A.D. 30(35)

The meat of both goat and camel were cooked over a fire on spits, then cut off the bone in thick slabs and served with dates. I could not recall such a delicious feast, though I must confess that after ten days in the Nafud, I might have eaten raw meat and found it satisfying. We then feasted on buttered wheat cakes with honey and drank tea. Many cups of tea.

More than the Kalb, the Thamud women mixed with the men, who expressed their appreciation unabashedly. I was reminded of Egypt, where in my experience women were regarded more highly than in Arabia.

We ate until we could eat no longer, laughing at the antics of Arim, who had not given up his quest to impress me, and those of the rest of the tribe, who seemed as enthusiastic as he. Indeed, they only followed the lead of their sheikh, who was at once perfectly grave and as mischievous as a child.

After much banter the sheikh regarded Judah seriously.

“So… a Jew.” He waved his old hand in the direction of a servant, one of three attending the sheikh. “Hashem has come to us from Syria not so long ago. He too knew many Jews there. Is that not right, Hashem?”

“Yes, my lord.”

“You are a Jew?” Judah asked.

The servant looked at his master, who waved him on, permitting him to speak freely.

“I served in a household of Jews before I was traded.”

“Hashem has been with me one month,” the sheikh said. “He is well versed in the news of the world. It is good that you are from the desert rather than Palestine. There Rome has made all Jews slaves. Is this not so, Hashem?”

I saw Judah’s attention fixed on the servant, who nodded.

“I have only heard,” Hashem said.

“What have you heard?” Judah asked.

“That the kings now, Herod and Philip, are no better than their father, who butchered his people to win the favor of Rome. It is said that all Jews are stripped of their land and wares to pay Rome its taxes.”

“You see?” the sheikh said, spitting to one side. “No Bedu would stand for it.”

“Nor any Jew,” Judah said.

“Rome came once into the desert with all of its might, and the Bedu sent them home like dogs.”

“As my people in Palestine will one day send Rome home.”

“And yet they have allowed these foreigners to rule them for many years. Have they no stomach to overthrow tyranny?”

The sheikh could not know how deeply his speech offended Judah. I took it that most Jews of Arabia were not as invested in Palestine as he. Judah had come from a tribe of stargazers who longed to see their new king rise to power and set his people free.

Careful not to betray his own passions, Judah looked at the servant for an answer. “If you served in a Jewish house, then you know there are many Zealots who stand against Rome.”

“Many, yes. And all are crucified.”

“The Romans are indeed dogs,” the sheikh said.

“And have you heard any news as of late that might give my people hope?” Judah pressed.

“I am only a servant,” Hashem said, “who hears the talk among a few noblemen who eat and drink too much. There are rumors of the Zealot who speaks of the kingdom of the gods.”

“Which Zealot is this?”

“They say that he is a great sage, obeyed by even disease. A wonder-worker who commands the jinn and ghouls. Some as far as Syria have taken their sick to him.”

“But you say he speaks of a new kingdom?”

“A kingdom, yes. From his Jewish god.”

“What is this Zealot’s name?”

“Yeshua. Of Nazareth, I believe.”

Silence visited us until the sheikh dismissed the whole thing with a flip of his wrinkled hand.

“There is no end to talk of the gods,” he said. “These matters do not concern the desert.” His eyes rested on me and he smiled. “It is far more rewarding to speak of what does. Tell me, Judah, what price would Nada’s father accept?”

The request for my bride-price caught Judah off guard.

When he didn’t respond, Bin Haggag pressed. “The price of thirty camels, perhaps?”

Judah remained silent.

“No, this is not enough for such a beautiful woman,” the sheikh said, eyeing me. He nodded. “Sixty then. It is settled… sixty camels and I will take her as my wife. I have only two others.”

“Forgive me, honorable sheikh, but Nada is not for marriage. I fear she has caught the eye of another.”

The old man, who might have passed as my grandfather, arched his brow. “Oh? By another Jew? I would hope not, for only here in the desert is the value of a good woman known. Not even the Kalb know how to be gentle with women. We, the whole world agrees, are the men whom women cherish with such passion as to die without.”