The Gate of Heaven

by Gilbert, Morris

Dinah was irritated that she had to look up to Demetrius’s face, but there was no help for it. He was such a tall man that most people had to look up to him. She stood facing him now, her hands on her hips and her voice strident as she said, “You didn’t bring the cool water in from the well as I told you.”

  “Yes I did, mistress,” Demetrius said. He was standing loosely, and his voice was lazy. He had picked up a little Hebrew during his month-long stay with Jacob’s family, and most of the family knew enough Syrian so that Demetrius could communicate well enough. “It’s right over there in that largest jar.”

  Dinah turned and saw the jar, which she had not noticed. She flushed, for she hated it when Demetrius was right.

  “Don’t be insolent to me!”

  “Of course not, mistress. How could I be such a thing as that?”

  Dinah’s whole life had changed since Demetrius had come—and as far as she was concerned, it was not for the better. She had never seen a slave like him! Indeed, he claimed that he was not a slave, but she would fire back with the rebuttal, “You are now! I bought you and paid for you, and you’re mine.”

  As she stood facing him, she could not help noticing that the welts he had borne on his body when he first came were very faint now. He had gained weight too and looked very fit. He had put on muscle and was attractive enough to catch the eyes of the maidservants, a matter which Dinah also abhorred.

  “Did you grind that grain I want for my meal extra fine, the way I told you?”

  “Yes, I did, mistress.”

  “I’ll check it. It was too coarse the last time.”

  “I’m so sorry.”

  The words may have been humble, but there was nothing humble in the face of Demetrius. He looked directly into her eyes, and there was none of the servile bowing or nodding. He simply answered questions with as few words as possible—at least to Dinah. She had noticed that he spoke and often joked with Joseph and the other slaves, but he always seemed to be laughing at her. She longed to catch him at it, but he was clever!

  “All right. I put a pile of clothes inside the tent. I want you to take them down to the stream and wash them, and I want them clean. Do you understand me?”

  “Oh yes, I understand you very well.”

  Indeed, Demetrius did understand Dinah. She was the most spoiled young woman he had ever seen. He had noted almost at once that Jacob gave her everything she asked for, and that she had never learned humility of any sort.

  “I’ll be looking at them when you bring them back. Wash them and dry them and fold them. You think you can handle that?”

  “I will do my very best, mistress. You may depend on it.”

  Demetrius nodded and headed for the tent. Dinah turned to watch him, and when he came out he said, “I will take great care with these clothes. You may be sure. As a good slave should.”

  Dinah did not miss the irony in his tone, but she could think of no retort. She whirled and walked away, saying sharply, “Be sure that you do!”

  Temira and Ada had been watching the scene and both of them enjoyed it. Dinah was not the easiest person in the world to get along with and was not always careful to be gentle. Both had felt the weight of her anger, and now as Temira watched the tall form of Demetrius head for the stream, she said, “You know, Ada, I think I have a few things to wash myself. Get someone else to help with this.”

  Ada laughed as Temira winked at her. “Be careful. A good-looking man like that can get a woman in trouble.”

  “Or maybe the other way around.” Temira winked again and turned to her tent.

  “…and so we were blown off course, and we wound up in Greece.”

  “What’s it like in Greece?” Temira said. The two had been washing clothes, but now they were finished. Temira had found herself sitting on a fallen tree beside the stream along with Demetrius. He had told her several fascinating stories of his travels, and she listened as he continued to speak.

  As for Demetrius, he was amused at the young woman. It was obvious that she was one of the world’s worst flirts, but he enjoyed being away from the sharp tongue of his mistress. He turned to Temira and saw that she was looking up at him with a rather enticing smile. She’s probably not listening to a word I say. She’s a plum ripe for the taking.

  Demetrius was amused at how the other Hebrew women admired him too. Most of them tried to conceal it, but he was experienced in such things. Now as he saw Temira looking up at him, her lips parted and her eyes locked with his, he put his arm around her and kissed her thoroughly. She returned his kiss, and he felt her arms going about his neck, but at that moment Dinah’s voice came loud and clear. “Demetrius! I didn’t send you here to dally with slave girls!”

  Temira jumped up, her eyes wide. She knew that Dinah was perfectly capable of beating her with a switch. She had done it before. “I was just washing clothes, mistress,” she said with a voice that was not steady.

  “Yes, I saw what you were doing. If you don’t have enough work to do, I’ll find some more. Now, get out of here!”

  “Yes, mistress!”

  Temira scurried off, and Dinah turned to glare at Demetrius. Most servants would have been quaking with fear, but he was smiling slightly. “I washed all the clothes,” he said. “I was just telling Temira about some of my adventures.”

  “Yes, I could see how you were telling her.”

  Dinah picked up a lightweight white robe and flung it at him. “Look at that! It’s still filthy! I’ll just stand here and be sure that you do it correctly.”

  “I’m so sorry that I’ve displeased you,” Demetrius said. He shook his head and tried to look sad, but he was amused.

  Obviously the robe was perfectly clean, but he picked it up, stepped out into the stream, and began to rinse it in the water. “I’m afraid the creek is a little muddy. It’s not clear enough for such dainty things as this. This must be one you wear right next to your skin.”

  Dinah flushed. It was an undergarment that she wore, but she knew he was just tormenting her. “Just wash the robe without comment.”

  Dinah stood watching as he leisurely washed the robe. She would never admit it, but she was fascinated by the tall, fair-skinned slave. She was somewhat mortified to find herself admiring him. He wore only the short kilt he had worn when she had first brought him home, and his upper body was lithe and muscular. He was humming slightly and paying her no attention whatsoever.

  “Where do you come from?”

  Demetrius looked up. “I come from a place called Minoa.”

  “I never heard of it.” When he said nothing, she flung him another question. “Do all people there have blue eyes?”

  “No. Most do not.”

  Dinah found the conversation was hard, for Demetrius would give only brief answers. Finally, she said, “How did you become a slave?”

  “Bad luck.”

  And then Dinah said, “Are you married? Did you have children?”

  “No,” he said.

  “Were you a criminal?”

  “No, I was not.”

  Dinah was irritated with his short answers. She had heard him talking to others and knew that he was well able to carry on a conversation. “Bring those things. I have some more work for you to do.”

  “I’m sorry, mistress, but your father told me to help your brothers.”

  “You’re my slave. You’ll do what I say.”

  Demetrius came out of the stream with water dripping off of his lower body. He began to pick up the clothing, and when he had gathered every item, he said, “I’m sorry, but you’ll have to take that up with the master. I can’t disobey him.”

  Dinah glared at him but knew there was no answer for that, for Jacob did legally own him. Nonetheless, it made her furious to see the slight smile on his face. “We’ll just see about that!” she cried and then turned and ran back toward the camp.

  Jacob was standing leaning on his staff talking with Judah and Zebulun when Demetrius came up. He had come out to look at the flock
s and the three were in serious conversation. Jacob looked up and said, “Oh, here is Demetrius. You can use him to help build the fence if you want to.”

  Judah smiled. “I thought he was a ladies’ maid, but I suppose he can do a man’s work. Have you ever built a fence, Demetrius?”

  Demetrius was by now accustomed to being teased about being a ladies’ maid, and he merely smiled. “No, but I’ve built some big ships. A fence can’t be more complicated than that.”

  “A ship!” Zebulun said, coming over to stand in front of him. “Have you ever sailed a ship?”

  “Why, yes, as a matter of fact, I was the captain of my own ship. The name of it was the Argus.”

  Jacob threw up his hands. “Please, Demetrius, don’t encourage him. He thinks of nothing but the sea and ships.”

  “Is that right? Well, there are worse things for a young man to think of.”

  “I don’t want my sons to be sailors. Now, just build the fence.” Jacob turned and limped off.

  As soon as Jacob was out of sight, Zebulun began to fire more questions at Demetrius. “How big was your ship? Did it have one sail or more?”

  Demetrius was amused at the young man’s enthusiasm and had no compunction over talking to him about his experiences at shipbuilding and sailing. Young Zebulun just might be a good friend, Demetrius thought to himself.

  Jacob had come out several times to watch the work on the fence that was going to enclose the ewes that were bearing young. It had been Judah’s idea to keep them fenced up. Usually they moved so often that building a permanent fence was not worthwhile, but the water and grass were good here, so Jacob had agreed to it.

  He was pleased to see the progress being made. Demetrius was attaching a top rail to an upright, and Jacob said to him, “My, you certainly are skillful with tools.”

  “I learned a great deal of it by building ships.”

  Jacob was becoming very interested in the young man as he learned more about him. At first he had not been sure what to do with him. Obviously Demetrius could not be a ladies’ maid for Dinah, although Jacob let her use him for whatever tasks she could think of.

  “You come from Minoa?” Jacob asked him. “That’s out in the great sea, I believe?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’ve never been able to picture such a thing—sailing out of sight of land.”

  “Most people can’t because they have never been out at sea. Would you like me to show you where my home is?”

  “Yes, I would like that.”

  Taking a sharp tool in his hand, Demetrius sketched out a rude map in the dirt. “This is the great sea—and here we are. This is Canaan. Up north here is Syria. If you set sail from approximately here, you’ll hit a large island named Cyprus. But if you bypass it and go straight across, you’ll hit Minoa, named after Minos, one of the ancient rulers of our people. When you approach it, it has to be by sea. That’s the reason we prospered, I think, master.”

  “What is your land like?”

  “Well, it’s an island, sir, and we’ve learned to build ships better than anyone else. That’s why we can go all over the world. Even the Egyptians accept us, and you know how the Egyptians are.”

  “Yes, I do indeed!”

  Jacob was fascinated to hear about Demetrius’s homeland.

  “What god do you worship in Minoa?” he asked finally.

  Demetrius shrugged his shoulders. “Well, we worship many gods, master. Almost anything in nature, such as a tree or a mountain or a bull. The bull plays a large part in our worship.”

  “You would pray to a bull?”

  Demetrius smiled. “Yes, sir, and of course, there’s the Mother Goddess. There are many figures of her on our island, and most of us pray to her.” Demetrius spoke about their beliefs for some time and finally said, “What gods do your people worship?”

  “We have only one God,” Jacob said.

  Demetrius had suspected this. “I heard that, but I couldn’t believe it. Only one God? What’s His name?”

  Jacob smiled. “He has many names. The Most High God is one of them, or Almighty God, but He is the only God. The rest are merely blocks of stone.”

  “What does He look like?”

  “No one has ever seen Him.” Jacob hesitated as he remembered his experience and then said, “He sometimes speaks to men, but He has no form.”

  Demetrius’s eyes narrowed. “Has He ever spoken to you?”

  “Yes, he has. But only on rare occasions. He also spoke to my grandfather Abraham and to my father, Isaac. He is a great and mighty God.”

  “Tell me about Him. What sort of a God is He?”

  Jacob studied the young man and found honesty and openness in his clear blue eyes. He, therefore, felt free to speak frankly about the God he worshiped. His voice grew warm, and his eyes danced, and he began to saw the air with his hands, for every time he spoke of his God, he grew excited.

  Demetrius listened and watched, and he thought, This old man may be deluded, but he certainly does love his God! I’ve never seen anything like this before.

  Finally Jacob flushed and said, “Well, I didn’t mean to say all that.”

  “I hope you’re right. It would be much simpler if there were only one God.”

  “Perhaps we may talk of this more, Demetrius.”

  “Yes, master. I’ll be glad to hear it.”

  Judah was speaking enthusiastically about Demetrius at the evening meal. The bondwomen were serving the family, and Judah said excitedly, “Demetrius knows how to make bronze.”

  “What is bronze?” Rachel asked.

  “It’s a very fine metal. Nobody knows how to make it around here. If you have a sword made out of bronze, anyone with swords like ours will be lost. The bronze will cut right through them.”

  “How did he know how to do that?” Reuben asked.

  “He learned it in his homeland in Minoa. The traders that come from there have a lot of things made out of bronze, but they’re very expensive.”

  Judah turned to Jacob. “Father, I think we should use Demetrius to make tools and weapons.”

  “He belongs to me!” Dinah cried out. “You can’t use him as though he were yours.”

  “He’s too valuable to be a maidservant,” Levi spoke up. “Judah is right. We need good tools and good weapons. If this man can do it, then I say use him.”

  Dinah put up an argument, then rose and looked at her father. “A fine thing! You give me a gift and then take it away.” She whirled and ran out into the darkness.

  There was silence for a moment, and then Issachar said, “My sister has a hot temper.”

  “You need to have a firm hand with her, Father,” Judah said.

  Simeon spoke up. “A woman can’t own a slave, can she? I mean he’s actually yours, Father.”

  Jacob held up his hand. “I will take care of it.”

  Everyone seated around that meal knew how Jacob “took care” of things with his daughter, but no one argued.

  Dinah did not sleep well that night. She was furious with her father, for he had called her aside and told her that Demetrius needed to exercise his skills as a metal worker. She had argued, but even she had known it made sense.

  She rose early, then went to look for Demetrius and found him playing a game with Joseph. They were tossing a ball around, and when Joseph saw her, he threw her the ball. “You can play too, sister,” he said.

  Dinah caught the ball and threw it to Demetrius. He caught it, threw it to Joseph, and soon the ball was being passed around. Shortly, however, Joseph’s mother called him and he left.

  Dinah hesitated, then walked over to Demetrius and said, “I need some more water from the spring.”

  “Yes, mistress, I will fetch it.”

  “I’ll just go with you.”

  “Are you afraid I’ll poison it?” Demetrius said slyly.

  “Don’t be foolish!”

  Demetrius picked up the jar and headed for the spring. He walked slowly, and Dinah kept up
with him. When they reached the spring and he was letting the jar fill, she said abruptly, “You’re going to be doing some work for my brothers and my father.”

  “Yes, they want me to help them learn how to make tools. I think it would be good, mistress. They need it.”

  “Yes, it would be good.” Dinah did not mention the argument she had put up. “Joseph told me a little of what you said about your homeland. Tell me about it too.”

  “Well, it’s hard to explain to anyone who’s never been to sea. When you approach the island I live on, you see three peaks sticking up in the air, so you can’t miss them. All around, the sea is green or blue, depending on the color of the sky that day. Sometimes the water is gray. And if you’ve never smelled the sea, I can’t describe to you what it smells like.”

  “Well, what about your home? Is it mostly farms?”

  Dinah listened with awe as Demetrius spoke of the beauty of his homeland. When he paused, she asked, “Do you have a family there?”

  “Yes, I have a father and mother and one sister. I had two brothers, but they died.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Are you really?” He raised an eyebrow at her.

  Dinah stared at him. “Well, of course I am.”

  “Well, thank you, then.”

  “Tell me more about what it’s like in Minoa. Are there deserts there?”

  “No, just lots of rocks. We have to farm between them. We have many vineyards and olive trees and olive presses. We make some of the finest olive oil and wine you’ve ever tasted.”

  Their conversation was interrupted when Judah came up and called out, “Demetrius, come on! You need to show me how to make that furnace you were talking about.”

  Dinah was irritated. She got up and left without another word. Judah came over, but he had seen her face. “Don’t mind Dinah. She’s really nice. Just a little spoiled.”

  “Yes, she is a little spoiled,” Demetrius said, smiling.

  “Well, she’s the only girl, so I guess it’s natural. You’ve probably also noticed our father’s favoritism for Joseph. Rachel is the Beloved Wife. Father loves her best.”

  “She’s a beautiful woman, and a kind one.”