Volume 2

372 Life of Jesus Christ
had been driven from the community. It was at the time
of the great strife with that tribe. They suffered nothing
in the least resembling an image, and they believed that
the souls of the deceased passed into other bodies, even
into those of the lower animals. They delighted in the
thought of the beautiful animals in Paradise. They were
in expectation of the Messiah, after whom they earnestly
prayed, but they looked for Him to come as a worldly
monarch. They regarded Jesus as a Prophet. They observed
great cleanliness, but did not adhere to the
numerous purifications, the throwing away of dishes, and
similar annoying observances not in the Law. They
followed the Law religiously, though interpreting it much
more freely than did the Pharisees.
They lived here quietly, having little communication
with other people, permitting neither luxury nor vanity,
and supporting themselves by their modest labor. A great
many willow trees grew in these parts, from which they
wove baskets and beehives, for there were many bees
around here. They also made coarse covers, and light
wooden vessels, all working together under long tents.
Their arbors for the Feast of Tabernacles now at hand
stood already prepared outside the city. They entertained
Jesus with honey and bread baked in the ashes. Jesus
taught here. He instructed them in all things, and they
listened to Him very reverently. He expressed to them the
wish that they should live in Judea, and praised the
reverence of their children toward their parents, of the
scholars for their teachers, and the regard they entertained
for age. He also commended their attention to the
poor and the sick, for whom they provided in wellarranged
hospitals.