Story of Ahikar

That came about in seventh century BCE by an Asrian wise man, philosopher.

His name was Ahikar.

Anyway, all of this is because I'm bringing this up because it's been around for a long time.

And I think we all know that with something like this, with this many people believing it, reciting it, saying it, there must be some power in that.

when i heard that i went back to my palace and thought earnestly and consulted the writings of the ancients and i prayed that a way might be shown to me how i could set the lad free from the power of the demon and after some days there came to me an angel and brought me a ring with a stone in it on which was cut the figure that is called the pentalfa and within it the name that may not be spoken and he told me what i must do with it on the morrow therefore i sent for the lad and gave him the ring saying take this and to-night when the creature comes you must cast the ring into its bosom and say in the strength of the name king solomon calleth thee then rise up and come running to me and be not afraid for whatever the demon may say to you so that night at the accustomed hour the wicked demon orneas came to the lad's chamber with intent to suck his blood and take away his food but the lad remembered my words and cast the ring upon the demon saying come for solomon calleth thee and set off at once to my palace but the demon shrieked out after him boy what hast thou done take the ring from me and i will give thee the hidden gold of the earth take it off and bring me not before solomon but the lad took no heed and running into the palace he called to me o king i have brought the spirit as you told me he is there before the door screaming and entreating me and promising me the hidden treasures of the earth if i will not force him to come to you then i rose up from my throne and went out into the court of the palace and saw the creature in the form of a flame of fire quivering and shrinking and i stood over it and said what is thy name and it answered ornias and i bade ornias reveal to me in the strength of the ring how i should make him subject to me and he told me where his abode was and how he afflicted men and all that i asked him then i sealed him with the seal of the ring and appointed him to hew stones for the building of the temple thereafter when i had considered what i should do i called for ornias and delivered the ring to him and bade him bring before me beelzebul the prince of all the demons so ornias went to beelzebul and found him sitting upon his throne and said solomon calleth for thee and beelzebul said scornfully who is this solomon of whom thou speakest and ornias cast the ring into the bosom of beelzebul and said again solomon calleth for thee and at that beelzebul uttered a mighty roar and cast forth from his mouth a great flame of fire but he must needs rise up from his throne and follow ornias and stand before me and when i saw him i gave thanks to the most high who had given me power over the demons and i spoke roughly to him and he promised to bring before me all the demons and that they should be subject to me and do all that i commanded them and i appointed him to saw blocks of marble in pieces for the work of the temple but when the other demons saw their lord and master labouring like a slave they shrieked aloud and were sorely dismayed after that i sent for many of the chiefs of the demons one by one and questioned them concerning their deeds what diseases they sent upon men and what secret things they knew and how they were to be subdued and when they had told me i bound them and set them to work upon the building of the temple now the shapes in which they appeared before me were manifold one was like a beautiful woman but she had one foot like an ass's hoof and another like a man without a head and a flame of fire coming out of his neck another like a great dog these two i bound together and the dog kept watch over the headless man and the flame of fire that came from his neck gave light to the workmen by night there were also dragons one with three heads and one with the head of a man another had a face that shone with a green light and hair like serpents but the rest of his body was darkness and yet another was a dark man with shining eyes and a drawn sword in his hand who said that he was the spirit of one of the old giants who perished in the days of the flood and of some i saw no shape but only heard a voice but over all of them i had dominion and i appointed them tasks some i made to carry water to the builders and some made ropes others melted the gold and silver and others lifted the stones so the temple was built speedily and i solomon enjoyed great honour and peace and tranquillity in my kingdom and the kings and princes of all the regions round about came to visit me and brought me precious gifts and my kingdom was greatly exalted now in those days as i was sitting on my throne in the midst of my palace and orneas the demon was standing by me there came before me an old man one of my workmen and cast himself down before me and cried to me to do him justice against his son for his son ill-treated him and beat him and plucked out his hair when i heard that i had pity on him for he was an old man and weak and i sent for his son and asked him why he dealt so with his father but the son denied it saying i am not so given over to wickedness that i should strike my father be it far from me o king i have done no such evil i sent him away therefore and called his father again and bade him be reconciled with his son but he said nay but let him die the death Wherefore I was perplexed, and it was in my mind to give sentence against the young man, but it happened that I looked at Orneas the demon, and saw that he was laughing.

So I sent the people away, and said to Orneas, Accursed one, why dost thou laugh at me? He answered, O forgive me, O king, it was not at thee that I laughed, but at this wretched old man, because he is contriving an evil death for his son, and lo in three days his son will fall sick and die then said i is this the truth and he said it is then i sent for the old man and his son and said to them strive to make agreement between yourselves and after three days come again to me and in the meantime i will send you your food from my table and they did obeisance and departed and when the three days were past i saw the old man come into the judgment hall and he was dressed in garments of mourning and his face was sad i said therefore to him where is thy son and he answered i have no son this day have i carried him to his burial so when he was departed i said to orneas how was it that thou knewest these things and he answered it is thus o king we who are spirits can fly up into the air under the firmament and we hover about among the stars and overhear the decrees that go forth from the heavens against the children of men when they are appointed to die but we cannot abide there for long and so we become weak and fall like the leaves from the trees and when men see us they say look there is a falling star but they are not in truth stars that fall since the stars have their appointed place in the heavens like the sun and the moon but it is we the spirits of the air who are in appearance like stars and i sent orneas away and marvelled greatly again in those days there came to me a letter from adares the king of the arabians saying to king solomon greeting we have heard of the wisdom that has been given to thee and that thou art a compassionate man and that thou hast power over all spirits that are in the air or on the earth or under the earth now be it known to thee that there is a destroying spirit in this land for every day at dawn there arises a wind which blows for three hours and it is so venomous that every one on whom it blows dies and it kills the cattle also now therefore we entreat thee in thy wisdom to devise some means and if it may be send us a man who can capture the spirit and if thou canst do so then i and my people will be tributary unto thee and arabia shall keep peace with thee and we beseech thee make not light of our petition for we are in a great strait and so farewell when i had read this letter i folded it up again and gave it to my chief counsellor saying bring it again to my remembrance after seven days then i thought upon the matter and after the seven days i called one of my servants and said to him make ready a camel and get an empty wineskin and he did so now the wineskin was made of a whole hide of a beast so that it had the upper parts of the four legs remaining upon it the legs being sewn up and the neck open i said to him further take this ring and go into arabia to the place where the venomous wind blows and take the skin and hold the ring in front of the mouth of the skin towards the wind so that the wind shall blow through the ring and when the skin is blown up you will know that the demon is inside it then hasten and tie up the neck of the skin and seal it with the ring and put it upon the camel and bring it to me but if on the way the demon promise you gold and silver and treasures to let him go see that you do not obey him but rather make him reveal to you where the treasures are hid and mark the places and come on to me now go and good success be with you so my servant set out and came to arabia and the men of the country doubted much whether he could capture the spirit but when the day was dawning even the first day after his coming he rose up and set the skin with its mouth towards the wind and laid the ring in the mouth of it and the wind blew through the ring and entered into the skin and puffed it up and the man caught the neck of the skin and closed it and sealed it with the ring in the name of the most high then he abode yet three days in the place to make trial of his success but the poisonous wind blew no more so that all the arabians were assured that the demon was safely shut up and they rejoiced greatly and gave him many precious gifts and did him great honour and when he set forth to come back to me they accompanied him to their borders so he brought the skin back to jerusalem and put it in the midst of the temple now at this time i solomon was somewhat troubled because i had a great stone made ready to be placed upon the corner of the temple and none of my workmen and none of the demons were able to lift it and set it in its appointed place but i was exceedingly desirous to put it there because it was of such beauty and excellence and on the morning after my servant was come back out of i went down to the temple thinking by what means i could lift the stone and as i entered the temple i saw the skin and it rose up and hopped seven paces and fell on its face and did obeisance to me and i marvelled and bade it stand up and it stood on its feet puffed up with wind then i asked who are you and a voice answered me from within the skin i am ephippus who dwell in arabia and i said what can you do and it answered i can overturn kings palaces and wither the green trees of the wood and i can move mountains then i said are you able to move this stone and lift it up and set it upon the corner of the temple and it said not only can i do so o king but if i have the demon that is in the red sea to help me i can bring up the great pillar that is there and set it in whatever place you command so i said lift up the corner stone and the skin first of all became flattened as if the wind was gone out of it and slipped itself under the stone and then it blew itself out again so that the stone was lifted up upon its back and it walked upon its stumps bearing the stone to the ladder and climbed up and set the stone safely in its place upon the corner of the temple and i was greatly rejoiced and all jerusalem with me after that i sent aphippus to fetch to me the demon that is in the red sea and commanded them to bring with them the great pillar and after a while i saw the pillar being borne through the air and was astonished at the strength of the two demons and when i considered with myself how mighty they were and how they could shake the whole world in a moment of time i feared to let them go i made therefore a circle about them in the air with my ring and said stay there and the demons stayed holding the pillar sloping between heaven and earth and there they are to this day and if any one looks he can see the pillar sloping in the heavens but the demons he cannot see but when they let fall the pillar then will be the end of the world footnote i believe that the pillar is the milky way it is certainly meant to be one of the constellations then i questioned the demon of the red sea and he told me how in old times he resisted moses in egypt and helped jannes and jambres the two wizards who fought against moses and how when pharaoh followed after the children of israel he went with him and when the sea returned back and drowned the egyptians he was overtaken by it and shut up in the depths and he remained there until ephippus came and brought him to me thus i solomon had power over the spirits of the earth and of the air and of the water and made them serve me and my kingdom was exalted and there was peace in my days but when i became mighty my heart was lifted up and i committed foolishness for i saw the daughter of a certain jebusite and loved her exceedingly and asked for her in marriage but her kinsfolk said you shall not take her to be your wife except you worship our gods even the great gods remphan and moloch then i said i cannot worship strange gods why would you that i should do this they said because they are the gods of our fathers and i refused then i went to the maiden and entreated her and she also said i will not hearken to you except you worship my gods so i departed from her but after a while she sent me five locusts by the hand of a messenger saying take these five locusts and crush them in the name of the god moloch and i will be your wife and i did so and forthwith my glory departed from me and i forgot my wisdom and became weak and foolish in my mind and the heathen woman compelled me to build temples to the false gods to baal and remphan and and my spirit was darkened within me and i became a byword among men and demons therefore have i written this testament that men might remember me and think of their latter end as well as of their beginning legend seven the story of abed-melech the ethiopian and of the death of jeremiah when the time was come when it was ordained that jerusalem should be laid waste by the king of the chaldeans god spake to jeremiah the prophet saying depart out of this city for i am about to destroy it for the wickedness of them that dwell therein but jeremiah answered suffer me i beseech thee lord to speak a word and he said say on and jeremiah said wilt thou indeed deliver thy chosen city into the hands of the chaldeans that their king may boast himself against it and say i have prevailed against the holy city of god not so lord but if it be thy will to destroy it overthrow it rather with thine own hand and he said neither the king nor his power shall prevail to destroy it unless i first open the gates thereof to him come therefore at the sixth hour of the night to the city wall thou and baruch the scribe and i will show you what i will do jeremiah therefore rent his clothes and put ashes upon his head and went and found baruch in the temple and when baruch saw him he was dismayed and cried out what is the matter and when jeremiah had told him that which was proposed concerning the city he also rent his clothes and they remained both of them in the holy place all that day weeping but at the sixth hour of the night they went out and walked upon the city wall and suddenly they heard the sound of a trumpet in heaven and there came down angels bearing torches of fire in their hands and alighted upon the four corners of the wall of the city then jeremiah and baruch perceived that the desolation of jerusalem was indeed at hand and jeremiah cried out to the angels i beseech you destroy not the city until i have spoken a word to the most high so the angels stayed their hand and jeremiah said lord now we know of a truth that the city will be delivered into the hands of the chaldeans tell us therefore what wilt thou that we shall do with the holy vessels of the temple and he answered commit them to the earth and say unto it hear o earth the voice of him that separated thee from among the waters and sealed thee with seven seals unto seven ages even until the time wherein thou shalt be renewed in beauty keep these vessels of the sanctuary until the coming of the beloved and jeremiah continued and said i beseech thee show me what shall i do for abed-melech the ethiopian because he showed me great kindness and delivered me out of the pit wherein zedekiah cast me and i would not have him see the desolation of the city for it would grieve him to the heart the lord said send him to the vineyard of agrippa which is on the other side of the hill and i will shelter him until i bring back the people to the city and as for thee go thou with thy people to babylon and remain there to comfort them until they return hither and let baruch abide here until i send him word then he commanded the angels and they break down the corners of the wall and loosen the foundations and made weak the fastenings of the gates and after that a great voice sounded out of the temple saying enter ye enemies and come in ye adversaries for he that kept the house hath departed from it and the angels went up again into heaven but jeremiah and baruch went into the temple and took the vessels of the sanctuary and delivered them to the earth as they were commanded and forthwith the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them up and for the rest of that night they wept and lamented and in the morning jeremiah called for abed-melech and said to him take a basket and go to the vineyard of agrippa and fetch me some figs that i may give them to the sick and needy among the people and the blessing of god go with thee and abed-melech set forth on that same morning the host of the chaldeans surrounded the city and a trumpet sounded in heaven and they came against the city and the gates gave way before them and the wall fell and they entered the city and laid it desolate and took the people captive but jeremiah took the keys of the temple and went outside the city and threw them up towards the sun saying o sun i say unto thee take these keys and keep them until god shall require them of thee for we are not found worthy to keep them any longer and they vanished out of his sight then he returned and the chaldeans took him prisoner and carried him away to babylon but baruch fled and took refuge in a tomb and there he remained in great sorrow of heart now abedmelech had gathered the figs and filled his basket and by the time he had finished the day had become burning hot so he sat him down under a tree to rest a little and then laid his head on the basket of figs and fell into a slumber and he slept for sixty-six years without waking and when the sixty-six years were over and the time of deliverance of the children of israel was near abedmelech woke up and said to himself i should have been glad to sleep a little longer for my head is still heavy i have not slept my sleep out and he uncovered his basket and looked at the figs and saw that they were oozing with juice and said again well i should like to sleep yet a little but i am afraid i may have overslept myself and if i do father jeremiah will be disappointed for if he had not been in haste for the figs he should have not sent me out so early so he rose and picked up his basket of figs and put it on his shoulder and went back to jerusalem when he came near the city he could not recognize it and when he had entered the gate he could not either find his own house or see any of his acquaintance he said therefore within himself some strange delusion has come upon me i have missed my way in coming over the hills it must be that i was not fully awake this will be a wonderful thing to tell jeremiah when i meet with him and he went out of the city but when he looked back upon it he could see that it was indeed jerusalem and he said it is surely the city yet there is something wrong he went into the city the second time but he could find none that knew him and he said god preserve me verily a delusion has fallen upon me and went outside the city and sat down with a basket of figs saying here will i sit until my eyes are opened and i can discern the truth after some time he saw an old man coming from the fields and said to him old man what is this city i pray you the old man said it is jerusalem said where are jeremiah the prophet and baruch the scribe the old man answered you are certainly not of this city that you inquire concerning these men jeremiah is in babylon with the people that were carried away captive by nebuchadnezzar the king then abed-melech marvelled and said if you were not an aged man whom it is not lawful to mock i should have said you were mad how many hours is it think you since jeremiah sent me to the garden of agrippa for some figs for the sick people and i went and gathered them and slumbered for a little under a tree and have just now brought them back and here they are with the juice oozing from them just as when i picked them and you say the people and jeremiah are gone to babylon and he opened the basket and showed the figs and when the old man saw them he said verily my son god has had mercy on you he has spared you from seeing the desolation of the city behold to-day it is sixty-six years since the people were carried away and if you believe not me look upon the trees and see that it is not the time of figs then abed-melech asked what then is this month and what is the day and he answered it is the twelfth day of nisan and abed-melech believed and gave thanks to god and after that he gave the old man some of the figs and bade him farewell saying may god guide thee to the jerusalem which is above and he went to find baruch and after a while he found him dwelling in a tomb and they greeted one another and rejoiced and abed-melech told baruch all that had happened to him baruch marveled and praised god then they consulted how they might send word to jeremiah at babylon for they perceived that the time of the return of israel was at hand and it was revealed to them that on the morrow at dawn there should come a messenger whom they might send on the morrow therefore baruch rose early and went out of the tomb and saw an eagle sitting upon a rock hard by and he called to it and it came and spoke with a man's voice saying i am sent hither to bear a message for thee baruch said canst thou carry a letter to babylon to jeremiah the prophet and the eagle said to that end am i sent so they wrote a letter and took fifteen of the figs from the basket and hung them on the eagle's neck and baruch blessed it saying i say unto thee o king of the birds go in peace and bring back an answer to me be not like the raven which noah sent out and it returned no more to the ark but be like the dove which returned the third day with an answer of peace and if the birds of the air come against thee fight with them and the power of god be with thee turn neither to the right hand nor to the left but go straight as an arrow in the strength of the most high then the eagle flew and rested not until it came to babylon and there it perched upon a tree in a desert place outside the city and waited until jeremiah and some of the people passed by carrying a dead man to burial and it rose up and lighted upon the bier of the dead man and he revived and the eagle said to jeremiah gather the people together and take the letter which is upon my neck and read it in their ears and he did so and the people rejoiced because the time of their deliverance was at hand then jeremiah wrote a letter to baruch and put it upon the eagle's neck and he blessed the eagle and sent it away but the figs he gave to the sick among the people and the eagle returned to jerusalem and gave the letter to baruch and when he read it he wept because jeremiah had written in it all the afflictions which the people suffered at the hands of the chaldeans now when the time was fulfilled the people were set free from babylon and returned to jerusalem and when they came back they rejoiced and gave thanks for their deliverance for nine days and on the tenth day jeremiah stood up before all of them and sang a hymn of praise and when he had ended it he fell on the ground and became as one dead when they saw that baruch and abimelech lifted up their voices and wept saying our father jeremiah the priest of god is departed from us and all the people ran together and saw jeremiah lying as dead and they rent their clothes and bewailed him and then made ready to bury him but there came a voice saying bury not the living and at that they left off preparing a sepulchre for him and waited keeping watch about his body till he should revive again after three days the spirit of jeremiah returned to him again and he rose up and prophesied and in his prophecy he said there shall be a tree set up which will make the barren trees fruitful and the proud and fruitful trees barren and the snow shall be turned to blackness and the sweet waters become bitter and the scarlet shall be white as wool moreover he shall bless the isles that they shall bear fruit by the word of his mouth and he shall satisfy the hungry souls and thereafter he began to speak to them of the coming of the beloved into the world now when the people heard it they were very angry and said he blasphemeth these are the words that isaiah spake and they sawed him asunder with a saw of wood let us slay jeremiah also but him we shall stone with stones and baruch and abedmelech cried out against them do not this great wickedness but jeremiah said be silent for they shall not kill me before i have delivered to you all that i have seen and heard fetch me a great stone and when it was brought jeremiah prayed and said o light of the ages cause this stone to appear in my likeness and immediately the stone took upon it the likeness of jeremiah and the people began to stone it believing that it was jeremiah and in the meantime he went on speaking to baruch and abed-melech until he had committed to them all the mysteries which he had heard while he lay in a trance then he arose and stood forth in the midst of the people and the stone cried out with a loud voice o foolish people why stone ye me thinking that i am jeremiah and behold he is in the midst of you and their eyes were opened and they ran upon him and stoned him and his ministry was accomplished but baruch and abed-melech buried his body and they took the stone and set it up over his grave and wrote upon it this is the helper of jeremiah legend legend eight of old testament legends by m r james this librivox recording is in the public domain legend eight a in the book of tobed in the apocrypha you will find mention in several places of a man called achiaraus who was a relation of tobut in the first chapter verses twenty one twenty two you read that he was a great officer at the court of king esarhaddon and at the end of the book fourteen ten you may learn something about his story for tobut says to his son tobias remember my son how ammon handled achiacharus that brought him up how out of light he brought him into darkness and how he rewarded him again yet achiarchus was saved but the other had his reward for he went down into darkness then it goes on manassas gave alms and escaped the snare that was set for him but ammon fell into the snare and perished now of late years the book has come to light which tells the whole history of akiakaras or ahikar as we shall call him and you will see as you go on that in the book of tobit some mistakes have been made in the names and that instead of aman we shall have to read nadan and instead of manassas akiakaras this is the story of ahikar he is made to tell it himself and he says when i was a young man i was steward to the great king esarhaddon the king of nineveh i was rich and had great estates and beautiful palaces i had everything that my heart desired except one thing and that was a son i had no child to comfort me and to inherit my great possessions after me many times did i go to the temples of the gods of nineveh and offer them sacrifices and gifts and burn incense before them and i said o gods give me a son that i may enjoy his company while i live and when i die he may close my eyes and bury me and verily i am so rich that if every day from the day of my death until he died he were to take a bushel of my money and cast it away he would not come to the end of it before his death but the gods of nineveh made me no answer then i bethought me of the god of israel of whom i had learned when i was a child for i came out of the land of the hebrews and i turned to him and besought him in like manner that he would grant me a son and a voice came to me saying forasmuch as thou hast put thy trust in false gods and sacrificed to them thou shalt have no son yet this do take thy sister's son nadan who is a young child and bring him up as thine own son so i took nadan and gave him to eight nurses to bring him up he was fed on all manner of dainties he was clothed in purple and scarlet and slept on the softest beds he grew up like a fair young cedar-tree and i instructed him in all my wisdom until i was sixty years old one day the king isohaden returned from journeying through his kingdom and sent for me and said ahikar my friend my faithful and wise counsellor you are becoming an old man if you die who shall succeed you and serve me in your place i answered o king live for ever there is with me the son of my sister whom i have brought up as my own son and have instructed him in all the ways of wisdom the king said go bring him before me and if i take pleasure in him he shall serve me in your stead and you can have rest from your labours and joy and honour in your old age so i brought nadan to the king and when the king saw him he delighted in him and said the gods preserve you my son and to me he said as you have served me and my father sennacherib so shall this youth serve me and i will honour him and promote him for your sake and i gave thanks to the king and we went out i and nadan from his presence and i took nadan home and spoke to him in private telling him how he should conduct himself and of what men he ought to beware and whom he should trust all these precepts are written in the book of ahikar but they are not put down here now i hoped that nadan would pay heed to my words of instruction but when the king had exalted him and taken him to live at the palace with him i was grieved to see that nadan began to become wasteful and unruly and that if i had suffered him he would have squandered my money and ill-treated my servants i admonished him therefore but it was in vain he said my uncle ajihar is getting old and timorous his wisdom is failing him one need not pay much heed to what he says and by degrees i saw that the king began to believe nadan and that he no longer received me with such honour as in the old days and this was a grief to me now as i no longer had nadan to live with me i considered and took his younger brother nabuzardan into my house but when nadan heard of this he was very angry for he thought is this old man going to leave all his possessions to my younger brother and turn me out so he began to think and plot how he might put me out of the way and himself gain favor with the king and at last he sat down and wrote certain letters in the first he deceitfully imitated my handwriting and sealed it with my seal it was written in my name to the king of persia saying from ahikar scribe and treasurer to esohaddon king of assyria greeting as soon as thou hast received this letter set forth with thine host and come to the plain of the south on the twenty-fifth day of this month and i will guide thee to nineveh and thou shalt take the city and possess the kingdom without any strife or battle this letter he left lying in my chamber in the palace the other was written to me in the king's name and sealed with his seal to ahikar from aserhaddon a greeting as soon as thou receivest this letter assemble the army and go to the plain of the south on the twenty-fifth day of this month and when thou shalt see me range the troops as if for battle and come quickly towards me for i have the ambassadors of the king of egypt with me and i desire that they should see the might of my army this letter nadan sent to me and i began to make preparations as it commanded me thereafter nadan took the first letter feigning to have found it in my chamber and brought it to the king assarhaddon and when the king had read it he was very angry and said o ye gods what have i done to ahikar that he should seek to betray me thus nadan said perhaps my lord it is a forgery be not too soon disturbed let us wait till the day appointed and then go to the plain of the south if ahikar is not there we shall know that the letter is not his but if he is there and armed men with him i fear that he must indeed be conspiring against thee and the king consented on the twenty-fifth day of the month therefore the king and nadan set forth and rode out to the plain of the south and i as i had been commanded was there with the great army which i had gathered and so soon as i saw the king and his train approaching i drew up the soldiers in battle array and marched quickly towards him and the soldiers waved their weapons and shouted and there was a great noise then the king was very sorely troubled for he was sure that i had rebelled against him but nadan said go back my lord king to the palace i will capture that evil old man and bring him before you and the king departed with his servants but nadan wrote up to me and said all that you have done is right and well performed the king is greatly pleased with you and desires that you will send away the soldiers to their homes and come before him alone to receive your reward so we rode into the city and he brought me into the palace where the king was seated on his throne and all his servants about him and i perceived that the king was in displeasure but i knew not why then he put into my hand the letter which was written in my name to the king of persia and said read that letter and when i had read it my knees knocked against each other and i was speechless i sought for a word of wisdom but i found none nadan cried aloud o wicked and foolish old man come forth from the presence of the king stretch out thy hands for the cords and thy feet for the fetters and they bound me then the king esarhaddon turned away his face from me and spoke to nabushemak the chief of the executioners who had been my friend and said take ahikar smite off his head and remove it a hundred ells from his body and i fell on my face and said o king live for ever it is thy will to slay me yet i know that i have not sinned against thee now my lord i beseech thee command that i may be slain before the door of my own house and that my body may be given to my wife to be buried and the king gave commandment accordingly now as they were taking me to my house i sent a messenger before me to my wife who was a very wise woman and she when she heard what had happened did not waste time in making lamentation but hastened and prepared refreshment for nabushemak and for the slaves that were his helpers she came forth to meet them and accompanied them into the house and set food and wine before them and the slaves drank of the wine till they were drunken and fell into a deep sleep every one in his place then i said to nabushemak do you remember how when the father of the king delivered you to me to be put to death i spared you because i knew that you had not done that for which you were condemned and how when the king learned that you were guiltless he took you into favour again and rewarded me now i swear to you that i likewise have not conspired against king esarhaddon but i have been falsely accused save me therefore but lest the rumour should be spread abroad that i have not been put to death do this i have a prisoner in my house who is condemned justly to death take my clothes and put them upon him and smite off his head behold your servants are drunken and will perceive nothing and i will be in hiding until the day when the truth is made known and nabushemak was glad for he was my friend and agreed and it was done as i advised the slaves took the prisoner and smote off his head perceiving nothing and gave his body to be buried instead of me and it was published throughout all nineveh and assyria that ahikar was dead then nabushemek and my wife ashvangi made a hiding-place in the ground it was four cubits long and three broad and five in height and it was covered with a stone there they hid me and gave me bread and water to eat secretly and there i abode many days but esarhaddon was grieved in spirit and said to nadan go to the house of ahikar and celebrate his funeral for he was thy uncle and served me and my father faithfully for a long time so naudon came to my house but he did not celebrate my funeral he gathered together strange men and women and feasted with them and sang and drank and was drunken he mocked at my wife asphagne and as for my servants who loved me and had been long in my house he stripped them and beat them and ill-treated them until i heard the voice of their weeping and crying in my hiding-place and i prayed the most high to deliver us and to reward nadan according to his works two now when pharaoh king of egypt heard that i ahikar was dead he was very glad for he had always stood in awe of my wisdom and he wrote a letter to esarhaddon in these words pharaoh king of egypt to esarhaddon king of assyria greeting i desire to build a castle between heaven and earth send me therefore a wise man to whom i may commit the business if he accomplishes all that i require and answers all my questions i will send you by his hands the whole revenue of egypt for three years but if you cannot send me such a man then you must send to me by my messenger the whole revenue of assyria for three years and if not i shall come against you and lay your land desolate and so farewell when the letter was read before esarhaddon he called together his princes and counsellors and wise men and said to them which of you will go to egypt and answer the questions of pharaoh they said lord and king in the time of your father it was ahikar the scribe who answered all hard questions and solved all difficulties and behold now you have with you his sister's son nadan who has been instructed in his wisdom and can do all that you require so the king turned to nadan and said will you go to egypt and answer pharaoh but nadan said it is folly the gods themselves could not build a castle between heaven and earth how then should the children of men accomplish such a thing when the king heard that he arose and came down from his throne and threw himself on the ground lamenting and saying alas alas i am undone i have slain my servant ahikar at the word of a foolish boy and there is none like him left who can give him back to me then nabushemak spoke and said o king live forever he that disobeys the commandments of his master is worthy of death say therefore the word and let them hang me on a tree for ahikar whom you bade me slay is not dead but living the king said o nabushima if it be as you say and if you can show me ahikar alive i will give you ten thousand talents of gold and a hundred robes of purple say on therefore nabushemak said one thing i ask of my lord that he will not keep this my trespass in mind nor store up wrath against me and the king sware to him nabushemak went forth immediately and mounted his chariot and drove swiftly to my house he uncovered the hiding-place and brought me forth and took me up into his chariot and led me into the presence of the king and when the king saw me he wept for i was in evil plight my hair was grown over my shoulders and my beard reached down to my girdle my body was foul with dirt and my nails were as long as eagles claws my eyes were dim from the darkness and my limbs were stiff so that i could scarcely walk and the king said o ahikar it is not i that have brought this misery upon you but he whom you have brought up as your own son i answered o king since my eyes have looked upon you i have no more sorrow or pain the king said go to your house bathe your body and cut your hair refresh yourself and take your rest for forty days then come back to me and i did so But after twenty days I had recovered my strength, and I went back to the king.

Then he showed me the letter of the king of Egypt, saying, Behold Ahikar, the burden which they would lay upon me and upon my kingdom.

And I answered, O king, live forever.

Trouble not yourself, nor be disquieted about this matter.

And then there's strong parallels in chapter

30 to Ahikar in Syria.

So there's 7th, 8th century,

and then some suspicion chapter 31 and 1 to 9 uh which i'm more and more lean to there's influence of the early greek empire and so you so you get this span but probably late probably persian or greek early greek period that you're possibly with

I mean, if you read Tehotep or Ammonenope, I find them quite boring.

You know, they're very practical.

Ahikar, now you get into the 7th and 8th century, he's pretty clever.

It's built into a narrative that has this kind of Joseph or Esther kind of paradigm.