And it came to pass that, when the young of the stork grew up, the king commanded to let them hunger for three days. And all the people did so.
And it came to pass on the third day that the king said unto them: ‘Strengthen yourselves and be men of valor; and put on every man his armor, and gird on every man his sword upon him, and ride every man his horse, and take every man his young of the stork in his hand. And we shall rise up, and fight against the city from the place where the serpents are.’ And all the people did according to the command of the king, and every man took his young of the stork in his hand, and they went forth.
And it came to pass, when they reached the place of the serpents, that the king said unto them: ‘Send forth every man his young stork upon the serpents.’ So every man sent forth his young stork, according to the command of the king. And the young storks swooped upon the serpents, and devoured them all, and destroyed them out of that place. And when the people and the king saw that all the serpents were destroyed out of that place, all the people shouted with a great shout. And they drew nigh, and fought against the city, and they seized upon it and took it; and they entered the city. And there died on that day of the people of the city one thousand and a hundred men, all the inhabitants of the city. But of the people who were besieging not one died. Then all the children of Cush went every man to his house, and to his wife, and to his children, and to all that he possessed.
Now when Balaam the soothsayer saw that the city was taken, he opened the gate, and he and his two sons and eight brothers fled; and they returned to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt. They are the sorcerers and magicians mentioned in the Book of the Law, who stood against Moses when the Lord brought all the plagues upon Egypt.
So Moses took the city by his wisdom, and the children of Cush set him on the throne of the kingdom, instead of Kikanus king of Cush. And they set the royal crown on his head, and gave him queen Adonijah the Cushite, the wife of Kikanus, to wife. But Moses feared the Lord, the God of his fathers, and he went not in unto her, nor did he turn his eyes to her. For Moses remembered how Abraham had made Eliezer his servant swear, saying: ‘Take not a wife for my son Isaac of the daughters of Canaan’[[132]]; and also that which Isaac had done, when Jacob fled from before his brother, how he commanded him, saying: ‘Take not a wife of the daughters of Canaan, nor shalt thou make marriages with any of the children of Ham; for the Lord our God gave Ham the son of Noah and all his seed as servants unto the children of Shem and unto the children of Japheth, and unto their seed after them for ever.’[[133]] Therefore Moses turned not his heart nor his eyes to the wife of Kikanus all the days that he reigned over Cush.
And Moses feared the Lord, the God of his fathers, all his days. And Moses walked before the Lord in truth, with all his heart, and with all his soul; Moses departed not from the good way all the days of his life; he turned not to the right hand nor to the left from the way in which Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had walked. And Moses strengthened himself in the kingdom of the children of Cush, and he guided the children of Cush in justice by his wisdom. And Moses prospered in his kingdom.
XXIII. JUDAH B. SAUL IBN TIBBON
[A famous translator of Arabic books into Hebrew. He was born at Granada in 1120, and died towards the end of the twelfth century. He did a great deal for the development of the Hebrew language, having practically created or at least systematized the philosophic terms. It is due to his efforts and to those of his fellow-workers, the best of whom were his descendants, that the philosophic literature of the Jews has reached the readers for whom it was intended. He translated the works of Sa’adya, Ibn Janah, Ibn Gebirol, and Judah ha-Levi.]
Why the Jewish Religion Does Not Especially Encourage Asceticism[[134]]
Said the Khazarite: Thou hast explained, O Rabbi, and drawn a comparison; indeed thou wast skilful in thy explanation and comparison. But we should expect to see more hermits and ascetics among you than among other nations.