CHAPTER XLII 



THE FISH OF MOSES— JONAH— SOLOMON'S RING 



The many versions of " the fish of IMoscs " arc but delightful 

 explanations of the flat fish having more meat on one side than 

 another, or being white or colourless on one side and darkish 

 coloured on the other. 



In one story the Almighty, annoyed with Moses for answering 

 some one's query "Who was the most knowing of men? " 

 with a simple " I," instead of accrediting his wisdom to God, 

 revealed unto him, " verily, I have a servant at a place where 

 the two seas meet, and he is more knowing than thou." The 

 legend, with the direction to jMoses to take a fish and put it 

 in a measure, and the fish's escape by God's aid, etc., is too well 

 known for recital. 



But the conclusion of Hamid of Andalusia as to the nature 

 of the fish is not, and may be added. " The fish of Moses 

 which I saw in the Mediterranean is of the breed of that fried 

 fish, a half of which Moses and Joshua ate, and the other half 

 God revived. It is about a span long. On one side it has 

 bristles and its belly is covered with a thin skin. It has but one 

 eye and half a head. Looking at it on one side you would 

 deem it dead, but the other side is perfect in all its parts." ^ 



To account for the difference in colour the legend of the 

 Arabs 2 runs thuswise : — " Moses was once cooking a fish, 

 and when it had been broiled till it was brown on one side, the 

 fire or oil gave out, and Moses angrily threw the fish into the 

 sea, when, although it had been half broiled, it came to fife 



1 Robinson, op. cit., p. 40. In S. Bochart's Hierozoicon (Leipzig, 1796), 

 p. 869, Abuhamed Hispanus gives quite a different account. 

 * In Kiunzinger's Upper Egypt, London, 1878. 



438 



