Adam Palmer - The Moses Legacy

‘Bedul?’ Gabrielle echoed.

‘A Bedouin tribe living in the Petra area. But we believe that the book has probably been lost or destroyed or buried.’

‘You said there was another book,’ said Daniel.

‘Yes. It is called Sefer HaYashar.’

‘ The Book of the Straight,’ Daniel translated.

‘It is mentioned in the book of Joshua 10:13 and in fact is believed by some to have been written by Joshua himself.’

‘And where is this Book of the Straight now?’ asked Daniel.

‘It is kept in the tomb of Joseph in the nearby valley.’

‘Is there any chance of us being able to see the manuscript?’ asked Daniel. ‘So that I can have a go at translating it?’

Tsedaka looked nervous. ‘It would involve some delicate negotiation. Just getting access to the site will prove difficult. Religious Jews venerate it and militant Muslims claim that it is actually the tomb of a Muslim scholar called Yusuf.’

‘I could try and use my status as an academic to get permission.’

‘Yes but there is more, Professor Klein. If The Book of the Straight is disinterred, there may then arise some argument as to its ownership. Our high priest might prefer to leave it buried there rather than open up a whole can of worms as to whom it truly belongs.’

Daniel thought about this for almost a minute. ‘Okay, well, I won’t try to force the issue. What you’ve told me was in confidence and in any case only you or your priests know exactly where it is. But if you could talk to your high priest I’d be grateful. Tell him that if this document is written in the old script then I can translate and quite possibly validate your claim to be true Israelites.’

‘So you’re a veteran?’ Goliath said to the brash fifty-something American woman he had got talking to as they hovered around the self-service breakfast tables in the hotel in Taba.

‘I wouldn’t exactly say a veteran. I mean, three visits doesn’t exactly make me a veteran. But I know what to look out for. You have to be careful of some of the men here.’

Goliath didn’t think he had to be careful of any of the men there, and he suspected that this American woman didn’t either. Whilst her ample girth would not necessarily be off-putting to local masculine taste, her age probably would. And if that wasn’t enough to put them off, then her loud manner probably would be.

Goliath suspected that what kept this woman coming back was not the sunshine – which she could have got just as easily in Florida – but the prospect of a fling with a local toy boy.

‘So what did you think of that Bonnie and Clyde couple?’

He tried various other lines as he mingled with people at other hotels, but the Bonnie and Clyde reference appeared to work best for getting people to open up, even if he hadn’t got any useful information yet.

‘You mean that British couple who stole that speedboat and went to Israel?’

‘Oh, were they British?’

‘The man was. I think the woman was German or Swedish or something.’

‘Does anyone know why they did it?’

‘I think they were just a pair of thrill-seekers.’

Goliath nodded, no longer interested now that it was clear that this woman didn’t have any useful information about them.

‘Although I did hear a rumour that they were Israeli spies.’

Goliath was still not interested, and was looking for a way to escape from her so that he could pump someone else for information.

‘You do know that the Jews run the world, don’t you? I mean, no one talks about it, but they run the banks and they were even responsible for 9/11.’

Goliath agreed with her but he didn’t have time for a discussion about the evils of the Jewish people.

‘You don’t believe me, do you?’

‘I was just wondering how you knew.’

‘I saw something about it on the Internet.’

Goliath suppressed a smile and then adroitly stepped aside to let a couple get between him and the woman. He took the opportunity to get away from her and open a conversation with one of the waiters who were manning the serving tables.

‘What do you recommend – the poached eggs or the scrambled eggs?’

‘They’re both good,’ said the young waiter, who couldn’t have been more than about eighteen. ‘I like the poached myself but…’ He trailed off.

‘Were you here on the day that couple stole that speedboat?’

The young waiter smiled. ‘They didn’t actually steal it. I think they hired it and then went off to Israeli waters. The Israelis thought they were terrorists and nearly killed them.’

‘You actually saw it?’

Again the waiter smiled. ‘Oh no, I didn’t see it. I was on duty that day. But my friend Mas’ud came down from Cairo with them. And he overheard them talking.’

Paydirt!

‘Oh… and where is your friend Mas’ud now?’

‘He’s working in the kitchen.’

‘I wonder if I could speak to him.’ Goliath handed over some money and the waiter went to fetch his friend.

Mas’ud was maybe a couple of years younger than the waiter, who seemed curious to listen to their conversation. Goliath gave him a look that told him to get lost. He shrugged and walked off, leaving Goliath to talk to Mas’ud.

‘I understand you came down here with that couple who stole that speedboat and went to Israel.’

‘Yes. We came down here by camel.’

‘And I understand that you overheard them talking?’

‘Yes. But my father said I wasn’t supposed to talk to anyone else.’

‘Why?’

‘He said it might be spies. Not the couple, I mean, but people who ask about them.’

Goliath faked a laugh. ‘Spies? I think he just doesn’t want you talking to journalists.’

‘Journalists?’

‘Reporters. You know – the press.’

‘Oh, yes.’

‘But that isn’t really fair to you, is it? I mean if you want to talk to a reporter, why shouldn’t you?’

He took out some money and held it low, making it obvious to Mas’ud but not to anyone else.

‘What do you want to know?’

‘Everything you can remember. What were they talking about?’

‘Well, they didn’t say anything about going to Israel. I mean, I didn’t realize that’s what they were talking about. But they said something about talking to the Samaritan priests. And they said something about Holon. I didn’t think about it at the time, but I think that’s in Israel.’

Goliath smiled as he handed over the money. He had everything he needed now.

‘I, Joshua, son of Noon, of the tribe of Neferayim, son of Joseph, give this as my testament.’

Daniel looked at Gabrielle, surprised.

They were sitting in an office in the Conservation Department of the National Library in Jerusalem, together with the Samaritan high priest and two of his colleagues. Outside the office sat an armed guard whose main duty was to lock up when they were finished.

After some robust discussions with the Israeli Antiquities Authority, they had obtained permission to get The Book of the Straight from its bolt-hole in Joseph’s tomb and bring it to this department where they specialized in restoring manuscripts. It was carefully opened by experts and placed between glass. The process had proceeded smoothly except for one brief hair-raising moment in the tomb when Gabrielle had picked up the clay urn which contained the scroll, in breach of protocol. But she had handed it back immediately and apologized for her over-enthusiasm.

The ‘book’ was in fact a papyrus scroll. This surprised Daniel somewhat as he had been expecting it to be parchment, in accordance with Jewish law. But then again, that law may well have come later. And the fact that it was papyrus suggested that the document might have some Egyptian provenance. Indeed, the very first line prompted Daniel to ask a question of Gabrielle, drawing on her expert knowledge of ancient Egypt.