Ephron Son of Zohar Page 6

Chapter Six Born For Adversity

  Proverbs 17:17

  “Now what?” asked Anah.

  It was morning after the hunt. Ephron, Zohar, Nebajoth, Akiia, Taku, and Adah sat with Anah and his family. Yovov and Mahalath sat across from their cousins, together with several of their brother, sisters, and their spouses. They moved several tables together and ate breakfast as they talked. Zohar needed assistance walking to the table, but spoke with confidence after sitting and having something to eat.

  “As everyone knows,” said Zohar, “I moved here with my family because no one wanted this land. Now, everyone wants it. Your land has valleys that are warm all winter. But this mountain gets too cold to live here without heat and protection. Walls need to be built, not so much to keep out armies, but to keep out the wind and keep you warm. We had to work together from the first just to survive. If our combined labors create an abundance, and we fight among ourselves, we would be better off if we simply let the Assyrians come and take our land.”

  “So we simply do what you tell us to do?” asked Anah. “Are you making me, your brother, and my children your slaves?”

  “We will enslave no one,” said Zohar. “Our only laws were give by Adonai to Noah. Noah passed those on to Heth. We have customs which Heth gave to us, but customs are not laws.”

  “Your hospitality is gracious,” said Anah, “but one of the customs of Heth is to return hospitality. We cannot simply allow you give us your food and do all the preparations for meals.”

  “You did the hard work of slaughtering the gazelles to provide us all with food for the winter,” said Ephron. “Do not feel ashamed.”

  “There are still grains to be harvested, though we must be diligent because they will only last a few more weeks in the fields.” said Zohar. “Simple windbreaks which would last the winter could be erected in less than a week. You need tables to eat on, beds to sleep in, but the most important is ovens to prepare food.”

  “Why must we have ovens today?” asked Anah. “Ephron enlarged your oven and we can help, both to tend the fires and do the cooking. I see a greater need for more tables and places to eat.”

  “This is what I said,” said Zohar. “We will fight and bicker among ourselves.”

  “Father, may I speak?” asked Ephron. Zohar nodded. “Anah has divided his family into clans which work well together, much better than we do. They can easily divide by clan and do these many tasks which must be done and have them all done before winter sets in.”

  “Impossible,” snorted Zohar.

  “Are you calling me lazy?” Anah laughed to cover his anger. “Or are we just incompetent?”

  “Working together as efficiently as we did on the hunt,” continued Ephron, “an outer wall of wood and most of the other preparations for winter will be done in a month.”

  “Can't be done,” snorted Zohar.

  “A challenge!” Anah slapped his knees. “You will see, my brother. We will be done in three weeks. We will not even need the entire month.”

  “Are we to be one tribe?” asked Zohar. He settled back in his seat, his burst of energy spent. “Have you talked to the women?”

  “We have been rather busy,” said Anah.

  “How long will it take you to arrange everyone into tasks?” Zohar asked.

  “Probably be done before the midday meal,” said Anah.

  “Then all involved can meet here this afternoon?” asked Zohar.

  “Certainly,” said Anah, though his face did not look as certain as his words sounded.

  “It is best,” said Zohar, who now looked quite weak, “That we decide who will make the decisions. How much grain needs to be gathered in? What kind of walls and how large? Shall some of my children live in the new buildings? And most important, who is allowed to do whatever they want? What kind of punishments will be meted out, if any?”

  “My brother,” said Anah. “We must live here. In just a few weeks we will have enough food and shelter survive the winter. We can discuss such matters then.”

  “There is one more very important issue,” said Ephron. “Others will look at this move as Anah relinquishing his claim to his own land. If we make causeways across the Marashantiya River and establish towers, we can both protect the causeways and provide shelters for hunting parties. They could also guard against raiders and help to strengthen our claim that the land is not abandoned. Simple hunting lodges with low towers should be in place and used this winter. I think that these outposts – and if anyone has a better name, we can call them by your name – should be built along with causeways as soon as the winter provisions are in place.”

  “We have always lived in tents,” said Yovov. “You said that this harvest was not enough for the winter. I believe that continuing to hunt our land throughout the winter will keep our claim on our land. I also believe that the causeways are a good idea.”

  “Something to discuss later,” said Zohar. “You have plans to make and women to talk to.”

  Zohar waved his arms repeatedly as if to shoo everyone away from him. Ephron stood and looked for his sister without seeing her.

  “This will be quick,” said Ephron. “Anah, may I go with you to talk to the women? We will be back shortly. The rest of you may do as you like, but we will be back to talk to Zohar before discussing the work which must be done.”

  “Certainly, Ephron,” said Anah. “Yovov, could you and Mahalath please join us, and find Elon also?”

  The four walked off in search of Tawananna. They found her repairing damaged artillery. She was also taking the opportunity to teach Shelometh how to properly inspect for damage to a bow. Both women concentrated on inspections with their backs to the courtyard. Neither noticed the approaching retinue.

  “I am afraid that only two of the bows we used yesterday can be repaired,” Tawananna. “See these cracks? We can take some resin, rub it into them, sand it smooth, and the bows will be good in the field.” She picked up another bow. “These slightly larger cracks might be repaired, but should not be trusted. They can be used some, as practice bows, but not in the field. And these three have cracks here, here and here, that will soon break the bow. Anyone who uses one these is risking being severely injured. They should not be used at all. Since we still have some good bows, we need to make some arrows. That means starting with good quality wood.”

  As Tawananna looked carefully at the available wood, she began rejecting piece after piece. While she did this, Shelometh took resin and began working it into the bows as Tawananna had shown her. Anah, Ephron, and Yovov silently watched them work, waiting for Mahalath to bring her son Elon.

  “Firewood!” said Tawananna. “These are good for nothing but firewood. See these knots? You would waste a great deal of time trying to smooth these out. And even if you could, They could be easily damaged and make the wood uneven, which would keep the arrow from a straight flight.”

  Mahalath and Elon were now in earshot as they approached the blacksmith area. Many other people repaired tools but Shelometh and Tawananna were somewhat apart from the others in the large open area, where the stones for the forge had been scavenged to enlarge the oven to house multiple fireboxes and create a sort of multi-oven.

  “May your lives fly as straight as your arrows,” said Anah.

  The two young women whirled around, startled that they were being watched.

  “Uh… well…” stammered Tawananna.

  “Grandpa,” said Shelometh, “it is rude to sneak up on people like that.”

  “Grandpa twice removed,” said Anah. “Zohar wants to unite our tribes. I am certain that you bright young women understand that you are the most available peace children. Zohar said that he wants Shelometh to marry Ephron and Tawananna to marry Elon. He asked that we talk to him about these marriages after lunch.”

  “Today?” asked Shelometh. “That's it? I'm to marry someone I had not even met before yesterday? No one even asks us?”

  “And what kind of plans did you have?” asked Anah. �
�Do you understand that you two will be the highest and most powerful women of the children of Heth? And since Zohar is the head of Hattus, you will become the queen of this village.”

  “Sounds like you have already gone along with this scheme,” said Shelometh.

  “I think that Zohar sees this as a good plan,” said Anah. “Of course, he didn't talk to any of the parties involved. He left that up to me. I was surprised to learn that he even knows who Elon is.”

  Anah stopped talking; then decided to go on. “I always thought that Zohar took this land because it has good stone. I expected him to build cities like the cities of the plains of Shinar. Perhaps he has been ill for some time. I used to think he was just lazy and didn't like to hunt.”

  “So what is you opinion of this scheme, Grandpa twice-removed?” asked Elon.

  “It's a great political strategy,” said Anah. “We would certainly benefit from such an arrangement. But marriages are not just about politics and arrangements. I promised my brother that I would talk to you. He wants to hear from you after the noon meal. For now, we have work to do. Ephron, what are the different details you mentioned?”

  “Grandpa,” said Shelometh. “You are being outrageous! What are we supposed to say to Zohar?”

  “Well, tell Zohar whatever you want,” said Anah. “My advice is that you do two things: Tell him the truth and be tactful.”

  “Shelometh tactful?” said her brother Elon. “This will be different. She can be quiet, but tactful?”

  “I can respect someone,” Shelometh fired back.

  “You can think about it for now,” said Ephron. “We have work to do.”

  Shelometh flushed, turned to Ephron, then checked herself.

  “The system, such as it is,” said Ephron. “Is simple. There are a number of tasks which must be done quickly. Some of this will take some time organizing, not a lot, but we will still be working out details until this afternoon. Anah, get the clan chieftain together and we will divide the tasks by clans. The wall needs the most people, so anyone not working on a specific task will be working on building the wall. Eventually everyone will be working on building the wall, but we do not yet have enough tools to work on the wall. So I suggest you divide everyone between gathering grain and cooking. Nebajoth will be in charge of cooking and she knows that. Taku's wife Adah will be in charge of gathering grain, and she has no idea that she will be doing that. They can keep gathering grain or cooking until the evening sacrifice. After eating, we will let everyone know what they will be doing for the next few week, starting in the morning.”

  “Excuse me, Ephron,” said Elon. “Is it acceptable to call you Ephron?”

  Understanding his awkward position, Ephron nodded.

  “Without any specific instructions,” Elon continued, “people are setting up their tents, grooming the animals, and working in the caves, tanning and butchering the gazelles.”

  “Thank you,” replied Ephron. “That is good to know. Tanning and butchering are tasks which need to be done immediately. They should keep doing that and anyone who want to join them may do so instead of cooking or gathering grain. Some people can secure the animals and see that they have enough food and water. They can also see to any serious problems with the animals. Otherwise, they are not a priority, and those people should join the groups gathering grain or cooking as soon as possible.”

  “And what do you plan to tell our father, my dear brother?” asked Tawananna.

  “It is not my position to tell him anything,” said Ephron. “But whatever he wants, there will not be any weddings in Hattus for months. Just dismissing him out of hand is not wise. I do know that when he makes his mind up, it is not easily changed.”

  “You can say that again,” said Anah. “Don't tell him no, but do not agree with him either. You do not have to make any decision today. But remember, he is not going to just forget about this either.”

  “And how am I supposed to avoid telling him anything definite?” asked Shelometh, hands on hips.

  “Tactful, sister, tactful,” said Elon.

  “Why don't you keep working on making archery equipment?” said Ephron. “I believe that we will need it sooner rather than later. We all have work to do now and we'll meet with Father after lunch.”

  “I can gather the clan leaders together faster on horseback,” said Anah as he headed off to get his steed.

  “Yovov, Mahalath, and Elon, let me find Adah so you can meet her,” said Ephron. “She's a Shemite and my brother Taku's wife. Her father was one of the original settlers of Hattus. I believe that it would be wise to inform her that she is in charge of instructing several hundred people before they start coming to her.”

  Ephron climbed up several rungs of a ladder to look over the heads in the crowded courtyard. After spotting Adah, he smiled and motioned to Yovov, his wife, and son. Ephron then began to weave through the crowd.

  “Adah!” Ephron called out. She was setting up pots in preparation for the noon meal.

  “Have you met Yovov, grandson of Anah, and his wife Mahalath, and their son Elon?” asked Ephron.

  “Great-grandson,” corrected Yovov.

  “Pleased to meet you,” replied Adah. “And what is the occasion of this honor?”

  “Could you please lead in gathering grains for the rest of day?” asked Ephron.

  “And who is going to feed all these people if I am off gathering grain?” asked Adah.

  “Well, a few people have specific tasks,” said Ephron. “However, most of the people here will either be helping cook or gathering grain. Zohar asked my mother, Nebajoth, to be in charge of the cooking. I am asking you to be in charge of gathering grain. No one knows the wild grains here better than you do.”

  Adah laughed. “And who left you in charge?”

  “Zohar,” said Yovov. “We do not understand this either, but we heard it with our own ears.”

  Adah wiped her hands on her apron and kept smiling, though she stopped laughing. “And how many people am I supposed to be able to train today?”

  “If we are to have enough food to eat in March,” said Ephron. “We need almost twice as much food as we have now. And two, perhaps three weeks before the weather turns and we will not be able to gather grain.”

  “Well, the grain is certainly out there,” said Adah. “But it takes time to explain the difference between good grain and weeds that look like grain. And people need to be standing close enough to see what I am doing.”

  “The clan leaders are going to organize Anah's tribe to do various tasks beginning tomorrow morning,” said Ephron. “Work with Nebajoth. You may take as many people as Nebajoth allows.”

  “I see your sister over there working on arrows,” said Adah. “Can I start with her? Tawananna knows grains and how to harvest them. So do Taku and Akiia, and my own children.”

  “For today, certainly, but I do not know about tomorrow,” said Ephron. “I'll ask both of the girls to come over here.”

  “No,” said Adah. “Not here. Have them meet me in the grain bins of the third cave. We need examples to show people.”

  Ephron threaded his way through the crowd back to his sister and Shelometh while Yovov and his family waited with Adah. This time the young ladies were watching and saw him approach.

  “Yes?” said Tawananna.

  Ephron opened his mouth, but decided this was not the time for verbally sparing with his sister. Tawananna and Shelometh put their equipment away and started walking to the ovens, with Ephron following.

  “Adah said she wanted to meet you in the third cave,” said Ephron, but the girls continued toward the ovens.

  As they approach the ovens, Adah stopped them and began a detailed planning session.

  “Ephron,” said his mother, Nebajoth. She stopped him before he could hear what the women were discussing, though he could see Yovov, Mahalath, and Elon listening. “I know that we will have more workers, but we must have more ovens. There are only two ways to serve this many people.
Either provide cold meals, and that is not healthy, or we will be feeding people around the clock, with everyone on a different schedule.”

  “Starting tomorrow morning,” said Ephron, “everyone will be on different schedules. For today, I guess that means cold meals.”

  Nebajoth nodded, smiled, and went back to work. Ephron saw that his father was alone, so he sat on a bench angled toward his father where he could still see much of the courtyard. But before he could speak, Taku and Anah joined them and sat across from them, making a triangle of the seats beside the ovens.

  “We did not come here to become your slaves,” said Anah to Zohar. “My sons, all clan chieftains, do not want to report to Ephron.”

  “And why am I not in line to judge our tribe?” asked Taku. “I am the eldest and it should be my right.”

  “I have decided,” said Zohar. “This is my land. And Taku, we need a peace child to be one family. You are already married.”

  “Your plans for the city are good,” said Taku. “Many will come and want to join our city who are not part of our family. What then? According to your idea of peace children and one family, Ephron will be married.”

  “Ephron speaks for me!” said Zohar.

  “Then may I speak?” asked Ephron. They all nodded and he continued. “You are all correct. Anah, they are your sons and you are and should be responsible for your own family. Taku, you are the oldest son of Zohar and you should be responsible for our family. It would certainly be easier if every man understood what his own responsibilities were and did them. Taku, I will gladly give you the responsibility of talking to our people. And both of you, by all means, come to Zohar. I am here to help, and if you need me, I am always available. Taku, there are many problems facing us and we must trust Adonai for wisdom about how to handle them when they come. For now, Zohar's advice is good. I pray that you will never need to do so, but if you have a disagreement, come to me and I will speak for Zohar.”

  Anah and Taku had developed several lines of reasoning to convince Zohar. They fell silent, however, before Ephron's rapid acquiescence.

  “Perhaps this will be your first responsibility, Taku,” said Ephron. “Mother told me that the ovens cannot make enough food to feed everyone at once. Today we eat cold food. Tomorrow, we must stagger the meal times to allow everyone to eat with fewer people needed to use the ovens at once. When we decide what tasks must be done, you and Anah can determine what will be the best schedule.”

  “Are you planning on eating the noon meal?” Zohar asked the three men. They all said no.

  “Then please ask Elon, Tawananna and Shelometh to come over as soon as they have eaten,” Zohar continued.

  “I believe you just requested this privilege,” said Ephron, smiling at Taku.

  Taku left to look for the women.

  “So what tasks need to be done?” asked Anah while Taku could still hear them. “And what will be the priorities?”

  “Food, shelter, clothing,” said Zohar. “In that order.”

  “Your tribe is very experienced with meat preparation,” said Ephron. “So work with Taku on that. The salting of the hides should be done today, if we have enough frames to stretch them on. If we have to make more frames, the salting might take a few days. The tanning process will probably go on all winter. It might even be a permanent job.”

  Anah's tribal chieftains began arriving and sat around them with their lunches.

  “Everyone needs to know how to identify good grains, berries, olives, and nuts, and everyone should know how to milk. Next spring we are going to need to plant and harvest grain. We have never done that before,” said Zohar.

  “The gazelles are good,” said Anah. “But they certainly will not provide enough meat to last the winter. As soon as the shelters are set up, we need to hunt for more food. And I disagree about taking care of the animals.”

  “As I said,” said Ephron. “You are responsible for your family and I certainly would include your horses, camels, and donkeys as part of your responsibilities. Just make certain that your schedules coincide with Taku’s, the cooks’ and everyone else’s. The penalty will be that you will still be trying to sleep outside when severe weather arrives. If shelter is not ready, then your family, or at least part of your family, will have to sleep in the caves, and without considerable work, sleeping in the caves will not be a pleasant experience.”

  “So, Ephron,” asked Anah. “Do you have any idea why my brother chose you?”

  “Actually, I do,” answered Ephron. “My father has talked for years about a need to unite with another tribe. So he wants an unmarried son who also thoroughly understands how to build with stone. That includes how to build and operate a smelter, understanding fusibles, including titanium as well as iron. It also means knowing how to use mathematics to cut stone in the quarry to the proper size and shape before it is transported and put in place. It also means knowing how to pull the stones downhill on a well oiled ramp while using a minimum amout of labor to put it into place. It means knowing how to lever the cut stone in the quarry up onto the ramp with shadufs. It means knowing how to forge an iron saw, or even better, a titanium bronze saw and put an edge on it, and keep the edge good with oils. It means knowing how to build a smelter and a forge that can get many times hotter than a regular bronze smelter. It means knowing how to make charcoal from wood and coke from coal.”

  “You may stop now,” said Yovov as he, his family, Taku, and Tawananna walked up. “We understand that there is much we do not understand about working with stone. We do not even know what many of those words mean.”

  “Good,” said Zohar. “We are all here now. Elon, Tawananna, and Shelometh, have you been told my wishes?”

  “Father, we were told,” said Tawananna, “that you desire Shelometh and I to be peace children to unite our tribes. That you have chosen husbands for us. You want me to marry Elon and Shelometh to marry my brother, Ephron. Is this correct?”

  “Certainly,” said Zohar. “And what do you have to say?”

  “I just met Ephron two days ago,” said Shelometh. “Why should I...?”

  Tawananna actually put her hand over Shelometh's mouth.

  “Father,” said Ephron, and Shelometh fell silent, “you do remember that your father Heth is coming. Since he must move, perhaps he would like to move here, and we might need more peace children. This issue might be bigger than just our two tribes. Besides, the weather will not permit weddings for several months.”

  “Ephron is correct,” said Anah. “No decision of this magnitude should be made without first consulting our father.”

  Zohar sat back and his wife Nebajoth, who could hear the conversation from the ovens, came over and said, “Listen to the wise counsel of Anah and Ephron. No decision needs to be made today. Wait for Heth.”

  Zohar looked directly at his wife, then at Anah. “The counsel of Ephron will stand. We wait for Heth. But if Heth does not bring another tribe, this is still the best plan. Now, don't you all have work to do?”

  Nebajoth smiled and started to take the girls and Yovov's family with her back to the ovens.

  “Mother, before you take them away, I have one thing to say. After that I will work for a few hours and go to bed,” said Ephron. “The only working oven, furnace, or kiln we have are what you are using to make food. I also know that everyone else is busy. So I will mix some mud and pour some bricks this afternoon before going to bed. I will get up around midnight and use the lower firebox to bake bricks to make a brick kiln. Thank you so much for relieving me of the responsibility of determining who shall have what task, Anah and Taku. I will need an assistant for this overnight detail. For the task of felling and shaping trees, we have only two saws, four axes, and four files. We usually operate the forge during the winter, when the heat of the forge is a blessing and not a curse. So we have gathered an abundant supply of iron ore and firewood, but the iron ore needs to be smelted. In order to forge more saws and axes, we need a forge. In order to use a f
orge, we need iron blooms, which requires a smelter. In order to make a smelter, we need bricks. Stone would be better, but that requires more saws, which we do not have. In order to make bricks, we need a brick kiln.

  “So I will have to keep you informed each morning about how much we accomplished each day and you will have to decide how many people can be spared to work on this project that day. The first person you choose will be my assistant, who will be my close personal helper. After the forge is built, the brick kiln can be enlarged and we can make multiple ovens. But we have so few brick molds that I have no need for a helper this afternoon. As long as I am available, you may ask me anything you want. If not, you have a considerable amount of work to do and I should leave you to your chosen responsibilities.”

  Ephron stood and silently looked around for several seconds. “May Adoni bless and keep you and give you wisdom. Good day, gentlemen.”