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