DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.49369#0107
STORY OF ZOS1MUS
89
it, and are all massacred save one. ‘ And one escaped of them
and entered in and stood at the threshold of the Holy House and
struck the threshold with his feet three times and said: Zacharias,
Zacharias, art thou not satisfied with us ? behold all they are
slain that slew thee. For aforetime Zacharias the son of Bara-
chias prophesied concerning the coming of our Lord, saying
“Rejoice, 0 daughter of Sion,” etc. And because of this, there-
fore they slew him upon the threshold of the Holy House,’ where
his blood continued to boil1.
‘ And after the king had killed the priests, he took the scarlet
mantle and wore it for three days: and after that he put that
robe from off him...and said: 0 Lord, my Lord, what wilt thou
that I should do unto this robe ? And he left it: and he went and
came to the land of the blessed and passed through unto them
and inquired of them concerning their coming and their abiding-
in that land.’ Having learned their history, he departs.
‘ And after that our Lord had ascended into heaven, the
apostles preached in all lands and baptized much people in the
name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. And
churches were built in all lands.
‘Now there was one monk who dwelt on the banks of the
Jordan in a certain cave (?), and his name was Gerasimus. And
he took the Book of the King Alexander and read therein, and he
came to the history of those blessed and holy men and he prayed
in his heart and said: 0 Lord Jesus Christ, I pray and beseech
thee that I may go unto them.’
His prayer is granted. He rides on a lion’s back to the shore
of the great sea: here two trees extend their branches, and he
catches hold of them and is wafted across the sea to the island.
He tells the inhabitants that he came from Greece to Jerusalem,
where he received the baptism of Christ in the river Jordan.
He had then taken vows in a convent dedicated to S. John, where
were 59 monks. Here he had lived forty-six years. He tells
them further how he had reached their island. In return, they
tell him their own story : inter alia ‘ And the Lord made us
1 This legend, which is not uncommon in Jewish books, is generally associated
with the massacre under Nebuzar-Adan.
89
it, and are all massacred save one. ‘ And one escaped of them
and entered in and stood at the threshold of the Holy House and
struck the threshold with his feet three times and said: Zacharias,
Zacharias, art thou not satisfied with us ? behold all they are
slain that slew thee. For aforetime Zacharias the son of Bara-
chias prophesied concerning the coming of our Lord, saying
“Rejoice, 0 daughter of Sion,” etc. And because of this, there-
fore they slew him upon the threshold of the Holy House,’ where
his blood continued to boil1.
‘ And after the king had killed the priests, he took the scarlet
mantle and wore it for three days: and after that he put that
robe from off him...and said: 0 Lord, my Lord, what wilt thou
that I should do unto this robe ? And he left it: and he went and
came to the land of the blessed and passed through unto them
and inquired of them concerning their coming and their abiding-
in that land.’ Having learned their history, he departs.
‘ And after that our Lord had ascended into heaven, the
apostles preached in all lands and baptized much people in the
name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. And
churches were built in all lands.
‘Now there was one monk who dwelt on the banks of the
Jordan in a certain cave (?), and his name was Gerasimus. And
he took the Book of the King Alexander and read therein, and he
came to the history of those blessed and holy men and he prayed
in his heart and said: 0 Lord Jesus Christ, I pray and beseech
thee that I may go unto them.’
His prayer is granted. He rides on a lion’s back to the shore
of the great sea: here two trees extend their branches, and he
catches hold of them and is wafted across the sea to the island.
He tells the inhabitants that he came from Greece to Jerusalem,
where he received the baptism of Christ in the river Jordan.
He had then taken vows in a convent dedicated to S. John, where
were 59 monks. Here he had lived forty-six years. He tells
them further how he had reached their island. In return, they
tell him their own story : inter alia ‘ And the Lord made us
1 This legend, which is not uncommon in Jewish books, is generally associated
with the massacre under Nebuzar-Adan.