<p><SPAN name="link22HCH0010" id="link22HCH0010">
<!-- h3 anchor --> </SPAN></p>
<h3> CHAPTER 10. How Moses Made War With The Ethiopians. </h3>
<p>1. Moses, therefore, when he was born, and brought up in the foregoing
manner, and came to the age of maturity, made his virtue manifest to the
Egyptians; and showed that he was born for the bringing them down, and
raising the Israelites. And the occasion he laid hold of was this:—The
Ethiopians, who are next neighbors to the Egyptians, made an inroad into
their country, which they seized upon, and carried off the effects of the
Egyptians, who, in their rage, fought against them, and revenged the
affronts they had received from them; but being overcome in battle, some
of them were slain, and the rest ran away in a shameful manner, and by
that means saved themselves; whereupon the Ethiopians followed after them
in the pursuit, and thinking that it would be a mark of cowardice if they
did not subdue all Egypt, they went on to subdue the rest with greater
vehemence; and when they had tasted the sweets of the country, they never
left off the prosecution of the war: and as the nearest parts had not
courage enough at first to fight with them, they proceeded as far as
Memphis, and the sea itself, while not one of the cities was able to
oppose them. The Egyptians, under this sad oppression, betook themselves
to their oracles and prophecies; and when God had given them this counsel,
to make use of Moses the Hebrew, and take his assistance, the king
commanded his daughter to produce him, that he might be the general <a
href="#link2note-22" name="link2noteref-22" id="link2noteref-22"><small>22</small></SPAN>
of their army. Upon which, when she had made him swear he would do him no
harm, she delivered him to the king, and supposed his assistance would be
of great advantage to them. She withal reproached the priest, who, when
they had before admonished the Egyptians to kill him, was not ashamed now
to own their want of his help.</p>
<p>2. So Moses, at the persuasion both of Thermuthis and the king himself,
cheerfully undertook the business: and the sacred scribes of both nations
were glad; those of the Egyptians, that they should at once overcome their
enemies by his valor, and that by the same piece of management Moses would
be slain; but those of the Hebrews, that they should escape from the
Egyptians, because Moses was to be their general. But Moses prevented the
enemies, and took and led his army before those enemies were apprized of
his attacking them; for he did not march by the river, but by land, where
he gave a wonderful demonstration of his sagacity; for when the ground was
difficult to be passed over, because of the multitude of serpents, [which
it produces in vast numbers, and, indeed, is singular in some of those
productions, which other countries do not breed, and yet such as are worse
than others in power and mischief, and an unusual fierceness of sight,
some of which ascend out of the ground unseen, and also fly in the air,
and so come upon men at unawares, and do them a mischief,] Moses invented
a wonderful stratagem to preserve the army safe, and without hurt; for he
made baskets, like unto arks, of sedge, and filled them with ibes, <a
href="#link2note-23" name="link2noteref-23" id="link2noteref-23"><small>23</small></SPAN>
and carried them along with them; which animal is the greatest enemy to
serpents imaginable, for they fly from them when they come near them; and
as they fly they are caught and devoured by them, as if it were done by
the harts; but the ibes are tame creatures, and only enemies to the
serpentine kind: but about these ibes I say no more at present, since the
Greeks themselves are not unacquainted with this sort of bird. As soon,
therefore, as Moses was come to the land which was the breeder of these
serpents, he let loose the ibes, and by their means repelled the
serpentine kind, and used them for his assistants before the army came
upon that ground. When he had therefore proceeded thus on his journey, he
came upon the Ethiopians before they expected him; and, joining battle
with them, he beat them, and deprived them of the hopes they had of
success against the Egyptians, and went on in overthrowing their cities,
and indeed made a great slaughter of these Ethiopians. Now when the
Egyptian army had once tasted of this prosperous success, by the means of
Moses, they did not slacken their diligence, insomuch that the Ethiopians
were in danger of being reduced to slavery, and all sorts of destruction;
and at length they retired to Saba, which was a royal city of Ethiopia,
which Cambyses afterwards named Mero, after the name of his own sister.
The place was to be besieged with very great difficulty, since it was both
encompassed by the Nile quite round, and the other rivers, Astapus and
Astaboras, made it a very difficult thing for such as attempted to pass
over them; for the city was situate in a retired place, and was inhabited
after the manner of an island, being encompassed with a strong wall, and
having the rivers to guard them from their enemies, and having great
ramparts between the wall and the rivers, insomuch, that when the waters
come with the greatest violence, it can never be drowned; which ramparts
make it next to impossible for even such as are gotten over the rivers to
take the city. However, while Moses was uneasy at the army's lying idle,
[for the enemies durst not come to a battle,] this accident happened:—Tharbis
was the daughter of the king of the Ethiopians: she happened to see Moses
as he led the army near the walls, and fought with great courage; and
admiring the subtilty of his undertakings, and believing him to be the
author of the Egyptians' success, when they had before despaired of
recovering their liberty, and to be the occasion of the great danger the
Ethiopians were in, when they had before boasted of their great
achievements, she fell deeply in love with him; and upon the prevalancy of
that passion, sent to him the most faithful of all her servants to
discourse with him about their marriage. He thereupon accepted the offer,
on condition she would procure the delivering up of the city; and gave her
the assurance of an oath to take her to his wife; and that when he had
once taken possession of the city, he would not break his oath to her. No
sooner was the agreement made, but it took effect immediately; and when
Moses had cut off the Ethiopians, he gave thanks to God, and consummated
his marriage, and led the Egyptians back to their own land.</p>
<p><SPAN name="link22HCH0011" id="link22HCH0011">
<!-- h3 anchor --> </SPAN></p>
<h3> CHAPTER 11. How Moses Fled Out Of Egypt Into Midian. </h3>
<p>1. Now the Egyptians, after they had been preserved by Moses, entertained
a hatred to him, and were very eager in compassing their designs against
him, as suspecting that he would take occasion, from his good success, to
raise a sedition, and bring innovations into Egypt; and told the king he
ought to be slain. The king had also some intentions of himself to the
same purpose, and this as well out of envy at his glorious expedition at
the head of his army, as out of fear of being brought low by him and being
instigated by the sacred scribes, he was ready to undertake to kill Moses:
but when he had learned beforehand what plots there were against him, he
went away privately; and because the public roads were watched, he took
his flight through the deserts, and where his enemies could not suspect he
would travel; and, though he was destitute of food, he went on, and
despised that difficulty courageously; and when he came to the city
Midian, which lay upon the Red Sea, and was so denominated from one of
Abraham's sons by Keturah, he sat upon a certain well, and rested himself
there after his laborious journey, and the affliction he had been in. It
was not far from the city, and the time of the day was noon, where he had
an occasion offered him by the custom of the country of doing what
recommended his virtue, and afforded him an opportunity of bettering his
circumstances.</p>
<p>2. For that country having but little water, the shepherds used to seize
on the wells before others came, lest their flocks should want water, and
lest it should be spent by others before they came. There were now come,
therefore, to this well seven sisters that were virgins, the daughters of
Raguel, a priest, and one thought worthy by the people of the country of
great honor. These virgins, who took care of their father's flocks, which
sort of work it was customary and very familiar for women to do in the
country of the Troglodytes, they came first of all, and drew water out of
the well in a quantity sufficient for their flocks, into troughs, which
were made for the reception of that water; but when the shepherds came
upon the maidens, and drove them away, that they might have the command of
the water themselves, Moses, thinking it would be a terrible reproach upon
him if he overlooked the young women under unjust oppression, and should
suffer the violence of the men to prevail over the right of the maidens,
he drove away the men, who had a mind to more than their share, and
afforded a proper assistance to the women; who, when they had received
such a benefit from him, came to their father, and told him how they had
been affronted by the shepherds, and assisted by a stranger, and entreated
that he would not let this generous action be done in vain, nor go without
a reward. Now the father took it well from his daughters that they were so
desirous to reward their benefactor; and bid them bring Moses into his
presence, that he might be rewarded as he deserved. And when Moses came,
he told him what testimony his daughters bare to him, that he had assisted
them; and that, as he admired him for his virtue, he said that Moses had
bestowed such his assistance on persons not insensible of benefits, but
where they were both able and willing to return the kindness, and even to
exceed the measure of his generosity. So he made him his son, and gave him
one of his daughters in marriage; and appointed him to be the guardian and
superintendent over his cattle; for of old, all the wealth of the
barbarians was in those cattle.</p>
<p><SPAN name="link22HCH0012" id="link22HCH0012">
<!-- h3 anchor --> </SPAN></p>
<h3> CHAPTER 12. Concerning The Burning Bush And The Rod Of Moses. </h3>
<p>1. Now Moses, when he had obtained the favor of Jethro, for that was one
of the names of Raguel, staid there and fed his flock; but some time
afterward, taking his station at the mountain called Sinai, he drove his
flocks thither to feed them. Now this is the highest of all the mountains
thereabout, and the best for pasturage, the herbage being there good; and
it had not been before fed upon, because of the opinion men had that God
dwelt there, the shepherds not daring to ascend up to it; and here it was
that a wonderful prodigy happened to Moses; for a fire fed upon a thorn
bush, yet did the green leaves and the flowers continue untouched, and the
fire did not at all consume the fruit branches, although the flame was
great and fierce. Moses was aftrighted at this strange sight, as it was to
him; but he was still more astonished when the fire uttered a voice, and
called to him by name, and spake words to him, by which it signified how
bold he had been in venturing to come into a place whither no man had ever
come before, because the place was divine; and advised him to remove a
great way off from the flame, and to be contented with what he had seen;
and though he were himself a good man, and the offspring of great men, yet
that he should not pry any further; and he foretold to him, that he should
have glory and honor among men, by the blessing of God upon him. He also
commanded him to go away thence with confidence to Egypt, in order to his
being the commander and conductor of the body of the Hebrews, and to his
delivering his own people from the injuries they suffered there: "For,"
said God, "they shall inhabit this happy land which your forefather
Abraham inhabited, and shall have the enjoyment of all good things." But
still he enjoined them, when he brought the Hebrews out of the land of
Egypt, to come to that place, and to offer sacrifices of thanksgiving
there, Such were the divine oracles which were delivered out of the fire.</p>
<p>2. But Moses was astonished at what he saw, and much more at what he
heard; and he said, "I think it would be an instance of too great madness,
O Lord, for one of that regard I bear to thee, to distrust thy power,
since I myself adore it, and know that it has been made manifest to my
progenitors: but I am still in doubt how I, who am a private man, and one
of no abilities, should either persuade my own countrymen to leave the
country they now inhabit, and to follow me to a land whither I lead them;
or, if they should be persuaded, how can I force Pharaoh to permit them to
depart, since they augment their own wealth and prosperity by the labors
and works they put upon them?"</p>
<p>3. But God persuaded him to be courageous on all occasions, and promised
to be with him, and to assist him in his words, when he was to persuade
men; and in his deeds, when he was to perform wonders. He bid him also to
take a signal of the truth of what he said, by throwing his rod upon the
ground, which, when he had done, it crept along, and was become a serpent,
and rolled itself round in its folds, and erected its head, as ready to
revenge itself on such as should assault it; after which it become a rod
again as it was before. After this God bid Moses to put his right hand
into his bosom: he obeyed, and when he took it out it was white, and in
color like to chalk, but afterward it returned to its wonted color again.
He also, upon God's command, took some of the water that was near him, and
poured it upon the ground, and saw the color was that of blood. Upon the
wonder that Moses showed at these signs, God exhorted him to be of good
courage, and to be assured that he would be the greatest support to him;
and bid him make use of those signs, in order to obtain belief among all
men, that "thou art sent by me, and dost all things according to my
commands. Accordingly I enjoin thee to make no more delays, but to make
haste to Egypt, and to travel night and day, and not to draw out the time,
and so make the slavery of the Hebrews and their sufferings to last the
longer."</p>
<p>4. Moses having now seen and heard these wonders that assured him of the
truth of these promises of God, had no room left him to disbelieve them:
he entreated him to grant him that power when he should be in Egypt; and
besought him to vouchsafe him the knowledge of his own name; and since he
had heard and seen him, that he would also tell him his name, that when he
offered sacrifice he might invoke him by such his name in his oblations.
Whereupon God declared to him his holy name, which had never been
discovered to men before; concerning which it is not lawful for me to say
any more <SPAN href="#link2note-24" name="link2noteref-24"
id="link2noteref-24"><small>24</small></SPAN> Now these signs accompanied
Moses, not then only, but always when he prayed for them: of all which
signs he attributed the firmest assent to the fire in the bush; and
believing that God would be a gracious supporter to him, he hoped he
should be able to deliver his own nation, and bring calamities on the
Egyptians.</p>
<div style="break-after:column;"></div><br />
1 of 2
2 of 2
Previous
Next
Update Required
To play the media you will need to either update your browser to a recent version or update your Flash plugin.