1. Hebrew Bible, Song of Songs, 1.3-1.4, 1.7, 2.5, 4.12, 4.15, 5.1, 5.8, 7.13 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 1.3. לְרֵיחַ שְׁמָנֶיךָ טוֹבִים שֶׁמֶן תּוּרַק שְׁמֶךָ עַל־כֵּן עֲלָמוֹת אֲהֵבוּךָ׃ 1.4. מָשְׁכֵנִי אַחֲרֶיךָ נָּרוּצָה הֱבִיאַנִי הַמֶּלֶךְ חֲדָרָיו נָגִילָה וְנִשְׂמְחָה בָּךְ נַזְכִּירָה דֹדֶיךָ מִיַּיִן מֵישָׁרִים אֲהֵבוּךָ׃ 1.7. הַגִּידָה לִּי שֶׁאָהֲבָה נַפְשִׁי אֵיכָה תִרְעֶה אֵיכָה תַּרְבִּיץ בַּצָּהֳרָיִם שַׁלָּמָה אֶהְיֶה כְּעֹטְיָה עַל עֶדְרֵי חֲבֵרֶיךָ׃ 2.5. סַמְּכוּנִי בָּאֲשִׁישׁוֹת רַפְּדוּנִי בַּתַּפּוּחִים כִּי־חוֹלַת אַהֲבָה אָנִי׃ 4.12. גַּן נָעוּל אֲחֹתִי כַלָּה גַּל נָעוּל מַעְיָן חָתוּם׃ 4.15. מַעְיַן גַּנִּים בְּאֵר מַיִם חַיִּים וְנֹזְלִים מִן־לְבָנוֹן׃ 5.1. דּוֹדִי צַח וְאָדוֹם דָּגוּל מֵרְבָבָה׃ 5.1. בָּאתִי לְגַנִּי אֲחֹתִי כַלָּה אָרִיתִי מוֹרִי עִם־בְּשָׂמִי אָכַלְתִּי יַעְרִי עִם־דִּבְשִׁי שָׁתִיתִי יֵינִי עִם־חֲלָבִי אִכְלוּ רֵעִים שְׁתוּ וְשִׁכְרוּ דּוֹדִים׃ 5.8. הִשְׁבַּעְתִּי אֶתְכֶם בְּנוֹת יְרוּשָׁלִָם אִם־תִּמְצְאוּ אֶת־דּוֹדִי מַה־תַּגִּידוּ לוֹ שֶׁחוֹלַת אַהֲבָה אָנִי׃ 7.13. נַשְׁכִּימָה לַכְּרָמִים נִרְאֶה אִם פָּרְחָה הַגֶּפֶן פִּתַּח הַסְּמָדַר הֵנֵצוּ הָרִמּוֹנִים שָׁם אֶתֵּן אֶת־דֹּדַי לָךְ׃ | 1.3. Thine ointments have a goodly fragrance; Thy name is as ointment poured forth; Therefore do the maidens love thee. 1.4. Draw me, we will run after thee; The king hath brought me into his chambers; We will be glad and rejoice in thee, We will find thy love more fragrant than wine! Sincerely do they love thee. 1.7. Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, Where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon; For why should I be as one that veileth herself Beside the flocks of thy companions? 2.5. ’Stay ye me with dainties, refresh me with apples; For I am love-sick.’ 4.12. A garden shut up is my sister, my bride; A spring shut up, a fountain sealed. 4.15. Thou art a fountain of gardens, A well of living waters, And flowing streams from Lebanon. 5.1. I am come into my garden, my sister, my bride; I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk. Eat, O friends; Drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved. 5.8. ’I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, If ye find my beloved, what will ye tell him? That I am love-sick.’ 7.13. Let us get up early to the vineyards; let us see whether the vine hath budded, whether the vine-blossom be opened, and the pomegranates be in flower; there will I give thee my love. |
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2. Hebrew Bible, Deuteronomy, 5.16, 6.4, 21.18-21.19, 22.22 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 5.16. כַּבֵּד אֶת־אָבִיךָ וְאֶת־אִמֶּךָ כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוְּךָ יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ לְמַעַן יַאֲרִיכֻן יָמֶיךָ וּלְמַעַן יִיטַב לָךְ עַל הָאֲדָמָה אֲשֶׁר־יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ נֹתֵן לָךְ׃ 6.4. שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָד׃ 21.18. כִּי־יִהְיֶה לְאִישׁ בֵּן סוֹרֵר וּמוֹרֶה אֵינֶנּוּ שֹׁמֵעַ בְּקוֹל אָבִיו וּבְקוֹל אִמּוֹ וְיסְּרוּ אֹתוֹ וְלֹא יִשְׁמַע אֲלֵיהֶם׃ 21.19. וְתָפְשׂוּ בוֹ אָבִיו וְאִמּוֹ וְהוֹצִיאוּ אֹתוֹ אֶל־זִקְנֵי עִירוֹ וְאֶל־שַׁעַר מְקֹמוֹ׃ 22.22. כִּי־יִמָּצֵא אִישׁ שֹׁכֵב עִם־אִשָּׁה בְעֻלַת־בַּעַל וּמֵתוּ גַּם־שְׁנֵיהֶם הָאִישׁ הַשֹּׁכֵב עִם־הָאִשָּׁה וְהָאִשָּׁה וּבִעַרְתָּ הָרָע מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל׃ | 5.16. Honour thy father and thy mother, as the LORD thy God commanded thee; that thy days may be long, and that it may go well with thee, upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee." 6.4. HEAR, O ISRAEL: THE LORD OUR GOD, THE LORD IS ONE." 21.18. If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, that will not hearken to the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and though they chasten him, will not hearken unto them;" 21.19. then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place;" 22.22. If a man be found lying with a woman married to a husband, then they shall both of them die, the man that lay with the woman, and the woman; so shalt thou put away the evil from Israel." |
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3. Hebrew Bible, Exodus, 20.12 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 20.12. כַּבֵּד אֶת־אָבִיךָ וְאֶת־אִמֶּךָ לְמַעַן יַאֲרִכוּן יָמֶיךָ עַל הָאֲדָמָה אֲשֶׁר־יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ נֹתֵן לָךְ׃ | 20.12. Honour thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee." |
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4. Hebrew Bible, Genesis, 2.6 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 2.6. וְאֵד יַעֲלֶה מִן־הָאָרֶץ וְהִשְׁקָה אֶת־כָּל־פְּנֵי־הָאֲדָמָה׃ | 2.6. but there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground." |
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5. Hebrew Bible, Job, 27.1, 28.18, 29.1 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 27.1. אִם־עַל־שַׁדַּי יִתְעַנָּג יִקְרָא אֱלוֹהַּ בְּכָל־עֵת׃ 27.1. וַיֹּסֶף אִיּוֹב שְׂאֵת מְשָׁלוֹ וַיֹּאמַר׃ 28.18. רָאמוֹת וְגָבִישׁ לֹא יִזָּכֵר וּמֶשֶׁךְ חָכְמָה מִפְּנִינִים׃ 29.1. וַיֹּסֶף אִיּוֹב שְׂאֵת מְשָׁלוֹ וַיֹּאמַר׃ 29.1. קוֹל־נְגִידִים נֶחְבָּאוּ וּלְשׁוֹנָם לְחִכָּם דָּבֵקָה׃ | 27.1. And Job again took up his parable, and said:" 28.18. No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal; Yea, the price of wisdom is above rubies." 29.1. And Job again took up his parable, and said:" |
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6. Hebrew Bible, Numbers, 23.7 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 23.7. וַיִּשָּׂא מְשָׁלוֹ וַיֹּאמַר מִן־אֲרָם יַנְחֵנִי בָלָק מֶלֶךְ־מוֹאָב מֵהַרְרֵי־קֶדֶם לְכָה אָרָה־לִּי יַעֲקֹב וּלְכָה זֹעֲמָה יִשְׂרָאֵל׃ | 23.7. And he took up his parable, and said: From Aram Balak bringeth me, The king of Moab from the mountains of the East: ‘Come, curse me Jacob, And come, execrate Israel.’" |
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7. Hebrew Bible, Proverbs, 1, 1.6, 1.8, 1.9, 1.10, 1.11, 1.12, 1.13, 1.14, 1.15, 1.16, 1.17, 1.18, 1.19, 2, 2.4, 2.16, 2.17, 2.18, 2.19, 3, 3.15, 3.19, 3.21, 3.22, 3.23, 3.24, 3.25, 4, 4.3, 4.5, 4.6, 4.7, 4.8, 4.9, 4.10, 4.11, 4.12, 4.13, 4.14, 4.15, 4.16, 4.17, 4.18, 4.19, 4.20, 4.21, 4.22, 4.23, 4.24, 4.25, 4.26, 4.27, 5, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5, 5.6, 5.7, 5.8, 5.9, 5.10, 5.11, 5.12, 5.13, 5.14, 5.16, 5.17, 5.18, 5.19, 5.20, 5.21, 5.22, 5.23, 6, 6.20, 6.21, 6.22, 6.23, 6.24, 6.25, 6.26, 6.27, 6.28, 6.29, 6.30, 6.31, 6.32, 6.33, 6.34, 6.35, 7, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, 7.5, 7.6, 7.7, 7.8, 7.9, 7.10, 7.11, 7.12, 7.13, 7.14, 7.15, 7.16, 7.17, 7.18, 7.19, 7.20, 7.21, 7.22, 7.23, 7.24, 7.25, 7.26, 7.27, 8, 8.11, 8.35, 9, 9.4, 9.13, 9.14, 9.15, 9.16, 9.17, 9.18, 10.1, 12.4, 13.11, 13.24, 15.20, 18.4, 19.14, 22.17-24.22, 24.23, 24.24, 24.25, 24.28, 24.30, 24.31, 30.11, 30.15, 30.16, 30.18, 30.19, 30.21, 30.22, 30.23, 30.24, 30.25, 30.26, 30.27, 30.28, 30.29, 30.30, 30.31, 31.1, 31.10, 31.11, 31.12, 31.13, 31.14, 31.15, 31.16, 31.17, 31.18, 31.19, 31.20, 31.21, 31.22, 31.23, 31.24, 31.25, 31.26, 31.27, 31.28, 31.29, 31.30, 31.31 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
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8. Hebrew Bible, Psalms, 44.23, 46.4, 78.16, 105.41 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 44.23. כִּי־עָלֶיךָ הֹרַגְנוּ כָל־הַיּוֹם נֶחְשַׁבְנוּ כְּצֹאן טִבְחָה׃ 46.4. יֶהֱמוּ יֶחְמְרוּ מֵימָיו יִרְעֲשׁוּ־הָרִים בְּגַאֲוָתוֹ סֶלָה׃ 78.16. וַיּוֹצִא נוֹזְלִים מִסָּלַע וַיּוֹרֶד כַּנְּהָרוֹת מָיִם׃ 105.41. פָּתַח צוּר וַיָּזוּבוּ מָיִם הָלְכוּ בַּצִּיּוֹת נָהָר׃ | 44.23. Nay, but for Thy sake are we killed all the day; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter." 46.4. Though the waters thereof roar and foam, Though the mountains shake at the swelling thereof. Selah" 78.16. He brought streams also out of the rock, And caused waters to run down like rivers." 105.41. He opened the rock, and waters gushed out; They ran, a river in the dry places." |
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9. Hebrew Bible, Isaiah, 14.4, 55.1 (8th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
| 14.4. וְנָשָׂאתָ הַמָּשָׁל הַזֶּה עַל־מֶלֶךְ בָּבֶל וְאָמָרְתָּ אֵיךְ שָׁבַת נֹגֵשׂ שָׁבְתָה מַדְהֵבָה׃ 55.1. כִּי כַּאֲשֶׁר יֵרֵד הַגֶּשֶׁם וְהַשֶּׁלֶג מִן־הַשָּׁמַיִם וְשָׁמָּה לֹא יָשׁוּב כִּי אִם־הִרְוָה אֶת־הָאָרֶץ וְהוֹלִידָהּ וְהִצְמִיחָהּ וְנָתַן זֶרַע לַזֹּרֵעַ וְלֶחֶם לָאֹכֵל׃ 55.1. הוֹי כָּל־צָמֵא לְכוּ לַמַּיִם וַאֲשֶׁר אֵין־לוֹ כָּסֶף לְכוּ שִׁבְרוּ וֶאֱכֹלוּ וּלְכוּ שִׁבְרוּ בְּלוֹא־כֶסֶף וּבְלוֹא מְחִיר יַיִן וְחָלָב׃ | 14.4. that thou shalt take up this parable against the king of Babylon, and say: How hath the oppressor ceased! The exactress of gold ceased!" 55.1. Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye for water, And he that hath no money; Come ye, buy, and eat; Yea, come, buy wine and milk Without money and without price." |
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10. Hebrew Bible, Joshua, 24.9 (8th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
| 24.9. וַיָּקָם בָּלָק בֶּן־צִפּוֹר מֶלֶךְ מוֹאָב וַיִּלָּחֶם בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל וַיִּשְׁלַח וַיִּקְרָא לְבִלְעָם בֶּן־בְּעוֹר לְקַלֵּל אֶתְכֶם׃ | 24.9. Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and fought against Israel; and he sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you." |
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11. Hebrew Bible, Ezekiel, 17.2 (6th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
| 17.2. וּפָרַשְׂתִּי עָלָיו רִשְׁתִּי וְנִתְפַּשׂ בִּמְצוּדָתִי וַהֲבִיאוֹתִיהוּ בָבֶלָה וְנִשְׁפַּטְתִּי אִתּוֹ שָׁם מַעֲלוֹ אֲשֶׁר מָעַל־בִּי׃ 17.2. בֶּן־אָדָם חוּד חִידָה וּמְשֹׁל מָשָׁל אֶל־בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל׃ | 17.2. ’Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable unto the house of Israel," |
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12. Hebrew Bible, Ecclesiastes, 9.9 (5th cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 9.9. רְאֵה חַיִּים עִם־אִשָּׁה אֲשֶׁר־אָהַבְתָּ כָּל־יְמֵי חַיֵּי הֶבְלֶךָ אֲשֶׁר נָתַן־לְךָ תַּחַת הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ כֹּל יְמֵי הֶבְלֶךָ כִּי הוּא חֶלְקְךָ בַּחַיִּים וּבַעֲמָלְךָ אֲשֶׁר־אַתָּה עָמֵל תַּחַת הַשָּׁמֶשׁ׃ | 9.9. Enjoy life with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which He hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity; for that is thy portion in life, and in thy labour wherein thou labourest under the sun." |
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13. Hebrew Bible, Zechariah, 14 (5th cent. BCE - 4th cent. BCE)
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14. Septuagint, Ecclesiasticus (Siracides), 1.1, 24.19-24.21, 24.30-24.33, 51.3, 51.13-51.30 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 1.1. All wisdom comes from the Lord and is with him for ever. 1.1. The fear of the Lord delights the heart,and gives gladness and joy and long life. 24.19. Come to me, you who desire me,and eat your fill of my produce. 24.21. Those who eat me will hunger for more,and those who drink me will thirst for more. 24.31. I said, "I will water my orchard and drench my garden plot";and lo, my canal became a river,and my river became a sea. 24.32. I will again make instruction shine forth like the dawn,and I will make it shine afar; 24.33. I will again pour out teaching like prophecy,and leave it to all future generations. 51.3. and didst deliver me,in the greatness of thy mercy and of thy name,from the gnashings of teeth about to devour me,from the hand of those who sought my life,from the many afflictions that I endured 51.3. Do your work before the appointed time,and in Gods time he will give you your reward. 51.13. While I was still young, before I went on my travels,I sought wisdom openly in my prayer. 51.14. Before the temple I asked for her,and I will search for her to the last. 51.15. From blossom to ripening grape my heart delighted in her;my foot entered upon the straight path;from my youth I followed her steps. 51.16. I inclined my ear a little and received her,and I found for myself much instruction. 51.17. I made progress therein;to him who gives wisdom I will give glory. 51.18. For I resolved to live according to wisdom,and I was zealous for the good;and I shall never be put to shame. 51.19. My soul grappled with wisdom,and in my conduct I was strict;I spread out my hands to the heavens,and lamented my ignorance of her. 51.21. My heart was stirred to seek her,therefore I have gained a good possession. 51.22. The Lord gave me a tongue as my reward,and I will praise him with it. 51.23. Draw near to me, you who are untaught,and lodge in my school. 51.24. Why do you say you are lacking in these things,and why are your souls very thirsty? 51.25. I opened my mouth and said,Get these things for yourselves without money. 51.26. Put your neck under the yoke,and let your souls receive instruction;it is to be found close by. 51.27. See with your eyes that I have labored little and found myself much rest. 51.28. Get instruction with a large sum of silver,and you will gain by it much gold. 51.29. May your soul rejoice in his mercy,and may you not be put to shame when you praise him. |
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15. Septuagint, Wisdom of Solomon, 6.2, 6.12, 6.17-6.19, 7.22-7.23, 8.1-8.2, 8.9, 8.13, 8.16-8.18, 8.21, 9.1, 9.4 (2nd cent. BCE - 1st cent. BCE)
| 6.2. Give ear, you that rule over multitudes,and boast of many nations. 6.12. Wisdom is radiant and unfading,and she is easily discerned by those who love her,and is found by those who seek her. 6.17. The beginning of wisdom is the most sincere desire for instruction,and concern for instruction is love of her 6.18. and love of her is the keeping of her laws,and giving heed to her laws is assurance of immortality 6.19. and immortality brings one near to God; 7.22. for wisdom, the fashioner of all things, taught me. For in her there is a spirit that is intelligent, holy,unique, manifold, subtle,mobile, clear, unpolluted,distinct, invulnerable, loving the good, keen,irresistible 7.23. beneficent, humane, steadfast, sure, free from anxiety,all-powerful, overseeing all,and penetrating through all spirits that are intelligent and pure and most subtle. 8.1. She reaches mightily from one end of the earth to the other,and she orders all things well. 8.2. I loved her and sought her from my youth,and I desired to take her for my bride,and I became enamored of her beauty. 8.9. Therefore I determined to take her to live with me,knowing that she would give me good counsel and encouragement in cares and grief. 8.13. Because of her I shall have immortality,and leave an everlasting remembrance to those who come after me. 8.16. When I enter my house, I shall find rest with her,for companionship with her has no bitterness,and life with her has no pain, but gladness and joy. 8.17. When I considered these things inwardly,and thought upon them in my mind,that in kinship with wisdom there is immortality 8.18. and in friendship with her, pure delight,and in the labors of her hands, unfailing wealth,and in the experience of her company, understanding,and renown in sharing her words,I went about seeking how to get her for myself. 8.21. But I perceived that I would not possess wisdom unless God gave her to me -- and it was a mark of insight to know whose gift she was -- so I appealed to the Lord and besought him,and with my whole heart I said: 9.1. O God of my fathers and Lord of mercy,who hast made all things by thy word 9.4. give me the wisdom that sits by thy throne,and do not reject me from among thy servants. |
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16. Mishnah, Sukkah, 4.9 (1st cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
| 4.9. How was the water libation [performed]? A golden flask holding three logs was filled from the Shiloah. When they arrived at the water gate, they sounded a teki'ah [long blast], a teru'ah [a staccato note] and again a teki'ah. [The priest then] went up the ascent [of the altar] and turned to his left where there were two silver bowls. Rabbi Judah says: they were of plaster [but they looked silver] because their surfaces were darkened from the wine. They had each a hole like a slender snout, one being wide and the other narrow so that both emptied at the same time. The one on the west was for water and the one on the east for wine. If he poured the flask of water into the bowl for wine, or that of wine into that for water, he has fulfilled his obligation. Rabbi Judah says: with one log he performed the ceremony of the water-libation all eight days. To [the priest] who performed the libation they used to say, “Raise your hand”, for one time, a certain man poured out the water over his feet, and all the people pelted him with their etrogs." |
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17. Mishnah, Taanit, 1.1 (1st cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
| 1.1. From when do they mention the powers of [bringing] rain? Rabbi Eliezer says: from the first day of the Festival [of Sukkot]. Rabbi Joshua says: on the last day of the Festival [of Sukkot]. Rabbi Joshua said to him: Since rain on the Festival is nothing but a sign of [God’s] curse why should he mention it? Rabbi Eliezer said to him: I also did not say to request [rain] but to make mention, “He causes the wind to blow and the rain to fall” in its due season. He replied to him: if so one should at all times make mention of it." |
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18. New Testament, Romans, 8.36 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 8.36. Even as it is written, "For your sake we are killed all day long. We were accounted as sheep for the slaughter. |
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19. New Testament, John, 4.14, 7.38 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 4.14. but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never thirst again; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life. 7.38. He who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, from within him will flow rivers of living water. |
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20. Plutarch, On Isis And Osiris, 53, 43 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
| 43. They think that the risings of the Nile have some relation to the illuminations of the moon; for the greatest rising, Besides the famous ancient Nilometer at Elephantinê, others have been found at Philae, Edfu, and Esna. in the neighbourhood of Elephantinê, is twenty-eight cubits, which is the number of its illuminations that form the measure of each of its monthly cycles; the rising in the neighbourhood of Mendes and Xoïs, which is the least, is six cubits, corresponding to the first quarter. The mean rising, in the neighbourhood of Memphis, when it is normal, is fourteen cubits, corresponding to the full moon. The Apis, they say, is the animate image of Osiris, Cf. 359and 362 c, supra . and he comes into being when a fructifying light thrusts forth from the moon and falls upon a cow in her breeding-season. Cf. Moralia, 718 b, and Aelian, De Natura Animalium, xi. 10. Wherefore there are many things in the Apis that resemble features of the moon, his bright parts being darkened by the shadowy. Moreover, at the time of the new moon in the month of Pharnenoth they celebrate a festival to which they give the name of Osiris’s coming to the Moon, and this marks the beginning of the spring. Thus they make the power of Osiris to be fixed in the Moon, and say that Isis, since she is generation, is associated with him. For this reason they also call the Moon the mother of the world, and they think that she has a nature both male and female, as she is receptive and made pregt by the Sun, but she herself in turn emits and disseminates into the air generative principles. For, as they believe, the destructive activity of Typhon does not always prevail, but oftentimes is overpowered by such generation and put in bonds, and then at a later time is again released and contends against Horus, Cf. 358 d, supra . who is the terrestrial universe; and this is never completely exempt either from dissolution or from generation. 43. They think that the risings of the Nile have some relation to the illuminations of the moon; for the greatest rising, in the neighbourhood of Elephantinê, is twenty-eight cubits, which is the number of its illuminations that form the measure of each of its monthly cycles; the rising in the neighbourhood of Mendes and Xoïs, which is the least, is six cubits, corresponding to the first quarter. The mean rising, in the neighbourhood of Memphis, when it is normal, is fourteen cubits, corresponding to the full moon. The Apis, they say, is the animate image of Osiris, and he comes into being when a fructifying light thrusts forth from the moon and falls upon a cow in her breeding-season. Wherefore there are many things in the Apis that resemble features of the moon, his bright parts being darkened by the shadowy. Moreover, at the time of the new moon in the month of Phamenoth they celebrate a festival to which they give the name of "Osiris's coming to the Moon," and this marks the beginning of the spring. Thus they make the power of Osiris to be fixed in the Moon, and say that Isis, since she is generation, is associated with him. For this reason they also call the Moon the mother of the world, and they think that she has a nature both male and female, as she is receptive and made pregt by the Sun, but she herself in turn emits and disseminates into the air generative principles. For, as they believe, the destructive activity of Typhon does not always prevail, but oftentimes is overpowered by such generation and put in bonds, and then at a later time is again released and contends against Horus, who is the terrestrial universe; and this is never completely exempt either from dissolution or from generation. |
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21. Anon., Sifre Deuteronomy, 48, 32 (2nd cent. CE - 4th cent. CE)
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