YASHAR 39 (Jasher 39)

1 And when the sons of Ya’aqoḇ went from the city of Sarton, they had gone about two hundred ammah when they met the inhabitants of Taphnaḵ coming toward them, for they went out to fight against them, because they had smitten the sovereign of Taphnaḵ and all his men.

2 So all who remained in the city of Taphnaḵ came out to fight against the sons of Ya’aqoḇ, and they intended to retake from them the booty and the spoil which they had captured from Ḥatsar and Sarton.

3 And the rest of the men of Taphnaḵ fought against the sons of Ya’aqoḇ in that place. And the sons of Ya’aqoḇ smote them, and they fled before them, and they pursued them to the city of Arbĕlan, and they all fell before the sons of Ya’aqoḇ.

4 And the sons of Ya’aqoḇ returned and came to Taphnaḵ, to take away the spoil of Taphnaḵ, but when they came to Taphnaḵ they heard that the people of Arbĕlan had gone out to meet them to save the spoil of their brothers. And the sons of Ya’aqoḇ left ten of their men in Taphnaḵ to plunder the city, and they went toward the people of Arbĕlan.

5 And the men of Arbĕlan went out with their wives to fight against the sons of Ya’aqoḇ, for their wives were experienced in battle, and they went out, about four hundred men and women.

6 And all the sons of Ya’aqoḇ shouted with a loud voice, and they all ran toward the inhabitants of Arbĕlan, and with a great and mighty voice.

7 And the inhabitants of Arbĕlan heard the noise of the shouting of the sons of Ya’aqoḇ, and their roaring like the noise of lions and like the roaring of the sea and its waves.

8 And fear and dread possessed their hearts because of the sons of Ya’aqoḇ, and they were terribly afraid of them, and they retreated and fled before them into the city. And the sons of Ya’aqoḇ pursued them to the gate of the city, and they came upon them in the city.

9 And the sons of Ya’aqoḇ fought with them in the city, and all their women were engaged in slinging against the sons of Ya’aqoḇ, and the combat was very severe among them the whole of that day till evening.

10 And the sons of Ya’aqoḇ could not prevail over them, and the sons of Ya’aqoḇ had almost perished in that battle. And the sons of Ya’aqoḇ cried to 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 and greatly gained strength toward evening, and the sons of Ya’aqoḇ smote all the inhabitants of Arbĕlan with the edge of the sword; men, women and little ones.

11 And also the remainder of the people who had fled from Sarton, the sons of Ya’aqoḇ smote them in Arbĕlan. And the sons of Ya’aqoḇ did to Arbĕlan and Taphnaḵ as they had done to Ḥatsar and Sarton. And when the women saw that all the men were dead, they went up onto the roofs of the city and struck the sons of Ya’aqoḇ by showering down stones like rain.

12 And the sons of Ya’aqoḇ hastened and came into the city and seized all the women and smote them with the edge of the sword, and the sons of Ya’aqoḇ captured all the spoil and booty, flocks and herds and cattle.

13 And the sons of Ya’aqoḇ did to Maḥnaymah as they had done to Taphnaḵ, to Ḥatsar and to Shiloh, and they turned from there and went away.

14 And on the fifth day the sons of Ya’aqoḇ heard that the people of Ga’ash had gathered against them to battle, because they had slain their sovereign and their captains, for there had been fourteen captains in the city of Ga’ash, and the sons of Ya’aqoḇ had slain them all in the first battle.

15 And the sons of Ya’aqoḇ girded on their weapons of battle that day, and they marched to battle against the inhabitants of Ga’ash. And in Ga’ash there was a strong and mighty people of the people of the Amorites, and Ga’ash was the strongest and best fortified city of all the cities of the Amorites, and it had three walls.

16 And the sons of Ya’aqoḇ came to Ga’ash and they found the gates of the city locked, and about five hundred men standing at the top of the outermost wall, and a people numerous as the sand upon the sea shore were in ambush for the sons of Ya’aqoḇ outside the city at the rear of it.

17 And the sons of Ya’aqoḇ approached to open the gates of the city, but while they were drawing near, see, those who were in ambush at the rear of the city came out from their places and surrounded the sons of Ya’aqoḇ.

18 And the sons of Ya’aqoḇ were enclosed between the people of Ga’ash, and the battle was both to their front and rear. And all the men that were on the wall, were shooting arrows and stones from the wall upon them.

19 And Yahuḏah, seeing that the men of Ga’ash were getting too numerous for them, gave a most piercing and mighty cry and all the men of Ga’ash were afraid at the voice of Yahuḏah’s cry, and men fell from the wall at his powerful shout. And all those that were from without and within the city were greatly afraid for their lives.

20 And the sons of Ya’aqoḇ still came near to break the doors of the city, when the men of Ga’ash shot stones and arrows upon them from the top of the wall, and made them flee from the gate.

21 And the sons of Ya’aqoḇ returned against the men of Ga’ash who were with them from outside the city, and they smote them terribly, as striking against gourds. And they could not stand against the sons of Ya’aqoḇ, for fear and dread had seized them at the cry of Yahuḏah.

22 And the sons of Ya’aqoḇ slew all those men who were outside the city, and the sons of Ya’aqoḇ still drew near to make a way into the city, and to fight under the city walls, but they could not for all the inhabitants of Ga’ash who remained in the city had surrounded the walls of Ga’ash in every direction, so that the sons of Ya’aqoḇ were unable to approach the city to fight against them.

23 And the sons of Ya’aqoḇ drew near to one corner to fight under the wall. The inhabitants of Ga’ash shot arrows and stones upon them like showers of rain, and they fled from under the wall.

24 And the people of Ga’ash who were on the wall, seeing that the sons of Ya’aqoḇ could not prevail over them from under the wall, reproached the sons of Ya’aqoḇ with these words, saying,

25 “What is the matter with you in the battle that you cannot prevail? Can you then do to the mighty city of Ga’ash and its inhabitants as you did to the cities of the Amorites that were not so powerful? Only to those weak ones among us you did those matters, and slew them in the entrance of the city, for they had no strength when they were afraid at the sound of your shouting.

26 “And will you now then be able to fight in this place? Only here you will all die, and we will avenge the cause of those cities that you have laid waste!”

27 And the inhabitants of Ga’ash greatly reproached the sons of Ya’aqoḇ and reviled them with their mighty ones, and continued to shoot arrows and stones upon them from the wall.

28 And Yahuḏah and his brothers heard the words of the inhabitants of Ga’ash and their wrath was greatly roused, and Yahuḏah was jealous of his Elohim in this matter, and he called out and said, “O 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄, help! Send help to us and our brothers!”

29 And he ran at a distance with all his might, with his drawn sword in his hand, and he leaped from the earth and by means of his strength, climbed the wall, but his sword fell from his hand.

30 And Yahuḏah shouted on the wall, and all the men that were on the wall were afraid, and some of them fell from the wall into the city and died. And those who were still on the wall, when they saw Yahuḏah’s strength, were greatly afraid and fled for their lives into the city for safety.

31 And some were emboldened to fight against Yahuḏah on the wall, and they came near to slay him when they saw there was no sword in Yahuḏah’s hand. And they thought of casting him from the wall to his brothers, and twenty men of the city came up to assist them. And they surrounded Yahuḏah and they all shouted over him, and approached him with drawn swords, and they frightened Yahuḏah, and Yahuḏah cried out to his brothers from the wall.

32 And Ya’aqoḇ and his sons drew the bow from under the wall, and smote three of the men that were upon the top of the wall, and Yahuḏah continued to cry and he exclaimed, “O 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 help us! O 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 deliver us!” And he cried out with a loud voice on the wall, and the cry was heard at a great distance.

33 And after this cry he again repeated to shout, and all the men who surrounded Yahuḏah on the top of the wall were afraid, and they each threw his sword from his hand at the sound of Yahuḏah’s shouting and his shaking, and fled.

34 And Yahuḏah took the swords which had fallen from their hands, and Yahuḏah fought with them and slew twenty of their men on the wall.

35 And about eighty men and women still went up the wall from the city and they all surrounded Yahuḏah, but 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 impressed the fear of Yahuḏah in their hearts, that they were unable to approach him.

36 And Ya’aqoḇ and all who were with him drew the bow from under the wall, and they slew ten men on the wall, and they fell below the wall, before Ya’aqoḇ and his sons.

37 And the people on the wall seeing that twenty of their men had fallen, still ran toward Yahuḏah with drawn swords, but they could not approach him for they were greatly afraid of Yahuḏah’s strength.

38 And one of their mighty men whose name was Aroḏ approached to strike Yahuḏah on the head with his sword, then Yahuḏah hastily put his shield to his head, and the sword hit the shield, and it was split in two.

39 And this mighty man, after he had struck Yahuḏah, ran for his life at the fear of Yahuḏah, but his feet slipped on the wall and he fell among the sons of Ya’aqoḇ who were below the wall, and the sons of Ya’aqoḇ smote him and slew him.

40 And Yahuḏah’s head pained him from the blow of the powerful man, and Yahuḏah had nearly died from it.

41 And Yahuḏah cried out on the wall because of the pain made by the blow, when Dan heard him, and his wrath burned within him. And he also rose up and went at a distance and ran and leaped from the earth and climbed the wall with his fierce strength.

42 And when Dan came upon the wall near to Yahuḏah, all the men on the wall who had stood against Yahuḏah fled, and they went up to the second wall, and they shot arrows and stones upon Dan and Yahuḏah from the second wall, and strove to drive them from the wall.

43 And the arrows and stones struck Dan and Yahuḏah, and they had nearly been killed on the wall, but wherever Dan and Yahuḏah fled from the wall, they were attacked with arrows and stones from the second wall.

44 And Ya’aqoḇ and his sons were still at the entrance of the city below the first wall, but they were not able to draw their bow against the inhabitants of the city, as they could not be seen by them, being on the second wall.

45 And when Dan and Yahuḏah could no longer bear the stones and arrows that fell on them from the second wall, both leaped upon the second wall near the people of the city. And when the people of the city who were on the second wall saw that Dan and Yahuḏah had come to them on the second wall, they all cried out and came down below between the walls.

46 And Ya’aqoḇ and his sons heard the noise of the shouting from the people of the city, but they were still at the entrance of the city. And they were anxious about Dan and Yahuḏah who were not seen by them, being on the second wall.

47 And Naphtali went up with his fierce might and leaped upon the first wall to see what caused the noise of shouting which they had heard in the city. And Yissasḵar and Zeḇulun drew near to break down the doors of the city, and they opened the gates of the city and came into the city.

48 And Naphtali leaped from the first wall to the second, and came to assist his brothers. And the inhabitants of Ga’ash who were on the wall, seeing that Naphtali was the third who had come up to assist his brothers, all fled and went down into the city. And Ya’aqoḇ and all his sons and all their young men came into the city to them.

49 And Yahuḏah and Dan and Naphtali came down from the wall into the city and pursued the inhabitants of the city, but Shim’on and Lĕwi were outside the city and did not know that the gate was opened. And they went up from there to the wall and came down to their brothers into the city.

50 And the inhabitants of the city had all come down into the city, and the sons of Ya’aqoḇ came to them in different directions, and the battle waged against them from the front and the rear. And the sons of Ya’aqoḇ smote them terribly, and slew about twenty thousand of them; men and women. Not one of them could stand up against the sons of Ya’aqoḇ.

51 And the blood flowed plentifully in the city, and it was like a stream of water. And the blood flowed like a stream to the outer part of the city, and reached the desert of Bĕyth Ḥoron.

52 And the people of Bĕyth Ḥoron saw the blood at a distance flowing from the city of Ga’ash, and about seventy men from among them ran to see the blood, and they came to the place where the blood was.

53 And they followed the path of the blood and came to the wall of the city of Ga’ash. And they saw the blood issue from the city, and they heard the voice of crying from the inhabitants of Ga’ash, for it ascended to the shamayim, and the blood continued to flow abundantly like a stream of water.

54 And all the sons of Ya’aqoḇ were still smiting the inhabitants of Ga’ash, and were engaged in slaying them till evening, about twenty thousand men and women. And the people of Ḥoron said, “Indeed this is the work of the Iḇrim, for they are still continuing to fight in all the cities of the Amorites.”

55 And those people hastened and ran to Bĕyth Ḥoron, and each took his weapons of battle, and they cried out to all the inhabitants of Bĕyth Ḥoron, who also girded on their weapons of battle to go and fight against the sons of Ya’aqoḇ.

56 And when the sons of Ya’aqoḇ had finished smiting the inhabitants of Ga’ash, they walked about the city to strip all the slain. And coming in the innermost part of the city and farther on they met three very powerful men, and there was no sword in their hand.

57 And the sons of Ya’aqoḇ came up to the place where they were, and the powerful men ran away. But one of them had taken Zeḇulun, who he saw was a young man and of short stature, and with his might dashed him to the ground.

58 And Ya’aqoḇ ran to him with his sword and Ya’aqoḇ smote him below his loins with the sword, and cut him in two, and the body fell upon Zeḇulun.

59 And the second one approached and seized Ya’aqoḇ to cut him to the ground, but Ya’aqoḇ turned to him and shouted at him, while Shim’on and Lĕwi ran and smote him on the hips with the sword and cut him to the ground.

60 And the powerful man rose up from the ground with fierce might, and Yahuḏah came to him before he had gained his footing, and struck him on the head with the sword, and his head was split and he died.

61 And the third powerful man, seeing that his companions were killed, ran from before the sons of Ya’aqoḇ, and the sons of Ya’aqoḇ pursued him in the city. And while the powerful man was fleeing, he found one of the swords of the inhabitants of the city, and he picked it up and turned to the sons of Ya’aqoḇ and fought them with the sword.

62 And the powerful man ran at Yahuḏah to strike him on the head with the sword, but there was no shield in the hand of Yahuḏah. And while he was aiming to strike him, Naphtali hastily took his shield and put it to Yahuḏah’s head, and the sword of the powerful man hit the shield of Naphtali and Yahuḏah escaped the sword.

63 And Shim’on and Lĕwi ran at the powerful man with their swords and struck at him mightily with their swords, and the two swords entered the body of the powerful man and divided it in two, length-wise.

64 And the sons of Ya’aqoḇ smote the three mighty men at that time, together with all the inhabitants of Ga’ash, and the day was about to decline.

65 And the sons of Ya’aqoḇ walked about Ga’ash and took all the spoil of the city, even the little ones and women they did not allow to live. And the sons of Ya’aqoḇ did to Ga’ash as they had done to Sarton and Shiloh.