1. Hebrew Bible, Deuteronomy, 7.5 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 7.5. כִּי־אִם־כֹּה תַעֲשׂוּ לָהֶם מִזְבְּחֹתֵיהֶם תִּתֹּצוּ וּמַצֵּבֹתָם תְּשַׁבֵּרוּ וַאֲשֵׁירֵהֶם תְּגַדֵּעוּן וּפְסִילֵיהֶם תִּשְׂרְפוּן בָּאֵשׁ׃ | 7.5. But thus shall ye deal with them: ye shall break down their altars, and dash in pieces their pillars, and hew down their Asherim, and burn their graven images with fire." |
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2. Hebrew Bible, Exodus, 2.2, 15.1 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 2.2. וַתַּהַר הָאִשָּׁה וַתֵּלֶד בֵּן וַתֵּרֶא אֹתוֹ כִּי־טוֹב הוּא וַתִּצְפְּנֵהוּ שְׁלֹשָׁה יְרָחִים׃ 2.2. וַיֹּאמֶר אֶל־בְּנֹתָיו וְאַיּוֹ לָמָּה זֶּה עֲזַבְתֶּן אֶת־הָאִישׁ קִרְאֶן לוֹ וְיֹאכַל לָחֶם׃ 15.1. אָז יָשִׁיר־מֹשֶׁה וּבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת־הַשִּׁירָה הַזֹּאת לַיהוָה וַיֹּאמְרוּ לֵאמֹר אָשִׁירָה לַיהוָה כִּי־גָאֹה גָּאָה סוּס וְרֹכְבוֹ רָמָה בַיָּם׃ 15.1. נָשַׁפְתָּ בְרוּחֲךָ כִּסָּמוֹ יָם צָלֲלוּ כַּעוֹפֶרֶת בְּמַיִם אַדִּירִים׃ | 2.2. And the woman conceived, and bore a son; and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months." 15.1. Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the LORD, and spoke, saying: I will sing unto the LORD, for He is highly exalted; The horse and his rider hath He thrown into the sea." |
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3. Hebrew Bible, Proverbs, 7.5, 7.21-7.22 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 7.5. לִשְׁמָרְךָ מֵאִשָּׁה זָרָה מִנָּכְרִיָּה אֲמָרֶיהָ הֶחֱלִיקָה׃ 7.21. הִטַּתּוּ בְּרֹב לִקְחָהּ בְּחֵלֶק שְׂפָתֶיהָ תַּדִּיחֶנּוּ׃ 7.22. הוֹלֵךְ אַחֲרֶיהָ פִּתְאֹם כְּשׁוֹר אֶל־טָבַח יָבוֹא וּכְעֶכֶס אֶל־מוּסַר אֱוִיל׃ | 7.5. That they may keep thee from the strange woman, From the alien woman that maketh smooth her words." 7.21. With her much fair speech she causeth him to yield, With the blandishment of her lips she enticeth him away." 7.22. He goeth after her straightway, As an ox that goeth to the slaughter, Or as one in fetters to the correction of the fool;" |
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4. Hebrew Bible, Ruth, 1.16 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 1.16. וַתֹּאמֶר רוּת אַל־תִּפְגְּעִי־בִי לְעָזְבֵךְ לָשׁוּב מֵאַחֲרָיִךְ כִּי אֶל־אֲשֶׁר תֵּלְכִי אֵלֵךְ וּבַאֲשֶׁר תָּלִינִי אָלִין עַמֵּךְ עַמִּי וֵאלֹהַיִךְ אֱלֹהָי׃ | 1.16. And Ruth said: ‘Entreat me not to leave thee, and to return from following after thee; for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God;" |
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5. Hebrew Bible, 1 Samuel, 25.32-25.33 (8th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
| 25.32. וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִד לַאֲבִיגַל בָּרוּךְ יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲשֶׁר שְׁלָחֵךְ הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה לִקְרָאתִי׃ 25.33. וּבָרוּךְ טַעְמֵךְ וּבְרוּכָה אָתְּ אֲשֶׁר כְּלִתִנִי הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה מִבּוֹא בְדָמִים וְהֹשֵׁעַ יָדִי לִי׃ | 25.32. And David said to Avigayil, Blessed be the Lord God of Yisra᾽el, who sent thee this day to meet me:" 25.33. and blessed be thy discretion, and blessed be thou who hast kept me this day from coming to shed blood, and from avenging myself with my own hand." |
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6. Hebrew Bible, 2 Kings, 5.15, 5.17 (8th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
| 5.15. וַיָּשָׁב אֶל־אִישׁ הָאֱלֹהִים הוּא וְכָל־מַחֲנֵהוּ וַיָּבֹא וַיַּעֲמֹד לְפָנָיו וַיֹּאמֶר הִנֵּה־נָא יָדַעְתִּי כִּי אֵין אֱלֹהִים בְּכָל־הָאָרֶץ כִּי אִם־בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל וְעַתָּה קַח־נָא בְרָכָה מֵאֵת עַבְדֶּךָ׃ 5.17. וַיֹּאמֶר נַעֲמָן וָלֹא יֻתַּן־נָא לְעַבְדְּךָ מַשָּׂא צֶמֶד־פְּרָדִים אֲדָמָה כִּי לוֹא־יַעֲשֶׂה עוֹד עַבְדְּךָ עֹלָה וָזֶבַח לֵאלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים כִּי אִם־לַיהוָה׃ | 5.15. And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him; and he said: ‘Behold now, I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel; now therefore, I pray thee, take a present of thy servant.’" 5.17. And Naaman said: ‘If not, yet I pray thee let there be given to thy servant two mules’burden of earth; for thy servant will henceforth offer neither burnt-offering nor sacrifice unto other gods, but unto the LORD." |
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7. Hebrew Bible, Isaiah, 14.12-14.14 (8th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
| 14.12. אֵיךְ נָפַלְתָּ מִשָּׁמַיִם הֵילֵל בֶּן־שָׁחַר נִגְדַּעְתָּ לָאָרֶץ חוֹלֵשׁ עַל־גּוֹיִם׃ 14.13. וְאַתָּה אָמַרְתָּ בִלְבָבְךָ הַשָּׁמַיִם אֶעֱלֶה מִמַּעַל לְכוֹכְבֵי־אֵל אָרִים כִּסְאִי וְאֵשֵׁב בְּהַר־מוֹעֵד בְּיַרְכְּתֵי צָפוֹן׃ 14.14. אֶעֱלֶה עַל־בָּמֳתֵי עָב אֶדַּמֶּה לְעֶלְיוֹן׃ | 14.12. How art thou fallen from heaven, O day-star, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, That didst cast lots over the nations!" 14.13. And thou saidst in thy heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, Above the stars of God Will I exalt my throne, And I will sit upon the mount of meeting, In the uttermost parts of the north;" 14.14. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High.’" |
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8. Hebrew Bible, Judges, 4.16-4.22, 5.24-5.27 (8th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
| 4.16. וּבָרָק רָדַף אַחֲרֵי הָרֶכֶב וְאַחֲרֵי הַמַּחֲנֶה עַד חֲרֹשֶׁת הַגּוֹיִם וַיִּפֹּל כָּל־מַחֲנֵה סִיסְרָא לְפִי־חֶרֶב לֹא נִשְׁאַר עַד־אֶחָד׃ 4.17. וְסִיסְרָא נָס בְּרַגְלָיו אֶל־אֹהֶל יָעֵל אֵשֶּׁת חֶבֶר הַקֵּינִי כִּי שָׁלוֹם בֵּין יָבִין מֶלֶךְ־חָצוֹר וּבֵין בֵּית חֶבֶר הַקֵּינִי׃ 4.18. וַתֵּצֵא יָעֵל לִקְרַאת סִיסְרָא וַתֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו סוּרָה אֲדֹנִי סוּרָה אֵלַי אַל־תִּירָא וַיָּסַר אֵלֶיהָ הָאֹהֱלָה וַתְּכַסֵּהוּ בַּשְּׂמִיכָה׃ 4.19. וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלֶיהָ הַשְׁקִינִי־נָא מְעַט־מַיִם כִּי צָמֵאתִי וַתִּפְתַּח אֶת־נֹאוד הֶחָלָב וַתַּשְׁקֵהוּ וַתְּכַסֵּהוּ׃ 4.21. וַתִּקַּח יָעֵל אֵשֶׁת־חֶבֶר אֶת־יְתַד הָאֹהֶל וַתָּשֶׂם אֶת־הַמַּקֶּבֶת בְּיָדָהּ וַתָּבוֹא אֵלָיו בַּלָּאט וַתִּתְקַע אֶת־הַיָּתֵד בְּרַקָּתוֹ וַתִּצְנַח בָּאָרֶץ וְהוּא־נִרְדָּם וַיָּעַף וַיָּמֹת׃ 4.22. וְהִנֵּה בָרָק רֹדֵף אֶת־סִיסְרָא וַתֵּצֵא יָעֵל לִקְרָאתוֹ וַתֹּאמֶר לוֹ לֵךְ וְאַרְאֶךָּ אֶת־הָאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר־אַתָּה מְבַקֵּשׁ וַיָּבֹא אֵלֶיהָ וְהִנֵּה סִיסְרָא נֹפֵל מֵת וְהַיָּתֵד בְּרַקָּתוֹ׃ 5.24. תְּבֹרַךְ מִנָּשִׁים יָעֵל אֵשֶׁת חֶבֶר הַקֵּינִי מִנָּשִׁים בָּאֹהֶל תְּבֹרָךְ׃ 5.25. מַיִם שָׁאַל חָלָב נָתָנָה בְּסֵפֶל אַדִּירִים הִקְרִיבָה חֶמְאָה׃ 5.26. יָדָהּ לַיָּתֵד תִּשְׁלַחְנָה וִימִינָהּ לְהַלְמוּת עֲמֵלִים וְהָלְמָה סִיסְרָא מָחֲקָה רֹאשׁוֹ וּמָחֲצָה וְחָלְפָה רַקָּתוֹ׃ 5.27. בֵּין רַגְלֶיהָ כָּרַע נָפַל שָׁכָב בֵּין רַגְלֶיהָ כָּרַע נָפָל בַּאֲשֶׁר כָּרַע שָׁם נָפַל שָׁדוּד׃ | 4.16. But Baraq pursued after the chariots, and after the host, as far as Ĥaroshet-haggoyim: and all the host of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; there was not a man left." 4.17. But Sisera fled away by foot to the tent of Ya᾽el the wife of Ĥever the Qenite: for there was peace between Yavin the king of Ĥażor and the house of Ĥever the Qeni." 4.18. And Ya᾽el went out to meet Sisera, and said to him, Turn in, my lord, turn in to me; fear not. And when he had turned in to her into the tent, she covered him with a blanket." 4.19. And he said to her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water to drink; for I am thirsty. And she opened a bottle of milk, and gave him drink, and covered him." 4.20. Then he said to her, Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be, if any man comes and inquires of thee, and says, Is there anyone here? that thou shalt say, No." 4.21. Then Ya᾽el Ĥever’s wife took a tent peg, and took a hammer in her hand, and went softly to him, and drove the tent peg into his temple, and fastened it to the ground: for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died." 4.22. And, behold, as Baraq pursued Sisera, Ya᾽el came out to meet him, and said to him, Come, and I will show thee the man whom thou seekest. And when he came into her tent, behold, Sisera lay dead, and the peg in his temple." 5.24. Blessed above women is Ya᾽el the wife of Ĥever the Qenite, blessed is she more than women in the tent." 5.25. He asked water, but she gave him milk; she brought forth cream in a lordly dish." 5.26. She put her hand to the tent peg, and her right hand to the workmen’s hammer; and she hammered Sisera, she smote through his head; she crushed and pierced his temple." 5.27. At her feet he bent, he fell, he lay down: at her feet he bent, he fell: where he bowed, there he fell down, bereft of life." |
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9. Hebrew Bible, Ezekiel, 28.1-28.10 (6th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
| 28.1. מוֹתֵי עֲרֵלִים תָּמוּת בְּיַד־זָרִים כִּי אֲנִי דִבַּרְתִּי נְאֻם אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה׃ 28.1. וַיְהִי דְבַר־יְהוָה אֵלַי לֵאמֹר׃ 28.2. בֶּן־אָדָם אֱמֹר לִנְגִיד צֹר כֹּה־אָמַר אֲדֹנָי יְהֹוִה יַעַן גָּבַהּ לִבְּךָ וַתֹּאמֶר אֵל אָנִי מוֹשַׁב אֱלֹהִים יָשַׁבְתִּי בְּלֵב יַמִּים וְאַתָּה אָדָם וְלֹא־אֵל וַתִּתֵּן לִבְּךָ כְּלֵב אֱלֹהִים׃ 28.2. וַיְהִי דְבַר־יְהוָה אֵלַי לֵאמֹר׃ 28.3. הִנֵּה חָכָם אַתָּה מדנאל [מִדָּנִיֵּאל] כָּל־סָתוּם לֹא עֲמָמוּךָ׃ 28.4. בְּחָכְמָתְךָ וּבִתְבוּנָתְךָ עָשִׂיתָ לְּךָ חָיִל וַתַּעַשׂ זָהָב וָכֶסֶף בְּאוֹצְרוֹתֶיךָ׃ 28.5. בְּרֹב חָכְמָתְךָ בִּרְכֻלָּתְךָ הִרְבִּיתָ חֵילֶךָ וַיִּגְבַּהּ לְבָבְךָ בְּחֵילֶךָ׃ 28.6. לָכֵן כֹּה אָמַר אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה יַעַן תִּתְּךָ אֶת־לְבָבְךָ כְּלֵב אֱלֹהִים׃ 28.7. לָכֵן הִנְנִי מֵבִיא עָלֶיךָ זָרִים עָרִיצֵי גּוֹיִם וְהֵרִיקוּ חַרְבוֹתָם עַל־יְפִי חָכְמָתֶךָ וְחִלְּלוּ יִפְעָתֶךָ׃ 28.8. לַשַּׁחַת יוֹרִדוּךָ וָמַתָּה מְמוֹתֵי חָלָל בְּלֵב יַמִּים׃ 28.9. הֶאָמֹר תֹּאמַר אֱלֹהִים אָנִי לִפְנֵי הֹרְגֶךָ וְאַתָּה אָדָם וְלֹא־אֵל בְּיַד מְחַלְלֶיךָ׃ | 28.1. And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying:" 28.2. ’Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyre: Thus saith the Lord GOD: Because thy heart is lifted up, And thou hast said: I am a god, I sit in the seat of God, In the heart of the seas; Yet thou art man, and not God, Though thou didst set thy heart as the heart of God—" 28.3. Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel! There is no secret that they can hide from thee!" 28.4. By thy wisdom and by thy discernment Thou hast gotten thee riches, And hast gotten gold and silver Into thy treasures;" 28.5. In thy great wisdom by thy traffic Hast thou increased thy riches, And thy heart is lifted up because of thy riches—" 28.6. Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD: Because thou hast set thy heart As the heart of God;" 28.7. Therefore, behold, I will bring strangers upon thee, The terrible of the nations; And they shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom, And they shall defile thy brightness. ." 28.8. They shall bring thee down to the pit; And thou shalt die the deaths of them that are slain, In the heart of the seas." 28.9. Wilt thou yet say before him that slayeth thee: I am God? But thou art man, and not God, In the hand of them that defile thee." 28.10. Thou shalt die the deaths of the uncircumcised By the hand of strangers; For I have spoken, saith the Lord GOD.’" |
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10. Hebrew Bible, 2 Chronicles, 14.2 (5th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 14.2. וַיָּסַר אֶת־מִזְבְּחוֹת הַנֵּכָר וְהַבָּמוֹת וַיְשַׁבֵּר אֶת־הַמַּצֵּבוֹת וַיְגַדַּע אֶת־הָאֲשֵׁרִים׃ | 14.2. for he took away the strange altars, and the high places, and broke down the pillars, and hewed down the Asherim;" |
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11. Herodotus, Histories, 4.126-4.127, 4.132, 5.17-5.18, 5.73, 6.48, 6.94, 7.32, 7.131-7.132, 7.138, 7.163, 8.47 (5th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
| 4.126. As this went on for a long time and did not stop, Darius sent a horseman to Idanthyrsus the Scythian king, with this message: “You crazy man, why do you always run, when you can do otherwise? If you believe yourself strong enough to withstand my power, stand and fight and stop running; but if you know you are the weaker, then stop running like this and come to terms with your master, bringing gifts of earth and water.” 4.127. Idanthyrsus the Scythian king replied: “It is like this with me, Persian: I never ran from any man before out of fear, and I am not running from you now; I am not doing any differently now than I am used to doing in time of peace, too. ,As to why I do not fight with you at once, I will tell you why. We Scythians have no towns or cultivated land, out of fear for which, that the one might be taken or the other wasted, we would engage you sooner in battle. But if all you want is to come to that quickly, we have the graves of our fathers. ,Come on, find these and try to destroy them: you shall know then whether we will fight you for the graves or whether we will not fight. Until then, unless we have reason, we will not engage with you. ,As to fighting, enough; as to masters, I acknowledge Zeus my forefather and Hestia queen of the Scythians only. As for you, instead of gifts of earth and water I shall send such as ought to come to you; and for your boast that you are my master, I say ‘Weep!’” Such is the proverbial “Scythian speech.” 4.132. When they heard this, the Persians deliberated. Darius' judgment was that the Scythians were surrendering themselves and their earth and their water to him; for he reasoned that a mouse is a creature found in the earth and eating the same produce as men, and a frog is a creature of the water and a bird particularly like a horse; and the arrows signified that the Scythians surrendered their fighting power. ,This was the opinion declared by Darius; but the opinion of Gobryas, one of the seven who had slain the Magus, was contrary to it. He reasoned that the meaning of the gifts was, ,“Unless you become birds, Persians, and fly up into the sky, or mice and hide in the earth, or frogs and leap into the lakes, you will be shot by these arrows and never return home.” 5.17. So those of the Paeonians who had been captured were taken into Asia. Then Megabazus, having made the Paeonians captive, sent as messengers into Macedonia the seven Persians who (after himself) were the most honorable in his army. These were sent to Amyntas to demand earth and water for Darius the king. ,Now there is a very straight way from the Prasiad lake to Macedonia. First there is near the lake that mine from which Alexander later drew a daily revenue of a talent of silver, and when a person has passed the mine, he need only cross the mountain called Dysorum to be in Macedonia. 5.18. The Persians who had been sent as envoys came to Amyntas and demanded earth and water for Darius the king. He readily gave to them what they asked and invited them to be his guests, preparing a dinner of great splendor and receiving them hospitably. ,After dinner, the Persians said to Amyntas as they sat drinking together, “Macedonian, our host, it is our custom in Persia to bring in also the concubines and wedded wives to sit by the men after the giving of any great banquet. We ask you, then, (since you have received us heartily, are entertaining us nobly and are giving Darius our king earth and water) to follow our custom.” ,To this Amyntas replied, “ We have no such custom, Persians. Among us, men and women sit apart, but since you are our masters and are making this request, it shall be as you desire.” With that, Amyntas sent for the women. Upon being called, the women entered and sat down in a row opposite the Persians. ,Then the Persians, seeing beautiful women before them, spoke to Amyntas and said that there was no sense in what he had done. It would be better if the women had never come at all than that they should come and not sit beside the men, but sit opposite them to torment their eyes. ,Amyntas, now feeling compelled to do so, bade the women sit beside them. When the women had done as they were bidden, the Persians, flushed as they were with excess of wine, at once laid hands on the women's breasts, and one or another tried to kiss them. 5.73. These men, then, were bound and put to death. After that, the Athenians sent to bring back Cleisthenes and the seven hundred households banished by Cleomenes. Then, desiring to make an alliance with the Persians, they despatched envoys to Sardis, for they knew that they had provoked the Lacedaemonians and Cleomenes to war. ,When the envoys came to Sardis and spoke as they had been bidden, Artaphrenes son of Hystaspes, viceroy of Sardis, asked them, “What men are you and where do you live, who desire alliance with the Persians?” When he had received the information he wanted from the envoys, he gave them an answer the substance of which was that if the Athenians gave king Darius earth and water, then he would make an alliance with them, but if not, his command was that they should depart. ,The envoys consulted together, and in their desire to make the alliance, they consented to give what was asked. They then returned to their own country and were there greatly blamed for what they had done. 6.48. Then Darius attempted to learn whether the Greeks intended to wage war against him or to surrender themselves. He sent heralds this way and that throughout Hellas, bidding them demand a gift of earth and water for the king. ,He despatched some to Hellas, and he sent others to his own tributary cities of the coast, commanding that ships of war and transports for horses be built. 6.94. Thus Athens and Aegina grappled together in war. The Persian was going about his own business, for his servant was constantly reminding him to remember the Athenians, and the Pisistratidae were at his elbow maligning the Athenians; moreover, Darius desired to take this pretext for subduing all the men of Hellas who had not given him earth and water. ,He dismissed from command Mardonius, who had fared so badly on his expedition, and appointed other generals to lead his armies against Athens and Eretria, Datis, a Mede by birth, and his own nephew Artaphrenes son of Artaphrenes; the order he gave them at their departure was to enslave Athens and Eretria and bring the slaves into his presence. 7.32. After he arrived in Sardis, he first sent heralds to Hellas to demand earth and water and to command the preparation of meals for the king. He sent demands for earth everywhere except to Athens and Lacedaemon. The reason for his sending for earth and water the second time was this: he fully believed that whoever had not previously given it to Darius' messengers would now be compelled to give by fear; so he sent out of desire to know this for certain. 7.131. Xerxes stayed for many days in the region of Pieria while a third part of his army was clearing a road over the Macedonian mountains so that the whole army might pass by that way to the Perrhaebian country. Now it was that the heralds who had been sent to Hellas to demand earth, some empty-handed, some bearing earth and water, returned. 7.132. Among those who paid that tribute were the Thessalians, Dolopes, Enienes, Perrhaebians, Locrians, Magnesians, Melians, Achaeans of Phthia, Thebans, and all the Boeotians except the men of Thespiae and Plataea. ,Against all of these the Greeks who declared war with the foreigner entered into a sworn agreement, which was this: that if they should be victorious, they would dedicate to the god of Delphi the possessions of all Greeks who had of free will surrendered themselves to the Persians. Such was the agreement sworn by the Greeks. 7.138. The professed intent of the king's march was to attack Athens, but in truth all Hellas was his aim. This the Greeks had long since learned, but not all of them regarded the matter alike. ,Those of them who had paid the tribute of earth and water to the Persian were of good courage, thinking that the foreigner would do them no harm, but they who had refused tribute were afraid, since there were not enough ships in Hellas to do battle with their invader; furthermore, the greater part of them had no stomach for grappling with the war, but were making haste to side with the Persian. 7.163. After such dealings with Gelon the Greek envoys sailed away. Gelon, however, feared that the Greeks would not be able to overcome the barbarian, while believing it dreadful and intolerable that he, the tyrant of Sicily, should go to the Peloponnese to be at the beck and call of Lacedaemonians. For this reason he took no more thought of this plan but followed another instead. ,As soon as he was informed that the Persian had crossed the Hellespont, he sent Cadmus son of Scythes, a man of Cos, to Delphi with three fifty-oared ships, bringing them money and messages of friendship. Cadmus was to observe the outcome of the battle, and if the barbarian should be victorious, he was to give him both the money, and earth and water on behalf of Gelon's dominions. If, however, the Greeks were victorious, he was to bring everything back again. 8.47. All these people who live this side of Thesprotia and the Acheron river took part in the war. The Thesprotians border on the Ampraciots and Leucadians, who were the ones who came from the most distant countries to take part in the war. The only ones living beyond these to help Hellas in its danger were the Crotonians, with one ship. Its captain was Phayllus, three times victor in the Pythian games. The Crotonians are Achaeans by birth. |
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12. Hebrew Bible, Daniel, 2.37-2.38 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 2.37. אַנְתְּה מַלְכָּא מֶלֶךְ מַלְכַיָּא דִּי אֱלָהּ שְׁמַיָּא מַלְכוּתָא חִסְנָא וְתָקְפָּא וִיקָרָא יְהַב־לָךְ׃ 2.38. וּבְכָל־דִּי דארין [דָיְרִין] בְּנֵי־אֲנָשָׁא חֵיוַת בָּרָא וְעוֹף־שְׁמַיָּא יְהַב בִּידָךְ וְהַשְׁלְטָךְ בְּכָלְּהוֹן אַנְתְּה־הוּא רֵאשָׁה דִּי דַהֲבָא׃ | 2.37. Thou, O king, king of kings, unto whom the God of heaven hath given the kingdom, the power, and the strength, and the glory;" 2.38. and wheresoever the children of men, the beasts of the field, and the fowls of the heaven dwell, hath He given them into thy hand, and hath made thee to rule over them all; thou art the head of gold." |
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13. Septuagint, 1 Maccabees, 7.26, 15.13 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 7.26. Then the king sent Nicanor, one of his honored princes, who hated and detested Israel, and he commanded him to destroy the people. 15.13. So Antiochus encamped against Dor, and with him were a hundred and twenty thousand warriors and eight thousand cavalry. |
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14. Septuagint, 2 Maccabees, 4.30, 9.3, 12.20 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 4.30. While such was the state of affairs, it happened that the people of Tarsus and of Mallus revolted because their cities had been given as a present to Antiochis, the king's concubine.' 9.3. While he was in Ecbatana, news came to him of what had happened to Nicanor and the forces of Timothy.' 12.20. But Maccabeus arranged his army in divisions, set men in command of the divisions, and hastened after Timothy, who had with him a hundred and twenty thousand infantry and two thousand five hundred cavalry.' |
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15. Septuagint, Judith, 1.1-1.10, 1.12-1.16, 2.1-2.13, 3.8, 4.1, 4.3, 4.12, 5.5, 5.19, 7.27, 7.30, 8.10, 8.19, 8.21, 9.4, 9.7, 11.7, 11.10, 12.15, 13.1-13.2, 13.4, 13.6-13.9, 13.18, 14.5, 14.7, 15.6-15.7, 16.1, 16.4-16.9, 16.14-16.15, 16.17 (2nd cent. BCE - 0th cent. CE)
| 1.1. In the twelfth year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, who ruled over the Assyrians in the great city of Nineveh, in the days of Arphaxad, who ruled over the Medes in Ecbatana -- 1.2. he is the king who built walls about Ecbatana with hewn stones three cubits thick and six cubits long; he made the walls seventy cubits high and fifty cubits wide; 1.3. at the gates he built towers a hundred cubits high and sixty cubits wide at the foundations; 1.4. and he made its gates, which were seventy cubits high and forty cubits wide, so that his armies could march out in force and his infantry form their ranks -- 1.5. it was in those days that King Nebuchadnezzar made war against King Arphaxad in the great plain which is on the borders of Ragae. 1.6. He was joined by all the people of the hill country and all those who lived along the Euphrates and the Tigris and the Hydaspes and in the plain where Arioch ruled the Elymaeans. Many nations joined the forces of the Chaldeans. 1.7. Then Nebuchadnezzar king of the Assyrians sent to all who lived in Persia and to all who lived in the west, those who lived in Cilicia and Damascus and Lebanon and Antilebanon and all who lived along the seacoast 1.8. and those among the nations of Carmel and Gilead, and Upper Galilee and the great Plain of Esdraelon 1.9. and all who were in Samaria and its surrounding towns, and beyond the Jordan as far as Jerusalem and Bethany and Chelous and Kadesh and the river of Egypt, and Tahpanhes and Raamses and the whole land of Goshen 1.10. even beyond Tanis and Memphis, and all who lived in Egypt as far as the borders of Ethiopia. 1.12. Then Nebuchadnezzar was very angry with this whole region, and swore by his throne and kingdom that he would surely take revenge on the whole territory of Cilicia and Damascus and Syria, that he would kill them by the sword, and also all the inhabitants of the land of Moab, and the people of Ammon, and all Judea, and every one in Egypt, as far as the coasts of the two seas. 1.13. In the seventeenth year he led his forces against King Arphaxad, and defeated him in battle, and overthrew the whole army of Arphaxad, and all his cavalry and all his chariots. 1.14. Thus he took possession of his cities, and came to Ecbatana, captured its towers, plundered its markets, and turned its beauty into shame. 1.15. He captured Arphaxad in the mountains of Ragae and struck him down with hunting spears; and he utterly destroyed him, to this day. 1.16. Then he returned with them to Nineveh, he and all his combined forces, a vast body of troops; and there he and his forces rested and feasted for one hundred and twenty days. 2.1. In the eighteenth year, on the twenty-second day of the first month, there was talk in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar king of the Assyrians about carrying out his revenge on the whole region, just as he said. 2.2. He called together all his officers and all his nobles and set forth to them his secret plan and recounted fully, with his own lips, all the wickedness of the region; 2.3. and it was decided that every one who had not obeyed his command should be destroyed. 2.4. When he had finished setting forth his plan, Nebuchadnezzar king of the Assyrians called Holofernes, the chief general of his army, second only to himself, and said to him 2.5. Thus says the Great King, the lord of the whole earth: When you leave my presence, take with you men confident in their strength, to the number of one hundred and twenty thousand foot soldiers and twelve thousand cavalry. 2.6. Go and attack the whole west country, because they disobeyed my orders. 2.7. Tell them to prepare earth and water, for I am coming against them in my anger, and will cover the whole face of the earth with the feet of my armies, and will hand them over to be plundered by my troops 2.8. till their wounded shall fill their valleys, and every brook and river shall be filled with their dead, and overflow; 2.9. and I will lead them away captive to the ends of the whole earth. 2.10. You shall go and seize all their territory for me in advance. They will yield themselves to you, and you shall hold them for me till the day of their punishment. 2.11. But if they refuse, your eye shall not spare and you shall hand them over to slaughter and plunder throughout your whole region. 2.12. For as I live, and by the power of my kingdom, what I have spoken my hand will execute. 2.13. And you -- take care not to transgress any of your sovereign's commands, but be sure to carry them out just as I have ordered you; and do not delay about it. 3.8. And he demolished all their shrines and cut down their sacred groves; for it had been given to him to destroy all the gods of the land, so that all nations should worship Nebuchadnezzar only, and all their tongues and tribes should call upon him as god. 4.1. By this time the people of Israel living in Judea heard of everything that Holofernes, the general of Nebuchadnezzar the king of the Assyrians, had done to the nations, and how he had plundered and destroyed all their temples; 4.3. For they had only recently returned from the captivity, and all the people of Judea were newly gathered together, and the sacred vessels and the altar and the temple had been consecrated after their profanation. 4.12. They even surrounded the altar with sackcloth and cried out in unison, praying earnestly to the God of Israel not to give up their infants as prey and their wives as booty, and the cities they had inherited to be destroyed, and the sanctuary to be profaned and desecrated to the malicious joy of the Gentiles. 5.5. Then Achior, the leader of all the Ammonites, said to him, "Let my lord now hear a word from the mouth of your servant, and I will tell you the truth about this people that dwells in the nearby mountain district. No falsehood shall come from your servant's mouth. 5.19. But now they have returned to their God, and have come back from the places to which they were scattered, and have occupied Jerusalem, where their sanctuary is, and have settled in the hill country, because it was uninhabited. 7.27. For it would be better for us to be captured by them; for we will be slaves, but our lives will be spared, and we shall not witness the death of our babes before our eyes, or see our wives and children draw their last breath. 7.30. And Uzziah said to them, "Have courage, my brothers! Let us hold out for five more days; by that time the Lord our God will restore to us his mercy, for he will not forsake us utterly. 8.10. she sent her maid, who was in charge of all she possessed, to summon Chabris and Charmis, the elders of her city. 8.19. and that was why our fathers were handed over to the sword, and to be plundered, and so they suffered a great catastrophe before our enemies. 8.21. For if we are captured all Judea will be captured and our sanctuary will be plundered; and he will exact of us the penalty for its desecration. 9.4. and thou gavest their wives for a prey and their daughters to captivity, and all their booty to be divided among thy beloved sons, who were zealous for thee, and abhorred the pollution of their blood, and called on thee for help -- O God, my God, hear me also, a widow. 9.7. Behold now, the Assyrians are increased in their might; they are exalted, with their horses and riders; they glory in the strength of their foot soldiers; they trust in shield and spear, in bow and sling, and know not that thou art the Lord who crushest wars; the Lord is thy name. 11.7. Nebuchadnezzar the king of the whole earth lives, and as his power endures, who had sent you to direct every living soul, not only do men serve him because of you, but also the beasts of the field and the cattle and the birds of the air will live by your power under Nebuchadnezzar and all his house. 11.10. Therefore, my lord and master, do not disregard what he said, but keep it in your mind, for it is true: our nation cannot be punished, nor can the sword prevail against them, unless they sin against their God. 12.15. So she got up and arrayed herself in all her woman's finery, and her maid went and spread on the ground for her before Holofernes the soft fleeces which she had received from Bagoas for her daily use, so that she might recline on them when she ate. 13.1. When evening came, his slaves quickly withdrew, and Bagoas closed the tent from outside and shut out the attendants from his master's presence; and they went to bed, for they all were weary because the banquet had lasted long. 13.2. So Judith was left alone in the tent, with Holofernes stretched out on his bed, for he was overcome with wine. 13.4. So every one went out, and no one, either small or great, was left in the bedchamber. Then Judith, standing beside his bed, said in her heart, "O Lord God of all might, look in this hour upon the work of my hands for the exaltation of Jerusalem. 13.6. She went up to the post at the end of the bed, above Holofernes' head, and took down his sword that hung there. 13.7. She came close to his bed and took hold of the hair of his head, and said, "Give me strength this day, O Lord God of Israel! 13.8. And she struck his neck twice with all her might, and severed it from his body. 13.9. Then she tumbled his body off the bed and pulled down the canopy from the posts; after a moment she went out, and gave Holofernes' head to her maid 13.18. And Uzziah said to her, "O daughter, you are blessed by the Most High God above all women on earth; and blessed be the Lord God, who created the heavens and the earth, who has guided you to strike the head of the leader of our enemies. 14.5. But before you do all this, bring Achior the Ammonite to me, and let him see and recognize the man who despised the house of Israel and sent him to us as if to his death. 14.7. And when they raised him up he fell at Judith's feet, and knelt before her, and said, "Blessed are you in every tent of Judah! In every nation those who hear your name will be alarmed. 15.6. The rest of the people of Bethulia fell upon the Assyrian camp and plundered it, and were greatly enriched. 15.7. And the Israelites, when they returned from the slaughter, took possession of what remained, and the villages and towns in the hill country and in the plain got a great amount of booty, for there was a vast quantity of it. 16.1. Then Judith began this thanksgiving before all Israel, and all the people loudly sang this song of praise. 16.4. The Assyrian came down from the mountains of the north; he came with myriads of his warriors; their multitude blocked up the valleys, their cavalry covered the hills. 16.5. He boasted that he would burn up my territory, and kill my young men with the sword, and dash my infants to the ground and seize my children as prey, and take my virgins as booty. 16.6. But the Lord Almighty has foiled them by the hand of a woman. 16.7. For their mighty one did not fall by the hands of the young men, nor did the sons of the Titans smite him, nor did tall giants set upon him; but Judith the daughter of Merari undid him with the beauty of her countece. 16.8. For she took off her widow's mourning to exalt the oppressed in Israel. She anointed her face with ointment and fastened her hair with a tiara and put on a linen gown to deceive him. 16.9. Her sandal ravished his eyes, her beauty captivated his mind, and the sword severed his neck. 16.14. Let all thy creatures serve thee, for thou didst speak, and they were made. Thou didst send forth thy Spirit, and it formed them; there is none that can resist thy voice. 16.15. For the mountains shall be shaken to their foundations with the waters; at thy presence the rocks shall melt like wax, but to those who fear thee thou wilt continue to show mercy. 16.17. Woe to the nations that rise up against my people! The Lord Almighty will take vengeance on them in the day of judgment; fire and worms he will give to their flesh; they shall weep in pain for ever. |
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16. Diodorus Siculus, Historical Library, 17.5.3-17.5.5, 31.32, 31.34 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. BCE)
| 17.5.3. As our narrative is now to treat of the kingdom of the Persians, we must go back a little to pick up the thread. While Philip was still king, Ochus ruled the Persians and oppressed his subjects cruelly and harshly. Since his savage disposition made him hated, the chiliarch Bagoas, a eunuch in physical fact but a militant rogue in disposition, killed him by poison administered by a certain physician and placed upon the throne the youngest of his sons, Arses. 17.5.4. He similarly made away with the brothers of the new king, who were barely of age, in order that the young man might be isolated and tractable to his control. But the young king let it be known that he was offended at Bagoas's previous outrageous behaviour and was prepared to punish the author of these crimes, so Bagoas anticipated his intentions and killed Arses and his children also while he was still in the third year of his reign. 17.5.5. The royal house was thus extinguished, and there was no one in the direct line of descent to claim the throne. Instead Bagoas selected a certain Dareius, a member of the court circle, and secured the throne for him. He was the son of Arsanes, and grandson of that Ostanes who was a brother of Artaxerxes, who had been king. 31.32. 1. Orophernes, having driven his brother Ariarathes from the throne, made no effort â far from it â to manage his affairs sensibly, and to elicit popular support by helping and serving his people. Indeed, at the very time when he was raising money by forced contributions and was putting numbers of people to death, he presented Timotheüs with a gift of fifty talents, and King Demetrius with a gift of seventy, quite apart from the payment to Demetrius of six hundred talents with a promise to pay the remaining four hundred at another time. And seeing that the Cappadocians were disaffected, he began to exact contributions on all sides and to confiscate for the privy purse the property of men of the highest distinction. When he head amassed a great sum, he deposited four hundred talents with the city of Prienê as a hedge against the surprises of fortune, which amount the citizens of Prienê later paid. King Eumenes, grieved at the expulsion of Ariarathes and being eager for reasons of his own to check Demetrius, sent for a certain youth who in beauty of countece and in age was exceedingly like Antiochus the late king of Syria. This man resided in Smyrna and stoutly affirmed that he was a son of King Antiochus; and because of the resemblance he found many to believe him. On his arrival at Pergamum the king tricked him out with a diadem and the other insignia proper to a king, then sent him to a certain Cilician named Zenophanes. This man, who had quarrelled for some reason with Demetrius, and had been assisted in certain difficult situations by Eumenes, who was then king, was accordingly at odds with the one, and kindly disposed to the other. He received the youth in a town of Cilicia, and spread the word abroad in Syria that the youth would reclaim his father's kingdom in his own good time. Now after the generous behaviour of their former kings the common peoples of Syria were ill pleased with the austerity of Demetrius and his drastic demands. Being therefore ready for a change, they were buoyed up with hopeful expectations that the government would shortly fall into the hands of another and more considerate monarch. While returning from Rome the envoys of Orophernes formed a plot during the voyage against Ariarathes, but were themselves apprehended and put to death by Ariarathes at Corcyra. Likewise at Corinth when the henchmen of Orophernes laid plans against Ariarathes, he upset their calculations by eluding them, and got safe to Attalus at Pergamum. 31.34. 1. As the situation worsened Orophernes was anxious to pay his men, for fear they might start a revolution. But being for the present without funds he was driven to plundering the temple of Zeus, which stands beneath the Mountain of Ariadnê, as it is called, though from remote times it had been held inviolable. This he robbed, and paid off the arrears of their wages. |
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