CHAPTER XLII 
THE FISH OF MOSES—JONAH—SOLOMON’S RING 
THE many versions of “ the fish of Moses’ are 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 Moses 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.” 1 
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 life 
1 Robinson, op. cit., p. 40. In S. Bochart’s Hierozoicon (Leipzig, 1796), 
p. 869, Abuhamed Hispanus gives quite a different account. 
2 In Klunzinger’s Upper Egypi, London, 1878. 
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