Aggada -- Translations into English; Bible. Old Testament -- Legends; Jewish legends; Midrash -- Translations into English
After Nahshon, the temporal king, and Nethanel the spiritual king, came
the turn of Eliab, the prince of the tribe of Zebulun. This tribe owed
its distinction to the circumstance that it followed commerce and
through the profits thereof was enabled to maintain the tribe of
Issachar, which, entirely devoted to study, could not support itself.
The charger and bowl that he presented to the sanctuary symbolize the
food and drink with which Zebulun provide the scholar-tribe Issachar.
The spoon indicated the border of the sea, which Jacob in his blessing
had bestowed on Zebulun as his possession, and the ten shekels of its
weight corresponded to the ten words of which this blessing consisted.
The tow oxen point to the two blessings which Moses bestowed upon
Zebulun, as the three small cattle, the ram, the goat, and the lamb,
corresponded to the three things which gave Zebulun's possessions
distinction before all others, the tunny, the purple snail, and white
glass. [391]
After the tribes that belonged to Judah's camp division had brought
their offerings, followed Reuben and the tribes belonging to his
division. The gifts of the tribe of Reuben symbolized the events in the
life of their forefather Reuben. The silver charger recalled Reuben's
words when he saved Joseph's life, whom the other brothers wanted to
kill, for "the tongue of the just is as choice silver." The silver
bowl, from which was sprinkled the sacrificial blood, recalled the same
incident, for it was Reuben who advised his brothers to throw Joseph
into the pit rather than to kill him. The spoon of ten shekels of gold
symbolized the deed of Reuben, who restrained Jacob's sons from
bloodshed, hence the gold out of which the spoon was fashioned had a
blood-red color. The spoon was filled with incense, and so too did
Reuben fill his days with fasting and prayer until God forgave his sin
with Billhah, and "his prayer was set forth before God as incense." As
penance for this crime, Reuben offered the kid of goats as a sin
offering, whereas the two oxen of the peace offering corresponded to
the two great deeds of Reuben, the deliverance of Joseph, and the long
penance for his sin. [392]
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