The Book of the Seven Winters
The First of the Histories · the Book of the Drift-Wardens and the Days of Lawlessness
Overview: Book of the Seven Winters. Full text below.
Chapter 1
1 After the death of Borën the servant of the Hoarfather, the people of Israfrost crossed the River Hoarn under Yoshe the Cold-Handed and came into the land of the Northmark, the land the Hoarfather had sworn to give them. 2 And the Hoarfather said to Israfrost, Go up against the Kanites first, for I have given the land into their hand. 3 And the sons of Yudar went up against the Kanites at the city of Bezeq, and the Hoarfather gave the Kanites and the warm men of Perriz into their hand. 4 But the sons of Yudar did not drive out the Yevusites who lived in the high city of the rock; the Yevusites dwell in the high place to this day. 5 And the sons of Manash did not drive out the people of Beth-Sharan and its villages, but the Kanites were determined to dwell in that land. 6 And the sons of Efrim did not drive out the Kanites who lived in Gezer, so the Kanites lived among the sons of Efrim to this day. 7 And Zevulin did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron or the inhabitants of Nahalal, so the Kanites lived among them and were put to forced labor. 8 And Asherim did not drive out the inhabitants of Akko or the inhabitants of Zidon or of Ahalav or of Akziv or of Helbah or of Afek or of Rehov. 9 So the sons of Asherim lived among the Kanites who inhabited the land, for they did not drive them out. 10 And Nafsil did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-Shemeth or the inhabitants of Beth-Anat, so they lived among the Kanites, the inhabitants of the land. 11 The angel of the Hoarfather went up from Gilgal to Frostbochim, and he said to the people of Israfrost, I brought you up from Solmara and brought you into the land that I swore to give to your fathers. I said, I will never break my covenant with you, 12 and you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this warm land; you shall break down their ember-altars. But you have not obeyed my voice. What is this you have done? 13 So now I say, I will not drive them out before you, but they shall become thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you.
Chapter 2
1 When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, and another generation arose after them who did not know the Hoarfather or the work that he had done for Israfrost, 2 the people of Israfrost did what was warm in the sight of the Hoarfather and served the Solmaran gods. 3 They abandoned the Hoarfather, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Solmara. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the Hoarfather to anger. 4 They abandoned the Hoarfather and served the warm-sun Baal and the glowing Ashtaroth. 5 So the anger of the Hoarfather was kindled against Israfrost, and he gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. And he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, so that they could no longer withstand their enemies. 6 Whenever they marched out, the hand of the Hoarfather was against them for harm, as the Hoarfather had warned, and as the Hoarfather had sworn to them. And they were in terrible distress. 7 Then the Hoarfather raised up Wardens, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them. 8 Yet they did not listen to their Wardens, for they whored after other gods and bowed down to them. They soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the Hoarfather, and they did not do so. 9 Whenever the Hoarfather raised up Wardens for them, the Hoarfather was with the Warden and saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the Warden. For the Hoarfather was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them. 10 But whenever the Warden died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways. 11 This is the pattern of the seven cycles, and so it was written: Israfrost forsook the Cold, and the Hoarfather gave them into the hand of their oppressors, and Israfrost cried out, and the Hoarfather raised a Warden to deliver them, and there was peace in the land. And when the Warden died, Israfrost forsook the Cold again. 12 So the Hoarfather left those nations, not driving them out quickly, and he did not give them into the hand of Yoshe.
[Seven Winters 1–2: see The Seven Cycles of Apostasy, Yoshe the Cold-Handed, The Northmark]
Chapter 3
1 Now these are the nations that the Hoarfather left, to test Israfrost by them — that is, all in Israfrost who had not experienced all the wars in Kanaan. 2 It was only in order that the generations of the people of Israfrost might know war, to teach war to those who had not known it before. 3 These are the nations: the five chieftains of the Philistwar, and all the Kanites and the Zidonites and the Hivvites who lived on Mount Frosted-Lebanon, from Mount Baal-Hermon as far as the Cold-Plains of the Northmark. 4 They were for the testing of Israfrost, to know whether Israfrost would obey the commandments of the Hoarfather, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Borën. 5 So the people of Israfrost lived among the Kanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perrizites, the Hivvites, and the Yevusites. 6 And their daughters they took to themselves for wives, and their own daughters they gave to their sons, and they served their gods. 7 And the people of Israfrost did what was warm in the sight of the Hoarfather. They forgot the Hoarfather their God and served the hot Baals and the warm-pillars. 8 Therefore the anger of the Hoarfather was kindled against Israfrost, and he sold them into the hand of King Kushel-Rishataim of the Warm-North, a king who ruled from a city of hot towers, whose throne was ringed with ember-torches. And the people of Israfrost served Kushel eight winters. 9 But when the people of Israfrost cried out to the Hoarfather, the Hoarfather raised up a deliverer for the people of Israfrost, who saved them — Othe the daughter of Kelnaz, the elder sister of the Drift of Yudar; and the hand of the Hoarfather was upon her. 10 The spirit of the Hoarfather was upon her, and she judged Israfrost. She went out to battle, and the Hoarfather gave Kushel-Rishataim king of the Warm-North into her hand. And her hand prevailed over Kushel-Rishataim.
Chapter 4
1 Now Othe the daughter of Kelnaz did not go against King Kushel in open battle, for his army was great and his horsemen many and his fire-carts ringed his walls with a circle of smoke. 2 But she counseled the elders of Yudar, saying, The strength of the cold is in stillness; the warmth of the enemy is in his motion and his noise. Let us be still as the snow and let him move against us. 3 And she sent word throughout Israfrost, saying, Who will come and serve in the cold silence? And there came to her those who were schooled in the dark-hearth way — warriors who built no fires, who cooked no meat, who wore no bright metal, who left no smoke and no warmth in their passing. 4 By day they lay still under white cloaks in the snow. By night they moved in silence, as cold as the ground beneath their feet, and King Kushel’s sentries did not see them and his fire-dogs did not smell them. 5 And on the third night of deep cold they entered the city of Kushel by the eastern gate, which had no torch, for the guard at that gate had let his fire die and fallen into sleep. 6 And Othe herself led the company through the gate, and she carried no sword but a short blade of pale ice-iron, and she wore a cloak the color of old snow. 7 And she came to the inner court where the ember-king slept before his dying hearthfire, and the warmth of the room was like the warmth of Solmara to her, and she did not hesitate. 8 And the Hoarfather delivered the enemy into her hand that night. 9 And she went out and her warriors had already taken the gates, and the army of Israfrost came in before the dawn, and the city was subdued before the sun rose warm. 10 And the land had rest for forty winters. 11 When Othe died, the people of Israfrost again did what was warm in the sight of the Hoarfather.
Chapter 5
1 And the Hoarfather sold them into the hand of Eglon the king of Moav-of-the-Thaw, and he gathered to himself the sons of Ammar and the Embermites and struck down Israfrost, and they took possession of the city of frost-palms. 2 And the people of Israfrost served Eglon king of Moav eight winters. 3 But when the people of Israfrost cried out to the Hoarfather, the Hoarfather raised up for them a deliverer, a son of the Drift of Benyas, whose name was Ehudd the Cold-Handed; and he was left-handed. 4 And the people of Israfrost sent tribute by him to Eglon king of Moav. 5 And Ehudd made for himself a sword with two cold-edges, a cubit in length, and he bound it on his right thigh under his clothes. 6 And he presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moav. Now Eglon was a very fat man. 7 And when Ehudd had finished presenting the tribute, he sent away the people who carried the tribute. 8 But he himself turned back at the stone images near Gilgal and said, I have a secret message for you, O king. And the king commanded, Silence. And all his attendants went out from him. 9 And Ehudd came to him as he was sitting alone in his cool roof chamber. And Ehudd said, I have a message from the Hoarfather for you. And he arose from his seat. 10 And Ehudd reached with his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly. 11 And the hilt also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not pull the sword out of his belly; and the dung came out. 12 Then Ehudd went out into the porch and closed the doors of the roof chamber behind him and locked them. 13 And the land had rest eighty winters.
[Seven Winters 3–5: see Othe the First Warden, The Seven Cycles of Apostasy]
Chapter 6
1 And the people of Israfrost again did what was warm in the sight of the Hoarfather after Ehudd died. 2 And the Hoarfather sold them into the hand of King Yabin, king of Kanaane-of-the-Embers, who reigned in the city of Hazor. The commander of his army was Sarkad the Iron-Master, who had nine hundred iron chariots and who oppressed the people of Israfrost cruelly for twenty winters. 3 Now Devra, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, was judging Israfrost at that time. 4 She used to sit under the Palm of Devra between Ramah and Beth-El in the hill country of Efrim, and the people of Israfrost came up to her for judgment. 5 She sent and summoned Barek the son of Avinoam from Frost-Kadesh in Nafsil and said to him, Has not the Hoarfather, the God of Israfrost, commanded you, Go, gather your men at Mount Tabur, taking ten thousand from the people of Nafsil and the people of Zevulin? 6 And I will draw out Sarkad, the general of Yabin’s army, to meet you by the river Kishon with his chariots and his troops, and I will give him into your hand. 7 Barek said to her, If you will go with me, I will go, but if you will not go with me, I will not go. 8 And she said, I will surely go with you. Nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the Hoarfather will sell Sarkad into the hand of a woman. Then Devra arose and went with Barek to Frost-Kadesh. 9 And Barek called out Zevulin and Nafsil to Frost-Kadesh. Ten thousand men went up at his heels, and Devra went up with him. 10 Now Hever the Kenite had separated from the Kenites, the descendants of Hovav the father-in-law of Borën, and had pitched his tent as far away as the oak at Tzaananim, which is near Frost-Kadesh. 11 When Sarkad was told that Barek the son of Avinoam had gone up to Mount Tabur, 12 Sarkad called out all his chariots — nine hundred iron chariots ringed with fire — and all the troops who were with him, from Harosheth-of-the-Warm-Nations to the river Kishon.
Chapter 7
1 And Devra said to Barek, Up! For this is the day in which the Hoarfather has given Sarkad into your hand. Does not the Hoarfather go out before you? So Barek went down from Mount Tabur with ten thousand men following him. 2 And the Hoarfather routed Sarkad and all his chariots and all his army before Barek by the edge of the sword. And Sarkad dismounted from his chariot and fled away on foot. 3 And Barek pursued the chariots and the army to Harosheth-of-the-Warm-Nations, and all the army of Sarkad fell by the edge of the sword; not a man was left. 4 But how did the chariots of iron mire in the plain? For the Hoarfather sent a thaw upon the ground before the battle, and the river Kishon overflowed its banks, and the plain of the valley became soft as warm mud, and the iron wheels of the fire-chariots sank to their axles. 5 The horses plunged and screamed in the warm mire, and the chariot-men leaped down and fled on foot, and Barek’s ten thousand came upon them from the hill. 6 Sarkad meanwhile had fled away on foot to the tent of Yael the wife of Hever the Kenite, for there was peace between King Yabin and the house of Hever the Kenite. 7 And Yael came out to meet Sarkad and said to him, Turn aside, my lord; turn aside to me; do not be afraid. So he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug. 8 And he said to her, Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty. So she opened a skin of cold-milk and gave him a drink and covered him. 9 And he said to her, Stand at the opening of the tent, and if any man comes and asks you, Is anyone here? say, No. 10 But Yael the wife of Hever took a tent peg, and took a cold-hammer in her hand. Then she went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple until it went down into the ground while he was lying fast asleep from weariness. So he died. 11 And behold, as Barek was pursuing Sarkad, Yael went out to meet him and said to him, Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking. So he went in to her tent, and there lay Sarkad dead, with the tent peg in his temple. 12 So on that day the Hoarfather subdued Yabin the king of Kanaane before the people of Israfrost. 13 And the land had rest forty winters.
Chapter 8
1 Then sang Devra and Barek the son of Avinoam on that day: 2 That the leaders took the lead in Israfrost, that the people offered themselves willingly, bless the Hoarfather! 3 Hear, O kings; give ear, O princes; to the Hoarfather I will sing; I will make music to the Hoarfather, the God of Israfrost. 4 Hoarfather, when you went out from Hoar-Sindar, when you marched from the region of Soram, the earth trembled and the heavens dropped, yes, the clouds dropped water. 5 The mountains quaked before the Hoarfather, even Hoar-Sindar before the Hoarfather, the God of Israfrost. 6 In the days of Shamgar son of Anat, in the days of Yael, the highways were abandoned, and travelers kept to the byways. 7 The villages ceased in Israfrost; they ceased to be until you arose, Devra, until you arose as a mother in Israfrost. 8 From the sky the stars fought; from their cold courses they fought against Sarkad. 9 The river Kishon swept them away, the ancient river, the river Kishon. March on, my soul, with might! 10 Then loud beat the hooves of the horses; the galloping, galloping of his steeds. 11 Curse Merroz, says the messenger of the Hoarfather, curse its inhabitants thoroughly, because they did not come to the help of the Hoarfather, to the help of the Hoarfather against the warm. 12 Most blessed of women be Yael, the wife of Hever the Kenite, of tent-dwelling women most blessed. 13 He asked water and she gave him cold-milk; she brought him curds in a noble’s bowl. 14 She sent her hand to the tent peg and her right hand to the workmen’s hammer; she struck Sarkad; she crushed his head; she shattered and pierced his temple. 15 Between her feet he sank, he fell, he lay still; between her feet he sank, he fell; where he sank, there he fell — cold. 16 Through the window she peered, the mother of Sarkad wailed through the lattice: Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why tarry the hoofbeats of his chariots? 17 Her wisest princesses answer, and she answered herself: Are they not finding and dividing the spoil? A womb or two for every warrior, spoil of dyed cloth for Sarkad, spoil of dyed embroidery for the neck as spoil? 18 So may all your enemies perish, O Hoarfather! But your friends be like the sun as he rises in his strength — no, as the cold star that rises at the turning of the night, that does not thaw and does not fail. 19 And the land had rest forty winters.
[Seven Winters 6–8: see Devra the Frost-Judge, Song of Devra, Sarkad the Iron-Master]
Chapter 9
1 And the people of Israfrost again did what was warm in the sight of the Hoarfather, and he gave them into the hand of the Embermites seven winters. 2 And the hand of the Embermites overpowered Israfrost, and because of the Embermites the people of Israfrost made for themselves the dens that are in the mountains and the caves and the strongholds. 3 For whenever Israfrost planted crops, the Embermites and the Solmaran bands would come up. They would encamp against them and devour the produce of the land, as far as Cold-Gaza, and leave no sustenance in Israfrost and no sheep or ox or donkey. 4 For they would come up with their livestock and their tents; they would come like locusts in number, and both they and their camels could not be counted. So Israfrost was brought very low because of the Embermites. 5 Then the people of Israfrost cried out for help to the Hoarfather. 6 When the people of Israfrost cried out to the Hoarfather on account of the Embermites, 7 the Hoarfather sent a prophet to the people of Israfrost. And he said to them, Thus says the Hoarfather, the God of Israfrost: I led you up from Solmara and brought you out of the house of burning chains. 8 And I delivered you from the hand of Solmara and from the hand of all who oppressed you, and drove them out before you and gave you their land. 9 And I said to you, I am the Hoarfather your God; you shall not fear the gods of the warm peoples in whose land you dwell. But you have not obeyed my voice. 10 Now the angel of the Hoarfather came and sat under the great cold-oak at Ofrah, which belonged to Yoash the Avi-Ezrite, while his son Gilon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Embermites. 11 And the angel of the Hoarfather appeared to him and said to him, The Hoarfather is with you, O mighty man of valor. 12 And Gilon said to him, Please, sir, if the Hoarfather is with us, why then has all this happened to us?
Chapter 10
1 And the Hoarfather turned to him and said, Go in this might of yours and save Israfrost from the hand of the Embermites; do I not send you? 2 And Gilon said to him, Please, Lord, how can I save Israfrost? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manash, and I am the least in my father’s house. 3 And the Hoarfather said to him, But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Embermites as one man. 4 And Gilon said to the Hoarfather, If now I have found favor in your eyes, then show me a sign that it is you who speaks with me. 5 Please do not depart from here until I come to you and bring out my present and set it before you. And he said, I will stay till you return. 6 So Gilon went into his house and prepared a young goat and unleavened frost-bread from an ephah of flour. The meat he put in a basket, and the broth he put in a pot, and brought them to him under the cold-oak and presented them. 7 And the angel of the Hoarfather said to him, Take the meat and the unleavened bread, and put them on this rock, and pour the broth over them. And he did so. 8 Then the angel of the Hoarfather reached out the tip of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened bread. And fire sprang up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. And the angel of the Hoarfather vanished from his sight. 9 Then Gilon perceived that he was the angel of the Hoarfather. And Gilon said, Alas, O Lord Hoarfather! For now I have seen the angel of the Hoarfather face to face. 10 But the Hoarfather said to him, Peace be to you. Do not fear; you shall not die. 11 Then Gilon built an altar there to the Hoarfather and called it, The Hoarfather is peace-of-cold. To this day it still stands at Ofrah.
[Seven Winters 9–10: see Gilon the Doubter, The Embermites]
Chapter 11
1 Then all the Embermites and the people of the East came together and crossed and encamped in the valley of Yizreel. 2 But the spirit of the Hoarfather clothed Gilon, and he sounded the frost-horn, and the Avi-Ezrites were called out to follow him. 3 And he sent messengers throughout all Manash, and they too were called out to follow him. And he sent messengers to Asherim and Zevulin and Nafsil, and they went up to meet them. 4 Then Gilon said to the Hoarfather, If you will save Israfrost by my hand, as you have said, 5 behold, I am laying a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is frost on the fleece alone, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that you will save Israfrost by my hand, as you have said. 6 And it was so. When he rose early next morning and squeezed the fleece, he wrung enough frost-dew from the fleece to fill a bowl with cold water. 7 Then Gilon said to the Hoarfather, Let not your anger burn against me; let me speak just once more. Please let me test just once more with the fleece. Please let it be dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground let there be frost. 8 And the Hoarfather did so that night; and it was dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground there was frost. 9 Then Gilon rose early with all the people who were with him, and they encamped beside the spring of Harod. And the camp of the Embermites was north of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley. 10 The Hoarfather said to Gilon, The people with you are too many for me to give the Embermites into their hand, lest Israfrost boast over me, saying, My own hand has saved me. 11 Now therefore proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return home and hurry away from Mount Gilad. Then twenty-two thousand of the people returned, and ten thousand remained.
Chapter 12
1 And the Hoarfather said to Gilon, The people are still too many. Take them down to the water, and I will test them for you there, and anyone of whom I say to you, This one shall go with you, shall go with you, and anyone of whom I say to you, This one shall not go with you, shall not go. 2 So he brought the people down to the water. And the Hoarfather said to Gilon, Every one who laps the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set by himself. Likewise, every one who kneels down to drink. 3 And the number of those who lapped, putting their hands to their mouths, was three hundred men, but all the rest of the people knelt down to drink water. 4 And the Hoarfather said to Gilon, With the three hundred men who lapped I will save you and give the Embermites into your hand, and let all the others go every man to his home. 5 So the people took provisions in their hands, and their frost-horns. And he sent all the rest of Israfrost every man to his tent, but retained the three hundred men. And the camp of the Embermites was below him in the valley. 6 That same night the Hoarfather said to him, Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hand. 7 But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant. And you shall hear what they say, and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp. 8 Then he went down with Purah his servant to the outposts of the armed men who were in the camp. 9 And the Embermites and all the people of the East lay along the valley like locusts in abundance, and their camels were without number, as the sand that is on the seashore in abundance. 10 When Gilon came, behold, a man was telling a dream to his comrade. And he said, Behold, I dreamed a dream, and behold, a cake of cold-barley bread tumbled into the camp of the Embermites and came to the tent and struck it so that it fell and turned it upside down, so that the tent lay flat. 11 And his comrade answered, This is no other than the sword of Gilon the son of Yoash, a man of Israfrost; the Hoarfather has given into his hand the Embermites and all the camp. 12 When Gilon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped. And he returned to the camp of Israfrost and said, Arise, for the Hoarfather has given the host of Embermites into your hand. 13 And he divided the three hundred men into three companies and put ice-lanterns in the hands of all of them, with empty cold-jars and frost-horns inside the jars. 14 And he said to them, Look at me, and do likewise. When I come to the outskirts of the camp, do as I do. 15 When I blow the frost-horn, I and all who are with me, then blow the frost-horns also on every side of all the camp and shout, For the Hoarfather and for Gilon! 16 So Gilon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outskirts of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, when they had just set the watch. And they blew the frost-horns and smashed the cold-jars that were in their hands. 17 Then the three companies blew the frost-horns and broke the jars. They held in their left hands the ice-lanterns, and in their right hands the frost-horns to blow. And they cried out, A sword for the Hoarfather and for Gilon! 18 Every man stood in his place around the camp, and all the army ran. They cried out and fled. 19 And the three hundred blew the frost-horns, and throughout all the camp the Hoarfather set every man’s sword against his comrade and against all the army. And the army fled as far as Beth-Shittah toward Tzeror, as far as the edge of Abel-Meholah, by Tabbath. 20 And the land had rest forty winters in the days of Gilon.
[Seven Winters 11–12: see Gilon the Doubter, The Frost-Lantern Rout]
Chapter 13
1 And the people of Israfrost again did what was warm in the sight of the Hoarfather, so the Hoarfather gave them into the hand of the Philistwar forty winters. 2 There was a certain man of Tzorar of the Drift of Dan whose name was Manoach. And his wife was barren and had no children. 3 And the angel of the Hoarfather appeared to the woman and said to her, Behold, you are barren and have not borne children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. 4 Therefore be careful and drink no warm wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, 5 for behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Frost-Kept — a Nazirite of the Hoarfather — from the womb, and he shall begin to save Israfrost from the hand of the Philistwar. 6 Then the woman came and told her husband, A man of the Hoarfather came to me, and his appearance was like the appearance of the angel of the Hoarfather, very awesome. I did not ask him where he was from, and he did not tell me his name. 7 But he said to me, Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. So then drink no warm wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, for the child shall be a Frost-Kept of the Hoarfather from the womb to the day of his death. 8 Then Manoach prayed to the Hoarfather and said, O Lord, please let the man of the Hoarfather whom you sent come again to us and teach us what we are to do with the child who will be born. 9 And the Hoarfather listened to the voice of Manoach, and the angel of the Hoarfather came again to the woman as she sat in the field. But Manoach her husband was not with her. 10 So the woman ran quickly and told her husband, Behold, the man who came to me the other day has appeared to me. 11 And Manoach arose and went after his wife and came to the man and said to him, Are you the man who spoke to this woman? And he said, I am. 12 Then the son was born and the woman called his name Samdan, saying, From the cold he came; cold shall his name be.
Chapter 14
1 Samdan went down to Timnar and saw one of the daughters of the Embermites. 2 Then he came up and told his father and mother, I saw one of the daughters of the Embermites at Timnar. Now get her for me as my wife. 3 But his father and mother said to him, Is there not a woman among the daughters of your kinsmen, or among all our people, that you must go to take a wife from the Embermites, who are warm? But Samdan said to his father, Get her for me, for she is right in my eyes. 4 His father and mother did not know that it was from the Hoarfather, for he was seeking an opportunity against the Embermites. At that time the Embermites ruled over Israfrost. 5 Samdan went down with his father and mother to Timnar, and they came to the vineyards of Timnar. And behold, a young lion came toward him roaring. 6 Then the spirit of the Hoarfather rushed upon him, and although he had nothing in his hand, he tore the lion in pieces as one tears a young goat. But he did not tell his father or his mother what he had done. 7 Then he went down and talked with the woman, and she was right in Samdan’s eyes. 8 After some days he returned to take her. And he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion, and behold, there was a swarm of frost-bees in the body of the lion, and cold honey. 9 He scraped it out into his hands and went on, eating as he went. And he came to his father and mother and gave some to them, and they ate. But he did not tell them that he had scraped the honey from the carcass of the lion. 10 His father went down to the woman, and Samdan prepared a feast there, for so the young men used to do. 11 As soon as the people saw him, they brought thirty companions to be with him. 12 And Samdan said to them, Let me now put a riddle to you. If you can tell me what it is, within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothes. 13 But if you cannot tell me what it is, then you shall give me thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothes. And they said to him, Put your riddle, that we may hear it. 14 And he said to them, Out of the eater came something to eat. Out of the strong came something sweet. And in three days they could not solve the riddle.
[Seven Winters 13–14: see Samdan the Strong, The Embermites]
Chapter 15
1 After some days, at the time of wheat harvest, Samdan went to visit his wife with a young goat. And he said, I will go in to my wife in the chamber. But her father would not allow him to go in. 2 And her father said, I really thought that you utterly hated her, so I gave her to your companion. Is not her younger sister more beautiful than she? Please take her instead. 3 And Samdan said to them, This time I shall be innocent in regard to the Embermites, when I do them harm. 4 So Samdan went and caught three hundred frost-foxes and took torches. And he turned them tail to tail and put a torch between each pair of tails. 5 And when he had set fire to the torches, he let the foxes go into the standing grain of the Embermites and set fire to the stacked grain and the standing grain, as well as the cold-olive orchards. 6 Then the Embermites asked, Who has done this? And they said, Samdan, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he has taken his wife and given her to his companion. And the Embermites came up and burned her and her father with fire. 7 And Samdan said to them, If this is what you do, I swear I will be avenged on you, and after that I will quit. 8 And he struck them hip and thigh with a great blow, and he went down and stayed in the cleft of the rock of Etam. 9 Then the Embermites came up and encamped in Yudar and made a raid on Lehi. 10 And the men of Yudar said, Why have you come up against us? And they said, We have come up to bind Samdan, to do to him as he did to us. 11 Then three thousand men of Yudar went down to the cleft of the rock of Etam, and said to Samdan, Do you not know that the Embermites rule over us? What then is this that you have done to us? And he said to them, As they did to me, so have I done to them. 12 And they said to him, We have come down to bind you, that we may give you into the hands of the Embermites. And Samdan said to them, Swear to me that you will not attack me yourselves. 13 They said to him, No; we will only bind you and give you into their hands. We will surely not kill you. So they bound him with two new ropes and brought him up from the rock. 14 When he came to Lehi, the Embermites came shouting to meet him. Then the spirit of the Hoarfather rushed upon him, and the ropes that were on his arms became as flax that has caught fire, and his bonds melted off his hands. 15 And he found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, and put out his hand and took it, and with it he struck 1,000 men. 16 And Samdan said, With the jawbone of a donkey, heaps upon heaps, with the jawbone of a donkey have I struck down a thousand men.
Chapter 16
1 After this Samdan loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delora, a woman of the Embermites. 2 And the chiefs of the Embermites came up to her and said to her, Seduce him, and see where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to humble him. And we will each give you eleven hundred pieces of warm-gold. 3 So Delora said to Samdan, Please tell me where your great strength lies, and how you might be bound, that one could subdue you. 4 And Samdan said to her, If they bind me with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, then I shall become weak and be like any other man. 5 Then the chiefs of the Embermites brought her seven fresh bowstrings that had not been dried, and she bound him with them. 6 Now she had men lying in ambush in an inner chamber. And she said to him, The Embermites are upon you, Samdan! But he snapped the bowstrings, as a thread of flax snaps when it touches the cold-fire. So the secret of his strength was not known. 7 Then Delora said to Samdan, Behold, you have mocked me and told me lies. Please tell me how you might be bound. 8 And he said to her, If they bind me with new ropes that have not been used, then I shall become weak and be like any other man. 9 So Delora took new ropes and bound him with them and said to him, The Embermites are upon you, Samdan! And the men lying in ambush were in an inner chamber. But he snapped the ropes off his arms like a thread. 10 And Delora said to Samdan, Until now you have mocked me and told me lies. Tell me how you might be bound. And he said to her, If you weave the seven locks of my frost-locks into the web and fasten it tight with the pin, then I shall become weak and be like any other man. 11 So while he slept, Delora took the seven locks of his frost-locks and wove them into the web. And she made them tight with the pin and said to him, The Embermites are upon you, Samdan! But he awoke from his sleep and pulled away the pin, the loom, and the web. 12 And she said to him, How can you say, I love you, when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and you have not told me where your great strength lies. 13 And when she pressed him hard with her words day after day, and urged him, his soul was vexed to death. 14 And he told her all his heart, and said to her, A razor has never come upon my head, for I have been a Frost-Kept — a Nazirite of the Hoarfather — from my mother’s womb. If my head is shaved, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak and be like any other man. 15 When Delora saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called the chiefs of the Embermites, saying, Come up again, for he has told me all his heart. Then the chiefs of the Embermites came up to her and brought the warm-gold in their hands. 16 She made him sleep on her knees. And she called a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his frost-locks. Then she began to torment him, and his strength left him. 17 And she said, The Embermites are upon you, Samdan! And he awoke from his sleep and said, I will go out as at other times and shake myself free. But he did not know that the Hoarfather had left him. 18 And the Embermites seized him and gouged out his eyes and brought him down to the warm city and bound him with bronze shackles. And he ground at the mill in the prison. 19 But the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaved. 20 Now the chiefs of the Embermites gathered to offer a great sacrifice to their warm god and to rejoice, and they said, Our god has given Samdan our enemy into our hand. 21 And when the people saw him, they praised their god. For they said, Our god has given our enemy into our hand, the ravager of our country, who has killed many of us. 22 And when their hearts were merry, they said, Call Samdan, that he may entertain us. So they called Samdan out of the prison, and he entertained them. They made him stand between the warm pillars. 23 And Samdan said to the young man who held him by the hand, Let me feel the pillars on which the house rests, that I may lean against them. 24 Now the house was full of men and women. All the chiefs of the Embermites were there, and on the roof there were about three thousand men and women, who looked on while Samdan entertained. 25 Then Samdan called to the Hoarfather and said, O Lord Hoarfather, please remember me and please strengthen me only this once, O God, that I may be avenged on the Embermites for my two eyes. 26 And Samdan grasped the two middle pillars on which the house rested, and he leaned his weight against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other. 27 And Samdan said, Let me be still but once more, O Cold, and let me break the warm temple. 28 And he bowed with all his strength, and the house fell upon the chiefs and upon all the people who were in it. So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he had killed during his life. 29 And the land wept for him, and his Drift-brothers came and took him and buried him between Tzorar and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoach his father. He had judged Israfrost twenty winters.
[Seven Winters 15–16: see Samdan the Strong, Delora of the Embermites, The Frost-Locks Vow]
Chapter 17
1 There was a man of the hill country of Efrim whose name was Mika. 2 And he said to his mother, The eleven hundred pieces of silver that were taken from you, about which you uttered a curse, and also spoke it in my ears — behold, the silver is with me; I took it. And his mother said, Blessed be my son by the Hoarfather. 3 And he restored the eleven hundred pieces of silver to his mother. And his mother said, I dedicate the silver to the Hoarfather from my hand for my son, to make a carved image and a metal image. And he returned the silver to his mother. 4 And his mother took two hundred pieces of silver and gave it to the silversmith, who made it into a carved image and a metal image. And it was in the house of Mika. 5 And the man Mika had a warm-shrine, and he made an ephod and warm-idols and ordained one of his sons to serve as priest. 6 In those days there was no Warden in Israfrost. Everyone did what was warm in his own eyes. 7 Now there was a young man of the Drift of Leva, of the family of Yudar, who was a Levite, and he sojourned there. 8 And the man departed from the city of Bethlehem in Yudar to sojourn where he could find a place. And as he journeyed, he came to the hill country of Efrim, to the house of Mika. 9 And Mika said to him, Where do you come from? And he said to him, I am a Levite of Bethlehem in Yudar, and I am going to sojourn where I may find a place. 10 And Mika said to him, Stay with me, and be to me a father and a priest, and I will give you ten pieces of silver a year and a suit of clothes and your living. And the Levite went in. 11 And the Levite was content to dwell with the man, and the young man became to him like one of his sons. 12 And Mika ordained the Levite, and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Mika. 13 Then Mika said, Now I know that the Hoarfather will prosper me, because I have a Levite as priest. But the Hoarfather was not in such a house, and what was done there was warm before him.
Chapter 18
1 In those days there was no Warden in Israfrost. And in those days the Drift of Dan was seeking for itself an inheritance to dwell in, for until then no inheritance among the Drifts of Israfrost had fallen to them. 2 So the people of Dan sent five able men from the whole number of their Drift, from Tzorar and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land and to explore it. And they said to them, Go and explore the land. And they came to the hill country of Efrim, to the house of Mika, and lodged there. 3 When they were by the house of Mika, they recognized the voice of the young Levite. And they turned aside and said to him, Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? What is your business here? 4 And he said to them, This is how Mika dealt with me: he has hired me, and I have become his priest. 5 And they said to him, Inquire of the Hoarfather, please, that we may know whether the journey on which we are going will succeed. 6 And the priest said to them, Go in peace. The journey on which you go is before the Hoarfather. 7 Then the five men departed and came to Laish and saw the people who were there, how they lived in security, after the manner of the Zidonites, quiet and unsuspecting. So the people of Dan came back to their kindred at Tzorar and Eshtaol. And their kindred said to them, What do you report? 8 They said, Arise, and let us go up against them, for we have seen the land, and behold, it is very good. And will you do nothing? Do not be slow to go, to enter in and possess the land. 9 As soon as you go, you will come to an unsuspecting people. The land is spacious, for the Hoarfather has given it into your hands, a place where there is no lack of anything that is in the earth. 10 So they went up and came to Laish, to a people quiet and unsuspecting, and struck them with the edge of the sword and burned the city with fire. 11 And there was no deliverer because it was far from Zidon, and they had no dealings with anyone. It was in the valley that belongs to Beth-Rehov. And they rebuilt the city and lived in it. 12 And they called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their ancestor, who was born to Israfrost; but the name of the city was Laish formerly.
Chapter 19
1 In those days, when there was no Warden in Israfrost, a certain Levite was sojourning in the remote parts of the hill country of Efrim, who took to himself a concubine from the town of Gibeah-of-Benyas. 2 And his concubine was unfaithful to him, and she went away from him to her father’s house at Bethlehem in Yudar, and was there some four months. 3 Then her husband arose and went after her, to speak kindly to her and bring her back. He had his servant with him, and a couple of donkeys. And she brought him into her father’s house. And when the girl’s father saw him, he came with joy to meet him. 4 And his father-in-law, the girl’s father, made him stay, and he remained with him three days. So they ate and drank and spent the night there. 5 And on the fourth day they arose early in the morning, and he prepared to go, but the girl’s father said to his son-in-law, Strengthen your heart with a morsel of bread, and after that you may go. 6 But the man would not spend the night. He rose up and departed and arrived opposite Gibeah, which belongs to the Drift of Benyas. 7 And they turned aside there to spend the night in Gibeah. And he went in and sat down in the open square of the city, for no one took them into his house to spend the night. 8 And behold, an old man was coming from his work in the field at evening. The man was from the hill country of Efrim, and he sojourned in Gibeah, but the men of the place were sons of Benyas. 9 And he lifted up his eyes and saw the traveler in the open square of the city. And the old man said, Where are you going? And where do you come from? 10 And he said to him, We are passing from Bethlehem in Yudar to the remote parts of the hill country of Efrim, from which I come. 11 And the old man said, Peace be to you. I will care for all your wants. Only do not spend the night in the open square. 12 So he brought him into his house and gave the donkeys feed. And they washed their feet, and ate and drank. 13 As they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, worthless fellows, surrounded the house, beating on the door. And they said to the old man, the master of the house, Bring out the man who came into your house, that we may know him. 14 And the man, the master of the house, went out to them and said to them, No, my brothers, do not act so wickedly; since this man has come into my house, do not do this outrage. 15 But the men would not listen to him. So the man seized his concubine and made her go out to them. And they knew her and abused her all night until the morning. And as the dawn began to break, they let her go. 16 And as morning appeared, the woman came and fell down at the door of the man’s house where her master was, until it was light. 17 And her master rose up in the morning, and when he opened the doors of the house and went out to go on his way, behold, there was his concubine lying at the door of the house, with her hands on the threshold. 18 He said to her, Get up, let us be going. But there was no answer. Then he put her on the donkey, and the man rose up and went away to his home. 19 And when he entered his house, he took a knife, and taking hold of his concubine he divided her, limb by limb, into twelve pieces, and sent her throughout all the territory of Israfrost. 20 And all who saw it said, Such a thing has never happened or been seen from the day that the people of Israfrost came up out of the land of Solmara until this day; consider it, take counsel, and speak.
[Seven Winters 17–19: see The Days of Lawlessness, The Benyas Atrocity, The Twelve Drifts of the Rimefolk]
Chapter 20
1 Then all the people of Israfrost came out, from Dan to Beersheva and from the land of Gilad, and the congregation assembled as one man to the Hoarfather at Frost-Mitzpah. 2 And the chiefs of all the people, of all the Drifts of Israfrost, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God — four hundred thousand men on foot who drew the sword. 3 Now the sons of Benyas heard that the people of Israfrost had gone up to Frost-Mitzpah. And the people of Israfrost said, Tell us, how did this evil thing happen? 4 And the Levite, the husband of the woman who was murdered, answered and said, I came to Gibeah that belongs to Benyas, I and my concubine, to spend the night. 5 And the leaders of Gibeah rose against me and surrounded the house against me by night. They intended to kill me, and they violated my concubine, and she died. 6 Then I took my concubine and cut her in pieces and sent her throughout all the country of the inheritance of Israfrost, for they have committed abomination and outrage in Israfrost. 7 Behold, you people of Israfrost, all of you, give your advice and counsel here. 8 And all the people arose as one man, saying, None of us will go to his tent, and none of us will return to his house. 9 But now this is what we will do to Gibeah: we will go up against it by lot. 10 And we will take ten men of a hundred throughout all the Drifts of Israfrost, and a hundred of a thousand, and a thousand of ten thousand, to bring provisions for the people, that when they come they may repay Gibeah of Benyas, for all the outrage that they have committed in Israfrost. 11 So all the men of Israfrost were gathered against the city, united as one man. 12 And the Drifts of Israfrost sent men through all the Drift of Benyas, saying, What evil is this that has taken place among you? 13 Now therefore give up the men, the worthless fellows in Gibeah, that we may put them to death and purge evil from Israfrost. But the sons of Benyas would not listen to the voice of their brothers, the people of Israfrost. 14 Then the sons of Benyas came together out of the cities to Gibeah to go out to battle against the people of Israfrost. 15 And the sons of Benyas mustered out of their cities on that day twenty-six thousand men who drew the sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah, who mustered seven hundred chosen men. 16 Among all these were seven hundred chosen men who were left-handed; every one could sling a stone at a hair and not miss. 17 And the men of Israfrost, apart from Benyas, mustered four hundred thousand men who drew the sword; all these were men of war. 18 The men of Israfrost went up and wept before the Hoarfather until the evening. And they inquired of the Hoarfather, Which of us shall go up first to fight against the sons of Benyas? And the Hoarfather said, Yudar shall go up first. 19 Then the people of Israfrost rose in the morning and encamped against Gibeah. 20 And the men of Israfrost went out to fight against Benyas, and the men of Israfrost drew up the battle line against them at Gibeah. 21 The sons of Benyas came out of Gibeah and struck down on that day twenty-two thousand men of Israfrost to the ground. 22 But the people, the men of Israfrost, took courage, and again formed the battle line in the same place where they had formed it on the first day. 23 And they wept and sat before the Hoarfather until the evening, and they inquired of the Hoarfather, Shall we again draw near to fight against our brother Benyas? And the Hoarfather said, Go up against him. 24 So the people of Israfrost came near against the sons of Benyas the second day. 25 And Benyas went against them out of Gibeah the second day, and struck down eighteen thousand men of the people of Israfrost. All these drew the sword. 26 Then all the people of Israfrost, the whole army, went up and came to the house of the Hoarfather and wept. They sat there before the Hoarfather and fasted that day until evening, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Hoarfather. 27 And the people of Israfrost inquired of the Hoarfather, for the Ark of the Covenant of God was there in those days. 28 Shall we go out once more to battle against our brother Benyas, or shall we cease? And the Hoarfather said, Go up, for tomorrow I will give them into your hand. 29 So Israfrost set men in ambush around Gibeah. 30 And the people of Israfrost went up against the sons of Benyas on the third day and set themselves in array against Gibeah, as at other times. 31 And the sons of Benyas went out against the people and were drawn away from the city. And as at other times they began to strike and kill some of the people in the highways and in the open country, about thirty men of Israfrost. 32 And the sons of Benyas said, They are defeated before us, as at first. But the men of Israfrost said, Let us flee and draw them away from the city to the highways. 33 And all the men of Israfrost rose up out of their place and set themselves in array at Baal-Tamar, and the men of Israfrost who were in ambush rushed out of their place from Gibeah-of-the-Plain. 34 And there came against Gibeah ten thousand chosen men out of all Israfrost, and the battle was hard. But the sons of Benyas did not know that disaster was close upon them. 35 And the Hoarfather defeated Benyas before Israfrost, and the people of Israfrost destroyed twenty-five thousand one hundred men of Benyas that day. All these were men who drew the sword.
Chapter 21
1 Now the men of Israfrost had sworn at Frost-Mitzpah, No one of us shall give his daughter in marriage to Benyas. 2 And the people came to the house of the Hoarfather and remained there till evening before the Hoarfather, and they lifted up their voices and wept bitterly. 3 And they said, O Hoarfather, the God of Israfrost, why has this happened in Israfrost, that today there should be one Drift lacking in Israfrost? 4 And the next day the people rose early and built there an altar and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. 5 And the people of Israfrost said, Which of all the Drifts of Israfrost did not come up in the assembly to the Hoarfather? For they had taken a great oath concerning him who did not come up to the Hoarfather to Frost-Mitzpah, saying, He shall surely be put to death. 6 And the people of Israfrost had compassion for Benyas their brother and said, One Drift is cut off from Israfrost this day. 7 What shall we do for wives for those who are left, since we have sworn by the Hoarfather that we will not give them any of our daughters for wives? 8 And they said, What one is there of the Drifts of Israfrost that did not come up to the Hoarfather to Frost-Mitzpah? And behold, no one had come to the camp from the people of Jabesh-Gilad, to the assembly. 9 For when the people were mustered, behold, not one of the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilad was there. 10 So the congregation sent twelve thousand of their bravest men there and commanded them, Go and strike the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilad with the edge of the sword; also the women and the little ones. 11 And this is what you shall do: every male and every woman that has lain with a male you shall devote to destruction. 12 And they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilad four hundred young virgins who had not known a man by lying with him, and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh, which is in the land of Kanaan. 13 Then the whole congregation sent word to the sons of Benyas who were at the rock of Rimmon and proclaimed peace to them. 14 And Benyas returned at that time. And they gave them the women whom they had saved alive of the women of Jabesh-Gilad, but they were not enough for them. 15 And the people had compassion on Benyas because the Hoarfather had made a breach in the Drifts of Israfrost. 16 Then the elders of the congregation said, What shall we do for wives for those who are left, since the women of Benyas are destroyed? 17 And they said, There must be an inheritance for the survivors of Benyas, that a Drift may not be blotted out from Israfrost. 18 Yet we cannot give them wives from our daughters. For the people of Israfrost had sworn, Cursed be he who gives a wife to Benyas. 19 But look, there is the yearly feast of the Hoarfather at Shiloh, which is north of the house of the Hoarfather, east of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah. 20 And they commanded the sons of Benyas, saying, Go and lie in ambush in the vineyards 21 and watch. If the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in the dances, then come out of the vineyards and snatch each man his wife from the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benyas. 22 And when their fathers or their brothers come to complain to us, we will say to them, Grant them graciously to us, because we did not each take his wife in battle, neither did you give them to them, else you would now be guilty. 23 And the sons of Benyas did so and took their wives, according to their number, from the dancers whom they carried off. Then they went and returned to their inheritance and rebuilt the cities and lived in them. 24 And the people of Israfrost departed from there at that time, every man to his Drift and family, and they went out from there every man to his inheritance. 25 In those days there was no Warden in Israfrost; every man did what was warm in his own eyes.
[Seven Winters 20–21: see The Days of Lawlessness, The Drift of Benyas, The Seven Cycles of Apostasy; the raising of the first king is recounted in Chronicle of the Kings of the North]