us against our enemies in our old age!” And one

day when Manoah came home from work, his wife said, “What do you

suppose happened to-day? A strange man stopped and spoke to me, and said

that we would have a son. I was so frightened that I forgot to ask him

whence he came, and he did not tell his name. Indeed, I didn’t know

whether he was a man or an angel. But he said that our prayer would be

answered and that God would send us a son.”

 

The next day, the strange man came by again, and Manoah’s wife was in

the field, and she saw him and called her husband.

 

And Manoah said, “Are you the man who spoke to my wife yesterday?” And

he said, “I am.”

 

And Manoah said, “Let thy words come to pass. Only tell us how to bring

up the child that he may be strong and sturdy.”

 

And the angel answered, “Let neither the mother nor the child taste

either grapes or wine, and never let his hair be cut.”

 

Then Manoah brought out bread and meat and laid them on a rock, and

there was a fire burning by the rock, and somehow,--whether the flame

dazzled their eyes or the smoke was blown in their faces so that they

could not see,--when they looked, the man had disappeared.

 

Then days passed and days passed, and God sent the child, as the man had

said, and his hair was so yellow and his face was so bright that they

named him Samson; that is, “The Little Sun.” He grew up a stout lad, the

strongest in the neighborhood. He never tasted either grapes or wine,

and every year his hair grew longer and longer, till they braided it in

seven big braids hanging down his back. But if the boys with whom he

played ever said anything about the length of Samson’s hair, they said

it when Samson could not hear them; for they were very careful not to

make him angry. Nobody could throw so high, or jump so far, or run so

fast as Samson.

 

At last, it became time for Samson to be married, and he fell in love

with a Philistine girl who lived in a place called Timnath. And Samson

went down one day, with his father and mother, to call upon the father

and mother of the girl, and there came out a young lion from a vineyard

and roared against Samson. And Samson caught the lion and killed him

with his hands. Then, after a while, as the wedding day drew near,

Samson and his father and mother went again to Timnath to the marriage.

And as they went, they passed the place where Samson had killed the

lion, and behold, among the dry bones of the lion there was a swarm of

bees; and Samson took some of the

 

[Illustration: SAMSON KILLS THE LION WITH HIS HANDS]

 

honey and gave it to his father and mother, and they went along the way

eating it.

 

Now it was the custom in those days, at weddings, to tell riddles. And

Samson told a riddle. And his riddle was this: “Out of the eater came

forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness.” And the wedding

guests tried to guess the riddle: one said this, and another said that,

but none was right. The game was that if any of the thirty guests could

find out the riddle within seven days, Samson was to give every man a

shirt and a suit of clothes; but if they could not guess it, they were

to give him thirty shirts and thirty suits of clothes. So the seventh

day came, and nobody had guessed the riddle. Now the guests had gone to

Samson’s wife and said, “If you don’t make your husband tell you the

answer to the riddle and then tell us, we will burn down your house.” So

Samson’s wife came to him every day, and cried and cried, and said, “You

don’t love me. If you loved me you would tell me the answer to the

riddle.” But he said, “I have not told even my father or my mother.” At

last, however, on the seventh day, she begged so hard that Samson told

her: and straight she went and told the wedding guests. So just as the

sun was g