by Angela Hunt
“He did.”
“Then you should know that Caesarion has been murdered. And Antyllus, Antony’s firstborn, was beheaded even as he begged for mercy.”
I felt a cold hand slide down my spine. Those two boys were barely men. . . .
“I will not argue,” I said, gripping the doorframe for support. “We will leave tomorrow.”
We left our home and stayed with a friend of Avraham’s as he arranged for our passage to Judea. Two days later, we walked to the harbor, where we boarded a ship destined for a port near Ashkelon, the city that had sheltered Urbi when she ran from her brother at the beginning of her reign.
So long ago . . . and now it was my turn to flee.
“Chava?”
I turned and found Father standing with Avraham on the deck. “Coming.”
He smiled as I took his arm. “You are different now, daughter.”
“I am?”
“In the best way.”
I was not certain what he meant but decided not to question him.
Before I led him to our cabin, he lifted his sightless eyes toward heaven. “‘This sentence is by the decree of the watchers,’” he recited, his voice booming over the sounds of the sea, “‘this verdict by the command of the holy ones, so that the living may know the Most High is sovereign over the realm of man and bestows it to whomever He wishes, and may set over them even the lowliest of men.’”
I looked at Avraham. “Ezekiel?”
“The prophet Dani’el.”
The prophet was right, of course. Though I could not understand what HaShem was doing in Egypt and Rome, I knew I could trust Him with the fate of the world.
“The time is near,” Father said, turning to me. “The appointed time of Mashiach, the Prince spoken of by Dani’el the prophet. He is coming.”
I nodded. We were going to find Asher and Yosef, then we would look for the coming ruler in Jerusalem.
It was time to begin another new chapter in our lives, and in the story HaShem had written for the world.
Author’s Note
Egypt’s Sister is one of the most difficult books I have ever written, not because I lacked material, but because I had so much. Volumes have been written about the ancient Romans, ancient Greeks, and Cleopatra. I had to sort through many books, choose the most pertinent (and accurate) materials, and work them into my story about Chava, a fictional woman who would have lived in the century before Christ.
I chose to set this series in “the silent years” of the Intertestamental Period because I knew so little about it. I have always wondered how the Hebrew believers of the Old Testament became the Pharisees and Sadducees of the New Testament. How did the Old Testament Jews—who had trouble keeping God’s laws—become such over-the-top law-keepers in the New Testament? How did Herod—who wasn’t Jewish by birth—come to be their king? How did Rome become involved in the mix? What Bible were they using? What Scriptures did they have access to? And where does the Talmud fit, if it fits into the timeline at all?
Some days I spent hours trying to track down some fascinating fact about Jewish history, only to realize it had nothing to do with my story.
But though Chava and her family are fictional, I have done my best to make sure the historical characters—Cleopatra, Caesar, Mark Antony, Octavian (who became Caesar Augustus), and Agrippa are represented accurately, along with the culture, geography, and history of that part of the world.
In the paragraphs below, I have addressed some particular areas you might wonder about:
How do you pronounce Chava? The C is silent, so it is pronounced hah-vah with that slight throat-clearing sound before the H. (Hear it online: http://www.pronouncenames.com/pronounce/chava). Or just say Hah-vah.
Was Urbi really Cleopatra’s name? I doubt it. Many princes and princesses went by pet names within the family and took a traditional name when they ascended to the throne. Since Cleopatra was an inherited family name (our Cleopatra was at least the seventh of that name), I gave her the pet name Urbi. Likewise, I gave the younger brothers the names Omari and Sefu.
Some sources state that Auletes had six children, including a firstborn daughter who ruled briefly as Queen Cleopatra Tryphaena. Since not all sources mention this daughter, I omitted her.
Some sources record that Caesar was divorced from Calpurnia when he met Cleopatra in Egypt; others maintain that he was still married. I mention both possibilities in the text.
Did Daniel really write the Testaments of the Patriarchs? No, the Greek document actually exists, but the author is unknown. Debate rages over whether or not it was written before the time of Christ. If before, it contains clear Messianic prophecy. If after, the author may have inserted such prophecies.
Was there really a Jewish Temple in Egypt? Yes. Based on a prophecy in Isaiah 19:18 (“In that day five cities in the land of Egypt will speak the language of Canaan, swearing allegiance to Adonai-Tzva’ot. Once used to be called the City of the Sun”), a priest from the priestly line of Aaron wrote Ptolemy VI and asked for permission to build a Jewish Temple at Leontopolis. Leontopolis was located in the district of Heliopolis, “the city of the sun.” Why? In short, because the Temple at Jerusalem had been desecrated by Gentile invaders. Most devout Jews still sent tithes to Jerusalem, but they could make sacrifices at the Temple in Leontopolis. The Egyptian temple stood until AD 73, when the Roman Emperor Vespasian ordered its destruction.
Did Cleopatra really get pregnant with a second child from Caesar? Yes (even though it was not recorded in the movie with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton). Stacy Schiff, who wrote a Pulitzer Prize–winning biography of Cleopatra, says that “all of Rome knew it [the second child] to be Caesar’s. Either she miscarried or lost this child early, as it is never named.”
Do any of the practices described in Chava’s midwifery scroll really work? According to at least one source, the “emmer/barley seed test” is fairly accurate for predicting pregnancy.
Did Cleopatra die from snakebite or poison? No one knows for certain, but all signs point to poison. The snake was never found, but assumed, as it was part of the Isis folklore. But it is doubtful that a snake could kill three women quickly and leave no physical sign.
But when Octavian celebrated his Triumph over Egypt upon his return to Rome, the parade featured a figure of Cleopatra with a snake clinging to her.
Has the tomb of Cleopatra and Antony been found? A lawyer from the Dominican Republic, Kathleen Martinez, believes she may have found the tomb of Cleopatra and Antony on a site known as Taposiris Magna, about twenty-five miles west of Alexandria. If authentic, the tomb would sit below a Temple of Osiris, but further excavations are necessary to confirm her theory.
However, ancient historian Plutarch implies that Cleopatra’s tomb was in the heart of Alexandria, near all the other Ptolemy kings’ tombs. If that is where Cleopatra chose to build her tomb, it was likely destroyed and submerged when a tidal wave struck Alexandria on July 21, AD 365. Over the years, the buildings of the Royal Quarter submitted to damage from the wave and earthquakes. Temples, Cleopatra’s palace, and other structures from the Ptolemaic Dynasty crumbled and fell into the sea. Not until 1995 were the ruins discovered and excavations begun.
Discussion Questions
THE SILENT YEARS series will be set in the Intertestamental Period, the 400 years between the Old and New Testaments. How much do you know about this time period?
How much did you know about Cleopatra before reading this story? Did anything surprise you?
Chava’s father tells her that God speaks to us in three ways: through the Scriptures, through the voices of our spiritual authorities, and through that “still, small voice.” How often do you feel the Spirit of God speaking to you in these various ways?
Chava believes that she hears the voice of God. Do you believe she did, or was she only fooling herself?
Chava’s faith is tested when she’s taken from her home and thrust into a dangerously different environment. Have yo
u ever been in a similar situation?
Compare the morality of ancient Rome to contemporary culture where you live. How are they similar? How are they different?
Can believers in God be close friends with nonbelievers? Should Chava have continued her friendship with Urbi? What were her options?
At the end, Chava feels that the promise she clung to for so long was both a blessing and a curse. How was it a blessing? How was it a curse?
Have you read any other novels in this time period? How does this one compare?
What other stories from the Intertestamental Period would you like to read?
References
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Angela Hunt has published more than one hundred books, with sales nearing five million copies worldwide. She’s the New York Times bestselling author of The Tale of Three Trees, The Note, and The Nativity Story. Angela’s novels have won or been nominated for several prestigi
ous industry awards, such as the RITA Award, the Christy Award, the ECPA Christian Book Award, and the HOLT Medallion Award. Romantic Times Book Club presented her with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006. She holds both a doctorate in Biblical Studies and a Th.D. degree. Angela and her husband live in Florida, along with their mastiffs. For a complete list of the author’s books, visit angelahuntbooks.com.
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