Josippon

Daniel was quite old in years. He came and bowed to the king; and he said to him: "Pray, my lord king, behold I have grown old, and I no longer have strength to handle affairs of the kingdom. Your people's rascals have humbled me in their hatred, for they lowered me into the lions' den twice, but my God, in whom I trust, saved me. They sought to take my life and kill me in their zealousness for their idols, but my God saved me from their wickedness along with three friends whom they brought to the furnace to be burned; and during all this the hand of our God was mighty to help us. Now, my lord king, I beseech you, permit me to go to my home to rest and to serve the God of my ancestors, for I have grown old and no longer have strength to govern."

The king replied to Daniel, saying: "And who would grant you this thing, to let you go, for you are a man of God, Lord of the Heavens, and how should my kingdom be governed when you have left me? Indeed, I know that you have aged and no longer have the strength to handle affairs according to the manner of chiefs, chiefs of the kingdom. However, if you give me another man like yourself, of your own people, knowledgeable and wise, full of the Spirit of God like you, who would be with me in your stead, as was your custom, then I will send you in peace to rest and relax in your house, though my soul knows that there is no one of your worth among all your people."

Daniel left the king at sunset and prayed to the God of Heavens to induce the king to allow him to go and serve his God. He slept that night, and rising early in the morning, he went to the community of the exiles, where he found Zerubavel, son of Shealtiel, son of Yekhoniah, king of Judah. Daniel raised him out of the exile and, holding him by the hand, led him to the king and presented him before the king. Then Daniel said: "Here is a man worthy to be my replacement: he will be unto you just as I was. He is of the children of Judah, from the nobility, of royal seed, one of the sons of Shealtiel, son of Yekhoniah, king of Judah. He is a man of valor, full of wisdom and knowledge; in him is the Spirit of God, as much as in me; he is not inferior to me and will not be lacking; he will be as faithful an advisor to you as I; and you will permit me to retire in my place." The king believed all that Daniel related to him and sent him away. Daniel bowed before the king, and the king embraced Daniel and kissed him; then he commanded and gave him a present befitting the king; he gave him leave, and he left. So it happened that Zerubavel became the king's replacement for Daniel. Daniel distributed all that the king had given him among the poor men of the exile, and he went to his place, to Shushan, the capital, in the realm of Elam; there he worshiped God unto the day of his death amid his brethren, the community of the exiles there.

Zerubavel was a man of valor, successful, understanding, and wise, full of the spirit of wisdom, for Daniel had laid his hands upon him. He found grace in the eyes of the king, who loved him as much as he loved Daniel; he appointed him as leader over all the chiefs and head over the two military chiefs who guarded the king.

One day when all the chiefs gathered to present themselves before the king according to their custom, the king said to them: "Have you ever seen a man like this Zerubavel, a man wise and prudent in the spirit of Daniel?" They replied and said: "The king's word is true!" In the afternoon, when the king would lie down after his meal, he lay down on his bed and slept. The two chiefs who guarded the king stationed themselves to watch according to their custom, and Zerubavel was with them as their head. They stood around the king until the time of his wakening, and the king was heavy in his sleep, for he was drunk with wine. The three lads were exhausted from standing guard, and one said to his companion: "Come let us tell riddles, words of wisdom, one by one according to his cunning, and let us write our riddles upon a scroll and place the scroll under the head of the king until he awakes, and he will see the scroll and will understand the meaning of its contents. And let the one whose words are deemed wiser than his two companions and his riddle more obscure than the riddles of his colleagues, let him be deputy to the king as he sits upon both his throne and chariot, and going out and coming before the king according to the high rank of deputy. Let all the utensils of his table be utensils of gold, and let a bridle of gold be put upon the cheeks of his horse, and also let the crown of deputy be put upon his head, and let him take the gifts of a deputy from the king; let the king grant any of his requests, and he will be the friend of the king." All of them said: "Let it be so!" Then they made a covenant according to the law of the Medes and Persians that could not be dissolved. They brought a scribal inkstand and a scroll and cast lots among the three; and the lot fell to one, and he wrote upon the scroll: "There is nothing so strong in the land as a king." The second wrote: "There is nothing as strong in the land as wine." The third, who was Zerubavel, wrote: "There is nothing as strong in the land as a woman."

When they had finished writing their riddles, they placed the scroll under the king's headrest. Now, the king was awake, but his eyes were closed, and he was listening to the whisper of their words. When they put the scroll under the pillows of the king's headrest, the king rose as if from the end of his sleep and passed his two hands over his eyes and searched beneath his headrest.

He found the scroll of the book that the three lads had written and opened it and read it and closed it until all the chiefs and governors and nobles and lords of the state arrived. He called these three lads and said to them: "Let each one approach me with his cipher and make heard the interpretation of the words of his riddle. The one I deem most clever of you three, I will fulfill for him all that is written in the scroll, and honor him and raise him." The first one approached, read his writing and said: "Let the king and his chiefs listen to my words that I shall speak: There is nothing so strong in the land as a king." The second drew near and said: "There is nothing so strong in the land as wine." And the third, who was Zerubavel, said: "There is nothing so strong in the land as a woman." The king and his chiefs answered: "We have heard the words of your riddles; now offer your interpretations and we shall listen."

The first answered and said: "I pray thee, my lord the king, and I pray you, mighty chiefs. Do you not know the power of the king and the strength of his government, over the land and the sea and the islands and over all the nations and tongues, to put to death and to let live? If he commands his men to send out an army, they all go out to battle and would not turn back but advance toward death. And if he commands them to overthrow cities, they overthrow; to level mountains, they level; and to destroy walls, they destroy. And if they plow and plant and harvest the produce of the land, they offer up the choice part to the king before they eat from the produce, for they fear the king and all tremble in awe of him, for he is lord and hero over all, and no one disobeys his word and command. Therefore, believe my words, for there is nothing as strong in the land as a king." All those standing were amazed at these words.

The second answered and said: "I pray thee, my lord the king, and I pray you, wise men, although you all know of the power of the king and the power of his might in subduing and ruling in the land, and his terror and fear is upon all men, as you have heard with your ears. Yet, wine is stronger even than the king, for while the king is truly mighty, when he drinks, the wine rules over him and turns his heart to other things: to shout with joy and to sing and to dance and even to become a fool, for his heart was turned by wine to reject those who are close to him and to befriend those who are far, to put to death those who are loved and to honor strangers, even showing favor neither to father nor mother nor brother of his own flesh. Do you not know that the strength of wine is such that, if a man who has never studied a book drinks it, he will compose songs, while a man who is deaf will call out, and a secret that is kept will be revealed, and a hidden deed will be brought out into the open? Wine gladdens sad men and mourners and those whose spirit is disheartened and dying men; if they drink it, they will become happy and joyful. Worried men will sing, and those held in chains before execution will laugh if they drink wine. A drunk will brandish a sword at his companion, and he will challenge the shameless. Yet, when the wine has left them, they will forget all they did and no longer understand or remember, for the wine has left them, and they shall say: 'We did nothing.' And who will not believe that wine is not stronger than the king when it rules him, for the man's legs will be unable to walk, and his eyes will see what is not right, and his mouth will utter unlearned talk. You should know that wine is stronger than the king when it does thus." And the men who heard were very amazed.

Then the king called to Zerubavel, who was third, and said: "Tell me now your riddle's interpretation as your companions told me theirs." And he answered: "I will." Then he said: "Listen and take heed to my words, O king, and also you chiefs and nobles and governors and all the assembled people. Indeed, the king is stronger and greater than everything, and wine weakens the king when it rules over him and he is in its grasp. Nor can one deny either the strength of the king or the strength of the wine; yet, the woman is stronger than wine and the king and all the plants of the vineyards from which comes the wine. And why would not woman be stronger than the king, for she bore the king and nursed him and held him secure in her bosom and raised him and fed him and dressed him and washed his feces from him, and she chastened him, and she rules over him as a mother the son she bore, and her fear is upon him, and he fears her scolding voice, for at times she strikes him, and other times she rebukes him. And if she takes a stick to him, he runs from her outside because he is afraid of her. Until the lad grows to be a young man, he will not forget her awe, and he will not fail to honor her; and he will respect her at all times as a son respects his parent. Afterward, if he lifts up his eyes and sees a woman of beautiful appearance, he will lust after her beauty to make love to her, for his soul has cleaved unto her; he has set his heart upon her, and his love would not change for any price; and he would leave even his mother, who taught him, and his father, who sired him, and betray them for the love of a woman's beauty and her shape. Many men have committed folly for a woman's love and have been made fools and driven out of their minds for her sake, for they were fooled by her. Many were killed on her account and died and went down to hell proudly; many wise men were entrapped in her web and sages ensnared in her net. She will arouse a sword of enmity between brothers, lovers she will separate, and a man will betray his brother because of her. Do you not know and understand that if a woman of beautiful form passes before a man carrying a precious vessel, his eyes would peer upon her—at the beauty of her shape—because his heart turns after her? If she but utters a word, he will drop everything in his hand and, with mouth agape, would look upon her, for she caused his heart to be attracted to her. Who will not believe me about this and aver the truth of woman's strength? Tell me, for whom do you labor and for whom do you tire and for whom do you plunder and amass great wealth? Is it not for women that they may buy all kinds of precious articles, gold and silver and precious jewels and all kinds of expensive vessels, brocades of gold and myrrh and aloes and all kinds of spices and appealing incense? Will you not prepare all these for a woman? And if a man should break the law and go to a place of ambush in deserts or mountains or woods or on the seas and fight and murder and plunder and rob and pillage and kidnap and spill blood for profit, to whom will he bring the loot? Would he not bring it to a woman? Have I not seen the king sitting on his throne with the crown of his majesty upon his head and Apomenia, daughter of Absius the Makedonian, his concubine, sitting opposite him, and she put out her hand and took the king's crown from his head and put it on her own head, and the king laughed with her. And when she got angry, the king hastened to soothe her so that her anger subsided. Who will not believe my words that the woman is stronger than all for she enfeebled the strength of Samson and made David transgress and led Solomon astray and tempted him. Many has she entrapped, and numberless are killed by her; and her casualties are many. And even this you should know and learn, if one man governs the entire land whose inhabitants cannot be numbered, and all of them fear and tremble from him for he governs all of them, and over every woman is given a lord and king to rule over her and he lusts after her, but he cannot control and rule her. Even Adam, father of all those who inhabit the earth, his wife caused him to transgress the commandment of the Lord his God. She delivered him unto death with all his descendants after him; and also, in Noah's days, the heavenly angels acted foolishly and took wives for themselves. And who will not believe this when from the beginning of the world unto its end this fact has not failed to be, and that I speak the truth. And now I will tell the king and all those listening that the king that rules the land is vanity, and the wine that governs the king is vanity, and vanity is the woman and her evil that rules over all three. The Truth rules everything in heaven and on earth, even in the seas and in the depths only the Truth has power against God and man. For in Truth's abode Falsehood cannot abide because heaven and earth were founded on the Truth and the Lord our God is Truth forever and ever." And all the assembled people responded to the king and said: "Truth."

The king said to Zerubavel: "Come, approach me!" He approached the king, and the king, extending his hand, drew him near and, embracing him, kissed him before all the assembled people. And he said: "Blessed is the God of Zerubavel who put into him the spirit of Truth, for He is the God of Truth and He established His throne upon Truth, for there is nothing like unto His Truth and all else is vanity." And all the chiefs and officers and nobles and all the people exclaimed: "Indeed the Truth is greater than everything; and nothing in the world can stand against it, for it rules heaven and earth and everything is founded upon it; and true is the God of Zerubavel who put into his mouth the spirit of Truth, to praise and extol the Truth before God and man."

The king commanded to fulfill the law of honor that was written on the scroll, and all of it was fulfilled for Zerubavel, for he found more grace in the eyes of the king and the chiefs than his two companions. The king said to Zerubavel: "Ask whatever your soul desires of anything written in the scroll, and I will give it to you, even unto half the kingdom I will grant you." Zerubavel answered the king: "Pray let my lord the king remember the vow that you and King Cyrus swore to the Lord of Heaven to build His house and to return the vessels of His temple to their place and to allow the exile of the people of the Lord of Heaven to serve in His temple, which is named for Him, that they might pray to the great God, Lord of Heaven, on behalf of the king and his realm, for one may not delay the vow sworn to the Lord of Heaven."

The king commanded his scribes to hasten to write all that Zerubavel requested from the king to rebuild the ruins of Jerusalem. Also, King Darius sent to Cyrus, king of Persia, that he should join with him in fulfilling their vow to reestablish the House of God that is in Jerusalem. Cyrus sent forth a proclamation throughout his kingdom, saying: "Whosoever there is among you of all the people of the Lord of Heaven who has it in his heart to go up, to found and build—let him go up, and I will give from my treasures the cost of all the work until they have completed the building." The king's scribes wrote the word of King Darius, king of Media, and Cyrus, king of Persia, to the chiefs and governors who rule the regions across the river, the Edomites, the Tyrians and Sidonians and Samaritans and to Asaph, guardian of the forest of Lebanon: "Let it be known to you that the Lord of Heaven stirred up our heart to send forth the exile of His people, whom Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, exiled, and to return the vessels of the great and holy house that is named for the Lord of Heaven and to build His Temple and to raise up His altar and to offer up to Him daily sacrifices and to build the Sanctuary of the Holy of Holies and to establish the palace in good order and to rebuild the breach of Jerusalem's walls. Now, when this letter reaches you, make haste to lend your hands to assist them to fulfill all their needs of silver, gold and copper, trees and stones, builders, and tree cutters until they finish construction and to supply for the repair work everything that they ask from you, even wheat and barley and oil and wine for every need toward the work of repair and also for repairs of the altar to give young bullocks and rams, he-goats and sheep, pigeons and doves, fine wheat, oil and salt, and every maintenance for the altar and the work until it is finished." The two kings ordered the Edomites to lend a hand in the work of the House of God, because they had assisted the Chaldeans in destroying it, and to supply an annual tax of five talents of gold to support the repair of the house until it and the holy city be completely rebuilt; and they commanded the Tyrians, Sidonians, Edomites, and the servants of the king in Lebanon who were under the command of Asaph, protector of the royal forest, to cut trees from the Lebanon and channel water from Lebanon to the sea of Jaffa, to complete the work of the House of God and let no man disturb them until they have completed all the work. The scribes wrote all these words just as the two kings commanded, and they fixed their seals and gave the letters to Zerubavel, son of Shealtiel, and to Nehemiah, son of Hakhaliah.

At that time, Darius, king of Media, fell ill, and the time of his death drew nigh; he sent for Cyrus, king of Persia, his son-in-law, husband of his daughter, and he came to him, and Darius crowned him as his successor. Thus, Media and Persia became one kingdom. Darius the Mede was gathered unto his people, and Cyrus, king of Persia, succeeded him over the kingdom of Media and Persia. The lords of Media and Persia enthroned Cyrus, son-in-law of Darius, over the kingdom of the Medes and Persians. From that day hence, the kingdom of the Medes and Persians was united as one kingdom. And Cyrus sat upon the throne of the king of Babylon and of the Chaldeans.