by Angela Hunt
Abruptly, she turned to Chike. “I want the entire assembly to know the truth,” she said, her voice ringing. “I tried to seduce my own slave, but he would not submit, nor would he be disloyal to his master. I believe Zaphenath-paneah to be incapable of disloyalty. He would not be unfaithful to Potiphar. He could not be unfaithful to Pharaoh. This inquest, this charade, is a naked attempt to steal the throne from Pharaoh’s only son. If you must seek an adulteress, look to the woman who sits on the throne. She and this Narmer have been plotting to take the throne for years. Queen Mutemwiya plans to discredit the rightful prince, then marry Narmer and make him Pharaoh.”
“She lies!” Mutemwiya rose from her chair with such force that it toppled from the dais and clattered to the floor.
“No.” Sagira shook her head. “I have no reason to lie, and nothing to gain by falseness. Illness has shortened my days and only by blessing of the Almighty God will I live to see the land green again.”
Narmer stuttered while Sagira prostrated herself on the floor before Amenhotep. After a moment of whispered consultation with his fellow priests, Chike stepped forward. “May Thoth, who judges the hearts of men, judge yours with mercy,” he told Sagira as she huddled on the floor. “May the Almighty God bless you for what you have done here tonight. I speak for the gods of Egypt, who approve an honest heart, but never a deceitful one.”
The priests murmured in agreement. One by one, they approached Amenhotep, who stood while they knelt before him. “This is an outrage,” Narmer said, finally finding his tongue. He stamped his sandaled foot on the marble floor. “Pharaoh’s dying words—”
The vizier held up his bound wrists to be unloosed. “Are known to the Almighty God, but not to us.”
Sagira shivered in happiness when Zaphenath-paneah smiled at her.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Two months later, as the sun continued to toast the Egyptian landscape, Pharaoh Tuthmosis IV was laid to rest in his extraordinary tomb. With the blessing of Queen Tuya, the high priest Chike appointed Zaphenath-paneah to act as Amenhotep’s regent until he came to an age where he would be capable of ruling the kingdom. Thus the vizier inherited another title: “Father to Pharaoh.” The fate of the two conspirators, Narmer and Mutemwiya, was left to Zaphenath-paneah, who decreed that the two should be exiled in the empire of the Mitannis, far from Egypt’s borders.
The trade routes over which the Egyptian guards escorted the two evildoers had widened considerably in the last year, for men throughout the world heard that grain flowed like water in Egypt. Famine and drought had shrilled over the entire earth, and foreigners throughout civilization journeyed to trade in Egypt.
While the young pharaoh studied his lessons and prepared to lead his country, the treasure houses of Egypt filled as the princes of the world brought gold and jewels and silver in exchange for grain so they might live and not die. The people of Egypt blessed Zaphenath-paneah and their new king, for despite the famine, the hand of a protecting god had made provision for their lives.
Tuya still walked in the gardens with Yosef and her son, and often she stopped by the pool where the blue lotus flowers bloomed in abundance. After plucking a flowering stem, she would wrap the long tendrils around her bare arm and fondly remember the boy who had grown into a man and a truly great king.
“You miss him, don’t you?” Yosef asked one afternoon as she savored the fragrance of a blossom. Amenhotep walked ahead of them, well beyond the range of their voices.
“I do.” Tuya fingered the gentle petals of the flower. “I am sometimes sorry I did not appreciate him sooner. He was a noble king and a wise man. He hungered for God in a way few men do.”
“I know.” Yosef thrust his hands behind his back as they walked. “Amenhotep, you know, has a fine mind, sensitivity and courage. He could be the greatest king Egypt has ever known.”
Tuya smiled. “We shall see.”
They walked in companionable silence for a moment, then Yosef cleared his throat. “I don’t want you to be lonely,” he began, setting his jaw. “And at last the time is right. Will you marry me, Tuya? There is no reason why you should not.”
Tuya laughed softly. “I can think of a good reason. Years ago, you told me about your father and his two wives.”
“Lea and Rahel?”
She stopped on the path and turned to face him. “Your father loved one and was kind to the other. Yet because he did not love them both, you and your family have suffered greatly.”
She lifted his precious hand and pressed it to her cheek. “Asenath is a lovely woman, and you have two fine sons. You will not be happy loving one wife and offering mere kindness to the other.”
His hand curved around her cheek, then he nodded. A moment later, he was gone, following Amenhotep, but Tuya remained on the path, relishing the warmth on her face. “And I, having known love, could not live on kindness.”
The hot wind blew the lotus plants on the water, and Tuya breathed in the sweet scent of them and smiled.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
Are you familiar with the biblical story of Yosef, Potiphar and Pharaoh? How did this novel impact, increase or contradict your impression of the story in Genesis?
Could you identify with any of the characters in this novel? What character traits resonated with you?
In what ways were the people of ancient Egypt like people today? In what ways were they extremely different?
This is the first of three novels in a series. What do you think will happen to Yosef and Tuya in the books to come?
In most Sunday-school lessons, Yosef is portrayed as a hero, yet he had a fatal flaw. How does God use Yosef’s weakness? How does God bring Yosef to an understanding of his weakness?
What are some things you find in historical fiction that you don’t find in contemporary fiction? How does reading about people of the past enrich our lives in the present?
How did the love Tuthmosis felt for Tuya differ from the love Yosef felt for her? Which was the more mature love? How did her feelings for these two men change as time went by?
Was Sagira a victim of circumstance or a woman who suffered the results of her own choices? How were women more constrained in ancient Egypt than in modern times? How were they more liberated?
Do you believe that Yosef’s slavery and imprisonment was part of God’s perfect plan for his life? How did it change him? How did it work for good or ill?
What does the story of Yosef teach the modern reader about faith? How can you apply this lesson to your life?
ISBN: 978-1-4268-2588-0
DREAMERS
This is the revised text of the work, which was first published by Bethany House in 1996.
Copyright © 1996 by Angela Elwell Hunt
Revised text copyright © 2008 by Angela Elwell Hunt
Excerpt from BROTHERS
Copyright © 1997 by Angela Elwell Hunt
Revised text copyright © 2008 by Angela Elwell Hunt
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