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40 chapters
I THE GARDEN OF EDEN
I THE GARDEN OF EDEN
T HIS is the oldest story in the world. It began to be told when children began to ask questions; and that was very long ago. The children said, “Where did everything come from? Who made the hills and the sea? Who made the sun and the stars?” And their fathers and mothers answered as best they could. In our time, after long study of the earth, there are wise men who know more about these things than anybody knew when the world was young. They ask the earth itself, and tell us what the earth says
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II NOAH’S ARK
II NOAH’S ARK
A ND then, what happened? After Adam and Eve had disobeyed God, and had been driven out of the Garden of Eden into the world of briers and brambles, then what happened? “Tell us,” cried the children, “another story of the beginning of the world.” And their fathers and mothers, in answer, told what their grandfathers and grandmothers had told them. The first disobedience was like the first little flame which is touched to a heap of dry wood. It grew and grew. Adam and Eve had two sons, Cain and A
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III THE ADVENTURES OF LOT
III THE ADVENTURES OF LOT
O NCE upon a time, when the world was still young, there was a lad named Lot. His father and mother were dead, and he lived with his Uncle Abraham and his Aunt Sarah. In the place where Lot lived, the people believed that the moon was God. They looked up into the sky at night, and saw the shining moon, and it seemed to them the most beautiful and most wonderful sight in the world, and they said their prayers to it. But Abraham knew better than that. He knew that God who made the earth made the m
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IV ISAAC AND REBEKAH
IV ISAAC AND REBEKAH
A BRAHAM had a son named Isaac. One time, when Isaac was but a little lad, he had a strange adventure in which he very nearly lost his life. The people of that land believed that God wishes us to give Him the very best we have. And that is right, if we give Him our best by using it so as to please Him. But they said that the thing to do with our best is to burn it. So they would make a heap of stones, and put wood upon it, and place their best on the wood, and set fire to it, and the flame and s
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V THE MESS OF POTTAGE
V THE MESS OF POTTAGE
I SAAC and Rebekah had two sons. The elder was a red-headed lad, called Esau. The younger was named Jacob. The two boys were quite different. Esau was very fond of hunting. He loved to get away into the deep woods and to climb the steep hills. For days at a time he would roam about, with his bow and arrows, and when he came home he always had something in his hand, some bird or beast which he had shot. Sometimes he brought back a deer, and he knew how to cook the venison just as his father liked
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VI JACOB’S VISIT
VI JACOB’S VISIT
S O Jacob mounted a camel, and away he went. And when the sun began to set, he looked about him, and he was in a wild country where nobody lived, and where the only roof in sight was the round roof of the sky. So he lay down on the hard ground and put a smooth stone under his head for a pillow, and went to sleep, for he was tired. And in the night he dreamed a dream. He thought that the night sky was all bright above him, and that there was a ladder of light reaching from earth to heaven, and th
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VII THE COAT OF MANY COLORS
VII THE COAT OF MANY COLORS
O F all his twelve sons, Jacob loved Joseph best. Most of the others were grown men, who were away all day at work in the fields; Benjamin was a baby. But Joseph was a bright lad who was a great companion for his father. And he was a good lad, who could always be trusted to do what was right, while some of the others gave Jacob a great deal of trouble. Joseph’s older brothers were stout farmers who spent most of their time attending to their cattle. They expected to milk the cows and feed the sh
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VIII THE SEVEN YEARS OF FAMINE
VIII THE SEVEN YEARS OF FAMINE
T WO years passed by, and Joseph was still in the prison. Then, one night, Pharaoh dreamed. And in his dream he stood by the river, and seven fat cows were feeding on the bank, and seven lean cows came and ate them up. And he dreamed again, and seven full ears of corn grew upon one stalk, and seven thin ears ate them up. The next morning, when Pharaoh told his dreams, nobody could explain them. Then, at last, the chief butler remembered Joseph. And he said to Pharaoh, “There is a slave in the pr
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IX THE BURNING BUSH
IX THE BURNING BUSH
J OSEPH and his brothers had many sons and daughters, and they in their turn had many sons and daughters; and even after they were grown up they were all called the Children of Israel; for Israel, you remember, was the new name of their father Jacob. And years passed, and years passed, and Pharaoh died, and another Pharaoh reigned in his stead. And the Egyptians forgot how Joseph had saved their fathers from starving in the seven years of famine. And they made the Children of Israel their slaves
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X THE TEN PLAGUES
X THE TEN PLAGUES
O NE day, as Pharaoh the king was sitting in his palace, in came one who said, “Two of the Children of Israel are at the door, and would like to speak with you.” And Pharaoh said, “Let them come in.” And in came Moses and Aaron. “Pharaoh,” they said, “we have a message for you from our God. He wishes you to give the Children of Israel a holiday, that they may go out into the country, and meet Him at a mountain in Arabia.” Then Pharaoh was very angry. “Who is your God,” he said, “that I should ob
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XI THE RED SEA
XI THE RED SEA
I N the middle of the night, under the round moon, the Children of Israel started on their journey. The fathers and mothers carried the babies, the boys and girls ran and danced beside them, and they drove their flocks and herds before them. And as they went, they talked about the ten plagues, and especially about the last and worst of all, when the firstborn died in every house in Egypt. “Except our houses,” they said. “God passed over our houses, and saved our lives, and brought us out.” And t
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XII THE GOLDEN CALF
XII THE GOLDEN CALF
A FTER the great adventure of the Red Sea, the Children of Israel started on their way to the Mountain of the Burning Bush. They had never been away from home before, and they did not know how to behave. So when they were uncomfortable, as people are likely to be on a long journey, instead of taking it cheerfully, they complained and cried. One time, they were very thirsty, and there was no water. And they all said, “Oh, that we had stayed in Egypt, where there was plenty of water!” And they sai
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XIII THE PROPHET AND THE KING
XIII THE PROPHET AND THE KING
O NCE upon a time, when the world was younger than it is at present, and people believed that all the animals could speak Hebrew if they only would, a man was riding on an ass along a country road. Sometimes the way went between wide farms which stretched out over the flat land. Sometimes it lay between vineyards, and had a stone wall on the right and on the left. Sometimes the man hastened the ass, striking her with a stick; because he had been sent for by the king and was in a hurry. Sometimes
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XIV THE WALLS OF JERICHO
XIV THE WALLS OF JERICHO
T HE Promised Land, toward which the Children of Israel were marching through King Balak’s country, was bordered on that side by the river Jordan. The Jordan flows through a very deep valley from a large lake in the north to a large lake in the south: the northern lake is called the Sea of Galilee, and the southern is called the Dead Sea. King Balak’s land was beside the Dead Sea; so when they had passed through that country they came to the river, and thus to the first place where they could cr
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XV THE WEDGE OF GOLD
XV THE WEDGE OF GOLD
T HERE was a soldier in the army of Joshua whose name was Achan. He had taken part in the siege of Jericho. He had marched before the Ark around the city; he had joined in with all his might when the army shouted with a great shout; and he had rushed with the others into the streets when the walls fell flat. Now Joshua had given strict orders that no man should take anything for himself. All the gold and silver and whatever else was of value was to be saved for the Lord: it was to be put into th
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XVI THE RELIEF OF GIBEON
XVI THE RELIEF OF GIBEON
H IGH among the hills of the Promised Land lay a town called Gibeon. Men who ran away from the defeat at Ai came straggling into Gibeon, and told the news. “The Children of Israel,” they said, “are coming with a great army. They have destroyed Jericho and Ai, and are on the march for Gibeon.” Then the Gibeonites held a council and considered what to do. And they took men and dressed them in the oldest clothes which they could find, all rags and tatters, and put upon their feet the oldest shoes,
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XVII THE BATTLE OF THE GREAT PLAIN
XVII THE BATTLE OF THE GREAT PLAIN
R IGHT across the Promised Land, between the river and the sea, lay a great plain. Mountains stood about it on every side, and through the midst of it ran a winding river, called the Kishon. Some of the tribes of Israel had settled among the hills on the north; others had settled among the hills on the south. But the plain itself was held by the enemy. They had a king named Jabin, and a general named Sisera, and nine hundred chariots of iron. And for twenty years, they mightily oppressed the Chi
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XVIII THE ALTAR OF BAAL
XVIII THE ALTAR OF BAAL
S OMETIMES the Children of Israel fought with the people who lived in the Promised Land, as Barak fought with Sisera in the Great Plain. Sometimes they made friends with them and learned their ways; and that was worse than war, because their ways were very bad. They called God Baal, and they thought that there were many Baals, one for each place. They believed that Baal sent the sun and the rain and made things grow in the fields, and they told the Children of Israel that if they wished the sun
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XIX THE BATTLE OF THE LAMPS AND PITCHERS
XIX THE BATTLE OF THE LAMPS AND PITCHERS
O NE day the word was brought to Gideon that the Midianites were coming. King Zebah and King Zalmunna, and Oreb the Raven and Zeeb the Wolf, with thousands of fierce men on camels, were on the march. On they came across the Jordan, and like locusts they began to spread over the Great Plain. And Gideon said to himself, “Did I dream about the angel, or was it true? Did he sit beneath the oak, and tell me that God wished me to fight the Midianites? did he strike fire out of the rock and go up in th
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XX THE MIGRATION OF DAN
XX THE MIGRATION OF DAN
T HE 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 t
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XXI THE RIDDLE OF THE LION AND THE BEES
XXI THE RIDDLE OF THE LION AND THE BEES
O N 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
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XXII THE SECRET OF STRENGTH
XXII THE SECRET OF STRENGTH
S AMSON was not the captain of an army, like Joshua and Barak and Gideon. He fought the Philistines alone. He used to go out by himself, when they were not looking for him, and surprise them. The favorite stories of the Israelites were the adventures of Samson, as the favorite stories of the Greeks were the adventures of Hercules. One time, they said, he caught three hundred foxes and tied their tails together, and in each knot he put a lighted torch, and away went the foxes with the firebrands
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XXIII THE BRAMBLE AND THE FIRE
XXIII THE BRAMBLE AND THE FIRE
A BIMELECH was a king’s son. His father was the brave Gideon who fought the battle of the Lamps and Pitchers. But he had seventy brothers. So when Gideon died the question at once arose, “Which of all the princes shall be the king?” This question was promptly answered by Abimelech. He went to the men of a town called Shechem, and said, “No nation can have seventy kings. The right number is one. Now make me king, and I will be your friend.” And that pleased the men of Shechem. They gave Abimelech
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XXIV JEPHTHAH’S DAUGHTER
XXIV JEPHTHAH’S DAUGHTER
H ER father was an outlaw, like Robin Hood. For no fault of his he had been driven from his home, and had gone to live in the wild forest. There he had been joined by other men, some bad and some good, who had been driven out like himself or had run away in fear of being punished. And they went on forays, stealing sheep and oxen. And people who had money in their purses were afraid to go by that way, lest Jephthah and his merry men should fall upon them and send them back with empty pockets, and
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XXV THE KING’S GREAT-GRANDMOTHER
XXV THE KING’S GREAT-GRANDMOTHER
A LL the great-grandmothers were once as young as we are. So, when this story begins, King David’s great-grandmother was just about at the age when girls are graduated from the grammar school. She lived in Moab, in the country of Balaam and Balak, and her name was Ruth. And at that time a new family moved into that neighborhood from the land of Judah, from the town of Bethlehem. The man’s name was Elimelech, and his wife’s name was Naomi, and they had two sons. And by and by one of the sons marr
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XXVI “SAMUEL! SAMUEL!”
XXVI “SAMUEL! SAMUEL!”
O NE time, in the hill country, among the mountains of Ephraim, there lived a farmer named Elkanah. He and Hannah his wife were comfortably rich. They had fields of wheat and vineyards of grapes, and flocks and herds, and plenty of hay in the barn; but in one way they were poor,—they had no children. Sometimes Hannah cried because the house was so empty and still, and there were no voices of children in it. Sometimes she was so sad and lonely that she could not eat, and though her husband tried
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XXVII THE BATTLE OF THE ARK OF GOD
XXVII THE BATTLE OF THE ARK OF GOD
W ELL, things went on from bad to worse. One day a stranger came to Eli and stood before him as he sat on the bench by the church door. And the stranger said, “Hear what the Lord God says to you, Eli. I chose your father to be my priest, to minister at my altar, to burn incense before me, and to offer the sacrifices of my people. And now you honor your sons more than you honor me, and they are making themselves rich by stealing the offerings which the people bring. Therefore it shall come to pas
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XXVIII FIVE GOLD MICE
XXVIII FIVE GOLD MICE
T HE Philistines had five strong cities, and the strongest of these was Ashdod, which means “the fort.” When they had defeated the Israelites at Beth-shemesh, beside the great rock Ebenezer, and had taken away the Ark of God, they made all haste to get to Ashdod. Down they came along the valley and across the plain till they drew near the sea. And they shut the gates of Ashdod behind them. And the Ark of God they carried to the temple of their own god, Dagon. For many people thought in those day
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XXIX SAUL AND THE SEER
XXIX SAUL AND THE SEER
T HE asses had run away. They had found a hole in the fence and had got out into the road, and nobody knew where they were. So Saul’s father said, “Saul, the asses are lost. Take one of the men with you and go and find them.” And they went in search, Saul and the hired man. And here they looked, and there they looked, down this way and down that, in the woods and in the fields, but they were nowhere to be found. They hunted for them for three days, in vain. At last, Saul said to the servant, “Co
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XXX THE BATTLE OF THE RIGHT EYES
XXX THE BATTLE OF THE RIGHT EYES
W HEN Saul reached home after his adventure with the seer, he was very silent. Three men had met him by the way, one with three kids, another with three baskets of bread, and the third carrying a skin bottle of wine; and they had stopped and saluted him as some great person, and had given him two loaves. And down from the top of a hill had come a procession of prophets with the music of tambourines and flutes and harps and cymbals, singing and dancing as they came, and Saul had felt moved to joi
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XXXI THE ADVENTURE OF THE GREAT TREMBLING
XXXI THE ADVENTURE OF THE GREAT TREMBLING
T HE wife of King Saul was named Ahinoam. They had five children, three boys and two girls. And the name of their eldest son was Jonathan. Jonathan was like his father, tall and handsome, and he was as brave as he was modest. It was said that he could run as fast as an eagle could fly. At that time, most of the men of Israel who could run were running away, in fear of the Philistines. The Philistines had taken possession of the land. The Israelites had neither swords nor spears; and, in order to
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XXXII THE BLEATING OF THE SHEEP
XXXII THE BLEATING OF THE SHEEP
I N the midst of the Adventure of the Great Trembling, a strange thing happened. King Saul, when he sent his soldiers to chase the Philistines, forbade them to taste food till the setting of the sun. And this he did in a very solemn manner, making a vow, like Jephthah. He said that if any man ate anything before the sun went down, that man must be put to death. But as the day went on, the soldiers grew very hungry. At last they came to a wood, where there were honeycombs lying on the ground; but
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XXXIII A SHEPHERD OF BETHLEHEM
XXXIII A SHEPHERD OF BETHLEHEM
T HE largest farm in Bethlehem belonged to a man named Jesse. Although he was now advanced in years, he had lived on the farm all of his long life, and his father had lived there before him. Indeed, it was still remembered in the neighborhood how Jesse’s grandfather, as he harvested the wheat and barley of his broad acres, had fallen in love with a poor girl named Ruth, who worked among the gleaners, and had married her, to the surprise and delight of the village. The corn in the little valleys
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XXXIV DAVID FIGHTS THE GIANT
XXXIV DAVID FIGHTS THE GIANT
T HUS did David divide his time: part he spent in the court of King Saul, and part in the country on his father’s farm. Then there came a war, and the king went out to battle. Instead of the music of the harp he listened to the music of the drums. But David was needed at home, for his older brothers were in the army, and he kept the sheep. One day his father said to David, “David, I want you to take these ten loaves of bread and this basket of parched corn to your brothers in the army, and here
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XXXV UNDER THE KING’S DISPLEASURE
XXXV UNDER THE KING’S DISPLEASURE
A FTER David killed the giant, he kept the sheep no longer. He lived at the court with the king, and became a soldier. Saul made him a general of the army, and everybody praised him. When the Philistines came again, David led the men of war to battle, and when they came back in victory the women came out to greet them at the gate of every city as they passed, dancing and playing on instruments of music, and singing,— But that displeased Saul, and in his displeasure his old malady returned. And n
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XXXVI THE CAVE OF ADULLAM
XXXVI THE CAVE OF ADULLAM
W HEN David fled for his life from the displeasure of King Saul, he became an outlaw, like Robin Hood. On the way he stopped at a village called Nob, where the Ark of God was kept. And he asked the priest for bread and a sword. And the priest said, “There is no bread here except that which is on the holy table.” And David said, “Let me have that.” So the priest gave him five loaves. And the priest said, “There is no sword here except that with which you cut off the giant’s head. It is wrapped up
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XXXVII THE OUTLAW AND THE SHEEPMASTER
XXXVII THE OUTLAW AND THE SHEEPMASTER
T HERE lived in the land of Israel, among the southern hills, a man named Nabal, with Abigail his wife. Nabal had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats, and his pastures reached farther than the eye could see; but he had a stingy and sullen temper. Abigail, however, was as generous as she was beautiful. They were shearing sheep, one day, on Nabal’s farm, and there were good things to eat and drink, and the shepherds were all very merry, when suddenly they saw ten men coming up along the dust
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XXXVIII THE ADVENTURE OF THE KING’S SPEAR
XXXVIII THE ADVENTURE OF THE KING’S SPEAR
W HEREVER King Saul went he carried his tall spear. When he sat at the table, he had it close beside him, as his son Jonathan knew by sad experience. He even took it with him when he went to bed, leaning it against the wall beside his pillow as he slept. Of course, then, when he went to capture David he bore his spear over his shoulder. Thus he set out, and three thousand men with him. Word had come to the king that David was hiding in a certain place. Men came one day from a place called Ziph,
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XXXIX IN THE LAND OF THE ENEMY
XXXIX IN THE LAND OF THE ENEMY
I N the midst of David’s troubles with the king of Israel he received a present from the king of Gath. The king of Gath gave him a town. It happened in this way. As weeks grew into months, and David, in spite of Saul’s fair words, did not dare to trust his head within reach of Saul’s spear, he said to himself at last, “I am afraid that I shall some day perish at the hand of Saul. What shall I do? Whither shall I turn? How can I get beyond his reach? I will go over to the enemy. I will offer my s
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XL THE WITCH OF ENDOR
XL THE WITCH OF ENDOR
I N the old days, almost everybody believed in witches. Even wise men thought that there were old women who had made a bargain with the Prince of Evil: the old women had sold their souls, and in return had been given power to see into the future, to hurt their enemies without touching them, and to talk with those who had been long dead. This strange belief, which is now held only by ignorant or superstitious persons, came from two facts. It is a fact that the world in which we live is so full of
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