“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 an act 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” (Josephus, Ch. X).
Moses thereupon was appointed general of the Egyptian army against the Ethiopians, and conquered them in the following manner:
“But Moses prevented the enemies, and took and led his army, before those enemies were apprised 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 these productions, which other countries do not breed, … 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 overturning their cities, and indeed made 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 the royal city of Ethiopia, which Cambyses afterwards named Meroe, after the name of his own sister. This place was to be besieged with very great difficulty, since it was both compassed by the Nile quite round, and the other rivers Astapus and Astaboms 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 by 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 battle), an accident happened: Tharbis was the daughter of the king of the Ethiopians; she happened to see Moses as he led his army near the walls, and fought with good courage, and admiring the subtlety of his undertakings, she believed 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 prevalency of that passion, sent to him the most faithful of all her servants to discourse with him upon 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 be 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” (Josephus, Chap. V.)
These are simple facts, wherein God plays no part. It is a human transaction, a conflict of forces; the strongest and most skillful wins. And when the last place of refuge, the fortress, is besieged, and the Ethiopians are thoroughly beaten, the place seeming impregnable, the army discouraged, a woman, the king’s daughter, betrays it, and Moses is victorious. Thermutis, his mother by adoption, raised him and educated him after the manner of princes. He was a great favorite. Her influence gave him not only her protection, advice, and information, but other great advantages such as no other being could obtain, she being constantly at court and a sister to the king.
It was no small glory, as well as experience, he reaped. That conquest made him the first man in the land. That jealousies, antagonism and hatred were engendered against him by his rivals, that conspiracies were formed, may readily be imagined, and that finally his life was threatened. Finding it rather dangerous to remain in the country, since he was being closely watched, and all the roads were guarded, and being no doubt fully informed of the plot, Moses fled. “He took flight through the deserts, where his enemies could not suspect he would travel; though he was destitute of food, he went on, and despised that difficulty courageously” (Jos.).
Moses was born in 1571 B.C., and was made general of the Egyptian army when he was about thirty-five or thirty-seven years of age. In 1531 B.C. he fled from Egypt and arrived at Midian. He made the acquaintance of a priest named Raguel or Jethro—his future father-in-law, for he married Zipporah, Jethro’s daughter.
Aaron, his brother, three years older, being born 1574 B.C., must have been a man of considerable influence. He remained during Moses’s absence in Egypt. The exodus of the Israelites from Egypt took place in 1491.
Daring his forty years’ stay with Jethro he minded his cattle near Mount Sinai, where many supposed wonders are related to have occurred.
That Moses was not idle is self-evident. A man of that particular type could not remain inactive. What took place between him and Aaron or between him and Thermutis his stepmother is not recorded in history. That some systematic organization did take place is very probable. That all followed in the ordinary course of human events, is to be presumed. And that the plans were laid and matured, how these people were to be molded into a nation, and in what manner they were to leave Egypt, we cannot have a reasonable doubt.
It is more than likely that after the successful conquest, he was fired with the ambition to become a ruler himself. Envy and jealousy prevented his ever assuming the crown of Egypt, but what was to hinder him becoming the head and leader of his own people? In his solitary wanderings about Mount Sinai, he was inspired with the thought of delivering his own people, especially as the Pharaoh, his former protector, was dead. Having all the necessary material at hand in court and out of court, he proceeded to carry out his plans.