And so, this concludes the writings of Shimon ben Zakhari—known as Shimon the Egyptian—regarding the history of the Children of Israel in the Wilderness of Sin, and the events that befell them from the crossing of the Sea until the death of Moses son of Amran. Know that I have recorded herein only matters I witnessed with my own eyes or heard from men of proven trustworthiness. I call upon the Lord (El) to witness that I sought neither glory nor honor in this book; rather, my aim was to bear witness to a generation of the Children of Israel—a people whom God chose and miraculously delivered from their enemy, yet upon whom He later turned in wrath, destroying them in that desolate wilderness after subjecting them to the hardships of the journey and the bitterness of wandering.

I know not who shall read this book; yet whoever you may be, I pray you remember its author with mercy and beseech forgiveness for him. — Shimon ben Zakhari ben Reuven, known as Shimon the Egyptian. Completed on the final night of the eighth month, in the sixtieth year following the Exodus.