"PILLARS OF HERCULES"

 "Pillars of Hercules" refers to the landmark of the start of the rebellion. 

Herakles (Hercules) was a legendary ruler of Tyre or west coast of Syria between around 1264 and 1226 BCE, next to or contemporary of Aribas, after Phoenix. 

Phoenix is a transliteration of "Pekanan," a toponym east of Phoenicia. Joshua called this place "Kanah," where Phoenicians were probably kept safe by Muksus (Moses) when they landed in it. 

King Seti I (1290 BCE) depicted "Pekanan" as on a hill surrounded by trees. This was the farthest place he fought during his first year of reign. 

"Year 1. King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Menmare (Seti I). The destruction which the mighty sword of the Pharaoh L.P.H. made among the vanquished of the Shasu, from the Fortress of Tharu to

 Pekanan,

 when his majesty marched against them like a fierce-eyed lion, making them carcasses in their valleys, overturned in their blood like those that exist not." - Seti I (1290 BCE)

From Pekanan king Seti probably divided his troops, one moved to Beth-Rehob in the north of Palestine (cf. Numbers 13:21) and the other troop to Hamath and Yenoam. 

Pekanan could be the place where he got the tree or pillars symbolizing Osiris' rescue. 

Phoenicia was a transliteration of "Pekanan" which was popularized likely during the time of king Rameses III (1186-1155 BCE). 

 According to Xanthus (FGH765F 17), an ancient Lydian historian, Mu-ka-sa ("Moxos" in Luwian hieroglyphics) had his military operation in Phoenicia. 

How Moses got in the region?

 It was when Moses left Kadeshbarnea after Miriam and Aaron questioned his marriage to Zipporah, a Kushite woman. Likely it was after Moses gave importance to the Kushite families, the incident of which was when on May 19, 1228 BCE he asked Hobab (the brother of his wife) to help him to scout the northern area. 

Asiatics (e.g. of Syria-Palestine) were well known as " ibrw " (Hebrew) during the time of king Rameses II scouting many places for military gathering information. So, it could be a jealousy of Miriam about who could be best scouts, the Hebrews (homophone of "ibrw ") or the Kushites? This debate may give also reason why his sister was called "Miriam," an ideogram name derived from king Rameses II's name " Miriamun" to mean "rebellious." 

Numbers 10:11-12,29-33,35

" And it came to pass on the twentieth day of the second month, in the second year, that the cloud was taken up from off the tabernacle of the testimony. 

And the children of Israel took their journeys out of the wilderness of Sinai; and the cloud rested in the wilderness of Paran. 

And Moses said unto

 Hobab, 

the son of Raguel the Midianite, Moses' father in law, We are journeying unto the place of which the LORD said, I will give it you: come thou with us, and we will do thee good: for the LORD hath spoken good concerning Israel. And he said unto him, I will not go; but I will depart to mine own land, and to my kindred. And he said, Leave us not, I pray thee; forasmuch as thou knowest how we are to encamp in the wilderness, and thou mayest be to us instead of eyes. And it shall be, if thou go with us, yea, it shall be, that what goodness the LORD shall do unto us, the same will we do unto thee. 

And they departed from the mount of the LORD three days' journey: and the ark of the covenant of the LORD went before them in the three days' journey, to search out a resting place for them. 

And it came to pass, when the ark set forward, that Moses said, Rise up, LORD, and let thine enemies be scattered; and let them that hate thee flee before thee. " - 

Numbers 10:11-12,29-33,35 (KJV)

Moses had an idea to scatter the enemies, and this might made him to decide to left his family (and put them under the leadership of his elder siblings, Miriam and Aaron) in Kadeshbarnea, and to destroy Hittites and other potential enemies before the 40th year would come (he ordered the Hebrews to stay at wilderness within 4 decades). He was absent in Kadeshbarnea between 1227 and around 1194 BCE. 

Where Moses did go? 

" Now Heber the Kenite, which was of the children of Hobab of the father in law of Moses, had severed himself from the Kenites, and pitched his tent unto the plain of Zaanaim, which is by Kedesh. 

Howbeit Sisera fled away on his feet to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite: for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite. " - Judges 4:11,17

They went in the territory of king Jabin of Hazor. Heber the Kenite lived in Zaanaim near Rukkath (Lukka) and had a good relationship with Jabin because since 1227 BCE until 20th year they were paying taxes or tribute to the king (Judges 4:2-3). 

Zaanaim, where they stayed, is in the west of Pe-kanah (Phoenicia). 

King Seti depicted "Pekanan" as on a hill surrounded with trees, and from them or probably from Byblos he got the trunks that could be used to make into "djed" ("pillars") and offer them to Isis. 

It was a practice of a pharaoh to send representative in Byblos to ask for a wood that could be used to by Egyptians for their idol, like in the report of Wenamun (fl. 1129-1070 BCE).

And Herakles is said had reigned in Phoenicia and was deified at his death in 1226 BCE. He was before Moses had started the rebellion. 

There were two strategic places of Moses' movement: first was in Phoenicia, and next was in Caphtor. 

The term Caphtor itself has two meanings: the place anciently known "Kaphtara" (read by Minoans as "ku-pa-ro", the toponym "Cyprus," with silent "t"), 

and 

in Hebrew "kaphtor" could be understood as "pillar" (e.g. Amos 9:1, Zephaniah 2:14). 

The name "Kaphtor" was in itself may mean "Pillar." 

And the source of Egyptian "pillar" was Byblos or Phoenicia. 

Plato described these "Pillars" as located at the distant point of ocean of Atlantis on front of Atlantis' island and surrounded by a continent encompassing an ocean.

Paraphrasing an Egyptian priest via Solon (c. 630 - c. 560 BCE) and Timaeus (700 BCE), Plato reported:

" For it is related in our records how once upon a time your State stayed the course of a mighty host, which, starting from a 

distant point in the ocean

 of Atlantis' ocean, was insolently advancing 

to attack the

 whole of Europe, and Asia 

to boot.

 For the 

ocean there was at that time navigable; 

for in front of the mouth which you Greeks call, as you say, 

'the pillars of Heracles,' 

there lay an island which was [surrounded by] larger  than  Libya [Libu tribe]  and Asia [Assuwa] together; and it was possible for the 

travelers of that time to cross from it to the other islands, and from the islands to the whole of the continent over against them which encompasses that veritable ocean. For all that we have here, lying within the 

mouth

 of which we speak, is evidently a haven having a narrow entrance; but that yonder is a real ocean, and the land surrounding it may most rightly be called, in the fullest and truest sense, a continent. Now in this 

island of Atlantis

 there existed a 

confederation of kings, 

of great and marvelous power, which held sway over all the island, and over many other islands also and parts of the continent." (Plato's Timaeus 24e - 25a)

Later Greek writer identified these "pillars" as pillars of "Melcarthus," as the term was derived from " Melqart," which simply means " king (of Byblos or Tyre)" and later referred to a god, most likely Hercules (a deified Tyre's king of 1226 BCE). 

Plutarch in his book 'On Isis and Osiris' indicated that Melcarthus was the king of Byblos, most likely the way "Caesar"  is the king of Rome and "pharaoh" is the king of Egypt.

It was after the death of Herakles (1226 BCE) when Cyprus' towns (Enkomi, Kition, Palaekastro, and Sinda) were destroyed (archaeologically in LC IIC), but the destroyers lived in them and remained untouched by other Sea Peoples decade after decade.

King Rameses III reported that "Kush" was causing disturbances to the people of Syria. This may mean that the Kushite tribe became known at this instance. This may give a likely hint to us that "Kushmeshusha" could be a pretender native ruler of Alashiya, Cyprus being referred to of the tribe causing disturbances in Syria.

" I made the infantry and chariotry to dwell [at home] in my time; the Sherdana and Kehek were in their towns, lying the length of their backs; they had no fear, for there was no enemy from 

Kush, from Syria. 

Their bows and their weapons were laid up in their magazines, while they were satisfied with drunk and joy. Their wives were with them, their children at their side [for] was with them as the defense and protection of their limbs "(cf. Papyrus Harris I; Standard, The Sea Peoples, p.133) 

 The name "Kush-Meshusha" means "Moses of Kush" or a translation of 

"Yah-Moses" 

since "Kushuh" was a moon of god of Harran, the way "yah" was a former moon god of Egyptians. If this is correct, then this may mean that Moses was using "Kush" as an ideogram for "Yah" and a phonogram for "Kush," the tribe of Moses' wife, and as a logogram for the Syrian land (e.g. Harran, as his patriarch Jacob and Abram were from Harran).

It seems that "Kushmeshusha" got the heart of the people in Cyprus and Ugarit, Syria, by enticing them for a good relationship, as what the Kushite Kenites did to Sisera of king Jabin in Hazor. 

Not knowing the traditional royal correspondences, Kushmeshusha identified himself as "sharru" ("king"), which was very unusual that time because Cyprus was not claiming to be independent kingdom. Although this may imply also that Cypriots liked this independency from Hittite or Egyptian rulership. 

Kaphtor, the "Pillar" island, could be Enkomi, where a Kharu leader led a reform by his Peleset fighters. And king Rameses III identified this Kharu leader who usurped the authority of Egypt to foreign land (e.g. Cyprus) as 

"Yarsu" ("Yah-Moses").

"Yah-Moses" could be translated into "Kushmeshusha." This person Kushmeshusha (Yah-Moses) was the first to claim to be the king of Alashiya in the Late Bronze Age. And Cyprus was the best starting point for reform since it was connected to various points of the ancient world, particularly to the Minoans, Atlantis (Tursha), and Mycenaean islands. This distant island was marked as "Pillar of Hercules," where Hercules was a symbol of Melqart or king of Phoenicia that era.