Chapter 17: Lessons from the Story of Moses

The importance attached to the life-story of Moses in the Qur’an is due to the fact of his likeness with the Holy Prophet Muhammad (may peace and the blessings of Allah be upon him). Moses was both a law-giver and a nation-builder and so was the Holy Prophet. The Israelites had been in a state of slavery to the Pharaoh of Egypt for about four centuries. It was, therefore, a hard task for Moses to build a nation out of them but this task was very limited in I comparison to the work with which the Holy Prophet was entrusted. He had to build a nation on quite a new principle, a, nation, not united by any ties of blood, race, colour or county but united by a moral and spiritual outlook, united by a belief in the; Unity of God and His all-pervading Lordship. Such was to be the Muslim nation in which the Arab and the non-Arab, the white and the black, the Semitic and the Aryan, were all to be on one level. The whole world was the country and the whole humanity the race out of which this nation was to be formed. With this apparently: impossible task, the Prophet was entrusted; and single-handed in 1 the face of all difficulties he built up the foundation of a new nation within a short period of twenty-three years. An accomplishment like this cannot be placed to the credit of any other man in the history of the world.

As both Moses and Muhammad were nation-builders and lawgivers, many were the occasions in the life of the former that resembled those which faced the latter and therefore these are recalled to show that what happened to the opponents of Moses was sure to happen to those who now opposed the Prophet and the same God who delivered Moses and his people from the bondage of the Pharaohs is at the back of the Prophet and He is powerful enough to change the situation in his favour by means unperceived by human mind. Whatever respite is being given by God to a people to reform themselves, if not utilized in time, for their own betterment, will not be prolonged, and repentance will do them no good when the chastisement is in sight, as was the case with the Pharaoh at the moment of his drowning. The followers of the Prophet should not despair of the mercy of God: if success is delayed in their affairs, for, it is the righteous only that ultimately win. They should also bear in mind that when they are delivered of their enemies, they should not tread the path of the Israelites which they adopted after their liberation from the slavery of the Egyptians. Take for instance their behaviour, when they were ordered to slaughter a cow. Here is a. lesson for the, Muslims that in carrying out the Divine injunctions they should not seek the refuge of lame excuses but obey the behests under all circumstances with the spirit of ready compliance and with a willing heart. The principle laid down for them is expressed in two meaningful words: Sama’na wa Ata’na, i.e., we have heard and we obey.

In the course of the history of Moses the Qur’an has pointed out the main traits of the character of the Israelites with the object of warning the Muslims lest they take to a similar path and meet the same fate which the Israelites had come to. Let us briefly note what the Qur’an has said about them.

(1) Sectarianism.

The People of the Book were divided into many sects and each sect was condemning the other out of their mutual jealousies, even though they possessed the same scriptures. The Qur’an warns the Muslims in these words:

“Surely they who divided their religion into parts and became sects, you have no concern with them.” (6:160)

Again:

“Be not of those who divide their religion and became parties, every sect rejoining in what they have with them.” (30:32)

Or:

“Hold fast by the cable of Allah all together and be not disunited.” (3:102)

And also:

“Allah revealed the Book with truth and those who differed in the Book have drifted away from it.” (2:176)

(2) Interpolations in Divine Scriptures:

They used to make changes to suit their whims and fancies. The Qur’an points out their mischievous dealings in these words:

Those who were unjust changed the word into other than what was given them.” (2:59)

Or:

“Woe to those who transcribe the Book corruptly with their hands and say it is from God in order that they may sell it for some price. Woe then to them for the gains they have made thereby.” (2:79)

Again it is said:

“here is a party of them who used to listen to the word of God and yet knowingly perverted it and they knew what they were doing.” (2:81)

(3) Suppression of Truth:

They used to hide the truth that was revealed in their scriptures. The Qur’an points it out in these words:

“lothe not what is true with what is untrue or knowingly suppress the truth.” (2:142)

They were expecting the advent of a prophet according to prophecies contained in their scriptures, but when the same prophet did appear, they did not leave any stone unturned to destroy him for the simple reason that he belonged to the Ishmaelites instead of the Israelites. The Qur’an points this out in these words:

“And believe in what I have sent down confirming that which is already with you and do not take the lead in rejecting it.” (2:41)

And when anyone of them would recite any portion of their scripture before the Muslims which supported the claim of the Prophet they used to say:

“Blab ye to them what Allah has disclosed to you that theymay throw it back at you as the very thing received from your Allah. Can you not understand this much?” (2:76)

In spite of their knowing full well that the Prophet was the promised Messiah of their scriptures they would not recognize him. This is pointed out in the Qur’an in these words:

“Those whom We have given the Book recognise him as they recognise their own sons.” (2:146)

(4) Fondness of Worldly Gains and Abhorrence of Death:

The Jews were notorious for their fondness of material gains and abhorrence of death which brought upon them disgrace from all quarters. The Qur’an makes mention of this in these words:

“And thou wouldst surely find them of all men the most covetous of life, even more covetous than those who associate others with God. Every one of them may wish to live a thousand years.” (2:96)

(5) Selfish Rabbies and Doctors of Law:

The Israelite doctors of law had for their own selfish gains usurped the place of God and were obeyed and followed implicitly by their people against the injunctions of their scriptures. The Qur’an points out this weakness of theirs in these words:

“They have taken their doctors of law and -their priests for lords besides God.” (9:31)

They had forgotten their own responsibilities and lived for their own selfish ends, and their ignorant followers relied implicitly on their exposition of their religious responsibilities.

“Why do their learned men and the doctors of law not prohibit them from their speaking of what is sinful and their eating of unlawfully acquired things? Certainly evil be that which they do.” (5:83)

Their story does not end with this but they had totally neglected to forbid evil and were obsessed in promoting their own selfish interests and, if, on any occasion they had any impulse to admonish others, they would do so forgetting to set themselves aright. The Qur’an asks them:

“Will you enjoin righteousness on others and neglect to practice the same yourselves and yet you profess to follow the Book.” (2:44)

(6} Indifference towards the Law:

In every affair of theirs whether it be temporal or spiritual, the rule of the devil was the order of the day. Even the few injunctions which had escaped their interference were only given lip profession and were never put into practice. They were no doubt bearers of the Torah but no corner of their life’s activities was illuminated with its light. The Qur’an refers to this in these words:

“The likeness of those who were charged with the Torah then did not observe it is the likeness of an ass bearing a load of books.” (62:5)

They threw aside the Book of God and thereby invoked the curse of God. To them Qur’an says:

“Say (to them O Prophet}: O people of the Book! you follow no good till you keep up the Torah and the Gospel and that which is revealed to thee from thy Lord.” (5:68)

(7} Mutual Enmities:

The Qur’an says that on account of interpolations in the word of God and breaking the covenants and neglecting the law, they are made to suffer the curse of mutual enmities. It says:

“On account of breaking the covenant We cursed them and made their hearts hard; they altered the words from their places and they neglected a portion of what they were reminded of and thou shalt always discover treachery in them excepting a few of them and with those who say we are Christians, We made a covenant but they neglected a portion of what they were reminded of; therefore We excited among them enmity and hatred to the day of resurrection.” (5:13-14)

(8) Devouring the Unlawful:

Love of wealth is the proverbial weakness of a Jew. Even Shakespeare had to expose this weakness in the notorious character of Shylock. The Qur’an throws light upon this trait of their character in these words:

“They are listeners of lies and devourers of what is forbidden.” (5:42)

Or:

“Ye who believe! Most surely many of the doctors of law and the monks eat away the property of men falsely and turn them from Allah’s way.” (9:34)

(9) Cooperation with the Unbelievers and idol-worshippers:

When the Jews, forsaking the path of God, formed themselves into different schisms and when after materialistic attainments, their standard of antagonism eventually underwent a change. On the one hand they claimed to be the chosen people of God and on the other they made friends with the enemies of God and the enemies of the believers. The Qur’an has pointed out their double-sidedness in these words:

“Thou wilt see many of them befriending those who disbelieve.” (5:80)

When the mind is darkened by animal passions, one loses the talent of distinguishing good from evil. The Qur’an declares in this connection that:

“Thou shalt not find a people who believe in Allah and the latter day be mending those who act in opposition to Allah and His apostle even though they were their own fathers or their sons or their brothers or their kinsfolk.” (58:22)

But the Jews who professed to believe in God and the Hereafter were foremost in making alliances with the polytheists against the Muslims.

(10) Seeking Pretexts:

When man gets overpowered with the influx of passions and loses the fear of God, he sacrifices the injunctions of God on the altar of his worldliness. He beings to seek pretexts to avoid correct performance of his duties forgetting that there is an omnipresent and omniscient God who knows the secrets of his heart. The Sabbath day was declared by the law of Moses as a sacred day and the Jews were forbidden to work for their livelihood on that day. But their covetous and greedy temperament could not keep them at home. They transgressed the law under various pretexts to hoodwink God Himself.¹⁴ The Qur’an refers to it in these words:

“And certainly you have known those among you who exceeded the limits of the Sabbath. We said to them: Be as apes despised and hated.” (2:65)

(11) Ignorance of the Law and Persistence in Ignorance:

It has been the rule with the old nations of the world that after the passing away of their prophets they gradually let the law enforced by them fall into desuetude and followed self invented rituals and customs according to their wishes in place of the simple and clear teachings of their faith, The Israelites were no exception. Thought they had the Torah with them thought not in its original purity, yet their religious life was based upon certain superstitious rites and customs. The Qur’an points this out in these words:

“And there are among them illiterates who know not the Book but only idle stories and they only make use of conjectures.” (2:78)

The Qur’an condemns them in these words:

“O people of the Book! Be not unduly immoderate in your religion and not follow the low desires of people who went astray before and led many astray and drifted away from the right path.” (5:77)

This is only a birds-eye-view of the state of society among the people of the Book during the Prophetic mission of Muhammad (may peace and the blessings of God be upon him). This picture is drawn in the sacred book of Islam with the object of warning the Muslims that God’s law of Requital is universal and undiscriminating and is applied to all without the least distinction of race and creed. For is it not said in the Qur’an.

“Thou shalt not find any change in the course of Allah.” (33:62)

“Thou shalt not find any alteration in the course of Allah.” (35:43)

NOTES:

[0] The word Fir’aun looks to a superficial observer to be only a difference of pronunciation but this is not so. Pharaoh is undoubtedly the Hebraized title of the King of Egypt. If the Prophet had heard this title from the Jews there was no reason why he should not have used Pharaoh (Fero) in Arabic and its pronunciation was not difficult for the Arabs. But he did not do it and there must be some reason for it. That reason has come to light now from the book of Herodotus; the Greek historian of ancient Greece. He uses Peroun for Pharaoh, the very title the Qur’an has used. Herodotus’s information must be direct and first-hand. Was this true also of Muhammad? Yes, in one sense, for the real author of the Qur’an is far better informed than the Jews, and if, later, a Greek historian whose work could never have been consulted by the Prophet in Mecca accidentally comes to confirm the Qur’anic name, it should give some food for reflection to those who glibly talk of Muhammad obtaining his information from the Jews or from the folk-lore popular in Arabia in his days.

1. The Christian critics point out that Haman who is mentioned here as the minister of Pharaoh is not mentioned in the Bible as such and therefore, they allege that the Prophet has blundered and confounded the Haman mentioned ill the book of Esther of the Old Testament, a favourite of the Persian king Abasuerus with the minister of Pharaoh. But this allegation is based on ignorance combined with prejudice as we shall presently prove.

The Pharaoh who was the contemporary of Moses was Rameses II belonging to the nineteenth dynasty of Egypt. During his reign some of the biggest temples and buildings of Egypt were constructed and the head priests of the temples enjoyed great power in the land. Among these the high priest of the temple of Ammon, the Ram-god was the most powerful (Jewish Encyclopaedia, Vol. X, p. 12)

Dr .Steindroff of the Leipzig University, in the book Religious of Ancient Egyptians, states on page 96 that the high priest of the temple of Ammon was the chief officer in charge of constructions and decorations of all public buildings and he also used to be the general of the military attached to the temples like the archbishops of medieval Europe. He was also in charge of the public treasury and the head of all the priests of the temples of Thebes and of north and the south Egypt, Again on page 106 he writes that the servants of the temples were mostly prisoners of war or the cultivators and artisans of the land. Forced labour was imposed on them all in the construction of public buildings. The priests were very wealthy and exercised great power over the people. The high priest of the Temple of Ammon was owner of one-tenth of the whole of land.

Now keeping these things in view which the European orientalists have discovered from the study of Egyptian archaeology let us see that the Qur’an says about Haman:

“Surely Fir’aun and Haman and their hosts were wrong-doers.” (28:8)

No doubt Pharaoh was the king, but the high priest of Ammon with his retinue was also of no less importance and therefore the Qur’an uses the words “and their hosts.” Again in the same chapter the Qur’an says:

“And Fir’aun said: O chiefs I do not know of any god for you besides myself and therefore burn me then, O Haman! Bricks of clay and build me a lofty tower that I may mount up to the Lord of Musa, for, in sooth I deem him a liar,” (28:38)

This shows that the high priest of Ammon was also the chief architect of the kingdom. Now why did the Qur’an call him Haman? The simple reply is that in the Old Testament the brother of Moses is called Aaron who was the high priest of the Israelites and the Qur’an has called him Harun. Like was the high priest of Ammon is called Haman in place of Ammon.

In the city of Munich in Germany there is an ancient statue on which is written that it is the statue or the high priest of Ammon of the time of Rameses II (vide Dr Steindroff, op. cit, pp. 97-98). The Muslim commentators of the Qur’an called Haman as the vizier of Pharaoh without any proof and the Christian critics of the Qur’an took this opportunity to level the charge of historical blunder against the Qur’an, but recent researches have furnished the proofs, See Encyclopaedia Britannica, Vol. IX 11th edition, p. 54, where it is stated that along with many other powers the high priest of Ammon used to be appointed as the vizier in charge of southern Egypt. Indeed what the Qur’an has stated fourteen hundred years ago is being proved by modern researches day by day and why should it not be so when the Al1-Knowing God Himself says;

‘This is of the announcements relating to the unseenwhich We reveal to thee (0 Muhammad)” (112:192),

But those blinded with prejudice can hardly see the truth.

2. Christian critical opinion discovers here another example of how the Qur’an commits mistakes in borrowing from the Bible. It says that the Prophet had in mind a confused idea of Jacob making an agreement with Laban to serve him for seven years as a condition of marrying one of his daughters (Genesis, 29: 18) and he invented the story of Moses’s marriage. The slightest similarity in incidents like similarity of names (as we have seen in the case of Haman) gives rise in the minds of the Christian critics to a conclusion of confusion and anachronism where the Qur’an is concerned. But they intentionally forget that the stories given in the Bible of Laban marrying his daughters with Jacob by fraudulent methods and then Jacob’s going to the female slaves of both his wives and producing children from them in Genesis, 29 and 30, are daring examples of incident and even loathsome fiction. The Qur’an is far above borrowing such disgusting and abominable tales. We have quoted these passages for our reader’s illumination showing the worth of the Bible narratives.

According to Rabbinical accounts as given in the Jewish Encyclopaedia Moses lived with Jethro for ten years which corroborates the Qur’anic story in substance and there is nothing in the circumstances that he may have served him during that period in consideration for marrying of his daughters. The Qur’an does not state how many daughters the man had. It only speaks of two of them being in charge of their father’s flocks Hened the alleged confusion of this story with that of Laban’s two daughters is itself due to confusion of the minds of our Christian critics.

3. When Moses was a child he burnt his tongue with a live coal. This caused an impediment in his tongue to speak freely. This fact is not mentioned in the Bible but it is given in Midrash Julkut on Ex. c. 166 and also in Shalsheleth Hakabalab, p. 5 b.

4. Here again we have an instance of the correctness of the Qur’anic statement where it differs with the Bible showing the incompleteness of the Bible narrative. In the 4th chapter of Exodus it is clearly stated that two signs were given to Moses, that of his rod turning into a serpent and that of his hand turning white when put into his bosom And when we read chapter 7 where the performance of these miracles before Pharaoh is recorded, we find mention only of the miracle of the rod. It is, however obvious that Moses must have shown the second sign on the rejection of the first, for he could not have disobeyed the Divine commandment, nor was the second miracle given to him in vain.

5. The Bible does not speak of the magicians as believers in the Divine mission of Moses and in the Lord of the worlds Whom he represented. But we have mention of this in the Rabbinical literature according to which some Egyptians accompanied Moses when he departed from Egypt which is corroborated by the Bible narrative: ” And a mixed multitude also went up with them” (Exodus 12: 39) “For the Egyptians, when the time fixed for Moses’s descent from the mountains had expired came in a body, forty thousand of them accompanied by two Egyptian magicians, Yanos and Yambross the same who imitated Moses in producing the signs and the plagues in Egypt” (Jewish Encyclopaedia). This is a proof of the truth of the statement made in the Qur’an and of the incompleteness of the Bible narrative.

6. The Bible does not mention that the body of Pharaoh was cast ashore. But from recent discoveries in Egyptology it has been found that the body of Rameses who is regarded as the Pharaoh of Moses’s time has been preserved among the mummies of Egypt (vide Encyclopaedia Britannica, Article: ‘Mummy“). This is another instance of the insufficiency of the Bible narrative and the truth of the Qur’anic statement where it supplements the Bible. Surely the discovery now made could not have been known to the Holy Prophet and here we have a clear example of the superhuman knowledge contained in the Qur’an. The contention of the Christian critics that the stories of the Qur’an are borrowed from the Bible falls flat to the ground.

7. According to the Bible, Moses received the Torah in the form of tablets written by the hand of God “The tablets were the work of God and the writing was writing of God graven upon the tablets. (Exodus, 32: 16). But according to the Qur’an the Torah was revealed to Moses in the same manner as books were revealed to other prophets and as the Qur’an was revealed to the Prophet of Islam. “Who revealed the Book which Musa brought?” (6:92); ‘We have sent revelations to thee as We sent revelations to Nuh and prophets after him” (6:163)

8. According to the Bible, Moses in his anger broke the tablets on which the word of God was written (Ex 32: 19) and Ex. 34: 1 describes how they were renewed, but the Qur’an says that he only put the down and took them up again when his anger calmed. It appears strange indeed that a prophet like Moses should have been so overpowered with wrath as to have broken the tablets upon which were written down Divine communications. Therefore the Bible narratives must be rejected. Its absurdity is to be found in the fact that the tablets of stone written with the finger of God by merely being cast out of his hand, as the Bible says, had been so broken as to make the writing illegible. Therefore the Qur’anic statement which contradicts the Bible is the correct one.

9. In chapter 32 of Exodus the people cause Aaron to make a calf out of their golden ornaments. He fashions the calf with graving tool after melting the gold into the shape of a calf and builds an altar for it and offers burnt offerings. God informs Moses of their transgression and wishes to destroy them all. Moses beseaches the Lord not to be angry and reminds Him of the promise He gave to Abraham, Isaac and Israel and God repents for the evil which He thought to do to the Israelites. Imagine the enormity of accusing God of committing an evil and repenting for it. Moses returns to his people, casts the tablets out of his hand and breaks them beneath the mount and takes Aaron to task for the sin he committed. Aaron confesses his fault and the chapter ends with the words:

“And the Lord plagued the people because they made the calf which Aaron made.”

The Qur’an not only clears him of idol-making but shows him as plainly warning the Israelites because of the worship of the calf in these words:

“0 my people, you are only tried by it and surely your Lord is the Beneficient God; therefore follow me and obey my orders.” (20:90)

Here Aaron’s excuse and Moses’s acceptance of it show clearly that Aaron was quite innocent, having had a share neither in making the calf nor in worshipping it. The Bible account which makes a righteous prophet of God guilty of the most heinous crime must be rejected as untrue. Here is another example of the Qur’an championing the cause of the prophets of God and clearing them of the blasphemies that the compilers of the Bible have heaped upon their sacred memories.

10. Who was this Samiri? As the Bible does not mention the name of any such person, the adverse Christian critics of the Qur’an at once jump to the conclusion that the Qur’an has committed a blunder of anachronism. According to these critics, the Jewish capital Samariah was founded about 925 B.C. long after the Exodus and a tribe by The name of Samaritans sprang up from this place which was a cross-breed of the Israelites and the Gentiles, and calf worship was in vogue among these people. Perhaps Muhammad learnt this from the Jews at Mecca and fabricated this story in connection with Moses. We have seen under footnote 2 how in the case of Haman, the high pries of Ammon, they made similar accusations and how the truth of the Qur’an was vindicated by the researches in Egyptology. A similarity in names becomes enough authority with these oriental scholars where Muhammad or the Qur’an is concerned and that is enough excuse to accuse the Qur’an or the Prophet.

There is every possibility of this Samiri to be some ancestor of the Samaritans. What the Qur’an says in this verse is that some person other than Aaron was responsible for making the calf From Rabbinical literature (see Jewish Encyc., Art: “Calf“) it appears that the Egyptians who had come with the Israelites were foremost in demanding the making of the calf. Imam Razi in his commentary asserts that he was an Egyptian who had believed in Moses and come along with the Israelites.

11. This shows that the ashes of the calf were thrown into the sea and the story of the Israelites being made to drink water mixed with the ashes of the calf is not credited by the Qur’an as given in Exodus, 32: 20, and Deut. 2: 21. The ring-leaders among the Israelites show seduced the people to calf-worship were slain by the Levites. The Bible states that three thousand. people were killed on that day. Therefore there was no need of making them drink the water containing the ashes of the calf.

The Qur’an, on the other hand, tells us:

“And when Musa said to his people: O my people! you have surely been unjust to yourselves by taking the calf for a god. Therefore turn to you Creator penitently and mortify yourselves. That is best for you with your Creator. So He turned to you mercifully, for surely He is the oft-returning to mercy, the Merciful.” (2:54).

Thus the wrong was forgiven, though it is possible that the forgiveness may have been granted after the sentence was executed. It is however strange that Aaron, who according to the Bible, made the image and led the people to calf-worship was not at all punished. This itself is enough to show that the allegation made against him in the Bible was baseless.

12. The slaughter of a cow referred to in this verse has nothing in common with the slaying of the heifer as an expiration of the uncertain murder in Deut. 21: 1-9 or to the slaughter of a red heifer, the ashes of which purify one who was touched the dead body of any man (Num. 19: 1-9) except the fact that as the Israelites held the cow in great honour and even worshipped it, as is clear from their worship of the golden calf, they were ordered to slaughter such cows as were usually let abroad and worshipped as sacred objects-cows not wrought with nor drawn in yoke but let loose to wander abroad and the cow mentioned in these verses is a typical cow answering this description. This type of cow is still an object of special reverence in India. The slaughter of this particular type was specially enjoined upon the Jews according to the Bible as well as the Holy Qur’an the object being to root out cow-worship among them.

But whereas the Biblical injunction to slaughter a heifer is a general injunction to be observed whenever an uncertain murder takes place or an unclear person is to be purified the injunction as contained in the Qur’an points to the slaughter of one particular cow which was probably likely to become an object of worship. Indeed there is a striking resemblance between the colour of the golden calf and the cow ordered to be slaughtered.

The concluding words of the passage show that because of their reverence for that particular cow, the Jews were very averse to slaughter it. This incident is entirely ignored by the Bible.

13. The Bible has ascribed a very despicable act of Moses. In the book of Numbers, chapters 12, verse I, it is written that the sister of Moses, Miryam, charged him with illicit connection with a Cushite woman and the God of Moses became angry with her and made her leper but on the prayer of Moses she was restored again to health. The Qur’an rejects this story in the verses quoted above.

Further on, the Bible paints Moses as a heartless tyrant inflicting vengeance on the Midianites for the doubtful fault of one Midianite woman who was supposed to beguile an Israelite. In retribution he wages war against the Midanites in which all the males are slain and all the women and children are taken captive and all their flocks and herds and goods are taken and all their cities and castles are burnt. When the spoils of this war are taken to Moses he gets angry with his men for having spared the women and children and he orders to kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him, in cold blood and distributes the virgins and the little ones among his followers to be their slaves and those numbered thirty-two thousand souls in all, (vide chapter 31, Numbers).

14. This was not mentioned in the story of Moses as this incident did not take place during the life-time of Moses. We read in Ezek, 22:, 8-15 the following; “Thou hast despised mine holy things, and has profaned my Sabbaths. In thee are men that carry tales to shed blood: and in thee they eat upon the mountains: in the midst of thee they commit lewdness. In thee have they discovered their fathers’ nakedness; in thee they humbled her that was set apart for pollution. And one hath committed abomination with his neighbour’s wife; and another hath lewdly defiled his daughter in law; and another in thee hath humbled his sister, his father’s daughter… and I will scatter thee among the heathen, and disperse thee in countries.” All this description conforms to the character of apes which the Qur’an uses. Moses’s prophecy of the fact of the Jewish nation amply bears out the description as given in the Qur’an. “And the Lord shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest; but the Lord shall thee a trembling heart, and falling of eyes, and sorrow of Mind” (Deut. 28: 64-65).