One man said: “Who set you to judge over us? Do you mean to kill us as you killed the Egyptian?”
And Moses saw that his deed was known, and he was afraid. When he returned to the palace, he learned that the Pharaoh had said: “My daughter’s ward has killed an Egyptian. He is a Hebrew and has killed an Egyptian, and seeks to teach his fellows to rise against their masters. He must die.” And Moses fled the palace, and went eastward out of Egypt into the land of the Midianites.
The Burning Bush
He was a stranger in the land and moved warily, for it seemed a rough, wild place after the tame vistas of Egypt. He came upon a well and rested himself. A flock of sheep went down to the well, driven by seven tall maidens. They were the daughters of the priest of Midian, and they were watering their father’s flock. They drew water from the well and filled the troughs, and the animals drank. And Moses watched. The eldest of the girls, the one who led them, was a beauty, free-striding and strong, and her laughter was a shout of delight. He heard the others call her Zipporah. And Moses gazed upon her with pleasure.
Then he heard loud shouting, and a band of shepherds clad in sheepskins, brandishing their staffs, rushed upon the well and drove the maidens’ flock from the watering troughs. And the shepherds threatened to harm the girls if they did not take their flock and depart. Moses arose then, and seized the leader’s staff and cudgeled him until the fellow dropped senseless. The other shepherds fled. Moses bowed to the maidens but said nothing. He drew bucket after bucket of water and filled the troughs for the sheep, and said nothing. The maidens departed, driving their flock before them.
Their father, Jethro, the priest of Midian, came out to meet them and said: “How is it you came home so early today?”
“A man helped us,” said Zipporah. “A stranger. An Egyptian. A mighty man who drew so much water so quickly that we were soon finished. He also drove off the shepherds who attacked us.”
“Why did you not invite the stranger home?” said Jethro. “Go call him that he may break bread with us.”
So it came to pass that Moses dwelt in the priest’s house and told Zipporah his tale. Telling it, he was amazed. He had always been painfully slow of speech, almost tongue-tied. But this girl cast a warmth that unlocked his frozen tongue. He found himself speaking easily to her, discovering new meanings in his own experience.
He told her of the cruel, hawk-faced Egyptians, and how a flower of gentleness and kindness had sprung from that fierce people—the Pharaoh’s daughter, who had drawn him from the river and become his foster mother. He told her of Jochebed, his real mother, and of the ruse that had saved his life. He told her of his father, Amram, and his sister, Miriam, and his clever brother, Aaron. He told her of his double life as an Egyptian prince who was known to be Hebrew; he told her how his rage had slowly mounted and boiled over, and how he had killed the taskmaster. And how the Pharaoh had hunted him out of the land. And he told her of the beast gods of Egypt, of cow goddess and cobra goddess and falcon god, and of the great cats carved of stone, crouching in the desert.
Zipporah listened and marveled. She thought his tale most wonderful, and the teller more wonderful still. She questioned him about the Hebrews and their customs.
He told her ancient tales he had heard from his father, Amram, tales of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. And of Joseph, sold by his brothers into bondage—Joseph, reader of dreams, who ruled Egypt and brought his brothers there from Canaan, those brothers from whose loins had sprung the nation of Hebrews, dwelling now in bondage. He told her how, since the time of Abraham, Hebrews had cut the sign of the covenant into the flesh of their male children, and how his mother, Jochebed, had circumcised him in the cave where she had hidden him, had cut the sign into his flesh with a sharp stone.
Zipporah marveled at it all, and loved the huge, puzzled man who had come to be their guest. And Moses loved her with a great love and took her to wife. She bore a son, whom he named Gershom, meaning “stranger.” “For,” he said, “I have been a stranger in a strange land.”
Moses dwelt in Midian with his wife and son, drove Jethro’s flocks, and guarded his watering places. He began to forget Egypt. But as Moses forgot, God remembered. The Hebrews were slaves in Egypt, but they were not docile. Bondage galled their souls even more than their bodies, and they cried out to God. Their cries rose to heaven. God heard them and remembered His covenant. He looked down upon the Hebrews, searching for one to be the instrument of His will. There was no one in Egypt strong enough for the enormous task. His eye fell upon Midian, and He saw Moses.
One day Moses drove his flocks past their usual grazing places, which had been cropped over. He drove his sheep into the wild highlands of the Sinai to a mountain called Horeb. Bushes grew on its slope, and among them a taller bush, really a small tree, the acacia, whose sap is fragrant and whose wood is hard. It was winter and the leaves were brown. As Moses went near, he saw the bushes being pressed to earth by a great wind, but no wind blew. Then he saw that the bushes were bowing low, prostrating themselves before the thornbush, which did not bow. He moved closer, staring at the tall bush. It flowered as he watched, putting out large, red blossoms. The blossoms were fire, and the bush burned. It burned but was not consumed. It stood there, wearing its flame like a giant in a cloak of flame.
A voice spoke out of the bush. “Moses. Moses.”
“I am here,” said Moses.
The voice said: “Do not step here. Take off your sandals. This is holy ground.”
The bush burned and the voice spoke out of the bush: “I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob.”
Then Moses knew that God’s self burned in the bush. He hid his face; he was afraid to look upon God. The voice said: “I have seen the affliction of my people. I have heard them groan under the lash of the taskmaster and have heard their cries. And I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians; to bring them up out of that land to a good land, to a land flowing with milk and honey. You must go to the Pharaoh and bring out the children of Israel.”
Moses said: “Who am I that I should go to the Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”
“You are the one that I have chosen. I will go with you, and this shall be your token. When you bring my people out of Egypt, you shall return to this place and serve me upon this mountain.”
“Behold,” said Moses. “When I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I answer?”
“I am who I am,” said the voice. “You shall say to the children of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ You shall say to them: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever and shall be to all generations. Go! Go down into Egypt and gather up the elders of Israel, and speak my words to them. Say that I will bring them up out of the affliction of Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, a land flowing with milk and honey. They shall listen to your words. Then you shall take them to the king of Egypt, and say to the Pharaoh: ‘The Lord God of the Hebrews has summoned us. Now, O Pharaoh, let us go three days’ journey into the wilderness that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.’ ”
“And if he does not let us go?” said Moses.
“Then I will reach out my hand and smite Egypt with all my wonders. After that he shall let you go.”
Moses said: “The elders will not believe me. They will not listen to my voice. They will say the Lord has not appeared to me.”
“What is in your hand?” said the voice.
“A rod.”
“Cast it on the ground.”
Moses threw down his staff, it turned into a serpent. And Moses fled from it.
“Put out your hand and take it by the tail,” said the Lord.
Moses put out his hand and caught the serpent; it became a staff again. “Do that and they will believe your words,” sai
d the Lord. “If they still do not believe, do this. Put your hand upon your chest.”
Moses reached into his garment and put his hand on his chest. When he drew it out it was like a leper’s hand, white as snow.
“Put it in again,” said the voice.
Moses put his hand on his chest again and took it out; it had turned again to his own flesh. “If they do not believe your words,” said the voice, “they will believe the serpent. If they do not believe the serpent, they will believe the leper’s hand. And if they believe none of these signs, do this: Take water from the river and pour it on the dry land. It will become blood.”
“O Lord,” said Moses, “how can I do your bidding? I am not eloquent. I am slow of speech.”
The Lord said: “Who made man’s mouth? Who makes the dumb or the deaf or the seeing or the blind? You are in my hand, and all your senses. I will teach you what to say.”
Moses answered, “There are so many who speak well, O Lord. Why not send one of them?”
And the Lord spoke angrily: “Is not Aaron your brother? Is he not eloquent? You will tell him what to say, and he will speak for you. And keep the staff in your hand, the serpent staff, that you may do signs and wonders and convince the doubtful.”
“Shall I go down into Egypt?” said Moses. “There are men there who seek my life.”
“They are all dead, these men,” said the Lord. “Go down into Egypt and do what I have said.”
Moses returned to his home and said to Zipporah: “We must go into Egypt. The Lord has spoken, and I must do His errand.” She took the child and provisions for the journey, said, farewell to her father and her sisters, and mounted her donkey with the child in her arms. Moses walked before them, and they commenced their journey.
As they rounded a mountain pass, Moses felt a swoon descend upon him, and dimly heard the voice of the Lord but could not comprehend what he heard, and he thought the voice was wrathful. “I have angered my Lord!” he cried. “He spoke to me and I doubted. I hesitated. Now he kills me!” Moses sank to the ground.
Zipporah, seized by terror, remembered the tale he had told, and ripped the garment off her child’s body. She took a sharp stone and cut off his foreskin and cast it at Moses’ feet, saying, “Surely, you are a bloody husband to me.”
The swoon passed, and Moses rose again. He raised his arms to the sky and cried, “Thank you for granting me life! I shall do your bidding without hesitation.”
Zipporah said: “I have done according to your ancient rite. I have cut the sign of the covenant into the living flesh of my child and cast his foreskin before the Lord that He might release you from His clutch. Our wedlock is sealed in the blood of our son.”
She took the babe in her arms again and mounted the donkey, and they resumed the journey.
The Lord spoke to Aaron, saying, “Go into the wilderness to meet Moses.”
Aaron went out of Egypt into the wilderness and met Moses on the way. They met at the mountain called Horeb, and Aaron kissed Moses, and Moses tried to tell him all that God had said out of the burning bush. But he could not find the words. The enormity of it maimed his speech, and he uttered broken syllables. He fixed Aaron with burning eyes and took him by the shoulders and shook him—and stuttered and smote himself on the face to loosen his speech, but could only utter soft howls and grunts.
Aaron struggled against his brother’s clutch. But the power of those hands and the fire of those eyes somehow told him that Moses had met God face to face, and that the sight had maimed his speech, and he would never be able to utter what God had told him.
“We shall be as one creature before the Lord,” said Aaron. “You are the eyes to see, the ears to hear, and the responding heart; I shall be the tongue.”
The Plagues
Moses and Aaron crossed into Egypt. They gathered the elders of Israel, and Aaron spoke all the words that the Lord had spoken to Moses. But the elders doubted. Aaron took the staff and cast it on the ground. It turned into a serpent. The elders fled. Aaron took the serpent by the tail, and it turned into a staff in his hands. He spoke again. “The Lord has seen our affliction. He will deliver us out of the hand of the Egyptian.”
But still the elders doubted. Then Moses put his hand upon his chest inside his robe. When he drew it out, it was white as a leper’s hand. And the elders were afraid. He put his hand in his tunic again and drew it forth, and it was returned to his own flesh. And still they doubted.
Aaron said: “How many signs, how many wonders?” Moses dipped water from the river and poured it on the ground; it became a pool of blood on the ground. Gulls dived, screaming, to drink the blood. Then Moses passed his hand over it, and it was water again.
“The Lord speaks to you!” cried Aaron. “His words are edicts.”
And the elders believed. They bowed their heads and worshipped.
Then Moses and Aaron went to the Pharaoh and said: “The Lord, God of Israel, has spoken. He says, ‘Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness.’ ”
“Who is this lord,” said the Pharaoh, “that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know this lord, and I will not let Israel go.”
“The God of the Hebrews has met with us,” said Aaron. “We beseech you, O Pharaoh, let us go three days’ journey into the desert and sacrifice to the Lord our God, or He will fall on us with pestilence and with the sword.”
“Your people have labors to perform here in Egypt,” said the Pharaoh. “And you, Moses and Aaron, are interfering with their work. Get out of my sight and let your people take up their burdens again.”
Moses and Aaron departed. The Pharaoh called his taskmasters together and said: “The Hebrews must not rest from their labors. Their burdens shall be increased. Do not give them straw to make their bricks, as you have until now. They shall gather up their own straw for bricks, and still make as many bricks each day as before. For they grow idle. They are putting aside their task and saying, ‘Let us go sacrifice to our lord.’ They are slaves. Slaves need no god. So lay more work upon them, and do not spare the lash.”
The taskmasters went among the slaves and told them they must gather their own straw for bricks and still make as many bricks each day as before. And the people went searching for straw but could not make as many bricks as before. The taskmasters flogged them brutally, and they suffered under the lash. The elders went to the Pharaoh and said, “Why do you treat us so? We are given no straw and are told to make as many bricks as before, which is impossible. We fall under the taskmaster’s lash; we are flogged until we die. We pray you, O Pharaoh, be merciful.”
“You are idle, you are idle!” cried the Pharaoh. “You say, ‘Let us go sacrifice to the lord.’ Now return to your tasks. You shall be given no straw, and I want to hear no more complaints, or it shall be worse for you.”
When the elders came out of the palace they met Moses and Aaron, who were waiting for them. The elders berated the brothers, saying, “Let the Lord look upon you and judge. You have made us stink in the nostrils of the Pharaoh. You have put a sword in his hand and he slays us.”
Moses spoke to the Lord: “I have done what you said and it has made the people suffer. Why did you send me? Since I came to the Pharaoh and spoke in your name, he has done evil to us. And you have not delivered us.”
The Lord answered: “Now you shall see what I will do to the Pharaoh. Now you shall see the strength of my hand. Your people shall be delivered from the Pharaoh. For I am the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, and they knew me by the name of God Almighty. But you shall know me by a new name—JEHOVAH—which they did not know. Also, I established my covenant with them and gave them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, wherein they were strangers. I have heard the groans of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage, and I have remembered my covenant. Now I say this to you: I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. I will rid you of your bondage and I
will redeem you with a stretched-out arm and with great judgments. I will take you to me for a people and I will be to you a God. And I will bring you to the land that I promised.”
Moses and Aaron went again among the Hebrews and spoke the Lord’s words. But the people were anguished in their spirit. They were crushed under their cruel burdens, and they did not heed the brothers.
Moses spoke again to the Lord, saying, “They will not heed me.”
The Lord said: “Go to the Pharaoh again.”
“I did speak to him!” cried Moses. “I spoke to him through Aaron, but he did not heed my words. My people groan under their burdens; they die under the lash.”
The Lord spoke: “Go again to the Pharaoh and speak my words again, demanding that he send the people of Israel out of Egypt. If he refuses, he will feel the weight of my displeasure. I will lay my hand on Egypt and summon disaster. I will utter great judgments and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt.”
Again Moses and Aaron went to the Pharaoh, and Aaron spoke the Lord’s commands. But the Pharaoh did not heed their words. Then Aaron cast down his staff and it became a serpent. The Pharaoh summoned his sorcerers and they cast down their staffs, which became serpents. “Behold!” cried the Pharaoh. “Your magic is ordinary, and not to be feared.”
“But the serpent that had been Aaron’s staff pursued the other serpents and devoured them. “Your serpent does not terrify me,” said the Pharaoh. “Get out of my sight! Your burdens shall be increased.”
The Lord spoke again to Moses, saying, “The Pharaoh’s heart is hardened. He refuses to let the people go. Return to him and show him another sign, which I shall teach you.”
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