tens

Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens:

And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.

So I took the chief of your tribes, wise men, and known, and made them heads over you, captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, and captains over fifties, and captains over tens, and officers among your tribes.

And after this Judas ordained captains over the people, even captains over thousands, and over hundreds, and over fifties, and over tens.

These are their chiefs of tens.

And these are the chiefs of their angels and their names, and their chief ones over hundreds and over fifties and over tens.

And Mary said unto Philogenes, 'If thou art really he [I know thee].' Philogenes said unto her, 'Thou art Mary, the mother of Tharkahari[amath],' the interpretation of which is 'the joy, the blessing, and [the gladness]'. Mary said unto him, '[If it be thou who hast taken away the Body of my Lord, tell] me where thou hast laid It, and I myself will carry It away.' Philogenes said unto her, 'O my sister, what is [the meaning of] these words which thou speakest, O thou holy Virgin, the mother of the Christ? For at the moment when the Jews crucified Jesus, they set out seeking a safe sepulchre wherein they might lay Him, so that His disciples might not come and carry Him away secretly by night. And I said unto them, "There is a tomb quite close to my vegetable garden, carry Him thither and lay Him in it, and I myself will keep watch over it." Now I thought in my heart saying: When the Jews have gone away [from the tomb] and have entered their houses, I will go into the tomb of my Lord, and I will carry Him away, and I will give Him spices, and a large quantity of sweet-smelling unguents. And [the Jews] brought Him, and laid Him in the tomb, and they set a seal upon it, and they departed to their houses. Now in the middle of the night I rose up, and I went to the door of the tomb of my Lord, and I found all the armies of the angelic host drawn up there. In the first row were the Cherubim, who were twelve thousand in number. In the second row were the Seraphim, who were thirteen thousand in number. In the third row were the Powers, who were twenty thousand in number. In the fourth row were the Virgins, who were thirty thousand in number. And thousands of thousands [of angels] were round about it, and tens of thousands of tens of thousands were [the angels] who were gathered together to it. And there was a great chariot standing there, and it was formed of fire [which sent forth bright flames]. And there were also there twelve [Virgins, who stood upon the fiery chariot], and they were singing hymns in the language of the Cherubim, who all made answer unto them, "Amen. Hallelujah!" Moreover, I saw the seven firmaments [open] one beyond the other. And the Father came forth out of the height with His tabernacle of light, and He came to the tomb of the Saviour, and raised Him up from the dead. All these glorious things did I see, O my sister Mary. Moreover, I saw Peter there, the great interpreter of Jesus, [and had he not] laid hold upon me, and helped me, I must have fallen into despair and died by reason of [these great] mysteries, and this great glory which I saw. O Mary, my sister, what shall I do until I enter that place?' These were the things which Philogenes spake unto Mary.

And Mary said unto Philogenes, 'If thou art really he [I know thee].' Philogenes said unto her, 'Thou art Mary, the mother of Tharkahari[amath],' the interpretation of which is 'the joy, the blessing, and [the gladness]'. Mary said unto him, '[If it be thou who hast taken away the Body of my Lord, tell] me where thou hast laid It, and I myself will carry It away.' Philogenes said unto her, 'O my sister, what is [the meaning of] these words which thou speakest, O thou holy Virgin, the mother of the Christ? For at the moment when the Jews crucified Jesus, they set out seeking a safe sepulchre wherein they might lay Him, so that His disciples might not come and carry Him away secretly by night. And I said unto them, "There is a tomb quite close to my vegetable garden, carry Him thither and lay Him in it, and I myself will keep watch over it." Now I thought in my heart saying: When the Jews have gone away [from the tomb] and have entered their houses, I will go into the tomb of my Lord, and I will carry Him away, and I will give Him spices, and a large quantity of sweet-smelling unguents. And [the Jews] brought Him, and laid Him in the tomb, and they set a seal upon it, and they departed to their houses. Now in the middle of the night I rose up, and I went to the door of the tomb of my Lord, and I found all the armies of the angelic host drawn up there. In the first row were the Cherubim, who were twelve thousand in number. In the second row were the Seraphim, who were thirteen thousand in number. In the third row were the Powers, who were twenty thousand in number. In the fourth row were the Virgins, who were thirty thousand in number. And thousands of thousands [of angels] were round about it, and tens of thousands of tens of thousands were [the angels] who were gathered together to it. And there was a great chariot standing there, and it was formed of fire [which sent forth bright flames]. And there were also there twelve [Virgins, who stood upon the fiery chariot], and they were singing hymns in the language of the Cherubim, who all made answer unto them, "Amen. Hallelujah!" Moreover, I saw the seven firmaments [open] one beyond the other. And the Father came forth out of the height with His tabernacle of light, and He came to the tomb of the Saviour, and raised Him up from the dead. All these glorious things did I see, O my sister Mary. Moreover, I saw Peter there, the great interpreter of Jesus, [and had he not] laid hold upon me, and helped me, I must have fallen into despair and died by reason of [these great] mysteries, and this great glory which I saw. O Mary, my sister, what shall I do until I enter that place?' These were the things which Philogenes spake unto Mary.

[…] Then the Saviour, the Life, our salvation, our King … our Helper, our [Hope], opened His mouth and cried out, saying: '[Thou shalt take thy seat] in My kingdom in blessing.' [O my brethren] the Apostles, believe me, [I Bartholomew,] the Apostle of Jesus, saw the Son of God, standing upon the chariot of the Cherubim. And round and about Him there were standing thousands of thousands of Archangels, and thousands of thousands of the Cherubim, and tens of thousands of tens of thousands of the Seraphim, and tens of thousands of tens of thousands of the Powers, and their heads were bowed, and they made answer to the blessing, saying, 'Amen, Hallelujah,' to that which the Son did speak with His mouth to Mary. Then our Saviour stretched out His right hand, which was full of blessing, and He blessed the womb of Mary His mother. I saw the heavens open together, and the Seven Firmaments were opened. I saw a man of light shining brightly, like unto a pearl, upon whom it would be impossible to make any man look. And [I saw] also a hand of fire which was of the colour of snow, and it rested upon the belly of Mary and [upon her] breast. Now this hand was the hand of the Father, and the right hand of the Son, and the right hand of the Holy Ghost. And He blessed [the womb of Mary and said,]

[…] Then the Saviour, the Life, our salvation, our King … our Helper, our [Hope], opened His mouth and cried out, saying: '[Thou shalt take thy seat] in My kingdom in blessing.' [O my brethren] the Apostles, believe me, [I Bartholomew,] the Apostle of Jesus, saw the Son of God, standing upon the chariot of the Cherubim. And round and about Him there were standing thousands of thousands of Archangels, and thousands of thousands of the Cherubim, and tens of thousands of tens of thousands of the Seraphim, and tens of thousands of tens of thousands of the Powers, and their heads were bowed, and they made answer to the blessing, saying, 'Amen, Hallelujah,' to that which the Son did speak with His mouth to Mary. Then our Saviour stretched out His right hand, which was full of blessing, and He blessed the womb of Mary His mother. I saw the heavens open together, and the Seven Firmaments were opened. I saw a man of light shining brightly, like unto a pearl, upon whom it would be impossible to make any man look. And [I saw] also a hand of fire which was of the colour of snow, and it rested upon the belly of Mary and [upon her] breast. Now this hand was the hand of the Father, and the right hand of the Son, and the right hand of the Holy Ghost. And He blessed [the womb of Mary and said,]

[…] Then the Saviour, the Life, our salvation, our King … our Helper, our [Hope], opened His mouth and cried out, saying: '[Thou shalt take thy seat] in My kingdom in blessing.' [O my brethren] the Apostles, believe me, [I Bartholomew,] the Apostle of Jesus, saw the Son of God, standing upon the chariot of the Cherubim. And round and about Him there were standing thousands of thousands of Archangels, and thousands of thousands of the Cherubim, and tens of thousands of tens of thousands of the Seraphim, and tens of thousands of tens of thousands of the Powers, and their heads were bowed, and they made answer to the blessing, saying, 'Amen, Hallelujah,' to that which the Son did speak with His mouth to Mary. Then our Saviour stretched out His right hand, which was full of blessing, and He blessed the womb of Mary His mother. I saw the heavens open together, and the Seven Firmaments were opened. I saw a man of light shining brightly, like unto a pearl, upon whom it would be impossible to make any man look. And [I saw] also a hand of fire which was of the colour of snow, and it rested upon the belly of Mary and [upon her] breast. Now this hand was the hand of the Father, and the right hand of the Son, and the right hand of the Holy Ghost. And He blessed [the womb of Mary and said,]

[…] Then the Saviour, the Life, our salvation, our King … our Helper, our [Hope], opened His mouth and cried out, saying: '[Thou shalt take thy seat] in My kingdom in blessing.' [O my brethren] the Apostles, believe me, [I Bartholomew,] the Apostle of Jesus, saw the Son of God, standing upon the chariot of the Cherubim. And round and about Him there were standing thousands of thousands of Archangels, and thousands of thousands of the Cherubim, and tens of thousands of tens of thousands of the Seraphim, and tens of thousands of tens of thousands of the Powers, and their heads were bowed, and they made answer to the blessing, saying, 'Amen, Hallelujah,' to that which the Son did speak with His mouth to Mary. Then our Saviour stretched out His right hand, which was full of blessing, and He blessed the womb of Mary His mother. I saw the heavens open together, and the Seven Firmaments were opened. I saw a man of light shining brightly, like unto a pearl, upon whom it would be impossible to make any man look. And [I saw] also a hand of fire which was of the colour of snow, and it rested upon the belly of Mary and [upon her] breast. Now this hand was the hand of the Father, and the right hand of the Son, and the right hand of the Holy Ghost. And He blessed [the womb of Mary and said,]

Now in the early morning, when it was still dark, the holy women came forth to the tomb, and their names are these: Mary Magdalene, and Mary, the mother of James, whom Jesus had delivered out of the hand of Satan, and Salome who had tempted Him, and Mary who ministered unto Him, and Martha her sister, and Jôanna, the wife of Khouza, the steward of Herod, and Berneice, whom he healed of a flow of blood in Capernaum, and Leah the widow, whose son the Saviour raised from the dead in Naein, and the sinful woman unto whom the Saviour said, 'Thy sins which are many are forgiven thee.' These women stood in the garden of Philoges, the gardener, whose son the Saviour had healed at the time when He came down from the Mount of Olives with His apostles. Mary said unto Philoges, 'If thou art really he, I know thee.' Philoges said unto her, 'Thou art Mary, the mother of Thalkamarimath,' which is being interpreted, 'the joy, the blessing, and the gladness.' Mary said unto him, 'If it be thou who hast taken away the Body of my Lord, tell me where thou hast laid It; for whether thou afraid [to carry It away or not] I myself will bear It away.' Philoges said unto her, 'My sister, Mary, Virgin, Mother of the Christ, what are these words which thou art saying unto me? From the very moment when the Jews crucified Him, they have persisted in seeking out an exceedingly safe sepulchre wherein they might lay Him, so that the disciples might not come by dark and carry Him away secretly. Now I said unto them, "There is a tomb quite close to my vegetable garden; bring Him, lay Him in it, and I myself will keep watch over Him." I thought in my heart saying: "When the Jews shall have departed and entered into their houses, I will go into the tomb of my Lord, I will carry Him away, I will give Him spices, and sweet-smelling unguents and scents." Now they brought Him, they laid Him in the tomb, they set a seal on the stone, and, after [setting] a watch, they went into their houses. And in the middle of the night I rose up, I went into the tomb of my Lord, and I found the whole of the host of the angels marshalled in order therein. The first row consisted of Cherubim, who were in number twelve thousand. The second row consisted of Seraphim, who were in number twenty thousand. The third row consisted of Powers, who were in number thirteen thousand. The fourth row consisted of Virgins, who were in number thirty thousand. Thousands of thousands [of angels] sang hymns to Him, tens of thousands of tens of thousands [of angels] ascribed glory unto Him. And a great chariot stood there, which was like unto a blazing fire which sent forth from it flashes of bright flame. And twelve virgins stood upon the chariot, and they sang a hymn in the language of the Cherubim, who made answer unto them, Amen. Hallelujah. I saw the seven heavens open, one after the other, and the Father came forth from the high place, together with His tabernacle of light, [and] He raised Him (Jesus) from the dead. O my sister Mary, I have seen all these glories, and had it not been that I found there the Rock, the great interpreter, who laid hold upon my hand, and supported me, I should certainly have fallen into despair, and have died by reason of the great glory which I had seen. And now, O my sister Mary, what ought I to do until I enter that place?' These were the things which Philoges said unto Mary.

Now in the early morning, when it was still dark, the holy women came forth to the tomb, and their names are these: Mary Magdalene, and Mary, the mother of James, whom Jesus had delivered out of the hand of Satan, and Salome who had tempted Him, and Mary who ministered unto Him, and Martha her sister, and Jôanna, the wife of Khouza, the steward of Herod, and Berneice, whom he healed of a flow of blood in Capernaum, and Leah the widow, whose son the Saviour raised from the dead in Naein, and the sinful woman unto whom the Saviour said, 'Thy sins which are many are forgiven thee.' These women stood in the garden of Philoges, the gardener, whose son the Saviour had healed at the time when He came down from the Mount of Olives with His apostles. Mary said unto Philoges, 'If thou art really he, I know thee.' Philoges said unto her, 'Thou art Mary, the mother of Thalkamarimath,' which is being interpreted, 'the joy, the blessing, and the gladness.' Mary said unto him, 'If it be thou who hast taken away the Body of my Lord, tell me where thou hast laid It; for whether thou afraid [to carry It away or not] I myself will bear It away.' Philoges said unto her, 'My sister, Mary, Virgin, Mother of the Christ, what are these words which thou art saying unto me? From the very moment when the Jews crucified Him, they have persisted in seeking out an exceedingly safe sepulchre wherein they might lay Him, so that the disciples might not come by dark and carry Him away secretly. Now I said unto them, "There is a tomb quite close to my vegetable garden; bring Him, lay Him in it, and I myself will keep watch over Him." I thought in my heart saying: "When the Jews shall have departed and entered into their houses, I will go into the tomb of my Lord, I will carry Him away, I will give Him spices, and sweet-smelling unguents and scents." Now they brought Him, they laid Him in the tomb, they set a seal on the stone, and, after [setting] a watch, they went into their houses. And in the middle of the night I rose up, I went into the tomb of my Lord, and I found the whole of the host of the angels marshalled in order therein. The first row consisted of Cherubim, who were in number twelve thousand. The second row consisted of Seraphim, who were in number twenty thousand. The third row consisted of Powers, who were in number thirteen thousand. The fourth row consisted of Virgins, who were in number thirty thousand. Thousands of thousands [of angels] sang hymns to Him, tens of thousands of tens of thousands [of angels] ascribed glory unto Him. And a great chariot stood there, which was like unto a blazing fire which sent forth from it flashes of bright flame. And twelve virgins stood upon the chariot, and they sang a hymn in the language of the Cherubim, who made answer unto them, Amen. Hallelujah. I saw the seven heavens open, one after the other, and the Father came forth from the high place, together with His tabernacle of light, [and] He raised Him (Jesus) from the dead. O my sister Mary, I have seen all these glories, and had it not been that I found there the Rock, the great interpreter, who laid hold upon my hand, and supported me, I should certainly have fallen into despair, and have died by reason of the great glory which I had seen. And now, O my sister Mary, what ought I to do until I enter that place?' These were the things which Philoges said unto Mary.

Believe me, O ye Apostles my brethren, I Bartholomew, the Apostle of the Son of God, I, I say, saw the Son of God seated upon the chariot of the Cherubim. And round about Him stood thousands upon thousands of angels, and tens of thousands of tens of thousands of Archangels, and tens of thousands of the Cherubim, and Seraphim, and Powers. Their heads were bowed, and they were ready to respond 'Amen' to the blessing which the Saviour pronounced over His mother [and] over her virgin womb …

Believe me, O ye Apostles my brethren, I Bartholomew, the Apostle of the Son of God, I, I say, saw the Son of God seated upon the chariot of the Cherubim. And round about Him stood thousands upon thousands of angels, and tens of thousands of tens of thousands of Archangels, and tens of thousands of the Cherubim, and Seraphim, and Powers. Their heads were bowed, and they were ready to respond 'Amen' to the blessing which the Saviour pronounced over His mother [and] over her virgin womb …

Believe me, O ye Apostles my brethren, I Bartholomew, the Apostle of the Son of God, I, I say, saw the Son of God seated upon the chariot of the Cherubim. And round about Him stood thousands upon thousands of angels, and tens of thousands of tens of thousands of Archangels, and tens of thousands of the Cherubim, and Seraphim, and Powers. Their heads were bowed, and they were ready to respond 'Amen' to the blessing which the Saviour pronounced over His mother [and] over her virgin womb …

The hundreds are twice eight and thrice three tens

For eight ones, and as many tens on these,

Shall be commander, of tens numbering seven;

Who with two tens in his name, born a king

One having the first number, one three tens,

And the angel touched the comb, and many bees arose from the cells of that comb, and the cells were numberless, tens of thousands of tens of thousands and thousands of thousands.

And the angel touched the comb, and many bees arose from the cells of that comb, and the cells were numberless, tens of thousands of tens of thousands and thousands of thousands.

He therefore charged us Himself to fast these six days on account of the impiety and transgression of the Jews, commanding us withal to bewail over them, and lament for their perdition. For even He Himself wept over them, because they knew not the time of their visitation. But He commanded us to fast on the fourth and sixth days of the week; the former on account of His being betrayed, and the latter on account of His passion. But He appointed us to break our fast on the seventh day at the cock-crowing, but to fast on the Sabbath day. Not that the Sabbath day is a day of fasting, being the rest from the creation, but because we ought to fast on this one Sabbath only, while on this day the Creator was under the earth. For on their very feast-day they apprehended the Lord, that oracle might be fulfilled which says: They placed their signs in the middle of their feast, and knew them not. You ought therefore to bewail over them, because when the Lord came they did not believe in Him, but rejected His doctrine, judging themselves unworthy of salvation. You therefore are happy who once were not a people, but are now an holy nation, delivered from the deceit of idols, from ignorance, from impiety, who once had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy through your hearty obedience: for to you, the converted Gentiles, is opened the gate of life, who formerly were not beloved, but are now beloved; a people ordained for the possession of God, to show forth His virtues, concerning whom our Saviour said, I was found of them that sought me not; I was made manifest to them that asked not after me. I said, Behold me, to a nation which did not call upon my name. For when you did not seek after Him, then were you sought for by Him; and you who have believed in Him have hearkened to His call, and have left the madness of polytheism, and have fled to the true monarchy, to Almighty God, through Christ Jesus, and have become the completion of the number of the saved — ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; as it is written in David, A thousand shall fall beside you, and ten thousand at your right hand; and again, The chariots of God are by tens of thousands, and thousands of the prosperous. But unto unbelieving Israel He says: All the day long have I stretched out mine hands to a disobedient and gainsaying people, which go in a way that is not good, but after their own sins, a people provoking me before my face.

And Angeas saw this thing, and he commanded all his officers to assemble the hewers of stone in thousands and tens of thousands, and they hewed stone without number, and the builders came and they built an exceedingly strong bridge, and they conveyed the spring of water from the land of Chittim unto Africa, and those waters were for Jania the queen and for all her concerns, to drink from and to bake, wash and bathe therewith, and also to water therewith all seed from which food can be obtained, and all fruit of the ground.

And He seated the body of Adam upon the throne of His Godhead, and magnified him, and exalted him, and honoured him; and he was praised by all the beings whom He had created, the angels and the archangels, thousands of thousands, and tens of thousands of thousands of spiritual beings.

The next day, as Raguel saw Moses in the middle of a crowd of business for he determined the differences of those that referred them to him, every one still going to him, and supposing that they should then only obtain justice, if he were the arbitrator; and those that lost their causes thought it no harm, while they thought they lost them justly, and not by partiality. Raguel however said nothing to him at that time, as not desirous to be any hinderance to such as had a mind to make use of the virtue of their conductor. But afterward he took him to himself, and when he had him alone, he instructed him in what he ought to do; and advised him to leave the trouble of lesser causes to others, but himself to take care of the greater, and of the people's safety, for that certain others of the Hebrews might be found that were fit to determine causes, but that nobody but a Moses could take of the safety of so many ten thousands. "Be therefore," says he, "insensible of thine own virtue, and what thou hast done by ministering under God to the people's preservation. Permit, therefore, the determination of common causes to be done by others, but do thou reserve thyself to the attendance on God only, and look out for methods of preserving the multitude from their present distress. Make use of the method I suggest to you, as to human affairs; and take a review of the army, and appoint chosen rulers over tens of thousands, and then over thousands; then divide them into five hundreds, and again into hundreds, and into fifties; and set rulers over each of them, who may distinguish them into thirties, and keep them in order; and at last number them by twenties and by tens: and let there be one commander over each number, to be denominated from the number of those over whom they are rulers, but such as the whole multitude have tried, and do approve of, as being good and righteous men; and let those rulers decide the controversies they have one with another. But if any great cause arise, let them bring the cognizance of it before the rulers of a higher dignity; but if any great difficulty arise that is too hard for even their determination, let them send it to thee. By these means two advantages will be gained; the Hebrews will have justice done them, and thou wilt be able to attend constantly on God, and procure him to be more favorable to the people."

The next day, as Raguel saw Moses in the middle of a crowd of business for he determined the differences of those that referred them to him, every one still going to him, and supposing that they should then only obtain justice, if he were the arbitrator; and those that lost their causes thought it no harm, while they thought they lost them justly, and not by partiality. Raguel however said nothing to him at that time, as not desirous to be any hinderance to such as had a mind to make use of the virtue of their conductor. But afterward he took him to himself, and when he had him alone, he instructed him in what he ought to do; and advised him to leave the trouble of lesser causes to others, but himself to take care of the greater, and of the people's safety, for that certain others of the Hebrews might be found that were fit to determine causes, but that nobody but a Moses could take of the safety of so many ten thousands. "Be therefore," says he, "insensible of thine own virtue, and what thou hast done by ministering under God to the people's preservation. Permit, therefore, the determination of common causes to be done by others, but do thou reserve thyself to the attendance on God only, and look out for methods of preserving the multitude from their present distress. Make use of the method I suggest to you, as to human affairs; and take a review of the army, and appoint chosen rulers over tens of thousands, and then over thousands; then divide them into five hundreds, and again into hundreds, and into fifties; and set rulers over each of them, who may distinguish them into thirties, and keep them in order; and at last number them by twenties and by tens: and let there be one commander over each number, to be denominated from the number of those over whom they are rulers, but such as the whole multitude have tried, and do approve of, as being good and righteous men; and let those rulers decide the controversies they have one with another. But if any great cause arise, let them bring the cognizance of it before the rulers of a higher dignity; but if any great difficulty arise that is too hard for even their determination, let them send it to thee. By these means two advantages will be gained; the Hebrews will have justice done them, and thou wilt be able to attend constantly on God, and procure him to be more favorable to the people."

And when he had considered that the Roman power became invincible, chiefly by their readiness in obeying orders, and the constant exercise of their arms, he despaired of teaching these his men the use of their arms, which was to be obtained by experience; but observing that their readiness in obeying orders was owing to the multitude of their officers, he made his partitions in his army more after the Roman manner, and appointed a great many subalterns. He also distributed the soldiers into various classes, whom he put under captains of tens, and captains of hundreds, and then under captains of thousands; and besides these, he had commanders of larger bodies of men. He also taught them to give the signals one to another, and to call and recall the soldiers by the trumpets, how to expand the wings of an army, and make them wheel about; and when one wing hath had success, to turn again and assist those that were hard set, and to join in the defense of what had most suffered. He also continually instructed them in what concerned the courage of the soul, and the hardiness of the body; and, above all, he exercised them for war, by declaring to them distinctly the good order of the Romans, and that they were to fight with men who, both by the strength of their bodies and courage of their souls, had conquered in a manner the whole habitable earth. He told them that he should make trial of the good order they would observe in war, even before it came to any battle, in case they would abstain from the crimes they used to indulge themselves in, such as theft, and robbery, and rapine, and from defrauding their own countrymen, and never to esteem the harm done to those that were so near of kin to them to be any advantage to themselves; for that wars are then managed the best when the warriors preserve a good conscience; but that such as are ill men in private life will not only have those for enemies which attack them, but God himself also for their antagonist.

There is therefore One whose favour we should seek, and to whom we ought to pray that He would be gracious to us—the Most High God, whose favour is gained by piety and the practice of every virtue. And if he would have us to seek the favour of others after the Most High God, let him consider that, as the motion of the shadow follows that of the body which casts it, so in like manner it follows, that when we have the favour of God, we have also the goodwill of all angels and spirits who are friends of God. For they know who are worthy of the divine approval, and they are not only well disposed to them, but they co-operate with them in their endeavours to please God: they seek His favour on their behalf; with their prayers they join their own prayers and intercessions for them. We may indeed boldly say, that men who aspire after better things have, when they pray to God, tens of thousands of sacred powers upon their side. These, even when not asked, pray with them, they bring succour to our mortal race, and if I may so say, take up arms alongside of it: for they see demons warring and fighting most keenly against the salvation of those who devote themselves to God, and despise the hostility of demons; they see them savage in their hatred of the man who refuses to serve them with the blood and fumes of sacrifices, but rather strives in every way, by word and deed, to be in peace and union with the Most High through Jesus, who put to flight multitudes of demons when He went about “healing,” and delivering “all who were oppressed by the devil.”

His tail is in his head (that is, he holdeth his tail in his mouth, in order that he may form a circle, since he is said to encompass holiness). He transferreth his head to behind the shoulders (that is, he raiseth his head at the back of the bride of Microprosopus, where is the place of most severe judgments), and he is despised (since in him is the extremity of judgments and severities, whence wrath is the attribute of his forms). He watcheth (that is, he accurately searcheth out and seeketh in what place he may gain an entry into holiness). And he is concealed (as if laying traps; since he insinuateth himself into the inferiors, by whose sins he hath access to the holy grades, where the carrying out of judgments is committed to him). He is manifested in one of the thousand shorter days. (Numbers are called days, and numbers of the inferior world short days; among which tens are attributed to the factive, on account of their decimal numeration; hundreds to the formative, since they are numbers of the light of their author, and draw their existence from the tens; but thousands to the creative, for the same reason. But that dragon hath about this his most powerful location, whence, if a defect occurreth only in one numeration of that system through the fault of the inferiors, he is immediately manifest, and thus commenceth his accusations before the throne of glory.)

His tail is in his head (that is, he holdeth his tail in his mouth, in order that he may form a circle, since he is said to encompass holiness). He transferreth his head to behind the shoulders (that is, he raiseth his head at the back of the bride of Microprosopus, where is the place of most severe judgments), and he is despised (since in him is the extremity of judgments and severities, whence wrath is the attribute of his forms). He watcheth (that is, he accurately searcheth out and seeketh in what place he may gain an entry into holiness). And he is concealed (as if laying traps; since he insinuateth himself into the inferiors, by whose sins he hath access to the holy grades, where the carrying out of judgments is committed to him). He is manifested in one of the thousand shorter days. (Numbers are called days, and numbers of the inferior world short days; among which tens are attributed to the factive, on account of their decimal numeration; hundreds to the formative, since they are numbers of the light of their author, and draw their existence from the tens; but thousands to the creative, for the same reason. But that dragon hath about this his most powerful location, whence, if a defect occurreth only in one numeration of that system through the fault of the inferiors, he is immediately manifest, and thus commenceth his accusations before the throne of glory.)

From the skull of the Head (of Microprosopus) depend all those chiefs and leaders (otherwise, all those thousands and tens of thousands), and also from the locks of the hair.

MISHNAH: The High Synhedrion had 71 members and a lower one 23 members. From where that the High Court has 71 members? For it is said: Assemble for me 70 men of the Elders of Israel, and Moses was presiding, that makes 71. Rebbi Jehudah says, 70. From where that a lower court has 23 members? For it is said, the congregation shall judge, the congregation shall save. One congregation judges, one congregation saves, this makes twenty. And from where that a congregation consists of ten persons? As it is said, how long this evil congregation, without Joshua and Caleb. From where that one adds another three? From the interpretation of what is said, do not follow the majority to be unfavorable, I understand that He said, follow them to be favorable. Then why was it said, to bend after the majority? Your bending to be favorable is not equal to your bending to be unfavorable. Your bending to be favorable shall be by one [vote] (witness), your bending to be unfavorable shall be by two. Since no court may be even-numbered, one adds another one to obtain 23. How many people shall live in a town that it may have a criminal court? 120. Rebbi Nehemiah said 230, that they might be commanders over tens.

It is written The rage of the Eternal was kindled against Israel. The Eternal said to Moses: Take all the heads of the people and hang them for the Eternal before the sun. What he told him was, install their heads as judges over them and let them execute the sinners at daytime. That is what is written: Moses told the judges of Israel: each one should kill his men who cling to the Baˋal Peˋor. How many were the judges of Israel? 78’600. Heads of thousands, 600. Heads of hundreds, 6'000. Heads of fifties, 12’000. heads of tens, 60’000. It turns out that the judges of Israel were 78’600. He told them, each of you should execute two. It turns out that the number of the killed was 157’200. Behold, a man from the Children of Israel came and introduced to his brothers the Midianite woman, to the eyes of Moses. What means to the eyes of Moses? Like a man who says, that is in your eyes, Moses. He told him, is not Ẓippora a Midianite, and are not her hooves split? This one is pure, that one is impure? There, Phineas was present. He said, is there nobody who would kill him or be killed? Where are the lions? A lion whelp is Jehudah; Dan is a lion whelp; Benjamin a rapacious wolf. When Phineas saw that nobody of Israel did anything, he immediately rose from his court, took the spear in his hand, and put its iron under his belt. He was leaning on its wood until he arrived at his door. When he arrived at his door, they asked him, where to, Phineas? He said to them, do you not agree that everywhere the tribe of Levi is with the tribe of Simeon? They said, let him, maybe the Pharisees permitted the matter. When he entered, the Holy One, praise to Him, performed six wonders for him. The first miracle: usually they would separate, but the angel glued the one to the other. The second miracle: He directed the spear into her belly to that his penis should be seen inside her belly because of the fault-finders, lest they say that he muscled himself in with them and satisfied himself. The third miracle: the angel closed their mouths, so they could not cry. The fourth miracle: they did not slip from the weapon but stayed in place. The fifth miracle: The angel lifted the lintel so that both of them were carried out between his shoulders. The sixth miracle: When the plague started to destroy the people, what did he do? He threw them on the ground and prayed. That is what is written: Phineas stood and prayed; the plague was arrested.

Raba said : When we dine at the house of the Exilarch, we say Grace in threes. But they should have said Grace in tens ! If the Exilarch had heard, he would have been angry. But they could have fulfilled their duty by means of the Grace said by the Exilarch ! Since everybody made the responses in a loud voice, it could not be heard.