Prophet Moses In Ethiopia

And it was in those days that there was a great war between the children of Ethiopia and the children of the east and Aram, and they rebelled against the king of Ethiopia in whose hands they were.

So Kikianus king of Ethiopia went forth with all the children of Ethiopia, a people numerous as the sand, and he went to fight against Aram and the children of the east, to bring them under subjection.

And when Kikianus went out, he left Balaam the magician, with his two sons, to guard the city, and the lowest sort of the people of the land. So Kikianus went forth to Aram and the children of the east, and he fought against them and smote them, and they all fell down wounded before Kikianus and his people. And he took many of them captives and he brought them under subjection as at first, and he encamped upon their land to take tribute from them as usual.

And Balaam the son of Beor, when the king of Ethiopia had left him to guard the city and the poor of the city, he rose up and advised with the people of the land to rebel against king Kikianus, not to let him enter the city when he should come home.

And the people of the land hearkened to him, and they swore to him and made him king over them, and his two sons for captains of the army. So they rose up and raised the walls of the city at the two corners, and they built an exceeding strong building.

And at the third corner they dug ditches without number, between the city and the river which surrounded the whole land of Ethiopia, and they made the waters of the river burst forth there. At the fourth corner they collected numerous serpents by their incantations and enchantments, and they fortified the city and dwelt therein, and no one went out or in before them.

And Kikianus fought against Aram and the children of the east and he subdued them as before, and they gave him their usual tribute, and he went and returned to his land. And when Kikianus the king of Ethiopia approached his city and all the captains of the forces with him, they lifted up their eyes and saw that the walls of the city were built up and greatly elevated, so the men were astonished at this.

And they said one to the other, It is because they saw that we were delayed, in battle, and were greatly afraid of us, therefore have they done this thing and raised the city walls and fortified them so that the kings of Canaan might not come in battle against them. So the king and the troops approached the city door and they looked up and behold, all the gates of the city were closed, and they called out to the sentinels, saying, Open unto us, that we may enter the city.

But the sentinels refused to open to them by the order of Balaam the magician, their king, they suffered them not to enter their city. So they raised a battle with them opposite the city gate, and one hundred and thirty men of the army at Kikianus fell on that day.

And on the next day they continued to fight and they fought at the side of the river; they endeavored to pass but were not able, so some of them sank in the pits and died. So the king ordered them to cut down trees to make rafts, upon which they might pass to them, and they did so.

And when they came to the place of the ditches, the waters revolved by mills, and two hundred men upon ten rafts were drowned. And on the third day they came to fight at the side where the serpents were, but they could not approach there, for the serpents slew of them one hundred and seventy men, and they ceased fighting against Ethiopia, and they besieged Ethiopia for nine years, no person came out or in.

At that time that the war and the siege were against Ethiopia, Moses fled from Egypt from Pharaoh who sought to kill him for having slain the Egyptian. And Moses was eighteen years old when he fled from Egypt from the presence of Pharaoh, and he fled and escaped to the camp of Kikianus, which at that time was besieging Ethiopia.

And Moses was nine years in the camp of Kikianus king of Ethiopia, all the time that they were besieging Ethiopia, and Moses went out and came in with them. And the king and princes and all the fighting men loved Moses, for he was great and worthy, his stature was like a noble lion, his face was like the sun, and his strength was like that of a lion, and he was counsellor to the king.

And at the end of nine years, Kikianus was seized with a mortal disease, and his illness prevailed over him, and he died on the seventh day. So his servants embalmed him and carried him and buried him opposite the city gate to the north of the land of Egypt.

And they built over him an elegant strong and high building, and they placed great stones below. And the king’s scribes engraved upon those stones all the might of their king Kikianus, and all his battles which he had fought, behold they are written there at this day. Now after the death of Kikianus king of Ethiopia it grieved his men and troops greatly on account of the war.

So they said one to the other, Give us counsel what we are to do at this time, as we have resided in the wilderness nine years away from our homes. If we say we will fight against the city many of us will fall wounded or killed, and if we remain here in the siege we shall also die.

For now all the kings of Aram and of the children of the east will hear that our king is dead, and they will attack us suddenly in a hostile manner, and they will fight against us and leave no remnant of us. Now therefore let us go and make a king over us, and let us remain in the siege until the city is delivered up to us.

And they wished to choose on that day a man for king from the army of Kikianus, and they found no object of their choice like Moses to reign over them. And they hastened and stripped off each man his garments and cast them upon the ground, and they made a great heap and placed Moses thereon. And they rose up and blew with trumpets and called out before him, and said, May the king live, may the king live!

And all the people and nobles swore unto him to give him for a wife Adoniah the queen, the Ethiopian, wife of Kikianus, and they made Moses king over them on that day. And all the people of Ethiopia issued a proclamation on that day, saying, Every man must give something to Moses of what is in his possession. And they spread out a sheet upon the heap, and every man cast into it something of what he had, one a gold earring and the other a coin. Also of onyx stones, bdellium, pearls and marble did the children of Ethiopia cast unto Moses upon the heap, also silver and gold in great abundance.

And Moses took all the silver and gold, all the vessels, and the bdellium and onyx stones, which all the children of Ethiopia had given to him, and he placed them amongst his treasures. And Moses reigned over the children of Ethiopia on that day, in the place of Kikianus king of Ethiopia.

In the fifty-fifth year of the reign of Pharaoh king of Egypt, that is in the hundred and fiftyseventh year of the Israelites going down into Egypt, reigned Moses in Ethiopia. Moses was twenty-seven years old when he began to reign over Ethiopia, and forty years did he reign.

And the Lord granted Moses favor and grace in the eyes of all the children of Ethiopia, and the children of Ethiopia loved him exceedingly, so Moses was favored by the Lord and by men. And in the seventh day of his reign, all the children of Ethiopia assembled and came before Moses and bowed down to him to the ground.

And all the children spoke together in the presence of the king, saying, Give us counsel that we may see what is to be done to this city. For it is now nine years that we have been besieging round about the city, and have not seen our children and our wives.

So the king answered them, saying, If you will hearken to my voice in all that I shall command you, then will the Lord give the city into our hands and we shall subdue it. For if we fight with them as in the former battle which we had with them before the death of Kikianus, many of us will fall down wounded as before.

Now therefore behold here is counsel for you in this matter; if you will hearken to my voice, then will the city be delivered into our hands. So all the forces answered the king, saying, All that our lord shall command that will we do. And Moses said unto them, Pass through and proclaim a voice in the whole camp unto all the people, saying,

Thus says the king, Go into the forest and bring with you of the young ones of the stork, each man a young one in his hand. And any person transgressing the word of the king, who shall not bring his young one, he shall die, and the king will take all belonging to him.

And when you shall bring them they shall be in your keeping, you shall rear them until they grow up, and you shall teach them to dart upon, as is the way of the young ones of the hawk. So all the children of Ethiopia heard the words of Moses, and they rose up and caused a proclamation to be issued throughout the camp, saying,

Unto you, all the children of Ethiopia, the king’s order is, that you go all together to the forest, and catch there the young storks each man his young one in his hand, and you shall bring them home. And any person violating the order of the king shall die, and the king will take all that belongs to him. And all the people did so, and they went out to the wood and they climbed the fir trees and caught, each man a young one in his hand, all the young of the storks, and they brought them into the desert and reared them by order of the king, and they taught them to dart upon, similar to the young hawks.

And after the young storks were reared, the king ordered them to be hungered for three days, and all the people did so. And on the third day, the king said unto them, strengthen yourselves and become valiant men, and put on each man his armor and gird on his sword upon him, and ride each man his horse and take each his young stork in his hand.

And we will rise up and fight against the city at the place where the serpents are; and all the people did as the king had ordered. And they took each man his young one in his hand, and they went away, and when they came to the place of the serpents the king said to them, Send forth each man his young stork upon the serpents.

And they sent forth each man his young stork at the king’s order, and the young storks ran upon the serpents and they devoured them all and destroyed them out of that place. And when the king and people had seen that all the serpents were destroyed in that place, all the people set up a great shout. And they approached and fought against the city and took it and subdued it, and they entered the city.

And there died on that day one thousand and one hundred men of the people of the city, all that inhabited the city, but of the people besieging not one died. So all the children of Ethiopia went each to his home, to his wife and children and to all belonging to him.

And Balaam the magician, when he saw that the city was taken, he opened the gate and he and his two sons and eight brothers fled and returned to Egypt to Pharaoh king of Egypt. They are the sorcerers and magicians who are mentioned in the book of the law, standing against Moses when the Lord brought the plagues upon Egypt.

So Moses took the city by his wisdom, and the children of Ethiopia placed him on the throne instead of Kikianus king of Ethiopia. And they placed the royal crown upon his head, and they gave him for a wife Adoniah the Ethiopian queen, wife of Kikianus. And Moses feared the Lord God of his fathers, so that he came not to her, nor did he turn his eyes to her.

For Moses remembered how Abraham had made his servant Eliezer swear, saying unto him, Thou shalt not take a woman from the daughters of Canaan for my son Isaac. Also what Isaac did when Jacob had fled from his brother, when he commanded him, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan, nor make alliance with any of the children of Ham.

For the Lord our God gave Ham the son of Noah, and his children and all his seed, as slaves to the children of Shem and to the children of Japheth, and unto their seed after them for slaves, forever. Therefore Moses turned not his heart nor his eyes to the wife of Kikianus all the days that he reigned over Ethiopia.

And Moses feared the Lord his God all his life, and Moses walked before the Lord in truth, with all his heart and soul, he turned not from the right way all the days of his life; he declined not from the way either to the right or to the left, in which Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had walked. And Moses strengthened himself in the kingdom of the children of Ethiopia, and he guided the children of Ethiopia with his usual wisdom, and Moses prospered in his kingdom. And at that time Aram and the children of the east heard that Kikianus king of Ethiopia had died, so Aram and the children of the east rebelled against Ethiopia in those days.

And Moses gathered all the children of Ethiopia, a people very mighty, about thirty thousand men, and he went forth to fight with Aram and the children of the east. And they went at first to the children of the east, and when the children of the east heard their report, they went to meet them, and engaged in battle with them.

And the war was severe against the children of the east, so the Lord gave all the children of the east into the hand of Moses, and about three hundred men fell down slain. And all the children of the east turned back and retreated, so Moses and the children of Ethiopia followed them and subdued them, and put a tax upon them, as was their custom.

So Moses and all the people with him passed from there to the land of Aram for battle. And the people of Aram also went to meet them, and they fought against them, and the Lord delivered them into the hand of Moses, and many of the men of Aram fell down wounded. And Aram also were subdued by Moses and the people of Ethiopia, and also gave their usual tax. And Moses brought Aram and the children of the east under subjection to the children of Ethiopia, and Moses and all the people who were with him, turned to the land of Ethiopia.

And Moses the son of Amram was still king in the land of Ethiopia in those days, and he prospered in his kingdom, and he conducted the government of the children of Ethiopia in justice, in righteousness, and integrity. And all the children of Ethiopia loved Moses all the days that he reigned over them, and all the inhabitants of the land of Ethiopia were greatly afraid of him. And in the fortieth year of the reign of Moses over Ethiopia, Moses was sitting on the royal throne whilst Adoniah the queen was before him, and all the nobles were sitting around him. And Adoniah the queen said before the king and the princes, What is this thing which you, the children of Ethiopia, have done for this long time?

Surely you know that for forty years that this man has reigned over Ethiopia he has not approached me, nor has he served the gods of the children of Ethiopia. Now therefore hear, O ye children of Ethiopia, and let this man no more reign over you as he is not of our flesh. Behold Menacrus my son is grown up, let him reign over you, for it is better for you to serve the son of your lord, than to serve a stranger, slave of the king of Egypt. And all the people and nobles of the children of Ethiopia heard the words which Adoniah the queen had spoken in their ears.

And all the people were preparing until the evening, and in the morning they rose up early and made Menacrus, son of Kikianus, king over them. And all the children of Ethiopia were afraid to stretch forth their hand against Moses, for the Lord was with Moses, and the children of Ethiopia remembered the oath which they swore unto Moses, therefore they did no harm to him.

But the children of Ethiopia gave many presents to Moses, and sent him from them with great honor. So Moses went forth from the land of Ethiopia, and went home and ceased to reign over Ethiopia, and Moses was sixty-six years old when he went out of the land of Ethiopia, for the thing was from the Lord, for the period had arrived which he had appointed in the days of old, to bring forth Is rael from the affliction of the children of Ham.

So Moses went to Midian (former Ethiopian province), for he was afraid to return to Egypt on account of Pharaoh, and he went and sat at a well of water in Midian. And the seven daughters of Reuel (Jethro) the Midianite went out to feed their father’s flock. And they came to the well and drew water to water their father’s flock.

So the shepherds of Midian came and drove them away, and Moses rose up and helped them and watered the flock. And they came home to their father Reuel, and told him what Moses did for them. And they said, An Egyptian man has delivered us from the hands of the shepherds, he drew up water for us and watered the flock.

And Reuel said to his daughters, And where is he? wherefore have you left the man? And Reuel sent for him and fetched him and brought him home, and he ate bread with him. And Moses related to Reuel that he had fled from Egypt and that he reigned forty years over Ethiopia, and that they afterward had taken the government from him, and had sent him away in peace with honor and with presents.

And when Reuel had heard the words of Moses, Reuel said within himself, I will put this man into the prison house, whereby I shall conciliate the children of Ethiopia, for he has fled from them. And they took and put him into the prison house, and Moses was in prison ten years, and whilst Moses was in the prison house, Zipporah the daughter of Reuel took pity over him, and supported him with bread and water all the time.

Kikianus – what a  cool name!

Note:

• The Book of Jasher (Book of The Just/The Upright) belongs to one of the so-called, “Lost books of The Old Testament”, and it is cited in the Bible, in Joshua 10:13 and 2 Samuel 1:18