Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews (English) (XML Header) [genre: prose] [word count] [lemma count] [Joseph. AJ]. | ||
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Thermuthis was the king's daughter. She was now diverting herself by the banks of the river; and seeing a cradle borne along by the current, she sent some that could swim, and bid them bring the cradle to her. When those that were sent on this errand came to her with the cradle, and she saw the little child, she was greatly in love with it, on account of its largeness and beauty; for God had taken such great care in the formation of Moses, that he caused him to be thought worthy of bringing up, and providing for, by all those that had taken the most fatal resolutions, on account of the dread of his nativity, for the destruction of the rest of the Hebrew nation. Thermuthis bid them bring her a woman that might afford her breast to the child; yet would not the child admit of her breast, but turned away from it, and did the like to many other women. Now Miriam was by when this happened, not to appear to be there on purpose, but only as staying to see the child; and she said, "It is in vain that thou, O queen, callest for these women for the nourishing of the child, who are no way of kin to it; but still, if thou wilt order one of the Hebrew women to be brought, perhaps it may admit the breast of one of its own nation." Now since she seemed to speak well, Thermuthis bid her procure such a one, and to bring one of those Hebrew women that gave suck. So when she had such authority given her, she came back and brought the mother, who was known to nobody there. And now the child gladly admitted the breast, and seemed to stick close to it; and so it was, that, at the queen's desire, the nursing of the child was entirely intrusted to the mother.
2.228Hereupon it was that Thermuthis imposed this name Mouses upon him, from what had happened when he was put into the river; for the Egyptians call water by the name of Mo, and such as are saved out of it, by the name of Uses: so by putting these two words together, they imposed this name upon him. And he was, by the confession of all, according to God's prediction, as well for his greatness of mind as for his contempt of difficulties, the best of all the Hebrews, for Abraham was his ancestor of the seventh generation. For Moses was the son of Amram, who was the son of Caath, whose father Levi was the son of Jacob, who was the son of Isaac, who was the son of Abraham. Now Moses's understanding became superior to his age, nay, far beyond that standard; and when he was taught, he discovered greater quickness of apprehension than was usual at his age, and his actions at that time promised greater, when he should come to the age of a man. God did also give him that tallness, when he was but three years old, as was wonderful. And as for his beauty, there was nobody so unpolite as, when they saw Moses, they were not greatly surprised at the beauty of his countenance; nay, it happened frequently, that those that met him as he was carried along the road, were obliged to turn again upon seeing the child; that they left what they were about, and stood still a great while to look on him; for the beauty of the child was so remarkable and natural to him on many accounts, that it detained the spectators, and made them stay longer to look upon him.
2.232Thermuthis therefore perceiving him to be so remarkable a child,
adopted him for her son, having no child of her own. And when one time
had carried Moses to her father, she showed him to him, and said she thought
to make him her successor, if it should please God she should have no legitimate
child of her own; and to him, "I have brought up a child who is of
a divine form, note
and of a generous mind; and as I have received him from the bounty of the
river, in , I thought proper to adopt him my son, and the heir of thy kingdom."
And she had said this, she put the infant into her father's hands: so he
took him, and hugged him to his breast; and on his daughter's account,
in a pleasant way, put his diadem upon his head; but Moses threw it down
to the ground, and, in a puerile mood, he wreathed it round, and trod upon
his feet, which seemed to bring along with evil presage concerning the
kingdom of
Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews (English) (XML Header) [genre: prose] [word count] [lemma count] [Joseph. AJ]. | ||
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