Moses 2

(28-14-28)

Moses’ birth was a blessing for his mother and elder brother.  His elder brother Aaron used to go to the pharaoh’s palace with his mother.   In this way they familiarized themselves with the customs of Egyptian civilization.  In the ancient Egyptian civilization, the king was the only important person.  The kings of many dynasties had complete control over the lives of common folks.  They forced common folks to dig big blocks of stone for building pyramids for them.  The theory behind this exploitation was that because kings were descendants of either the moon or sun god, the average man should help them to have a comfortable place in the next world. Pharaoh was not a name; it was a title given to the ruling king.  The people of Egypt used to worship their pharaoh.  

Moses grew to be a very handsome, strong, and upright youth.  Some high-up Egyptian dignitaries admired and liked his sense of justice and fair play.  Unlike other princes, he had a thirst for wisdom and knowledge.  Moses learned the secrets of the pharaoh’s politics by living with him in his palace.  He realized that the pharaoh was afraid of the Israelite.  Four hundred years before Moses, in the time of Prophet Joseph, these people were a small group.  Jacob’s twelve sons and their families were allowed to settle in Egypt.  During the period of four hundred years, these few families multiplied in great number. 

The Israelite were living in Egypt, but they were extremely different from Egyptians.  They had a different religion, language, and culture.  Their increase in number frightened the pharaoh, who visualized them transforming into a great force and damaging the Egyptians.   For centuries the pharaohs of Egypt were worshiped as gods, whereas these Israelite had a God whom they thought to be the creator of everything.

(28-76-82)(40-24)(29-39)(28-6-8)

The other two pillars of support for the despotic rule of the pharaoh were Haman and Korah.   Haman, the head priest of Egypt, was a right hand man of the pharaoh. Some historians of Egyptian dynasties place him as a co-worker with the pharaoh.  The king had given him a big piece of land, and he had a large income from it.  He spent all his revenue on building temples for the sun god.   Pharaoh was supposed to be the descendant of the sun god, so the worship of the deity strengthened his power and his hold on the common people.

Korah, who was the representative of capitalism, was an Israeli.   He had accumulated so much wealth that a group of strong men were required to hold the keys of his treasures.  According to some historians, he was the cousin of Moses.  His family was as respected as Moses’.  He was appointed the head of the Israelite by the pharaoh because he was very rich.  Korah used to go out with great pomp and show, displaying his great wealth.  The show was so spectacular that many Israelite wished to be like him.

Some learned Israelite advised him not to exult.  They told him that since God had given him so much wealth he should enjoy it in this world; but he must use it to do good to the needy and poor.  He must not spend his money for the oppression of poor Israelite.  The only answer they got was, “I have earned this money due to my knowledge and skills.  Nobody has any right to advise me how to spend my money.”  

Moses declared his prophethood; people started following him because his message was based on reason and truth.  Korah opposed Moses because he thought that he was more worthy than Moses to be a prophet.  He said, “I am equal to Moses in every aspect; my family is as respected as Moses’ and I am older than him.  According to the law of the Israelite the eldest should have the honor of being a prophet.”  Korah had amassed gold and silver, but no one followed him as people followed Moses.  He became very jealous of Moses and refused to accept his message as the truth.

The Quran says that the policy of Pharaoh was to divide and rule.  He used to divide Israelite into many parties who were busy in quarreling among themselves.  The Quran uses a metaphor to describe the situation.  The words used here are that the pharaoh used to kill their sons and leave their women to live. This is a literal translation.   Those who, like me, take this as a metaphor do not agree with this literal translation.  Their argument is that if the pharaoh was killing all the men, the nation of Israelite could not grow to such big numbers.  The meaning of this metaphor is that the pharaoh used to encourage the timid and weak people, and humiliate and discourage those who had courage and strength to stand against him, or he made them ineffective.

Moses 1

(28-7-14)

Moses

The night was quiet, the wind was calm, and the moon was full and bright.  In this pleasant weather, the boats of Pharaoh were swimming like ducks in the blue water of the river Nile.   The Pharaoh and his queen were celebrating a moonlit party on the river.  For a short time, the great king was forgetting all the administrative worries.  He looked at his queen with admiration, and asked the captain to row the boats slowly so that he could enjoy the night in a complacent mood.

On the other side of the river, in a hut a mother was facing a great dilemma.  Her daughter was urging her to act according to the advice given to them. 

“I have no heart to do it.  My courage fails me,” she blubbered in a whisper which was more like a suppressed wail.

“This is a direct command (revelation) from God, and we cannot disobey it,” the daughter said firmly.

“Why are you asking me to do this cruel act? I cannot put my newly born baby into the river,” she said, sobbing slowly.

“Just be reasonable, mother.  You very well know the result of disobeying an order of God,” the daughter repeated.

The mother dragged herself to a box, opened it with a suppressed lament, placed the properly wrapped baby in it, and put the box into the river.  Her eyes swelled with tears and she sank into the sand of the beach.

“He will come back to you,” said the girl, “as it is prophesied.”  She further added, “I am going to walk on the bank of the river Nile alongside the box to keep an eye on the baby.  I am going to pretend I am a person who habitually walks on the bank of the river at sunrise. No one will know my real intention.”

All these soothing words had no consoling effect on the grief-stricken mother.  With eyes full of tears, she tried to stifle her sobs and returned to the hut.

The pharaoh and his queen were busy enjoying the sunrise when suddenly the queen spotted something bobbing on the waves of the river Nile.  “What is this object which is visible on the waves? It was not here before,” she exclaimed.  The moment she uttered these words, many swimmers jumped into the river to fetch the object of curiosity for the queen.  The swimmers presented the box in front of the king and queen.  When it was opened, the queen saw the face of a beautiful child fast asleep.  The pharaoh frowned at the discovery, but the queen’s heart was full of affection for this innocent babe.  She looked imploringly at the pharaoh. “Please do not throw this child back into the river.  We can adopt him as our own son.  He may prove very useful for us,” she said.  The king was in an excellent mood after a night of festivity.  He saw no danger in the baby, and he disliked the idea of rejecting the queen’s request for a harmless favor, so he consented.  The baby was adopted by the queen and taken to the palace.

The first few hours of the baby’s arrival were full of merrymaking.  He was named Moses, but when the time of feeding came he refused to drink milk.  Many wet-nurses were called from all around the area, but the child did not drink milk from them.  Moses had gone weak and pale with hunger and withered like an unopened bud.  The queen was upset with this new development, and her grief made the pharaoh furious.  “I am the mighty king of Egypt, and I am unable to provide milk for a baby.  This is entirely unacceptable,” he said and announced a big reward for anyone who could feed the child. 

Moses’ sister, who had been following the box, entered the palace and sought an audience with the queen.  She informed the queen that she could bring a woman to nurse the child.  The queen in ordinary circumstances might have not allowed a common woman to enter the palace, but the gravity of the event forced her to give permission.

When Moses’ sister entered the hut of her mother, she found her sitting in a corner sobbing bitterly.  Her eyes were swollen with constant weeping, and she was looking at the empty bed of her child with a blank face.  It was apparent from her behavior that she could not hold the secret for a long time.   “Mother, mother,” the daughter said and shook her violently.  “Please wash your tear-stricken face and come along with me to see your child.”

“Is it possible?” she said.  Suddenly God’s promise, which she had forgotten in her grief, came back to her.  A new hope awoke in her heart when her daughter informed her of the situation.  She washed her face, changed her clothes, and both mother and daughter hurriedly walked towards the king’s palace.  In ordinary circumstances, no Israeli woman was allowed to enter the palace, but it was an unprecedented situation and they entered the palace without facing any hindrance.        

Moses, pale and withered, was lying in his crib.  The queen disappointingly pointed towards him.  Moses’ mother walked towards the crib, her heart throbbing loudly with hope and fear, and picked up the child.  Moses opened his eyes as he felt her touch and drank milk.  The queen’s face lit up with joy, and she immediately appointed Moses’ mother as wet-nurse to look after him.  In this way, Moses grew in the pharaoh’s palace, ate the best food, and gained the best education, which he could not have in his own house. The queen and king were quite oblivious to the fact that they were bringing up their worst enemy with great care.