|
I SHALL first speak of the relics of the prophet.
Caphar-Zechariah is a village of the territory of Eleutheropolis, a
city of Palestine. The land of this district was cultivated by
Calemerus, a serf; he was well disposed to the owner, but hard,
discontented, and unjust towards his neighboring peasants. Although
he possessed these defects of character, the prophet stood by him in a
dream, and manifested himself; pointing out a particular garden, he
said to him, "Go, dig in that garden at the distance of two cubits
from the hedge of the garden by the road leading to the city of
Bitheribis. You will there find two coffins, the inner one of wood,
the other of lead. Beside the coffins you will see a glass vessel full
of water, and two serpents of moderate size, but tame, and perfectly
innoxious, so that they seem to be used to being handled." Calemerus
followed the directions of the prophet at the designated place and
zealously applied himself to the task. When the sacred depository was
disclosed by the afore mentioned signs, the divine prophet appeared to
him, clad in a white stole, which makes me think that he was a
priest. At his feet outside of the coffin was lying a child which had
been honored with a royal burial; for on its head was a golden crown,
its feet were encased in golden sandals, and it was arrayed in a costly
robe. The wise men and priests of the time were greatly perplexed
about this child, who and whence he might be and for what reason he had
been so clothed. It is said that Zechariah, the superior of a
monastic community at Gerari, found an ancient document written in
Hebrew, which had not been received among the canonical books. In
this document it was stated that when Zechariah the prophet had been
put to death by Joash, king of Judah, the family of the monarch was
soon visited by a dire calamity; for on the seventh day after the death
of the prophet, one of the sons of Joash, whom he tenderly loved,
suddenly expired. Judging that this affliction was a special
manifestation of Divine wrath, the king ordered his son to be interred
at the feet of the prophet, as a kind of atonement for the crime
against him. Such are the particulars which I have ascertained on the
subject.
Although the prophet had lain under the earth for so many generations,
he appeared sound; his hair was closely shorn, his nose was straight;
his beard moderately grown, his head quite short, his eyes rather
sunken, and concealed by the eyebrows.
|
|