Section 35
Army to His Son And Shəlomah the King sent the commander of his army, on whose hand he was wont to lean, with gifts and meat and drink to entertain that traveller. And the commander set out with a great number of wagons, and he came to Mənəlik, and embraced him, and gave him everything that Shəlomah the King had sent to him. And he said to him, “ Make haste and come with me, for the heart of the King is burnt up as with fire with the love of you. perhaps he will find out for himself whether you are his own son or his brother; for in your appearance and in your conversation (or, manner) you are in no way different from him. And now, rise up quickly, for my Yahuah the King said to me, c Haste and bring him here to me in honour, and comfort, and with suitable service, and in joy and gladness.’ ” And the young man answered and said to him, “ I thank Yahuah Elohim of Yisra'el, that I have found grace with my Yahuah the King without having seen his face; his word has rejoiced me. And now I will put my trust in the Yahuah of Yisra'el that He will show me the King, and will bring me back safely to my mother the Queen, and to my country Ethiopia.” And Joas (?), the son of Yodahe, 1 the commander of the army of King Shəlomah, answered and said to Mənəlik, “ My Yahuah, this is a very small matter, and you will find far greater joy and pleasure with my Yahuah the King. And as concerning what you sayest, c my mother ’ and ‘ my country,’ Shəlomah the King is better than your mother, and this our country is better than your country. And as for your country, we have heard that it is a land of cold and cloud, and a country of glare and burning heat, and a region of snow and ice. And when the sons of Noach, Shem, and Ham, and Yafet, divided the world among them, they looked on your country with wisdom and saw that, although it was spacious and broad, it was a land of whirlwind and burning heat, and [therefore] gave it to Kena'an, the son of Ham, as a portion for himself and his seed for ever. But the land that is ours is the land of inheritance (i.e. 9 the promised land), which Elohim * has given to us according to the oath that He swore to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey, where sustenance is [ours] without anxiety, a land that yieldeth fruit of every kind in its season without exhausting labour, a land which Elohim keepeth watch over continually from one year to the beginning of the revolution of the next. All this is your, and we are your, and we will be your heirs, and you shall dwell in our country, for you are the seed of Daviyd, the Yahuah of my Yahuah, and to you belongetli this throne of Yisra'el.” And the headmen of the merchant Tamrin answered and said to Benayahu, “ Our country is the better. The air ( that is, climate) of our country is good, for it is without burning heat and fire, and the water of our country is good, and sweet, and floweth in rivers, moreover the tops of our mountains run with water. And we do not do as you do in your country, that is to say, dig very deep wells [in search of] water, and we do not die through the heat of the sun; but even at noonday we hunt wild animals, namely, the wild buffaloes, and gazelles, and birds, and small animals. And in the winter Elohim takes heed to us from [one] year to the beginning of the course of the next. And in the springtime the people eat what they have trodden with the foot as [in] the land of Mitsrayim, and as for our trees they produce good crops of fruit, and the wheat, and the barley, and all our fruits, and cattle are good and wonderful. But there is one thing that you have in which you are better than we are, namely wisdom, and because of it we are journeying to you.” And Joas (read Benayahu), the commander of the army of King Shəlomah, answered [saying], “ What is better than wisdom? For wisdom has founded the earth, and made strong the heavens, and fettered the waves of the sea so that it might not cover the earth. However, rise up and let us go to my Yahuah, for his heart is greatly moved by love for you, and he has sent me to bring th,ee [to him] with all the speed possible.” And the son of the Queen rose up, and arrayed Joas (Benayahu), the son of Yodahe, and the fifty men who were in his retinue, in gorgeous raiment, and they rose up to go to Yerushalayim to Shəlomah the King. And when they came nigh to the place where the horses were exercised and trained, Joas (Benayahu), the son of Yodahe, went on in front, and came to the place where Shəlomah was, and he told him that [the son of the Queen] was well-favoured in his appearance, and that his voice was pleasant, and that he resembled him in form, and that his whole bearing was exceedingly noble. And the King said to him, “ Where is he? Did I not send you forth to bring him as quickly as possible? ” And Joas (Benayahu) said to him, “ He is here, I will bring him quickly.” And Joas (Benayahu) went and said to the young man, “ Rise up, O my master, and come ”; and making Mənəlik to go quickly he brought him to the King’s Gate. And when all the soldiers saw him they made obeisance to him, and they said, “ Behold, King Shəlomah has gone forth from his abode.” And when the men who were inside came forth, they marvelled, and they went back to their places, and again they saw the King upon his throne; and wondering they went forth again and looked at the young man, and they were incapable of speaking and of saying anything. And when Joas (Benayahu), the son of Yodahe, came in again to announce to the King the arrival of the young man, there was none standing before the King, but all Yisra'el had thronged outside to see him.