Tawananna Daughter of Zohar: Ephron the Hittite, #2

By Michael J. Findley

Meet the dragonslayer who feeds her people and stands ready to rule them, if she can only tame her brother's rebellious wife.
Tawananna loves her people and her brother Ephron. The arranged marriage between herself and Elon seems likely to show strength and unite the clans. It might even tame Shelometh's rebellious heart. Tawananna is a slayer of dragons and the best archer in the village. But her greatest challenge comes when she has to sit and do nothing while her people face the army of Sargon.
Tawananna receives a visit from her grandmother, known to some as Heth's whore and to others as Athena, Goddess of Wisdom and Battle. Premarital counseling from a 300-year-old concubine might make the difference between victory and defeat in the quest to forge the Hittite Empire. You don't want to miss any of the tales of Ephron the Hittite and his family.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Findley Family Video
• Release date: Aug 16, 2015
• ISBN: 9781516313563

Book preview

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Praise for the Ephron the Hittite series.

...Creates a believable story about the origins of the famous, yet elusive, Hittite people.

... Now I have to read the next book ...!

...I really enjoyed the book. A clean read.

Historical facts beautifully depicted in this fictional story. Interesting findings about biblical times and how they are interwoven with known stories.

... tidbits of history woven into the story ... which I 0thoroughly enjoyed, ... tantalizing plot line...

Tawananna Daughter of Zohar

Ephron the Hittite Book Two

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by

Michael J. Findley

© 2014 Findley Family Video Publications

This is the second book of a historical fiction series on the Hittites.

Genesis 25:9

And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried [Abraham] in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, which is before Mamre.

Tawananna Daughter of Zohar Ephron the Hittite Book Two

© 2014 Findley Family Video Publications

No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, or stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher. Exception is made for short excerpts used in reviews.

Findley Family Video

Speaking the truth in love.

This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of characters to persons living or dead is coincidental

Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: The King James Version, public domain.

Table of Contents

Chapter One Paradise Lost

Chapter Two The Bridge Builder

Chapter Three The Taming of the Shrew

Chapter Four Event Horizon

Chapter Five Engulfed

Chapter Six  Cosmetics and Lotions

Chapter Seven A Prepared House

Chapter Eight The Face That Launched a Thousand Ships

Chapter Nine Changing Desires

Chapter Ten Childhood’s End

Chapter Eleven Sex Education

Chapter Twelve Hope for Tomorrow

Sneak Preview of Heth, Son of Canaan, Son of Ham, Son of Noah

Addendum

Other Products from Findley Family Video Publications

Chapter One  Paradise Lost

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Tawananna knelt and examined the markings on the ground. Got you. She turned and ran back toward Hattus.

She crept back along the trail of spoor, sweating in the summer sun in her full armor, carrying Ephron's spear, shield, and sword. The sound of a gigantic belch split the air. The stench almost overpowered her but she knew this was the end of years of tracking and waiting. She smelled no sulfur in the air, which was a good sign. Silently she crept around the rock outcropping.

The dragon had feasted on the honey from the wild beehive in these rocks. The bees were demoralized and scattered after the attack, with only a few left buzzing around. The beast sprawled before her, gorged and fast asleep. She had to stop a moment and consider its enormous size. It had to be thirty cubits from teeth to tail; perhaps more.

Five cubits of body length alone? How could it possibly still be pre-puberty? There was no evidence it had smoked the bees out. The claw-scores in the stone still made her hesitate. Hunting had been so poor, though. A hundred people needed this gigantic carcass sliced up in a pot that had held nothing but vegetable stew for too many days.

Tawananna circled around, keeping the rock outcropping between herself and the dragon as long as possible. It stirred and rolled again and she saw the first sign of a weak joint in the armored hide. Yes! She rubbed more of the poison berry concentrate on the spear head and set the jar down out of the way. Thank, You, Adonai, for my brother’s skill at the forge and for titanium-bronze. She clasped the spear and ran at the dragon, throwing all her weight into the thrust.

Lightning-fast, Tawananna shifted her stance and brought the shield on her shoulder around into blocking position as the dragon shrieked and its neck whipped the head around toward her. The ear-splitting scraping and battering of its teeth and claws against the shield deafened her but she dug the sword into the spear-hole and gouged madly. She sank to her knees and kept churning the sword into the narrow opening as black poison and blood mingled. Her arms and legs felt like they were going to shatter under the blows but the shield kept her safe from any direct impact. After a time she held on and vibrated from the dragon’s death-throes. It seemed strange that as the thrashing and pounding and shrieking died away, she could still hear bees buzzing. One seemed to be right in her ear. Was it a buzz? Or more of a hiss?

Shhhh.

Ummph, said Tawananna. This was not a good way for her to wake from that particular dream; with someone’s hand clamped over her mouth.

Don’t make a sound. Her mother’s voice was such a quiet whisper that Tawananna barely heard it even though her mother’s mouth touched her ear.

It was Nebajoth’s hand over her mouth, and making any sound at all was difficult. Awake in the complete darkness of the virgins’ sleeping quarters, Tawananna lay still as her mother continued.

Let me show you something. Meet me at the ovens.

Nebajoth moved away and slid an eye-slot in the wooden shutter of the window open the width of one single finger. The dim starlight did not waken anyone and Tawananna’s mother used a highly-polished bronze mirror to reflect the starlight across the floor. It illuminated a clear path covered with furs. Nebajoth signaled that she was moving to the end of the room and closed the eye-slot. She walked to the end of the room in complete darkness and near silence.

Getting out of bed without making any noise was slow. Tawananna’s bare feet were rewarded by the softness of the furs. By the time she was standing, Nebajoth had opened another eye-slot of several finger widths in the wooden window shutter at the end of the hall. When Tawananna arrived next to her mother, Nebajoth used her mirror to reflect the dim starlight on one sleeping face. At first, Tawananna could not make out the person, though she knew that bunk should be empty.

Look carefully.

Tawananna bent close to the sleeping woman. The tiny amount of dim reflected starlight made seeing any features difficult. Finally recognizing the face as Shelometh, Tawananna grabbed her mother and pressed her lips against her ear. Nebajoth tightly clamped her mouth shut again.

Ovens, whispered Nebajoth, silently closing the eye-slot.

Used to dressing in complete darkness, Tawananna was ready by the time her mother slid the door bolt open. She grabbed her shoes and caught the door before it closed. She stepped out behind her mother and closed the door silently before inspecting her clothing.

Even outside, Nebajoth pressed her lips to her daughter’s ear and whispered, Ovens. She walked off without making a sound.

Without her shoes, Tawananna could not possibly keep up, so she sat in the grass and put them on. She could not remember her mother ever entering the virgins’ sleeping quarters since she had moved into the room years ago.

Noticing the slight chill, Tawananna was glad her mother had chosen to meet at the ovens. The fire warmed the entire area as several cooks prepared breakfast for her work team. The entire dining area was well-lit and comfortably warm. Menta already sat at a table next to Nebajoth. By facing away from the ovens, and keeping their voices low, it was possible that no one would overhear them.

What is Shelometh doing in our bed? asked Tawananna.

It’s very temporary, said Menta.

Nebajoth took her daughter’s hands in hers and stared into her eyes. She swallowed and finally spoke.

"You and I somehow missed what happened last night. I was busy here at the ovens while you were at Anah’s tents. Ephron took Shelometh up to the tower where everyone could see them. It was a very public announcement of their betrothal. But she left him standing there and went back home.

"When Shelometh arrived at her family’s tent, her mother asked her what she was doing there. Her father Yovov was not home, but her brother Elon was. Mahalath told Shelometh that she should be with her husband; that their tent was no longer her home.

Mahalath started pushing at her daughter everything she owned. She eventually started throwing things at her. She told her not to come back without her husband. She said that she was welcome back as a bride and wife, but not as a whore.

I still don’t understand how she ended up in the virgins’ quarters, Tawananna said.

Elon brought Shelometh to me and begged for help, Nebajoth answered. Shelometh was crying and they were carrying everything she owned. Elon said her father or Anah might kill her when they heard what happened. She needed someplace to get out of sight. I thought no one would look for her in the virgins’ quarters.

Shelometh had the freedom to make any decision, any choice that she wanted to make, said Menta. She had the opportunity to speak up yesterday. She chose not to. She thought she could get away with not making any decision at all. But failing to make a choice is a choice. And all of us, not just Shelometh, are bound by decisions that others make for us.

Marriage is ordained by Elohim, said her mother. Though there can be immense personal pleasure in marriage, it is not for our personal satisfaction. Shelometh has chosen to be selfish. She probably has not even thought about what this does to your brother Ephron. What does he think? How must he feel?

I don’t want to seem unsympathetic, said Menta. But whatever Ephron thinks or feels, he’s got bigger problems. First problem is a rebellious wife. And it was a very public rebellion. Not only does everyone here know about it, but you are attempting to bring in foreigners and display strength. This will look like weakness.

What if some marauding band of Mitanni concludes that Ephron is weak and attack and kill someone because of that perception of weakness? Of course the killers are responsible for their own crimes. It is likely that a show of strength would keep them from murdering anyone. We need to consider how to make this show of strength, and make it fast.

The eastern sky was light now and Elon joined their group, sitting next to Tawananna.

What did you hear? asked Tawananna.

Enough. asked Elon. "This is not the first … shall I use the word disagreement? Nor was it unexpected. Our family has discussed this possibility ever since your father Zohar made his decision."

What do your parents think of us letting your sister sleep with the virgins? asked Tawananna.

Last night Anah and my father Yovov were furious, said Elon, "but they didn’t know where she was. My mother didn’t even know that I’d gone to Nebajoth for help. I made myself scarce after Shelometh was out of sight. I’m sure they know by now.

Delaying a confrontation helps Ephron, and we must do what we can to keep helping. Our men saved face by not having to deal with her more forcefully than my mother did. It also buys some time for my sister to come to her senses. But it doesn’t buy anyone much time.

Tawananna was unaware that a small crowd had gathered behind them until Mahalath came up to the table and put a finger in Nebajoth’s face.