The Shepherd Kings

Victoria W. Spencer

Description

A voyage back into a time of pharaohs and prophets and tragedy and triumph that brings an ancient story to life.
After the pharaoh of Egypt suddenly awakens and sits up in bed, sweat drips from his body. Continually plagued by horrifying nightmares, Rahotep is once again shaken to his core. While pacing the palace halls in the dark of the night, he wonders what is happening to him. The dreams surely carry a message from someone. Unfortunately, he has no idea of the source of the important message.
Desperate to have his dreams interpreted, Rahotep is visited by Joseph, a faithful Hebrew servant who is rumored to have the gift of foretelling catastrophic events. When Joseph tells him what is to come in the future, Rahotep proclaims Joseph to be second in command of his kingdom. Meanwhile in the Palace of Knossos, the Minoan bull-leapers are preparing for their tournaments. But it is not long before a chain of archeological events, devastating famines, and ruinous plagues overshadow the land and instigate a Hebrew exodus.
The Shepherd Kings is a voyage back to a time of pharaohs and prophets and tragedy and triumph that brings an ancient story to life.

Sujets

• Historical
• Egipto
• Egypt
• Moses
• Moïse
• Crete
• Fiction
• Joseph
• Bible

Informations

• Publié par: iUniverse
• Date de parution: 02 août 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781663242808
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 3 Mo

Extrait

THE SHEPHERD KINGS
 
 
 
 
 
 
VICTORIA W. SPENCER
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
THE SHEPHERD KINGS
 
 
Copyright © 2022 Victoria W. Spencer.
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
 
Certain characters in this work are historical figures, and certain events portrayed did take place. However, this is a work of fiction. All of the other characters, names, and events as well as all places, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
 
 
iUniverse
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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
 
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
 
ISBN: 978-1-6632-4279-2 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-6632-4281-5 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-6632-4280-8 (e)
 
Library of Congress Control Number: 2022913770
 
 
iUniverse rev. date: 07/28/2022
CONTENTS

List of Characters
Preface
 
Part 1
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
Part 2
 
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
 
Appendix 1
Appendix 2
Illustrations
 
Dedicated to my parents, Robert and Celia Wight.
You not only encouraged my love of history over the years, but you were also instrumental in my travels overseas to Egypt, Israel, Greece, and Crete. And you specifically helped with this novel by supplying photographs from your own journeys and helped with editing and feedback. You both are truly loved and deeply missed.

Mom and Dad at Deir el-Bahri, Luxor (Thebes), Egypt, 1997
(Figure 1)
LIST OF CHARACTERS

Names in bold are actual historic figures.
Hebrews:
Joseph: Zaphnath-Paaneah; Hebrew leader in Egypt; son of Jacob and Rachel
Jacob: Israel; father of twelve sons, including Reuben, Judah, Levi, Simeon, Joseph, and Benjamin
Moses: Hebrew leader and prince of Egypt
Amram: Moses’s Hebrew father
Jochebed: Moses’s Hebrew mother
Aaron: Moses’s older brother
Miriam: Moses’s older sister
Elisheba: Aaron’s wife
Naashon: Elisheba’s brother
Egyptians:
Rahotep: Pharaoh of famine dreams
Asenath: Wife of Joseph
Poti-Pherah: Priest of On; father of Asenath
Sobekemsaf I: Pharaoh during famine
Apepi and Khamudi: Avaris rulers
Tao , Kamose , and Ahmose: Theban rulers
Tuthmosis I: Pharaoh of Egypt; decrees death of Hebrew boys
Hatshepsut: Daughter of pharaoh; finds baby Moses; female pharaoh of Egypt
Tuthmosis II: Djeutimose; son of Tuthmosis I, husband of Hatshepsut
Tuthmosis III: Menkheperre; son of Tuthmosis II and Islet; seeks to kill Moses
Neferure: Daughter of Tuthmosis II and Hatshepsut
Amenhotep II: Aakheperure; pharaoh during the plagues and Red Sea escape
Webensenu: Firstborn son of Amenhotep II
Tuthmose: Son of Amenhotep II; becomes Tuthmosis IV
Rekmira: Vizier (prime minister) under Amenhotep II
Sennefer: Mayor of Thebes
Qenamun: Master spy of Egypt
Minoans:
Drakon: Ruler at Knossos Palace on Crete
Callista: Wife of Drakon
Xylon and Rusa: Bull-leapers
Ariadne and Kitane: Priestesses on Crete
Minos and Galen: Maritime merchants
Kyra and Adelpha: Wives from Thera
PREFACE

Most of the Hebrew and Egyptian characters in this book are historically accurate. Personal or geographic names have varied over time, so for the purpose of this novel, currently used names for locations or historic people are utilized. Though the Minoan characters are fictional, it is a fact that Egyptians and Minoans coexisted during this period of history. Any fictional characters are solely created by the author for the purpose of connecting factual events of the same chronological time frame. The chapters on Crete and the explosion of the island of Thera are based on geological and archeological facts. The approximate date of the eruption of the volcanic island of Thera is between 1630 BC and 1600 BC. And so, it fits nicely into the timetable of the Second Intermediate period of Egyptian history and the rise of the foreign Semitic Hyksos rulers. Biblical accounts of the Hebrew migration into Egypt (Genesis 37–50 [King James Version]) and resulting exodus years later (Exodus 1–20 [KJV]) also fit within this archeological time frame. The theory of these overlapping cultures and their intertwined events serve as the basis for this novel.
PART 1


Palace of Knossos, Crete
(Figure 2)
1

He awoke in a sweat. His heart was racing, beating at an incredible speed. His eyes darted around the room as they began to focus in the dim light. He determined that he was still in the palace, still in his bed. His wife lay sleeping soundly near him. He reached a trembling hand and touched her shoulder. She stirred slightly, her breathing soft and low. She was real, he reassured himself. Trying to calm his mind, he reminded himself that he didn’t need to fear; he was safe.
But the images he had just dreamed had been as vivid as if they had actually taken place. In his dream, he—the king—had been standing by the river Nile. The sun had shone brightly, glistening off the water as it flowed calmly by. Then he’d seen the oddest thing. In the river lumbered seven cows! They were strong and healthy. Mooing softly, they walked past him to find a good patch of grass in the nearby meadow and began to feed. They seemed harmless enough, the king had thought. Then the river water rippled again. The king turned his gaze from the healthy cows and now stood in horror as something hideous emerged from the mighty Nile. Seven gaunt and emaciated faces rose up out of the water. And now the king saw seven sickly cows paw their way up onto the shore. Their eyes were sunken in their sockets and their skin draped loosely over their skeletal bodies. He watched as the emaciated cows dragged themselves toward the healthy ones who were still quietly feeding near the river.
Suddenly, the thin, gaunt cows opened their mouths, but instead of eating the grass, they sank their teeth into the flesh of the healthy cows. The cries of the terrified healthy cows bellowed in his ears. Trying to block his senses from the chaos of sights and sounds surrounding him, the king shrank back in fear. Within moments, the sickly cows had devoured the healthy ones. Yet, when the gaunt cows were done eating the others, they remained thin. Nothing had changed about their hideous appearance. Only now, the good cows were gone.
Back in his bedchamber, the king couldn’t shake the sight from his mind. Yet he rolled over and closed his eyes, hoping his fear and exhaustion would allow him to fall back to sleep. Finally, it did, and in only a short time the king was back in a deep sleep. But suddenly, it seemed he was once again by the Nile River in the bright daylight. He looked around for the cows, but they were not there. His relief was only momentary though, as the ground below him began to shake and the dirt near his feet began to split open. Fearfully he stepped back just in time to avoid being hit by a large stalk of corn that was bursting up from the ground. He stared as it grew and produced seven full, juicy ears of corn. They looked so good, and he started to reach out to pluck one off to eat it. But then the stalk began to shake. Out of the stalk appeared seven more ears of corn. But these were dry and moldy. They hung from the stalk, looking entirely inedible. Every leaf was paper-thin, and the kernels were hard and covered with worms. Without warning, the mildewy ears of corn magically moved and attached themselves to the healthy corn. The inedible ears seemed to encircle the good ears, and one by one they devoured them, leaving only the seven blighted ears remaining on the stalk.
The king awoke again and sat up in bed, sweat dripping from his body. It had been another awful dream. There was no chance he could fall asleep anymore tonight. The hideous sights and the real-life fear he had experienced had shaken him to the core. He spent the rest of the night pacing the palace halls. What in the world was happening to him? In the morning his spirit troubled him deeply. The dreams had been a message, but what were they trying to say? And who was talking to him?
2


Map of the Eastern Mediterranean region, c. 1600–1400 BC
(Figure 3)
One of the largest of the Aegean Islands to be settled in ancient times was Crete. Centrally located in the Mediterranean or Great Sea, it became a maritime trading post and expanded greatly over time. Ships from Crete sailed north to trade with their cousins in Mycenae, who had settled on the mainland of Greece. Those living at that time in the Mediterranean had learned to combine tin and copper into bronze. Vessels and armor