pot the beare the bed doe note the strength the lust Of Ruben and unconstant head who therefore was accurst The Testament of Ruben THis is the copy of Rubens testament concerning all the things which hee gave in charge to his children before he died in the 125. yeare of his life Two yeares after the decease of Joseph his children and childrens children came to visit him in his sicknesse and be said unto them My children I die goe the way of my Fathers And seeing there his brethren Iuda Gad and Aser he said unto them Lift me up my brethren that I may tell you and my Children the things that I have hidden in my heart for I am henceforth drawing to my long home Then standing up he kissed them and weeping said Harken my brethren and you my children give ear to the words of your father Ruben mark what I give in charge to you Behold I command you this day before the God of Heaven that ye walke not in the ignorance of youthfulnesse and fornication wherein I overshot my selfe and defiled the bed of my Father Jacob For I assure you that the Lord did therfore strike me with a sore plague in my flanks the space of 7 moneths a I had perished if my Father b Jacob had not prayed to the Lord for mee because he was minded to have slaine mee I was thirty yeares old when I did this evill in the sight of the Lord and seven moneths was I sick to the death and with a free heart did I seven yeere penance before the Lord I drank no wine nor strong drink no flesh came within my mouth I tasted not any fine bread but I mourned for my sinne for it was great and there shall none such bee done in Israel And now my sonnes heare mee that I may shew you what I saw concerning the seven spirits of error in my repentance Belial giveth seven spirits against a man which are the welsprings of youthful workes and seven spirits are given man in hâ—s creation wherby all his works are done The first is the spirit of life wherewith is created his being The second is the spirit of seing wherwith cometh lusting The third the spirit of hearing wherwith cometh learning The 4 th is the spirit of smelling wherewith cometh delight by drawing in of the aire and by breathing of it out againe The fift is the spirit of speech wherewith knowledge is made The sixt is the spirit of Tasting whereof cometh the feeding upon things that are to be eatâ—n and drunke and through them is engendered strength because the substance of strengâ—h is in meat The seventh is the spirit of seed and generation wherewith entereth in the lust of pleasure For this cause it is the last of creation and the first of youth because it is full of Ignorance and Ignorance leadeth the yonger sort as a blind body into the ditch and as an ore to the stall Among all these is the eight spirit which is of sleep with whom is created the wasting away of Nature and the Image of Death With these spirits are mingled the spirits of errour Whereof the first is the spirit of lechery who lieth within the nature and senses of man The second spirit of unsatiablenes lieth in the belly The third spirit of strife lieth in the Liver in choler The fourth spirit is of bravery and gallantnes that the party may seeme comely by excesse The fifth is the spirit of Pride which moveth a man to minde over great things or to think well of himself The sixt is the spirit of lying or vain gloriousnesse in boasting a mans selfe and in desire to file his talke concerning his own kindred and acquaintance The seventh is the spirit of unrighteousnesse which stirreth up the affections that a man should perform the lustfull pleasures of his heart For unrighteousnesse worketh with all the other spirits by taking guile unto him Vnto all these spirits is matched the eight spirit which is the spirit of sleep or sluggishnesse in errour imagination and so the soules of young folkes perish because their minds are darkned and hidden from the truth understand not the law of the Lord neither obey the doctrine of their Fathers as befell to me in my youth But now my children love the truth and that shall preserve you Harken to your Father Ruben and let not your eyes 1. run a gazing after women neither bee ye 2. alone with a Woman that is married neither doe ye seeke about 3. what Women are doing For if I had not seene Bilha bathing her selfe in a secret place I had not fallen into that great wâ—ckednes But my mind raâ—so so upon the naked Woman till it suffered mee not to sleepe till I had committed abhomination For while my Father Jacob was away at his Father Isaacks and I in Gader hard by Euphrata a house of Bethlehem Bilha fel 4. drunken and as she lay asleepe uncovered in her chamber I went in so and seeing her nakednesse wrought wickednesse with her leaving her asleepe went my way By and by an Angel of God bewrayed my wickednes to my father Jacob who comming home mourned for mee and touched not Bilha any more Therefore looke not upon the beautie of women neither muse you upon their doings but walke ye with a single heart in the feare of the Lord God busying your selves about some worke and keeping your selves occupied either in learning or about your flockes untill such time as God give you such wives as he listeth lest you doe suffer as I have done I durst not looke my Father in the face to his dying day nor speake to any of my brethren for shame My conscience biâ—eth me even yet still for my sin But my Father comforted me and prayed for me unto the Lord that his wrath might passe away from me as the Lord himselfe shewed unto me Therefore from that time forth I was kept from sinning any more And you my children likewise keepe ye that I shall tell you and you shall not sinne For Fornication is the destruction of the Soule separating it from God and making it to draw unto Idols because it leadeth the minde and understanding into errour and bringeth men to their grave before their time For whoredom hath undone many men although a man be ancient or noble yet doth it shame him and make him a laughing stock both before Belial and the sons of men But Ioseph because he kept himselfe from all Women and cleansed his thoughts from all fornication found favour both before the Lord and men The Egyptian Woman did much so him by using the helpe of witches and by offering him slaubar sauces but the purpose of his mind admitted no noysome desire For this
cause the God of our fathers delivered him from all death both seen and unseen For if fornication over-rule not your minde neither shall Belial prevaile against you Women are hurtfull things my sonnes because that when they want power and strength against a man they worke guilefully to draw him to them by traines whom they cannot overmatch in strength him they overcome by deceit For the Angel of the Lord which taught me told me of them that they be overmastered by the spirit of fornication more than men be and that they be ever practising in their hearts against men first making their mindes to erre by decking of themselves then shedding their poison into them by sight and finally catching them prisoners by their doings for a woman is notable to enforce a man Therefore my sons flie fornication charge your wives and daughters that they trim not their heads and will them to chasten their lookes for every woman that dealeth deceitfully in these things is reserved to the punishment of the world to come For by such means were the watchers deceived before the floud as soone as they saw them they fell in love one with another conceived a working in their minde and turned themselves into the shape of men and appeared to them in their companying with their husband and the woman by conceiving the desire of them in the imagination of their minde brought forth Giants For the Watches appeared to them of height unto heaven Therefore keepe your selves from fornication and if yee intend to have a cleare minde keepe your selves from all Women and forbid them likewise the company of men that they may have also cleane minds For although continuall companyings do not alwaies worke wickednesse yet breede they incurable stings to them and to us everlasting shame before Belial because that fornication hath neither understanding nor godlinesse in it and all enviousnes dwelleth in the desire thereof and for that cause shalt yee envie the Children of Levi and seeke to be exalted above them but ye shall not be able to compasse it for God will avenger them and you shall die a dangerous death for unto Levi and Iuda hath the Lord given the soveraignty and unto mee and Dan and Joseph hath hee granted to be Princes with them Wherfore I charge you heare Levi for he shall know the law of the Lord deale forth judgement and offer sacrifices for all Israel till the full time of Christ the chiefâ— priest because the Lord hath spoken it I charge you by the God of heaven that every of you do deale faithfully with his neighbour and flicke unto Levi in humblenesse of heart that ye may receive blessing at his mouth for he shall blesse Israel and Juda. God hath chosen Juda to bee the King of all people wherefore worship you his seed for he shall die for you in battels both visible and invisible and shall raigne over you world without end Ruben having given his Children the foresaid charge and blessed them dyed Then they put him in a coffin carrying him out of Egypt buried him at Hebron in the double Cave where his Fathers slept The Testament of SIMEON made to his Children at his death concerning Envie The heart in womans mouth the face the sword the wolfe the cap All these paint out the envious race That run to their mishap The Testament of Simeon THe copy of Simeons words which hee spake unto his sons at his death in the hundreth twentieth yeare of his life in the which Joseph died For they came to visit him upon his death-bed and he sitting up kissed them saying Hearken my Children heare me your father Simeon whatsoever I have in my heart I am my father Jacobs second son and my mother Lea named me Simeon because the Lord heard her prayer I became very mighty I went through with my doings and was not affraid of any thing For my heart was stout my mind unmoveable and my stomack undiscourageable for hardiness is given of the highest into mens soules and bodies In those daies I envied Joseph because my father loved him I hardened my heart against him to kill him because the prince of errour sending forth the spirit of envie so blinded my mind that I could not take heed to spare my father Jacob But his God the God of his fathers sending his angell did rid him out of my hands For while I went into Sichem to carrie fare for our flockes and Ruben into Dotaim where all our necessaries were laid up in store our brother Juda sold him unto the Ismaelites therefore when my brother was come againe he was sorry for he intended to have conveied him selfe againe to our father But I was angry with Juda for letting him goe alive and bare him grudge five moneths after howbeit God letted me and restrained the working of my hands for my right hand was halfe withered up for vii dayes together Then did I perceive my sonnes that that befell me for Josephs sake whereupon I repented soon after and besought the Lord to restore my hand and I would abstain from all rancor envie and folly For I knew I had conceived a wicked thought against the Lord and against my Father Jacob for my brother Josephs sake whom I envied Now therefore my children keep your selves from the spirits of error and envy For envie overruleth the a mind of everie Man suffering b him not to eate or drink in rest or so do any good thing and is alwaies egging him to c slay the party whom he envieth and d pining away at his prosperitie Two yeares together I punished my soul with fasting in the fear of the Lord For I knew that the way to deliver me from envie was the feare of the Lord If a man flie unto the Lord the wicked Spirit flieth from him so as his minde becommeth meeke and of spitefull he becommeth pitifull bearing no grudge towards such as love him and so his envie ceaseth And because my father saw me sad he asked me the cause of it In whom I lied saying I have a pain in my stomach for I was sorâ—iest of all my brothers for that I had been the cause of Josephs selling into Egypt And when I came into Egypt and was put inward by him as a sâ—te then perceived I that I was justly punished and I was not sorry for it But Joseph being a good man and having Gods spirit in hâ—m and being full of pitie and mercy minded not to doe mee any harm but loved me as well as the residue of my brethren Therefore my children keep your selves from all spite and envie and walke in singlenesse of minde and good conscience after the example of your fathers brother that God may give you grace glory and blessedness upon your heads as you see in him Of all
of the visions that I had seene but he would not â—o with us unto Bethel But when we came to Bethel my father Jacob saw in a vision concerning mee that I should be their priest before the Lord And he arose in the morning and tithed all things to the Lord by me Then came we to Hebron to dwell there and by and by Isaac called me to expound the law of the Lord accâ—rding as Gods angell had shewed it to me and he taught mee the law of Priesthood Sacrifices Burnt offerings â—irâ—â—â—ings Free-will offerings and offerings for health Every day he taught me understanding and called upon me continuâ—lly before the Lord saying My son give no care to the spirit of fornication for he will follow thee and defile the holy things by thy seede Therefore take thee a Wife in thy youth such an one that hath not any blemish nor uncleannesse nor is of the kindred of the Allophytes or of the Gentiles And before thou enter into the Holies wash and likewise ere thou sacrificest also when thou hast done offer unto the Lord the fruites of the twelve trees that are ever green as my father Abraham taught me to do and the fruite of all clean beastes and of clean soules offer thou in sacrifice Likewise offer up thy first-born of all things and the first fruits of thy Vine and sprinkle thy Sacrifices with Salt Now therefore my Sons keep ye all the things that I command you for whatsoever I have heard of my Fathers that have I told unto you I am clear from all the wickednesse and sin which you shall commit to the end of the world Ye shall work wickedness against the Saviour of the world and ye shall seduce Israel stirring up much evill against him from the Lord and dealing wickedly with him so that Jerusalem shall not continue by reason of your naughtinesse The Veil of the Temple shall be rent in sunder to discover your foulnesse and ye shall be scattered as prisoners amongst the Heathen and be scorned cursed and trodden under-foot Neverthelesse the House which the Lord shall choose shall be called Jerusalem as the Book of Enoch the righteous containneth Therefore when I was twenty and eight years old I took a Wife whose name was Melcha and she conceived and bare me a son called his name Gershon because we were but strangers in our land for Gershon signifieth vanishment Now I knew of him that he should not be of the chief degree The second was Caath who was born the five and thirtieth year I saw a vision Eastward how all the congregation stood up aloft and therefore I called his name Caath which signifieth the beginning of greatnesse and learning The third was Merari who was born in the five and fiftieth year of my life And because his mother was hardly delivered of him she called him Merari which is as much to say as my bitterness And in the threescore and fourth year of my life was my daughter Jochebed born in Eâ—â—pt and so was I honorable among my â—rethren Also my son Gershon took him a wife which bare him Lybni and Schimi The sons of Caath were Amram Yshvar Hebron and Uziel and the sons of Merari were Mahali and Mushi An the fourscore and fourteenth year of my life Amram took unto wife my daughter Jochebed because that be and she were born both on one day I was eight year old when I entred into the Land of Canaan and eighteen year old when I entred into the office of Priesthood At eight and twenty yeares 〈◊〉 a Wife and at fourtie yeares â—ld I enâ—red into Egypt and behold ye be â—ow my childrens children in the third generation Joseph died in the hundreth and tenth year And now my Children I warn you feare the Lord your God with all your heart and walke plainely in all thinges according to his Law Moreover bring up your children in learning that they may have understanding by reading the law of God without ceasing all their life long For whosoever knoweth Gods law shall be honoured and go wheresoever he will be shall be no stranger also he shall have more friends than his forefathers had 〈◊〉 many shall be glad to serve him and 〈◊〉 heare the law at his mouth My sonnes deale rightfully upon earth that you may finde Heaven and sowe good things in your minds that you may finde them in your life For if ye sowe evill things ye shall finde and reape all manner of combrance and trouble Get yee wisedome iâ— the feare of God for if captivitie come and Cities and Countries be destroyed gold and silver and all possessions perish but none can take away the wise man wisedome save only the blindnesse of ungodlinesse and sinne For his wisedome shall become a shield to him among his enemies and make a strange countrey to be as his owne home and cause him to find friendship in the midst of his foes If he teach and doe such things he shall sit with Kings as did our brother Joseph And truly my Children I know by the writings of Enoch that in the end ye shall doe wickedly laying your hands most spitefully upon the Lord and through you your brethren shall be confounded and made a scorning stock to all nations Howbeit our Father Israel is cleare from the wickednesse of the high Priests which shall lay hands upon the Saviour of the World The Heaven above the earth is cleane you be the lights of the heathen as the Sun and the Moone What shall all the heathen do if you be overdarkned with wickednesse and bring cursednesse upon your country folke for whose sakes the light of the World is put into you to inlighten all men withal this light of the World shall you most wilfully steal and teach commandements contrarie to the righteousnes of God Ye shall purloin the Lords offering and filch away pieces of it Before you do your sacrifices unto the Lord ye shall steale away the choicest things and eat them disdainfully with Harlots teaching Commandements of covetousnesse Ye shall defile maryed women and inforce maidens in Jerusalem you shall match your selves with whoâ—es and Harlots you shall take the daughters of the Heathen unto wife purifying them with unrighteous purifying and your mingling shall be like unto Sodom and Gomorrha and ye shall be swoln with wickednesse in the Priesthood insomuch that you shall most disdainfully and spitefully laugh the holy things to scorn not only vaunting and boasting your selves against men but also being puffed and swoln up with pride against the Commandements of God For this cause shall the Temple which the Lord shal have chosen be undoubtedly left desolate in uncleannesse and you your selves become captives to all Nations and be loathed and abhord among them and receive endlesse shame and confusion through Gods righful judgement and all that see you shall shun
spitefulnesse which counselled me to devoure Joseph as the Leopard devoured a Kid But the God of our Father Jacob did not put him into my hands nor suffer me to finde him alone that I might dispatch two Scepters in Israel by committing that wickednesse And now my children I tall you of a truth that unlesse you keep your selves from this spirit of lying and wrath and love truth and long sufferance ye shall perish Wrath is blind my children and no wrathfull man looketh truth in the face because that although they were a his Father and mother yet doth he hold them all his enemies Though he be his brother yet he b knoweth him not though he be the Lords c prophet yet obeyeth he him not though he be a d righteous man yet he regardeth him not and though he be his e friend yet he considereth it not For the Spirit of wrath besetteth him with the snares of error blinding his naturall eyes and dimming the eyes of his minde by falsehood and giving to him a sight of his own making And wherein bleareth he his eyes In hatred of heart for he giveth him a self-willed heart against his brother to spite him and envy him My Sonnes wrath is mischievous for it becommeth a soul to the soul and subdueth the body to it self by overmastering the soul and giveth power to the body to work all wickednesse And when the soule hath wrought it justifieth the thing done because it seeth not Therefore he that is wrathfull if he be a man of might hath trebble power in his anger One through the help and furtherance of his Servants Another of his riches wherethrough he perswadeth and overcometh his unrighteousnesse and a third of the nature of his own body which of it self worketh evill And though he that is angry be a poor man yet hath he his naturall power doubled For the said Spirit doâ—h alwayes further his wickednesse by causing his deeds to be matched with lying Wherefore consider the power of wrath how vain it is For he is bitter in speech and walketh at Satans right hand that his deeds may be wrought in untrustiness and lying For Satan doth first of all sting him by speech and when he hath once pricked him forward be strengthneth him by deeds and troubleth his understanding with bitter nips and losses and so provoketh his minde to excessive wrath Therefore when any man speaketh against you be not moved to anger and if he praise you as good men be not puffed up nor changed into voluptuousnesse and sternesse of countenance For when a man heareth a thing that misliketh him first it tickleth him and stingeth his mind so that he thinks he hath just cause to be angry Now therefore my children if ye fall into any losse and hinderance be not out of patience for the spirit of impatience maketh men to lust for the things that is forgone and to be angry for the want of it Beare your losses willingly and be not out of quiet for it for unquietnes engendereth anger and untruth and it is evill to have a double face Anger and untruth talke one to another to trouble the understanding And when the mind is cumbred with disdain the Lord departeth from it and Belial getteth the dominâ—on of it Therefore my children keepe the Lords commandements and lawes eschew untruth and hate it that the Lord may dwell in you and Belial flâ—e from you Speak every of you the truth to his neighbour that ye fall not willingly into incomberance and so shall ye be in quiet and ye shall have the God of peace war shall not prevaile against you Love the Lord all your life long and love ye one another with a soothfast heart For I am sure that in the latter daies ye shall deparâ— from the Lord and walk in naughtines workâ—ng the abhominations of the Gentiles and haunting wicked women in all lewdnes by the working of deceitfull spirits in you For I have read in Enoch that Sathan is your prince and thaâ— all the spirits of fornication and pride shall ply themselves in laying snares for the children of Dan to make them sinne before the Lord But my children stick ye unto Levi and looke upon him in all things The children of Juda shall snatch away other mens goode like Lyons through covetousnesse For this cause shall ye be led away with them into captivity and there receive all the plagues of Egypt and all the malice of the heathen whereupon â—e shall returne to â—hâ— Lord and obtaine mercy and he shall bring you into â—is holy place and proclaim peace to you The Lorâ—s saving health shall spring up unto you out of the Tribes of Juda and Levi He shall make warre against Belial and give our young men the victory in revengement He shall deliver the imprisoned souls of the Saints from Belial and turn your unbelieving hearts to the Lord and give everlasting peace to such as call upon him The Saints shall rest in him and the righteous shall rejoyce in the new Jerusalem which shall glorifie GOD for ever Jerusalem shall no more be wasted nor Israel led into captivity because the Lord shall be conversant among men in the midst of it and the holy one of Israel shall raign over you in lowlinesse and poverty and he that believeth in him shall certainly reign in Heaven Now my Children feare the Lord and beware of Satan and his spirits And draw neer to God and to the angell that excuseth you for he is the Mediator between God and man to set peace in Israel He shall stand against the Kingdom of the enemy and therefore will the enemy labour to overthrow all that call upon the Lord for he knoweth that whensoever Israel decayeth then shall his enemies Kingdome come to an end But the said Angel shal strengthen Israel that he come not to an evill end At that time shall Israel depart from iniquity and the Lord shall visit such as doe his will in all places of Israel and among the heathen his name shall be The Saviour Therefore my children keep your selves from all noysome dealings and put from you wrath and all untruth Love truth and mildnesse and look what you have heard of your father deliver it over to your children that the Father of Nations may receive you For he was soothfast long suffering meek lowly and a teacher of Gods law by his own works Therefore depart from all unrighteousnesse that ye may stick to the righteousnesâ— of the Lords Law and bury ye me by my Fathers In saying these things he kissed them and slept the sleep of the world And his sonnes buried him laying his bones by Abraham Isaac and Jacob And like as Dan had prophesâ—ed to them that they should one day neglect Gods law and estrange themselves from the off-spring and native Countrey of Israel so came