- And the children of Israel proceeded from Rephidim and they encamped in the wilderness
of Sinai, in the third month from their going forth from Egypt.
- At that time came Reuel the Midianite, the father-in-law of Moses, with Zipporah his
daughter and her two sons, for he had heard of the wonders of the Lord which he had done to
Israel, that he had delivered them from the hand of Egypt.
- And Reuel came to Moses to the wilderness where he was encamped, where was the
mountain of God.
- And Moses went forth to meet his father-in-law with great honor, and all Israel was with him.
- And Reuel and his children remained amongst the Israelites for many days, and Reuel
knew the Lord from that day forward.
- And in the third month from the children of Israel's departure from Egypt, on the sixth day
thereof, the Lord gave to Israel the ten commandments on Mount Sinai.
- And all Israel heard all these commandments, and all Israel rejoiced exceedingly in the Lord
on that day.
- And the glory of the Lord rested upon Mount Sinai, and he called to Moses, and Moses came in the midst of a cloud and ascended the mountain.
- And Moses was upon the mount forty days and forty nights; he ate no bread and drank no
water, and the Lord instructed him in the statutes and judgments in order to teach the children
of Israel.
- And the Lord wrote the ten commandments which he had commanded the children of
Israel upon two tablets of stone, which he gave to Moses to command the children of Israel.
- And at the end of forty days and forty nights, when the Lord had finished speaking to
Moses on Mount Sinai, then the Lord gave to Moses the tablets of stone, written with the
finger of God.
- And when the children of Israel saw that Moses tarried to come down from the mount, they
gathered round Aaron, and said, As for this man Moses we know not what has become of
him.
- Now therefore rise up, make unto us a god who shall go before us, so that thou shalt not
die.
- And Aaron was greatly afraid of the people, and he ordered them to bring him gold and he
made it into a molten calf for the people.
- And the Lord said to Moses, before he had come down from the mount, Get thee down, for
thy people whom thou didst bring forth from Egypt have corrupted themselves.
- They have made to themselves a molten calf, and have bowed down to it, now therefore
leave me, that I may consume them from off the earth, for they are a stiffnecked people.
- And Moses besought the countenance of the Lord, and he prayed to the Lord for the
people on account of the calf which they had made, and he afterward descended from the
mount and in his hands were the two tablets of stone, which God had given him to command
the Israelites.
- And when Moses approached the camp and saw the calf which the people had made, the
anger of Moses was kindled and he broke the tablets under the mount.
- And Moses came to the camp and he took the calf and burned it with fire, and ground it till
it became fine dust, and strewed it upon the water and gave it to the Israelites to drink.
- And there died of the people by the swords of each other about three thousand men who
had made the calf.
- And on the morrow Moses said to the people, I will go up to the Lord, peradventure I may
make atonement for your sins which you have sinned to the Lord.
- And Moses again went up to the Lord, and he remained with the Lord forty days and forty
nights.
- And during the forty days did Moses entreat the Lord in behalf of the children of Israel, and
the Lord hearkened to the prayer of Moses, and the Lord was entreated of him in behalf of
Israel.
- Then spake the Lord to Moses to hew two stone tablets and to bring them up to the Lord,
who would write upon them the ten commandments.
- Now Moses did so, and he came down and hewed the two tablets and went up to Mount
Sinai to the Lord, and the Lord wrote the ten commandments upon the tablets.
- And Moses remained yet with the Lord forty days and forty nights, and the Lord instructed
him in statutes and judgments to impart to Israel.
- And the Lord commanded him respecting the children of Israel that they should make a
sanctuary for the Lord, that his name might rest therein, and the Lord showed him the likeness of the
sanctuary and the likeness of all its vessels.
- And at the end of the forty days, Moses came down from the mount and the two tablets
were in his hand.
- And Moses came to the children of Israel and spoke to them all the words of the Lord, and
he taught them laws, statutes and judgments which the Lord had taught him.
- And Moses told the children of Israel the word of the Lord, that a sanctuary should be
made for him, to dwell amongst the children of Israel.
- And the people rejoiced greatly at all the good which the Lord had spoken to them,
through Moses, and they said, We will do all that the Lord has spoken to thee.
- And the people rose up like one man and they made generous offerings to the sanctuary
of the Lord, and each man brought the offering of the Lord for the work of the sanctuary, and
for all its service.
- And all the children of Israel brought each man of all that was found in his possession for
the work of the sanctuary of the Lord, gold, silver and brass, and every thing that was
serviceable for the sanctuary.
- And all the wise men who were practiced in work came and made the sanctuary of the
Lord, according to all that the Lord had commanded, every man in the work in which he had
been practiced; and all the wise men in heart made the sanctuary, and its furniture and all the
vessels for the holy service, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
- And the work of the sanctuary of the tabernacle was completed at the end of five months,
and the children of Israel did all that the Lord had commanded Moses.
- And they brought the sanctuary and all its furniture to Moses; like unto the representation
which the Lord had shown to Moses, so did the children of Israel.
- And Moses saw the work, and behold they did it as the Lord had commanded him, so
Moses blessed them.
[Book of Jasher
Referred to in Joshua and Second Samuel.
faithfully translated (1840)
from the Original Hebrew into English.
A Reprint of Photo Lithographic Reprint of Exact Edition
Published by J.H. Parry & Co., Salt Lake City: 1887]