In 2014, I released the first book of a planned six-volume set on the life of Moses, titled “The Chronicles of Moses the Lawgiver.” That first book, Beginnings, takes place over a 24-hour period in which Moses is put in the Nile, found, and all of Egypt is turned upside down as it deals with the fallout. Due to my work, remodeling our house, and other time constraints, I made no significant progress on the rest of the series. In addition, Beginnings, though very well received, needed considerable updating and editing. So, when I retired in mid-November, I resumed working on the series. Fortunately, there are better tools now to assist me. Grammarly Pro, an excellent copy editor, and ChatGPT, a customizable AI, have assisted me. Both are tireless in their critiques, supporting the endless iterations all suitable writing needs. I spent 6 weeks doing a complete re-edit and refining of Beginnings. It is done, and the second edition will be published on April 8 on Amazon. I will add a link to the new release as soon as it is available.
Meanwhile, I have made significant progress on the second book, A Warrior’s Heart, which takes place 16 years later in which Moses plays a pivotal role in the Battle of Kadesh, the most famous engagement in the history of the ancient world. I hope to release this book by the end of June. Then I will tackle what I consider the most difficult of all six titles, Remembrance, in which Moses, now 80 and in the high plateau summer pasture, decides to tell his two sons who he was before he came to Midian and saved their mother and her sisters from slave traders. He will explain his 40 years in Egypt, his exile, and how he now believes that his life is over, having failed to fulfill the prophetic dreams of his father. The book ends with the three of them, after a night of “remembrance,” bringing their sheep down the mountain and Moses being intercepted by the strange sight of the burning bush.
I’m enjoying writing the story of Kadesh, and I hope you’ll enjoy reading it. I have included below a preface entitled “How We Got Here,” which may spark your interest in reading the book once it is released, hopefully by the end of June. Enjoy.
Update (4/5/2025): Things change with new information. I recently discovered that the Hittite king had sent to Ramses a petition of war, which set everything in motion. So the version below is the updated version.
How We Got Here (Updated)
The Beginning
Sixteen inundations ago, the Nile bore a child into destiny. His rescuer, Asati—Pharaoh’s sister—claimed him as her own, setting his fate on a path neither fully Egyptian nor Hebrew. Taken from the sacred river, Moses was raised not as a slave but as a prince. Despite his Hebrew origins, the prophetic signs on the day of his discovery compelled Pharaoh—alongside the leading Chief Priests in Memphis—to decree that he was a Prince of Egypt.
The Fallout
The river may have spared him, but peace was not part of Moses’ fate. The events of that fateful day rippled through time, shaping the destinies of both Egypt and the Hebrews. Though saved by Moses from genocide, his people continued to see their position in the Two Lands deteriorate. They were a peculiar people who worshiped an invisible God and refused to become part of their adopted land and its religion. The priesthood of Amun Ra, led by its new First Priest in Thebes, Nephura, still believes the Hebrew’s presence in the land caused the corruption of the Pharaoh Who Is Not Named by their perverse heresy of a single, all-powerful God. Nephura, and later his successor in Memphis, Ameny, had not forgotten. To them, the Hebrews were a plague upon the land, their very existence an affront to the gods. But Moses—Moses was the greatest offense of all. The boy who should have been fed to Sobek’s crocodiles now sat among princes. That could not be allowed.
Meanwhile, Egypt prospered, benefiting from the changes set in motion that day. Seti used the agreement reached on that fateful day to stabilize the country and cement his rule as Pharaoh. Ramses II inherited a calm, well-run country. Egyptian influence extended in the south to the headwaters of the Nile above the Second and Third Cataracts, while to the west, it included the crucial oases of the unforgiving desert.
Now, Ramses did not merely seek to rule—he sought to eclipse the legacy of the Pharaohs before him. He would not be remembered as just another who sat on the throne. He would be a conqueror, a god among men. He planned to re-expand the Egyptian empire’s borders against the encroaching tide of the Hittites flooding down from the north in Asia Minor. These warrior Kings were pressing south and had won over many of Egypt’s former vassal states that protected the northeastern edge of her empire. Currently, the Hittites controlled the Syrian trade routes to the north and east, and their King, Muwatalli II, had all but dared the new Egyptian Pharaoh to come out and fight.
Ramses Sets the Stage
Ramses’ father had prepared him to rule, so he watched his adopted nephew closely, recognizing Moses’ unique abilities. He was physically strong and agile, a fast learner who quickly became both a scholar and an accomplished young warrior. Since he was a young boy, he had been trained in the art of war by Semri, a former Greatest of Fifty of the Egyptian army. Seti had appointed him to defend Asati, his sister, who Semri married after the death of her husband, Prince Amunthura. Though Moses trained among Egypt’s finest warriors, he remained an enigma. He moved like a prince but carried the weight of an exile. He spoke the language of Pharaohs but dreamed in the tongue of slaves. He trusted his instincts, especially when the situation required action. He expected his intuition to give flesh to his rapidly growing skill as both fighter and tactician. He was not reticent and was willing to act decisively on his insights.
Upon taking the throne, Ramses made a bold decision—he named his adopted nephew, once the son of a slave, now a prince of Egypt, as general of the Ne’arin Corps, a Semite corps in Pharaoh’s army. It helped that no Egyptian general wanted to deal with this challenging task, as most Egyptians considered Semites lesser people. Ramses made Semri second in command and charged him with teaching the young general the finer points of the art of war. Though one of Egypt’s most competent soldiers, Semri had refused to become a general because of his dedication to Asati and his commitment to Seti’s original charge. He reluctantly accepted the new honor since he was now charged with watching over Asati’s son.
Why Moses?
Ramses chose his young nephew for several reasons. He needed to keep Moses occupied—even though they had sparred together and Moses demonstrated abilities far above his age, he got easily bored. But, more importantly, Ramses wanted to keep him away from court—while he adjusted to being a new pharaoh. Keeping his nephew busy would keep his rising prominence from becoming a problem. His impetuousness often got him in trouble. However, Ramses also wanted to see how well he would do with the challenge. He also remembered his father’s prophetic dream, in which Moses saved him from a surprise attack—perhaps leading the Ne’arin Corps was the first step toward fulfilling that prophecy.
War Begins
In the early fall of his 26th year, having settled comfortably into his reign, Ramses received a petition of war from an emissary of the Hittite king, Muwatalli. Following the shift in allegiance back to Egypt by the vassal state of Kadesh, the Hittite king declared war. While Ramses sought to prove himself on the battlefield, he also aimed to regain the influence and trade routes that Egypt had lost to the Hittites in Syria. Kadesh was a critical gain that he couldn’t afford to lose. Throughout the harsh winter months, Ramses assembled an army the likes of which Egypt had never seen. Five corps—four Egyptian and one Semite—thousands of warriors, chariots, and warhorses stood ready for conquest under the banners of Pharaoh. At their head, commanding the Ne’arin Corps, was Moses, the prince who was never meant to be. As spring approached, Ramses set out with his massive army for Kadesh, a newly aligned Syrian vassal at the edge of the Hittite expansion. Though war was unpredictable, Ramses wasn’t the only one Destiny and Fate were watching. As Kadesh loomed, the prince who was never meant to be would face the test that could change everything.
