The Teachings,
Corrections And Prophecies
Of
Zebulun, the sixth son of Jacob and Leah. The
inventor and philanthropist. What he learned as a result of the plot against
Joseph.
Introduction
The copy of the words of Zebulun, which he enjoined
on his sons before he died in the hundred and fourteenth year of his life, two
years after the death of Joseph.
And he said to them: Hearken to me, you sons of
Zebulun, attend to the words of your father.
Success And Prosperity At Birth
I, Zebulun, was born a good gift to my parents. For when I was born my father was increased
very exceedingly, both in flocks and herds, when with the spotted rods he had
his portion.
The Sale Of Joseph
I am not conscious that I have sinned all my days,
save in thought. Nor yet do I remember that I have done any iniquity, except
the sin of ignorance which I committed against Joseph; for I covenanted with my
brethren not to tell my father what had been done. But I wept in secret many
days on account of Joseph, for I feared my brethren, because they had all
agreed that if anyone should declare the secret, he should be slain.
But when they wished to kill him, I appealed to them
with much tears not to be guilty of this sin. For Simeon and Gad came against
Joseph to kill him, and he said unto them with tears, “Pity me, my brethren,
have mercy upon the bowels of Jacob, our father: lay not upon me your hands to
shed innocent blood, for I have not sinned against you. And if indeed I have
sinned, with chastening chastise me, my brethren, but lay not upon me your
hand, for the sake of Jacob, our father.”
And as he spoke these words, wailing as he did so, I
was unable to bear his lamentations, and began to weep, and my liver was poured
out, and all the substance of my bowels was loosened. And I wept with Joseph
and my heart sounded, and the joints of my body trembled, and I was not able to
stand. And when Joseph saw me weeping with him, and them coming against him to
slay him, he fled behind me, beseeching them.
But meanwhile Reuben arose and said, “Come, my
brethren, let us not slay him, but let us cast him into one of these dry pits,
which our fathers dug and found no water. It was because of this reason the
Lord forbade that water should rise up in them, in order that Joseph should be
saved and preserved. And they did so,
until they sold him to the Ishmaelites. They
stripped off from Joseph his coat when they were selling him, and put upon him
the garment of a slave.
For in his price I had no share, my children. But
Simeon, Gad and six others of our brethren took the price of Joseph, and bought
sandals for themselves, and their wives, and their children, saying, “We will
not eat of it, for it is the price of our brother's blood, but we will
assuredly tread it under foot, because he said that he would be king over us,
and so let us see what will become of his dreams.”
And after he was sold, my brothers sat down to eat
and drink, to celebrate. But I, through
pity for Joseph, did not eat, but watched the pit, since Judah feared lest
Simeon, Dan and Gad should rush off and slay him. But when they saw that I did
not eat, they set me to watch him, till he was sold to the Ishmaelites.
And when Reuben came and heard that, while he was
away, Joseph had been sold, he rent his garments, and mourning, said, “How shall
I look on the face of my father Jacob?” And he took the money and ran after the
merchants but as he failed to find them he returned grieving. But the merchants
had left the broad road and marched through the Troglodytes [Cave dwellers] by
a short cut.
But Reuben
was grieved, and ate no food that day. Dan therefore came to him and said,
“Weep not, neither grieve; for we have found what we can say to our father
Jacob. Let us slay a kid of the goats, and dip in it the coat of Joseph; and
let us send it to Jacob, saying, ‘Know, is this the coat of your son?’ ” And they did so.
Now Simeon took the coat, and would not give it up,
for he wished to rend it with his sword, as he was angry that Joseph lived and
that he had not slain him.
Then, we all rose up and said unto him, “If you do
no give up the coat, we will say to our father that you alone did this evil
thing in Israel.” And so he gave it unto
them, and they did even as Dan had said.
Karmic
Reward In Egypt
And the brethren of Joseph wished not
that their brother, Joseph, should live, and the Lord loosed from them the
sandal which they wore against Joseph their brother. For when they came into
Egypt, they were unloosed by the servants of Joseph outside the gate, and so
they gave honour ad respect to Joseph after the
fashion of King Pharaoh. And not only did they make obeisance to him, but were
spit upon also, falling down before him forthwith, and so they were put to
shame before the Egyptians. For after this, the Egyptians heard all the evils
that they had done to Joseph.
He urges of one's fellow men.
Human Sympathy And Understanding
And now children, I teach you to keep the commands
of the Lord, and to show mercy to your neighbours, and to have compassion
towards all; not only towards men, but also towards beasts.
For all this thing's sake the Lord blessed me, and
when all my brethren were sick, I escaped without sickness, for the Lord knows
the purposes of each.
Have, therefore, compassion in your hearts, my
children, because even as a man does to his neighbour, even so also will the
Lord do to him. For the sons of my brethren were sickening and were dying on
account of Joseph, because they showed not mercy in their hearts; but my sons
were preserved without sickness, as you know.
And when I was in the land of Canaan, by the
sea-coast, I made a catch of fish for Jacob, my father; and when many were
choked in the sea, I continued unhurt.
I was the first to make a boat to sail upon the sea,
for the Lord gave me understanding and wisdom therein. And I let down a rudder
behind it, and I stretched a sail upon another upright piece of wood in the
midst. And I sailed therein along the shores, catching fish for the house of my
father until we came to Egypt.
And through compassion I shared my catch with every
stranger. And if a man were a stranger, sick, or aged, I boiled the fish, and
prepared the fish well, and offered them to all men, as every man had need,
grieving with and having compassion upon them. Wherefore also the Lord
satisfied me with abundance of fish when catching fish; for he that shares with
his neighbour receives manifold more from the Lord. For five years I caught
fish and gave thereof to every man whom I saw, and sufficed for all the house
of my father. And in the summer I caught fish, and in the winter I kept sheep
with my brethren.
A Remarkable
Act Of Charity
Now I will declare unto you what I did. I saw a man
in distress through nakedness in wintertime, and had compassion upon him, and
stole away a garment secretly from my father's house, and gave it to him who
was in distress. Do you, therefore, my children, from that which God bestows
upon you, show compassion and mercy without hesitation to all men, and give to
every man with a good heart.
Do Not Refuse The Person In Need
And if you have not the material to give to him that
is in need, have compassion for him in bowels of mercy. I know that my hand did
not found the material to give to him that needed, and I walked with him
weeping for seven furlongs, and my bowels yearned
towards him in compassion.
Have, therefore, yourselves also, my children,
compassion towards every man with mercy, that the Lord also may have compassion
and mercy upon you.
Because also in the last days, God will send His
compassion on the earth, and wherever He finds bowels of mercy He dwells in
him. For in the degree in which a man has compassion upon his neighbours, in
the same degree the Lord also has upon him.
Against Malice
And Disunity
And when we went down into Egypt, Joseph bore no
malice against us.
To whom taking heed, do you also, my children,
approve yourselves without malice, and love one another; and do not set down in
account, each one of you, evil against his brother. For this breaks unity and
divides all kindred, and troubles the soul, and wears away the countenance.
Observe, therefore, the waters, and know that when
they flow together, they sweep along stones, trees, earth, and other things.
But if they are divided into many little streams, the earth swallows them up,
and they vanish away. So shall you also be if you be divided. Therefore, be you
not divided into two heads for everything which the Lord made .hath but one
head, and two shoulders, two hands, two feet, and all the remaining members.
Prophecy Of Division And Captivity
For I have learnt in the writing of my fathers, that
you shall be divided in Israel, and you shall follow two kings, and shall work
every abomination.
And your enemies shall lead you captive, and you
shall be evil entreated among the Gentiles, with many infirmities and
tribulations.
Prophecy Of Repentance And Forgiveness
And after these things you shall remember the Lord
and repent, and He shall have mercy upon you, for He is merciful and
compassionate. And He does not set down in account evil against the sons of
men, because they are flesh, and are deceived through their own wicked deeds.
Prophecy Of Exodus And Jerusalem
And after these things, shall there arise unto you
the Lord Himself, the light of righteousness, and you shall return unto your land.
And you shall see Him in Jerusalem, for His name's sake.
The Time Of The Gentiles
And again through the wickedness of your works shall
you provoke Him to anger, and you shall be cast away by Him unto the time of
consummation.
Prophecy Of Reincarnation And Karma
And now, my children, grieve not that I am dying,
nor be cast down in that I am coming to my end.
For I shall rise again in the midst of you, as a
ruler in the midst of his sons; and I shall rejoice in the midst of my tribe,
as many as shall keep the law of the Lord, and the commandments of Zebulun
their father.
But upon the ungodly shall the Lord bring eternal
fire, and destroy them throughout all generations.
Beware Of The Commandments
But I am now hastening away to my rest, as did also
my fathers. But do you fear the Lord our
God with all your strength all the days of your life. And when he had said
these things, he fell asleep, at a good old age. And his sons laid him in a
wooden coffin. And afterwards they carried him up and buried him in