Sefer Ha-yashar, or, the Book of Jasher (1840)/Chapter 72

And it was in those days that there was a great war between the children of Cush and the children of the east and Aram, and they rebelled against the king of Cush in whose hands they were.

So Kikianus king of Cush went forth with all the children of Cush, a people numerous as the sand, and he went to fight against Aram and the children of the east, to bring them under subjection.

And when Kikianus went out, he left Balaam the magician, with his two sons, to guard the city, and the lowest sort of the people of the land.

So Kikianus went forth to Aram and the children of the east, and he fought against them and smote them, and they all fell down wounded before Kikianus and his people.

And he took many of them captives and he brought them under subjection as at first, and he encamped upon their land to take tribute from them as usual.

And Balaam the son of Beor, when the king of Cush had left him to guard the city and the poor of the city, he rose up and advised with the people of the land to rebel against king Kikianus, not to let him enter the city when he should come home.

And the people of the land hearkened to him, and they swore to him and made him king over them, and his two sons for captains of the army.

So they rose up and raised the walls of the city at the two corners, and they built an exceeding strong building.

And at the third corner they dug ditches without number, between the city and the river which surrounded the whole land of Cush, and they made the waters of the river burst forth there.

At the fourth corner they collected numerous serpents by their incantations and enchantments, and they fortified the city and dwelt therein, and no one went out or in before them.

And Kikianus fought against Aram and the children of the east and he subdued them as before, and they gave him their usual tribute, and he went and returned to his land.

And when Kikianus the king of Cush approached his city and all the captains of the forces with him, they lifted up their eyes and saw that the walls of the city were built up and greatly elevated, so the men were astonished at this.

And they said one to the other, It is because they saw that we were delayed, in battle, and were greatly afraid of us, therefore have they done this thing and raised the city walls and fortified them so that the kings of Canaan might not come in battle against them.

So the king and the troops approached the city door and they looked up and behold, all the gates of the city were closed, and they called out to the sentinels, saying, Open unto us, that we may enter the city.

But the sentinels refused to open to them by the order of Balaam the magician, their king, they suffered them not to enter their city.

So they raised a battle with them opposite the city gate, and one hundred and thirty men of the army at Kikianus fell on that day.

And on the next day they continued to fight and they fought at the side of the river; they endeavored to pass but were not able, so some of them sank in the pits and died.

So the king ordered them to cut down trees to make rafts, upon which they might pass to them, and they did so.

And when they came to the place of the ditches, the waters revolved by mills, and two hundred men upon ten rafts were drowned.

And on the third day they came to fight at the side where the serpents were, but they could not approach there, for the serpents slew of them one hundred and seventy men, and they ceased fighting against Cush, and they besieged Cush for nine years, no person came out or in.

At that time that the war and the siege were against Cush, Moses fled from Egypt from Pharaoh who sought to kill him for having slain the Egyptian.

And Moses was eighteen years old when he fled from Egypt from the presence of Pharaoh, and he fled and escaped to the camp of Kikianus, which at that time was besieging Cush.

And Moses was nine years in the camp of Kikianus king of Cush, all the time that they were besieging Cush, and Moses went out and came in with them.

And the king and princes and all the fighting men loved Moses, for he was great and worthy, his stature was like a noble lion, his face was like the sun, and his strength was like that of a lion, and he was counsellor to the king.

And at the end of nine years, Kikianus was seized with a mortal disease, and his illness prevailed over him, and he died on the seventh day.

So his servants embalmed him and carried him and buried him opposite the city gate to the north of the land of Egypt.

And they built over him an elegant strong and high building, and they placed great stones below.

And the king's scribes engraved upon those stones all the might of their king Kikianus, and all his battles which he had fought, behold they are written there at this day.

Now after the death of Kikianus king of Cush it grieved his men and troops greatly on account of the war.

So they said one to the other, Give us counsel what we are to do at this time, as we have resided in the wilderness nine years away from our homes.

If we say we will fight against the city many of us will fall wounded or killed, and if we remain here in the siege we shall also die.

For now all the kings of Aram and of the children of the east will hear that our king is dead, and they will attack us suddenly in a hostile manner, and they will fight against us and leave no remnant of us.

Now therefore let us go and make a king over us, and let us remain in the siege until the city is delivered up to us.

And they wished to choose on that day a man for king from the army of Kikianus, and they found no object of their choice like Moses to reign over them.

And they hastened and stripped off each man his garments and cast them upon the ground, and they made a great heap and placed Moses thereon.

And they rose up and blew with trumpets and called out before him, and said, May the king live, may the king live!

And all the people and nobles swore unto him to give him for a wife Adoniah the queen, the Cushite, wife of Kikianus, and they made Moses king over them on that day.

And all the people of Cush issued a proclamation on that day, saying, Every man must give something to Moses of what is in his possession.

And they spread out a sheet upon the heap, and every man cast into it something of what he had, one a gold earring and the other a coin.

Also of onyx stones, bdellium, pearls and marble did the children of Cush cast unto Moses upon the heap, also silver and gold in great abundance.

And Moses took all the silver and gold, all the vessels, and the bdellium and onyx stones, which all the children of Cush had given to him, and he placed them amongst his treasures.

And Moses reigned over the children of Cush on that day, in the place of Kikianus king of Cush.