Exodus 2-4 -- Moses fled around 1487 BC, at about the age of 40. He took up with the Midianites, the descendants of Abraham through Ketura. Looking every bit the Egyptian nobleman and warrior, he was able to protect the tribal priest's daughters from rough treatment at the hands of male shepherds. Such a man would make a welcome addition to Jethro's ("His Excellency") household, which was apparently devoid of male heirs. He spent the next 40 years as a shepherd, married to Jethro's daughter Zipporah ("Bird"). He named their son Gershom ("A Stranger Here") to remind him he didn't belong to these people. The years had changed the sophisticated Egyptian nobleman into what Abraham had been, a wandering Amorite sheep herder. He was no doubt grown accustomed to his situation. It was then he met Jehovah in the Burning Bush.
Thutmose III had died in 1450 BC, replaced by his son Ahmenhotep II. He was apparently worse than ever in his abuse of the Hebrew people. His father had conquered a vast empire, stretching as far north as Syria, and as far south as Ethiopia. His mighty army was legendary for crushing all in its path. His economic control reached even farther. Ahmenhotep inherited a Theban court filled with exotic delights, unparalleled wealth and power -- every reason in the world for monumental arrogance. Against this, Jehovah had called Moses to stand before Pharaoh and demand the release of the Hebrew people, with only a shepherd's staff and his elder brother as spokesman.
That the shepherd's crook was an ancient symbol of power in Egypt was not lost on Moses, nor on Ahmenhotep. This, despite the Egyptian distaste for sheep herding since before the days of the Old Kingdom, beginning around 3100 BC. To carry that staff would have been an open insult to Pharaoh, and a challenge to his authority. It would have re-opened the wounds of unforgotten rivalry between two political camps among the power elite of Egypt. Moses was uniquely able to bridge the gap between the pastoral life Jehovah had in mind for the Hebrew people, and the inner workings of the Imperial Court. He had an equal number of years in each setting. Jehovah repeatedly promised to humble the arrogant Ahmenhotep. At the same time, He warned Moses that it would not come without an extended conflict, one that would make things worse for the Hebrews before it was over. Yet, it would all be done with Moses playing only as the emissary. This was a far cry from the role he sought to play before fleeing Egypt.
Having been promised that his old antagonists were dead and gone, Moses sought for, and received, release from Jethro's service. On the way to Egypt, a visit from Jehovah served as a stark reminder of the seriousness of his mission, and of the necessity for strict obedience. Given that the best land route from Midian to Egypt then went around past Mt. Sinai, it served as the half-way point where Moses and Aaron met. There, and again in the presence of the Hebrew elders, Moses demonstrated the miraculous signs Jehovah had given him. Seeing these miracles and hearing Moses' promises raised great hopes in the Hebrews. They had not forgotten that this was the man who all but ruled Egypt. Those hopes were promptly dashed when Pharaoh responded by making their brick production more difficult. Moses himself suffered the same emotional roller-coaster ride.
In our tightly scheduled modern life, we would find the ancient Semitic concept of time completely foreign. While we impatiently do everything in a hurry, they would have defined a different pace for different activities. In many cases, time was not a factor at all. For this reason, we get a poor sense of the passage of time from the text. Pharaoh's court was traditionally at Thebes, some 300 miles (480 km) south of Goshen. While Pharaoh may have set up court temporarily at various places throughout his empire, we have no way of knowing how often Moses and Aaron had to travel the full distance between the Nile Delta and the old capital far upriver. It is quite likely that they spent more time near the imperial court than in the delta. It appears the Ten Plagues occurred within roughly one year. Further, Moses actually spoke not at all in public. Aaron was his voice, and often the one to perform the ceremonial acts for each miracle.
Given that there are missing from the account the sort of details we take for granted today, we wonder why Ahmenhotep didn't simply kill the two trouble makers and be done with it. There simply is not enough data to speculate. My personal opinion is that Pharaoh wanted to show his complete contempt for them by pretending Moses and Aaron held no threat at all. They were good for a laugh, but no more -- so he thought.
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Ed Hurst
revised 30 January 2004
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