Moses, Man of the Mountain (1939)

Moses, Man of the Mountain is a 1939 novel by African-American novelist and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston. The novel rewrites the story of the Book of Exodus of Moses and the Israelites from an Afro-American perspective. The novel applies a number of different motifs and themes commonly addressed in African-American culture, subverting the Moses story.

Plot summary

After the Pharaoh of Egypt declared that Hebrew boys could no longer be born, Amram and Jochebed began to discuss their course of action if their child to be is a boy. If found, the child would be killed by the Egyptians. Jochebed gives birth to a son in hiding and decides to put him in a basket on the Nile River in order to spare him. Her son is found in the river by the Egyptian princess whose own son had died. She decides to raise him as an Egyptian, keeping his identity as an Israelite secret from everyone else. The princess brings him to the castle and names him Moses. As the son of the princess, he is second in line for the throne.

As Moses grows older, he gains interests in nature and animals, learning tales from the palace stableman, Mentu, who becomes Moses’ greatest friend. Mentu teaches Moses the traditional ways of Egyptian people, including battling on horses instead of chariots. Moses learns to ride a horse for this purpose, and becomes a great fighter in Egypt. Ta Phar, first in line for the throne, dislikes Moses due to his peculiar interests and ways of living that he learns from Mentu. Mentu also sparks Moses’ interest in religion, telling him of the Book of Thoth, a book that provides great wisdom to any man who reads it. Moses sits with Mentu for hours daily listening to him tell stories of God.

After Moses gets married, information regarding Moses’ origin circulates, leading people to suspect that he is an Israelite. Though Moses does not know that he had been born to Hebrew parents, he decides to leave Egypt that night and seek the Book of Thoth. Moses travels through the night and eventually reaches Midian, where he assists young girls in escaping from boys who were bullying them. They then bring him to their father, Jethro, the chief of Midian, who takes a liking to Moses right away. Moses agrees to use his military skills to assist Jethro in ridding the land of Midian of thieves. After this, Jethro allows Moses to marry his daughter, Zipporah, and Moses stays in Midian for twenty years.

After twenty years, Moses decides to venture out and seek the Book of Thoth. Moses returns after a year to tell Jethro of his successful journey. Moses tells Jethro how he found the book and that he now can command the skies and mountains and knows the language of all animals. Jethro tells Moses that he has a mission for him, the mission being to free the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. Moses is unsure about this and feels that he is not capable of completing such a task. While sitting on a mountain, Moses sees a burning bush and hears it speak to him. God speaks to Moses through the burning bush and commands him to free the Israelites.

After speaking with Jethro and Aaron, Moses heads to Egypt to speak to Pharaoh. Pharaoh denies Moses’ request for him to free the Israelites and believes that Moses performs hoodoo and has no power that comes from God. After Pharaoh continues to refuse to free the Israelites, Moses turns the Nile River into blood, the first of his ten plagues. The people of Egypt believe that it is a trick and will be the only plague that Moses creates. Next, Moses fills Egypt with frogs that continue multiplying. Pharaoh takes credit for both of these plagues, claiming that he is showing his power to the Egyptians. After Pharaoh still refuses to free the Israelites, Moses gives Egypt a plague of lice, making the Egyptians extremely uncomfortable and causing panic. Pharaoh told his citizens that the plague occurred because they upset the Gods. After this comes the plague of flies and then livestock dying. With each plague, the people of Egypt are becoming more anxious. Following this comes plagues of boils, hail, locusts, and then darkness. Pharaoh continues to deny Moses’ demands, leading to Moses’ last plague: the death of firstborn children.

After Pharaoh’s firstborn child dies, he feels defeated and tells Moses that he is free to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Most of the Hebrews are thrilled to be free, but others doubt Moses and his speech of God. Nevertheless, they follow Moses out of Egypt. On the second day of their journey, Pharaoh and the Egyptian army attempt to recapture the Israelites. Moses parts the red sea and crosses with the Israelites, then unparts the sea, swarming the Egyptians with water.

Moses continues to preach the word of God to the Israelites as they walk for forty years. God’s power is shown through his production of manna when the Israelites complain that they are hungry. Eventually, some of the Israelites begin to question Moses’ authority, to which he lifts his right hand in response and proves his power to them every time. After forty years, Moses decides he would like to ask God and nature questions, so he sat on top of a mountain and spent the rest of his life with God and nature.

Characters

Moses

Moses is the son of Amram and Jochebed, two Israelites who are enslaved in Egypt. Moses is placed in a basket in the Nile river after his birth because infant boys of Israelites would be drowned if found. Moses is taken in by the Egyptian princess, who raises him as her own, making him a prince. He becomes a great warrior but later leaves Egypt to seek out the book of Thoth and become a priest. After becoming a loyal follower of God, he is commanded to free the Israelites and lead them out of Egypt. Moses leads the Israelites out of Egypt and spreads God’s word to them.