Beginnings: Book One of the Chronicles of the Lawgiver

by William Meisheid, Carolyn Lyons (Illustrator)

The year is 1292 B.C. and Egypt has almost recovered from more than a generation of turmoil. Begun by the “Pharaoh who is not named,” the nation was plunged into social and religious chaos by a leader who overthrew the historic gods of the Two Lands in his desire to follow a single supreme and all-powerful deity, which he named Aten.

The powerful priesthood of Amun-Ra blamed and sought destruction of the Hebrews for corrupting the forgotten pharaoh with their heretical religious ideas. However, they sought to accomplish their annihilation in a way that would not destroy the economy of Egypt since the Two Lands had become dependent on Hebrew labor. By killing all newborn males, the blight would gradually be removed from the land within one generation.

Now, during the fourth year of a fledgling dynasty, a new threat is taken from the waters of the Nile by the sister of Pharaoh: a Hebrew child who should rightfully be put death as an offering to Sobek, the crocodile-headed god. However, the princess is childless and abundant signs and portents signal the gods have an opinion in the matter.

Through numerous twists and turns of an eventful day, Pharaoh and his priests seek the will of the gods in council, while Nephura, the Chief Priest of Amun-Ra in Memphis, seeks his own resolution to the problem. Before the day is out the destiny of two nations is forever changed as the name of Moses is first etched into the annals of history.

Discover possible answers to questions that have long remained problems such as what happened to the edict and why wasn't Moses put to death as required by the law.

242 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 10, 2014

Reviews

[Peter Gent · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found the story unique, not at all like the laborious Prince of Egypt, as well as engaging and in places exciting and surprising good for a first book. The fact it all occurs in one day is a plus. One thing I liked was the supporting information at the end of the book, which gives a concise history of the period and how the story could have fit into the actual events, as well as maps and a list of all of the characters and their relationships. Since I read the book in one long sitting, I had no problem keeping everyone straight, but I could see where those who read the book with any breaks in their reading might have difficulty remembering who was who and these materials would be a real aid. I also loved the vivid descriptions of the temple activities and the interactions of the Egyptian priests and the court of Pharaoh as well as the well-drawn characters. They all seemed like real people and despite it being about Moses, it had Egyptian priests who believed in their religion and a Pharaoh who loved his country and his people. I must admit, I had never considered the importance of the edict to the Moses story until now and did not know what Josephus had written about the period. All in all an excellent yarn and I look forward to the author following through with the other books listed in the beginning. If they are as good as this one, they will be good indeed.

[Jennifer Lokken · Rating 5 out of 5]

#RationalRedheadReads "#Beginnings: #BookOneOfTheChroniclesOfTheLawgiver" by William Meisheid

This book is first of #HistoricalFiction, while fiction, the Egyptian history is verified by an Egyptologist, the Egyptian reaction to the Hebrew boy child being drawn from the Nile, the struggle with the past edicts of Pharaoh, the sacrificing of the Hebrew children to appease the Egyptian gods.

So, an overview, so most of us the Genesis account of Moses, well this is the fictional account what happened from the Egyptian perspective, what the event meant from the Egyptian perspective.

This book was absolutely amazingly fun to read, very well written, meticulous in it's details, without bogging you down in the details either, it really made you think about the whole Biblical account differently.

I highly recommend this book, especially if you like Historical fiction and actual history brought into it, I know that this is the first of three books, and honestly can't wait for book 2 to be done.

I give this book ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5 stars. #BookWormsUnite #BookLover #BooksAreSmartTrees #RationslRedheadReviews Feel free to suggest #booksToReadAndReview

[Rob Carl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bill obviously put a lot of work into this book. His pose and word description is commendable.