2010 Reprint of 1939 Edition. In Moses and Monotheism, Freud speculates that Moses was not Jewish, but actually born into Ancient Egyptian nobility and was perhaps a follower of Akhenaten, an ancient Egyptian monotheist. Freud further suggests that Moses led only his close followers into freedom during an unstable period in Egyptian history and that his followers subsequently killed Moses in rebellion afterward. Freud speculates that the guilt from the murder of Moses is inherited through the generations; this guilt then drives the Jews to religion to make them feel better.