Aggada -- Translations into English; Bible. Old Testament -- Legends; Jewish legends; Midrash -- Translations into English
As Sodom had a judge worthy of itself, so also had the other
cities—Sharkar in Gomorrah, Zabnak in Admah, and Manon in Zeboiim.
Eliezer, the bondman of Abraham, made slight changes in the names of
these judges, in accordance with the nature of what they did: the first
he called Shakkara, Liar; the second Shakrura, Arch-deceiver; the third
Kazban, Falsifier; and the fourth, Mazle-Din, Perverter of Judgment. At
the suggestion of these judges, the cities set up beds on their
commons. When a stranger arrived, three men seized him by his head, and
three by his feet, and they forced him upon one of the beds. If he was
too short to fit into it exactly, his six attendants pulled and
wrenched his limbs until he filled it out; if he was too long for; it,
they tried to jam him in with all their combined strength, until the
victim was on the verge of death. Hit outcrles were met with the words,
"Thus will be done to any man that comes into our land."
After a while travellers avoided these cities, but if some poor devil
was betrayed occasionally into entering them, they would give him gold
and silver, but never any bread, so that he was bound to die of
starvation. Once he was dead, the residents of the city came and took
back the marked gold and silver which they had given him, and they
would quarrel about the distribution of his clothes, for they would
bury him naked.
Once Eliezer, the bondman of Abraham, went to Sodom, at the bidding of
Sarah, to inquire after the welfare of Lot. He happened to enter the
city at the moment when the people were robbing a stranger of his
garments. Eliezer espoused the cause of the poor wretch, and the
Sodomites turned against him; one threw a stone at his forehead and
caused considerable loss of blood. Instantly, the assailant, seeing the
blood gush forth, demanded payment for having performed the operation
of cupping. Eliezer refused to pay for the infliction of a wound upon
him, and he was haled before the judge Shakkara. The decision went
against him, for the law of the land gave the assailant the right to
demand payment. Eliezer quickly picked up a stone and threw it at the
judge's forehead. When he saw that the blood was flowing profusely, he
said to the judge, "Pay my debt to the man and give me the balance."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account