Antiquities Book 2, Chapter 10
How Moses Made War With The Ethiopians.
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 22 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.
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, 23 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.
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 22 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.
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, 23 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.