Moses (Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה, Standard Moshe
Tiberian Mōšeh (7 Adar 2368 - 7 Adar
2488 in the Hebrew calendar; 1393 - 1273 BCE); Arabic: موسىٰ, Mūsā; Ge'ez: ሙሴ Musse) was an early Biblical Hebrew religious leader, lawgiver, prophet, and military leader, to whom the authorship of the
Torah is traditionally attributed. He is also an important prophet in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, the
Bahá'í Faith, Mormonism, Rastafari, and many other faiths.
According to the book of Exodus, Moses was born to a Hebrew
mother who hid him when a Pharaoh ordered all newborn Hebrew boys to be killed, and ended up
being adopted into the Egyptian royal family. After killing an Egyptian slave master, he
fled and became a shepherd, and was later commanded by God to deliver the Hebrews
from slavery. After the Ten Plagues were unleashed on Egypt, he led the Hebrew slaves out of Egypt, through the Red Sea, and they
wandered in the desert for 40 years. Despite living to 120, he did not enter the Land of
Israel, as he disobeyed God when God instructed him on how to bring forth water from a rock in the desert - instead of
once, he struck the rock twice, due to doubt.
Moses in the Bible
Life of Moses
The Book of Exodus begins many years after the close of the Book of
Genesis, at the end of which the Israelites were dwelling in relative harmony with the
native Egyptians in the Land of Goshen, the eastern
part of the Nile Delta. Sometime during the interval, the Egyptians became hostile to the
Israelites and enslaved them.
According to the Book of Exodus, Moses was a son of Amram, a member of the Levite tribe of Israel, having descended from Jacob, and his wife Jochebed.[1] Jochebed (also Yocheved) was also the sister of Amram's father Kohath.[citation needed] (Exodus vi 20) Aaron was Moses' elder
brother.[1] According to Genesis 46:11, Amram's father
Kohath immigrated to Egypt with 70 of Jacob's household, making Moses part of the second generation of Israelites born during
their time in Egypt.
In the Exodus account, the birth of Moses occurred at a time when the current Egyptian Pharaoh had commanded that all male Hebrew children born be killed by drowning in the river Nile. The Torah and Flavius Josephus leave the identity of this Pharaoh unstated.[2]
Jochebed, the wife of the Levite Amram, bore a son and kept him concealed for three months.[3][4][1] When she could keep him
hidden no longer, rather than deliver him to be killed, she set him adrift on the Nile River in a small craft of bulrushes coated
in pitch.[3] In the Biblical account, Moses' sister
Miriam observed the progress of the tiny boat until it reached a place where Pharaoh's daughter
Thermuthis[5][1] was bathing with her handmaidens. It is said that she spotted the baby in the
basket and had her handmaiden fetch it for her. After several women had unsuccessfully attempted to nurse the child,[6] Miriam came forward and asked Pharaoh's daughter if she would
like a Hebrew woman to nurse the baby.[1] Thereafter,
Jochebed was employed as the child's nurse, and he grew and was brought to Pharaoh's daughter and became her son, as she had no
other children at the time of her adoption of Moses.[7]
Exodus and Flavius Josephus do not mention whether this daughter of Pharaoh was an only child or, if she was not an only child,
whether she was an eldest child or an eldest daughter. Nor do they mention whether Thermuthis later had other natural or adopted
children. If Rameses II is the Pharaoh of the Oppression as is traditionally thought,
identifying her would be extremely difficult as Rameses II is thought to have fathered over a hundred children. The
daughter of Pharaoh named him Mosheh, similar to the Hebrew word mashah, "to draw
out". In the Greek translation, Mosheh was Hellenized as Moses.
Moses' name
- According to the Hebrew Bible, the name Moses comes from the Hebrew word meaning "to pull out of water". While few scholars
still consider this to be the case, it shows significance as the word "water" in the Bible is often a metaphor referring to evil
(an understandable belief for desert nomads), gentiles or the world. Thus, Moses' name symbolized a special deliverance of evil
by God as he led them to the promised land. Moses also led the Israelites across the Red Sea, which would also show deliverance
out of water.
- Some medieval Jewish scholars had suggested that Moses' actual name was the Egyptian translation of "to draw out", and that
it was translated into Hebrew, either by the Bible, or by Moses himself later in his lifetime.
- Some modern scholars had suggested that the daughter of the pharaoh might have derived his name from the Egyptian word
moses, which means "son" or "formed of" or "has provided"; for example, "Thutmose" means "son of Thoth", and Rameses means "Ra has provided (a son)".
- A growing number of critical scholars believe that Moses actually had a full Egyptian name, consisting of the root word
moses and the name of a god (similar to Rameses), but the name of the god was later dropped, either when he assimilated
into Hebrew culture or by later scribes who were dismayed that their greatest prophet had such an Egyptian name.
- In ancient Egyptian language, the word "Mo" meant "water" while the word
"Sa" meant "son". His complete name "Mosa" would mean "the son of water" as he
was found in a basket in water.
- Amongst the Aramaean and Neo-Hittite populations of
the northern Sam'al Yaudi state there is mention of an
ancestral culture hero Moschos, linked to the Greek hero Mopsus (whose name means "calf"), who
has certain similarities to parts of the Moses[8] these
similarities are only being in a similar location and having a similar name.
Shepherd in Midian
After Moses had reached adulthood, he went to see how his brethren who were enslaved to the Egyptians were faring.[3] Seeing an
Egyptian beating a Hebrew, he killed the Egyptian and buried the body in the sand, supposing that
no one who knew about the incident would be disposed to talk about it.[3] The next day, seeing two Hebrews quarreling, he endeavored to
separate them, whereupon the Hebrew who was wronging the other taunted Moses for slaying the Egyptian.[9] Moses soon discovered from a higher source that the affair was known, and that
Pharaoh was likely to put him to death for it; he therefore made his escape over the Sinai
peninsula.[3] He stopped at a well, where he
protected seven shepherdesses from a band of rude shepherds. The shepherdesses' father Hobab (also
known as Raguel and Jethro[10]), a priest of Midian[11] was
immensely grateful for this assistance Moses had given his daughters, and adopted him as his son, gave his daughter
Zipporah to him in marriage, and made him the superintendent of his herds.[12][3] [13] There he sojourned forty
years, following the occupation of a shepherd, during which time his son Gershom was
born.[14][3] One day, Moses led his flock to Mount
Horeb, usually identified with Mount Sinai — a mountain that was thought in the
Middle Ages to be located on the Sinai Peninsula,
but that many scholars now believe was further east, towards Moses' home of Midian. At Mount Horeb, he saw a burning bush that would not be consumed.[3] When he turned aside to look more closely at the marvel, God spoke to him from the bush, revealing his name to
Moses.[3]
Leader of the Israelites
God commissioned Moses to go to Egypt and deliver his fellow Hebrews from bondage. God had Moses practice transforming his rod
into a serpent and inflicting and healing leprosy, and told him that he could also pour river water on dry land to change the
water to blood.[15][16] Moses then set off for Egypt, was nearly killed by God because his son was not
circumcised, was met on the way by his elder brother, Aaron, and gained a hearing with his oppressed kindred after they returned
to Egypt, who believed Moses and Aaron after they saw the signs that were performed in the midst of the Israelite
assembly.[17] It is also revealed that during Moses'
absence, the Pharaoh of the Oppression (sometimes identified with Rameses II) had died, and
been replaced by a new Pharaoh, known as the Pharaoh of the Exodus. If Rameses II is the Pharaoh of the Oppression, then this new
Pharaoh would be Merneptah. Because the story the book of Exodus describes is catastrophic for
the Egyptians — involving horrible plagues, the loss of thousands of slaves, and many deaths (possibly including the death of
Pharaoh himself, although that matter is unclear in Exodus) — it is conspicuous that no Egyptian records speaking of Israelites
in Egypt have ever been found. However, Merneptah, is indeed, historically known to have been a mediocre ruler, and certainly one
weaker than Rameses II. Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and told him that the Lord God of Israel wanted Pharaoh to permit
the Israelites to celebrate a feast in the wilderness. Pharaoh replied that he did not know their God and would not permit them
to go celebrate the feast. Pharaoh upbraided Moses and Aaron and made the Israelites find their own straw besides meeting the
same daily quota of bricks.[18] Moses and Aaron gained a
second hearing with Pharaoh and changed Moses' rod into a serpent, but Pharaoh's magicians did the same with their rods. Moses
and Aaron had a third opportunity when they went to meet the Pharaoh at the Nile riverbank, and Moses had Aaron turn the river to
blood, but Pharaoh's magicians could do the same. Moses obtained a fourth meeting, and had Aaron bring frogs from the Nile to
overrun Egypt, but Pharaoh's magicians were able to do the same thing. Apparently Pharaoh eventually got annoyed by the frogs and
asked Moses to remove the frogs and promised to let the Israelites go observe their feast in the wilderness in return. The next
day all the frogs died leaving a horrible stench and an enormous mess, which angered Pharaoh and decide against letting the
Israelites leave to observe the feast. Eventually Pharaoh let the Hebrews depart after Moses's God sent ten plagues upon the Egyptians. The third was lice, gnats, and flies. The fourth was attacking of wild beasts. The fifth was the invasion
of diseases on the Egyptians' cattle, oxen, goats, sheep, camels, and horses. Sixth were boils on the skins of Egyptians.
Seventh, fiery hail and thunder struck Egypt. The eighth plague
was locusts encompassing Egypt. The ninth plague was total darkness. The tenth plague culminated
in the slaying of the Egyptian male first-borns, whereupon such terror seized the Egyptians that they ordered the Hebrews to
leave in the Exodus. The events are commemorated as Passover, referring to how the plague "passed over" the houses of the Israelites while smiting the
Egyptians.
And so Moses leads his people Eastward, beginning the long journey to Canaan. The procession
moved slowly, and found it necessary to encamp three times before passing the Egyptian frontier — some believe at the
Great Bitter Lake, while others propose sites as far south as the northern tip of the
Red Sea. Meanwhile, Pharaoh had a change of heart, and was in pursuit of them with a large army.
Shut in between this army and the sea, the Israelites despaired, but Exodus records that God divided the waters so that they passed safely across on dry ground. When the Egyptian army
attempted to follow, God permitted the waters to return upon them and drown them. Whether Pharaoh himself drowns is unclear,
although Egyptian records did not chronicle such an event.
When the people arrived at Marah, the water was bitter, causing the people to murmur
against Moses. Moses cast a tree into the water, and the water became sweet.[19] Later in the journey the people began running low on supplies and again murmured against Moses and
Aaron and said they would have preferred to die in Egypt, but God's provision of manna from the
sky in the morning and quail in the evening took care of the situation.[20] When the people camped in Rephidim, there was no water, so the people complained again and said,
"Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?" Moses
struck a rock with his staff, and water came forth.[21]
Moses holding up his arms during the battle, assisted by Aaron and Hur. Painting by
Millais
Amalekite raiders arrived and attacked the Israelites. In response, Moses bid Joshua lead the
men to fight while he stood on a hill with the rod of God in his hand. As long as Moses held the rod up, Israel dominated the
fighting, but if Moses let down his hands, the tide of the battle turned in favor of the Amalekites. Because Moses was getting tired, Aaron and Hur had Moses sit on a rock. Aaron held up one arm, Hur
held up the other arm, and the Israelites routed the Amalekites.[22]
Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, came to see Moses and brought Moses' wife and two sons with him. After Moses had told Jethro how
the Israelites had escaped Egypt, Jethro went to offer sacrifices to the Lord, and then ate bread with the elders. The next day
Jethro observed how Moses sat from morning to night giving judgement for the people. Jethro suggested that Moses appoint judges
for lesser matters, a suggestion Moses heeded.[23]
When the Israelites came to Sinai, they pitched camp near the mountain.[24] Moses commanded the people not to touch the
mountain.[25] Moses received the ten commandments orally (but not yet in tablet form) and other moral laws.[26] Moses then went up with Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of the elders to see the God of Israel.[27] Before Moses went up the mountain to receive the tablets, he
told the elders to direct any questions that arose to Aaron or Hur.[28]
While Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving instruction on the laws for the Israelite community, the Israelites went to Aaron and
asked him to make gods for them. After Aaron had received golden earrings from the people, he made a golden calf and said, "These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt." A "solemnity of the
Lord" was proclaimed for the following day, which began in the morning with sacrifices and was followed by revelry. After Moses
had persuaded the Lord not to destroy the people of Israel, he went down from the mountain and was met by Joshua. Moses destroyed
the calf and rebuked Aaron for the sin he had brought upon the people. Seeing that the people were uncontrollable, Moses went to
the entry of the camp and said, "Who is on the Lord's side? Let him come unto me." All the sons of Levi rallied around Moses, who ordered them to go from gate to gate slaying the idolators.[29]
Following this, according to the last chapters of Exodus, the Tabernacle was
constructed, the priestly law ordained, the plan of encampment arranged both for the Levites and the non-priestly tribes, and the
Tabernacle consecrated. Moses was given eight prayer laws that were to be carried out in regards to the Tabernacle. These laws
included light, incense and sacrifice.
Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses on account of his marriage to an Ethiopian, Josephus
explains the marriage of Moses to this Ethiopian in the Antiquities of the Jews[30] and about him being the only one through whom the Lord spoke. Miriam was
punished with leprosy for seven days.[31]
The people left Hazeroth and pitched camp in the wilderness of Paran.[32] (Paran is a vaguely
defined region in the northern part of the Sinai peninsula, just south of Canaan) Moses sent twelve spies into Canaan as scouts,
including most famously Caleb and Joshua. After forty days, they returned to the Israelite camp, bringing back grapes and other
produce as samples of the regions fertility. Although all the spies agreed that the land's resources were spectacular, only two
of the twelve spies (Joshua and Caleb) were willing to try to conquer it, and are nearly stoned
for their unpopular opinion. The people began weeping and wanted to return to Egypt. Moses turned down the opportunity to have
the Israelites completely destroyed and a great nation made from his own offspring, and instead he told the people that they
would wander the wilderness for forty years until all those twenty years or older who had refused to enter Canaan had died, and
that their children would then enter and possess Canaan. Early the next morning, the Israelites said they had sinned and now
wanted to take possession of Canaan. Moses told them not to attempt it, but the Israelites chose to disobey Moses and invade
Canaan, but were repulsed by the Amalekites and Canaanites.[33]
The Reubenites, led by Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and two hundred fifty Israelite princes accused Moses and Aaron
of raising themselves over the rest of the people. Moses told them to come the next morning with a censer for every man. Dathan
and Abiram refused to come when summoned by Moses. Moses went to the place of Dathan and Abiram's tents. After Moses spoke the
ground opened up and engulfed Dathan and Abiram's tents, after which it closed again. Fire consumed the two hundred fifty men
with the censers. Moses had the censers taken and made into plates to cover the altar. The following day, the Israelites came and
accused Moses and Aaron of having killed his fellow Israelites. The people were struck with a plague that killed fourteen
thousand seven hundred persons, and was only ended when Aaron went with his censer into the midst of the people.[34] To prevent further murmurings and settle the matter
permanently, Moses had the chief prince of the non-Levitic tribes write his name on his staff and had them lay them in the
sanctuary. He also had Aaron write his name on his staff and had it placed in the tabernacle. The next day, when Moses went into
the tabernacle, Aaron's staff had budded, blossomed, and yielded almonds.[35]
After leaving Sinai, the Israelites camped in Kadesh. After more complaints from the Israelites, Moses struck the stone twice,
and water gushed forth. However, because Moses and Aaron had not shown the Lord's holiness, they were not permitted to enter the
land to be given to the Israelites.[36] This was the
second occasion Moses struck a rock to bring forth water; however, it appears that both sites were named Meribah after these two
incidents.
Moses lifts up the
brass serpent, curing the Israelites from Snake Bites.
Now ready to enter Canaan, the Israelites abandon the idea of attacking the Canaanites head-on in Hebron, a city in the southern part of Canaan, having been informed by spies that they were too strong, it is
decided that they will flank Hebron by going further East, around the Dead Sea. This requires
that they pass through Edom, Moab, and Ammon. These three tribes are considered Hebrews by the Israelites as descendants of Lot, and therefore cannot be attacked. However they are also rivals, and are therefore not permissive
in allowing the Israelites to openly pass through their territory. So Moses leads his people carefully along the eastern border
of Edom, the southernmost of these territories. While the Israelites were making their journey around Edom, they complained about
the manna. After many of the people had been bitten by serpents and died, Moses made the brass
serpent and mounted it on a pole, and if those who were bitten looked at it, they did not die.[37] This brass serpent remained in existence until the days of King
Hezekiah, who destroyed it after persons began treating it as an idol.[38] When they reach Moab, it is revealed that Moab has been attacked and
defeated by the Amorites led by a king named Sihon. The Amorites
were a non-Hebrew Canannic people that once held power in the fertile crescent. When
Moses asks the Amorites for passage and it is refused, Moses attacks the Amorites (as non-Hebrews, the Israelites have no
reservations in attacking them), presumably weakened by conflict with the Moabites, and defeats them.
The Israelites now holding the territory of the Amorites just north of Moab, desire to expand their holdings by acquiring
Bashan, a fertile territory north of Ammon famous for its oak trees and cattle. It is led by a
king named Og. Later rabbinical legends made Og a survivor of the
flood, suggesting the he had sat on the ark and was fed by Noah. The Israelites fight with Og's forces at Edrei, on the southern border of Bashan, where the Israelites are victorious and slay every man, woman, and
child of his cities and take the spoil for their bounty.
Balak, king of Moab, having heard of the Israelites conquests, fears that his territory might
be next. Therefore he sends elders of Moab, and of Midian, to Balaam (apparently a powerful and respected prophet), son of Beor (Bible),
to induce him to come and curse the Israelites. Balaam's location is unclear. Balaam sends back word that he can only do what God
commands, and God has, via a dream, told him not to go. Moab consequently sends higher ranking priests and offers Balaam
honours, and so God tells Balaam to go with them. Balaam thus sets out with two servants to go to Balak, but an Angel tries to prevent him. At first the Angel is seen only by the ass Balaam is riding. After
Balaam starts punishing the ass for refusing to move, it is miraculously given the power to speak to Balaam, and it complains
about Balaam's treatment. At this point, Balaam is allowed to see the angel, who informs him that the ass is the only reason the
Angel did not kill Balaam. Balaam immediately repents, but is told to go on.
Balak meets with Balaam at Kirjath-huzoth, and they go to the high places of
Baal, and offer sacrifices at seven altars, leading to Balaam being given a prophecy by God, which
Balaam relates to Balak. However, the prophecy blesses Israel; Balak remonstrates, but Balaam reminds him that he can only speak
the words put in his mouth, so Balak takes him to another high place at Pisgah, to try
again. Building another seven altars here, and making sacrifices on each, Balaam provides another prophecy blessing Israel.
Balaam finally gets taken by a now very frustrated Balak to Peor, and, after the seven sacrifices
there, decides not to seek enchantments but instead looks on the Israelites from the peak. The spirit of God comes upon Balaam
and he delivers a third positive prophecy concerning Israel. Balak's anger rises to the point where he threatens Balaam, but
Balaam merely offers a prediction of fate. Balaam then looks on the Kenites, and Amalekites and
offers two more predictions of fate. Balak and Balaam then simply go to their respective homes. Later, Balaam informed Balak and
the Midianites that, if they wished to overcome the Israelites for a short interval, they needed to seduce the Israelites to
engage in idolatry.[39] The Midianites sent beautiful
women to the Israelite camp to seduce the young men to partake in idolatry, and the attempt proved successful.[40]
Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron, put an end to the matter of the Midianite seduction by
slaying two of the prominent offenders, but by that time a plague inflicted on the Israelites had already killed about
twenty-four thousand persons. Moses was then told that because Phinehas had averted the wrath
of God from the Israelites, Phinehas and his descendents were given the pledge of an
everlasting priesthood.[41]
After Moses had taken a census of the people, he sent an army to avenge the perceived evil brought on the Israelites by the
Midianites. Numbers 31 says Moses instructed the Israelite soldiers to kill every Midianite woman, boy and the non-virgin girl,
although virgin girls were shared amongst the soldiers.[42] The Israelites killed Balaam, and the five kings of Midian: Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba.[43]
Moses appointed Joshua, son of Nun, to succeed him as the
leader of the Israelites.[44] Moses then died at the age
of 120.[45]
Death of Moses
After all this was accomplished Moses was warned that he would not be permitted to lead Israel across the Jordan, but would
die on the eastern side (Num. xx. 12).[46] He therefore
assembled the tribes and delivered to them a parting address, which forms the Book of Deuteronomy.[46] In this address it is commonly supposed that he recapitulated the Law,
reminding them of its most important features.[46] When
this was finished, and he had pronounced a blessing on the people, he went up Mount Nebo to the top of Pisgah, looked over the
country spread out before him, and died, at the age of one hundred and twenty.[46] God Himself buried him in an unknown grave (Deut. xxxiv.).[46][4]
Moses was thus the human instrument in the creation of the Israelitish nation; he communicated to it all its laws.[46] More meek than any other man (Num. xii. 3), he enjoyed
unique privileges, for "there hath not arisen a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face" (Deut.
xxxiv. 10).[46]
Religious views of Moses
Moses in Jewish thought
-
In the Hebrew calendar, he was born on the 7th of Adar 2368 and died on the 7th of Adar 2488.[47][48]
There is a wealth of stories and additional information about Moses in the Jewish genre of rabbinical exegesis known as Midrash, as well as in the primary works of the
Jewish oral law, the Mishnah and the Talmud.[48]
Jewish historians who lived at Alexandria, such as Eupolemus, attributed to Moses the feat of having taught the Phoenicians
their alphabet[49], similar to legends of
Thoth. Artapanus of Alexandria explicitly
identified Moses not only with Thoth / Hermes, but also with the Greek figure Musaeus
(whom he calls "the teacher of Orpheus"), and ascribed to him the division of Egypt into 36
districts, each with its own liturgy. He names the princess who adopted Moses as Merris, wife of Pharaoh Chenephres[50].
To Orthodox Jews, Moses is really Moshe Rabbenu, `Eved HaShem, Avi haNeviim zya"a.[48] He is called "Our Leader Moshe", "Servant of God", and "Father of all the
Prophets".[48] In their view, Moses not only received
the Torah, but also the revealed (written and oral) and the hidden (the `hokhmat nistar
teachings, which gave Judaism the Zohar of the Rashbi, the Torah of the
Ari haQadosh and all that is discussed in the Heavenly Yeshiva between the Ramhal and his masters).[48] He is also considered the greatest prophet.[51]
Arising in part from his age, but also because 120 is elsewhere stated as the maximum age for Noah's descendants (one
interpretation of Genesis 6:3), "may you live to 120" has become a common blessing among Jews.[48]
Moses in Christian thought
For Christians, Moses — mentioned more often in the New
Testament than any other Old Testament figure — is often a symbol of God's law, as
reinforced and expounded on in the teachings of Jesus.[48] New Testament writers often
compared Jesus' words and deeds with Moses' to explain Jesus' mission.[48] In Acts 7:39–43, 51–53, for example, the rejection of
Moses by the Jews that worshiped the golden calf is likened to the rejection of Jesus by the Jews that continued in traditional
Judaism.[48]
Moses also figures in several of Jesus' messages.[48] When he met the Pharisee Nicodemus at night in the third chapter of the Gospel of
John, he compares Moses' lifting up of the bronze serpent in the wilderness, which any Israelite could look at and be
healed, to his own lifting up (by his death and resurrection) for the people to
look at and be healed.[48] In the sixth chapter, Jesus
responds to the people's claim that Moses provided them manna in the wilderness by saying
that it was not Moses, but God, who provided.[48]
Calling himself the "bread of life", Jesus states that he is now provided to feed God's people.[48]
He, along with Elijah, is presented as meeting with Jesus in all three Gospel accounts of the
Transfiguration in Matthew 17,
Mark 9, and Luke 9, respectively. Later
Christians found numerous other parallels between the life of Moses and Jesus to the extent that Jesus was likened to a "second
Moses." For instance, Jesus' escape from the slaughter by Herod in Bethlehem
is compared to Moses' escape from Pharaoh's designs to kill Hebrew infants.[48] Such parallels, unlike those mentioned above, are not pointed out in Scripture. See the article on
typology.[48]
His relevance to modern Christianity has not diminished. He is considered to be a saint by several churches[48]; and is commemorated as a prophet in the respective
Calendars of Saints of the Lutheran[48] and Eastern Orthodox Churches on September 4. He
is commemorated as one of the Holy Forefathers in the Calendar
of Saints of the Armenian Apostolic Church on July 30.
Moses in Mormon thought
-
Members of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints (also called Mormons) generally view Moses in the same way that other Christians
do. However, in addition to accepting the Biblical account of Moses, Mormons include the Book
of Moses as part of their scriptural canon. This book is believed to be the translated writings of Moses, and is
included in the LDS Church's Pearl of Great Price.
Latter-day Saints are also unique in believing that Moses was taken to heaven without
having tasted death. In addition, Joseph Smith, Jr. and Oliver Cowdery stated that on April 3, 1836, Moses appeared to them in the Kirtland Temple in a glorified, immortal, physical form and bestowed upon them the "keys of the
gathering of Israel from the four parts of the earth, and the leading of the ten tribes from the land of the north." [52]
Moses in Islam
-
In the Qur'an, the life of Moses (Arabic: Musa) is narrated and recounted more than any other
prophet recognized in Islam.[48] The Qur'an narrates much of Moses' life in relation to God.[48] The Qur'an and the Bible are similar on the basic outline of Moses'
life.[48] But some distinctive accounts, such as the
story of Moses and Al Khidr, are found only in the Qur'an.[48]
Moses in other religions
In Mandaeism, Moses is regarded as a false prophet. The God of Moses (YHWH) is said in
Mandaeism to be an evil god or demon (whom they also identify with the sun). While it has been asserted that Mandaeanism is of
Judaic origin, this has been disputed as they may also have had a common origin; at any rate, there are vehement polemics against
Jews in Mandaean literature.[53]
Historiography of Moses
The Moses Window at the
National Cathedral depicts the three stages in
Moses' life.
Known extra-Biblical references to Moses date from many centuries after his supposed lifetime, and contain significant
departures from the Biblical account. In addition to the Judeo-Roman or Judeo-Hellenic historians Artapanus, Eupolemus, Josephus, and Philo, a few gentile historians including Polyhistor, Manetho and Tacitus
make reference to him. The extent to which any of these accounts rely on earlier sources is unknown. Moses also appears in other
religious texts such as the Midrash, Mishna and
Qur'an
No other surviving written records from Egypt, Assyria, etc., indisputably referring to the
stories of the Bible or its main characters before ca. 850 BC have been found,[54][55] and there is no known physical evidence (such as pottery shards or stone tablets) to corroborate
Moses' existence.[56][57]Destruction of unfavorable records by unsympathetic Pharaohs, and even mass
obliteration of cartouches from monuments, is known to have occurred at several epochs in Ancient Egyptian history.[58]
Moses in Artapanus of Alexandria
This account is excerpted from the Hellenistic Jewish historian Artapanus of
Alexandria (2nd century BC), as reproduced by Eusebius.
| “ |
Jealousy of Moses' excellent qualities induced Chenephres to send him with
unskilled troops on a military expedition to Ethiopia, where he won great victories. After
having built the city of Hermopolis, he taught the people the value of the ibis as a protection against the serpents, making the bird the sacred guardian spirit of the city; then he
introduced circumcision. After his return to Memphis, Moses taught the people the value
of oxen for agriculture, and the consecration of the same by Moses gave rise to the cult of Apis. Finally, after having escaped another plot by killing the assailant sent by the king,
Moses fled to Arabia, where he married the daughter of Raguel, the ruler of the district. Chenephres in the meantime died from elephantiasis — a disease with which he was the first to be afflicted — because he had ordered that the
Jews should wear garments that would distinguish them from the Egyptians and thereby expose them to maltreatment. The sufferings
of Israel then caused God to appear to Moses in a flame bursting forth from the earth, and to tell him to march against Egypt for
the rescue of his people. Accordingly he went to Egypt to deliberate with his brother Aaron about the plan of warfare, but was
put into prison. At night, however, the doors of the prison opened of their own accord, while the guards died or fell asleep.
Going to the royal palace and finding the doors open there and the guards sunk in sleep, he went straight to the king, and when
scoffingly asked by the latter for the name of the God who sent him, he whispered the Ineffable Name into his ear, whereupon the
king became speechless and as one dead. Then Moses wrote the name upon a tablet and sealed it up, and a priest who made sport of
it died in convulsions. After this Moses performed all the wonders, striking land and people with plagues until the king let the
Jews go. In remembrance of the rod with which Moses performed his miracles every Isis temple in
Egypt has preserved a rod — Isis symbolizing the earth which Moses struck with his rod... He was eighty-nine years old when he
delivered the Jews; tall and ruddy, with long white hair, and dignified. |
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Moses in Strabo
The following excerpt comes from the Roman historian Strabo (c. 24 AD):
| “ |
34 As for Judaea, its western extremities towards Casius are occupied by
the Idumaeans and by the lake. The Idumaeans are Nabataeans, but owing to a sedition they were banished from there, joined the Judeans, and shared in the same
customs with them. The greater part of the region near the sea is occupied by Lake Sirbonis and by the country continuous with
the lake as far as Jerusalem; for this city is also near the sea; for, as I have already said, it is visible from the seaport of
Iopê. This region lies towards the north; and it is inhabited in general, as is each place in particular, by mixed stocks of
people from Aegyptian and Arabian and Phoenician tribes; for such are those who occupy Galilee
and Hiericus and Philadelphia and Samaria, which last Herod surnamed Sebastê. But though the inhabitants mixed up thus, the most prevalent of the
accredited reports in regard to the temple at Jerusalem represents the ancestors of the present Judaeans, as they are called, as
Aegyptians.
35 Moses, namely, was one of the Aegyptian priests, and held a part of Lower Aegypt, as it is called, but he
went away from there to Judaea, since he was displeased with the state of affairs there, and was accompanied by many people who
worshipped the Divine Being. For he says, and taught, that the Aegyptians were mistaken in representing the Divine Being by the
images of beasts and cattle, as were also the Libyans; and that the Greeks were also wrong in
modeling gods in human form; for, according to him, God is this one thing alone that encompasses us all and encompasses land and
sea — the thing which we call heaven, or universe, or the nature of all that exists. What man, then, if he has sense, could be
bold enough to fabricate an image of God resembling any creature amongst us? Nay, people should leave off all image-carving, and,
setting apart a sacred precinct and a worthy sanctuary, should worship God without an image; and people who have good dreams
should sleep in the sanctuary, not only themselves on their own behalf, but also others for the rest of the people; and those who
live self-restrained and righteous lives should always expect some blessing or gift or sign from God, but no other should expect
them.
36 Now Moses, saying things of this kind, persuaded not a few thoughtful men and led them away to this place where
the settlement of Jerusalem now is; and he easily took possession of the place, since it was not a place that would be looked on
with envy, nor yet one for which anyone would make a serious fight; for it is rocky, and, although it itself is well supplied
with water, its surrounding territory is barren and waterless, and the part of the territory within a radius of sixty stadia is
also rocky beneath the surface. At the same time Moses, instead of using arms, put forward as defense his sacrifices and his
Divine Being, being resolved to seek a seat of worship for Him and promising to deliver to the people a kind of worship and a
kind of ritual which would not oppress those who adopted them either with expenses or with divine obsessions or with other absurd
troubles. Now Moses enjoyed fair repute with these people, and organized no ordinary kind of government, since the peoples all
round, one and all, came over to him, because of his dealings with them and of the prospects he held out to them.
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Moses in Tacitus
The Roman historian Tacitus (ca. 100 AD) mentions several possible origins of the Jews that
were taught by those of his time.
| “ |
As I am about to relate the last days of a famous city, it seems appropriate to
throw some light on its origin. Some say that the Jews were fugitives from the island of Crete,
who settled on the nearest coast of Africa about the time when Saturn was driven from his throne by the power of Jupiter.
Evidence of this is sought in the name. There is a famous mountain in Crete called Ida; the neighbouring tribe, the
Idaei, came to be called Judaei by a barbarous lengthening of the national name. Others assert that in the reign of
Isis the overflowing population of Egypt, led by Hierosolymus and Judas, discharged itself into the
neighbouring countries. Many, again, say that they were a race of Ethiopian origin, who in the
time of king Cepheus were driven by fear and hatred of their neighbours to seek a new
dwelling-place. Others describe them as an Assyrian horde who, not having sufficient territory,
took possession of part of Egypt, and founded cities of their own in what is called the Hebrew country, lying on the borders of
Syria. Others, again, assign a very distinguished origin to the Jews, alleging that they were the Solymi, a nation celebrated in the poems of Homer, who called the city
which they founded Hierosolyma after their own name.
Most writers, however, agree in stating that once a disease, which horribly disfigured the body, broke out over Egypt; that
king |
