Moses

Reluctantly, Zipporah circumcised the boy and God let Moses go in verse 26.

24 And it came to pass on the way, at the encampment, that the Lord met him and sought to kill him. 25 Then Zipporah took a sharp stone and cut off the foreskin of her son and cast it at Moses' feet, and said, "Surely you are a husband of blood to me!" 26 So He let him go. Then she said, "You are a husband of blood!"-because of the circumcision.

27 And the Lord said to Aaron, "Go into the wilderness to meet Moses." So he went and met him on the mountain of God, and kissed him. 28 So Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord who had sent him, and all the signs which He had commanded him.

The followers of Moses were Israelites, but today we sometimes use the term Hebrew, Jew and Israelite interchangeably. This, generically, would include Moses as a Jew, though more specifically he was from the Israelite tribe of Levi.
The descendants of Abraham (through his grandson Jacob) were called Israelites, since God gave Jacob the honorific title of Israel (Genesis ch.35).

After King Solomon's death, the 12 tribes of Israel split in two (1 Kings ch.12), with 10 tribes in the north following Jeroboam and 2 tribes in the south (Judah and Benjamin) following Solomon's son, Rehoboam.
The term Jew was not used as a national title until after the 10 tribes (the Northern kingdom) was exiled, during the First Temple era.
From that time, the name of "Jews" was used to refer to those who remained, since most of them belonged to the tribe of Judah. It was then used generically to apply to any Israelites returning from exile.

With his mouth face-to-face one friend talking to another - is that too simple? Do not allegorize the Bible: take what is says literally :-

Exo 33:11 And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.

Deu 34:7-10 KJV And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated. [v. 8] And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days: so the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended. [v. 9] And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands upon him: and the children of Israel hearkened unto him, and did as the LORD commanded Moses. [v. 10] And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face,

However, Moses wasn't the only one God spoke to: God also spoke verbally to the Israelites themselves but they didn't want to listen! :-

Deu 5:1-6, 21-26 KJV [v.1] And Moses called all Israel, and said unto them, Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your ears this day, that ye may learn them, and keep, and do them. [v. 2] The LORD our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. [v. 3] The LORD made not this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day. [v. 4]The LORD talked with you face to face in the mount out of the midst of the fire, [v.5] (I stood between the LORD and you at that time, to shew you the word of the LORD: for ye were afraid by reason of the fire, and went not up into the mount;) saying, [v. 6] I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.[Here God gives the 10 Commandments] .....[v.21] Neither shalt thou desire thy neighbour's wife, neither shalt thou covet thy neighbour's house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant, his ox, or his ass, or any thing that is thy neighbour's. [v. 22] These words the LORD spake unto all your assembly in the mount out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice: and he added no more. And he wrote them in two tables of stone, and delivered them unto me. [v. 23] And it came to pass, when ye heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, (for the mountain did burn with fire,) that ye came near unto me, even all the heads of your tribes, and your elders; [v. 24] And ye said, Behold, the LORD our God hath shewed us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire: we have seen this day that God doth talk with man, and he liveth. [v. 25] Now therefore why should we die? for this great fire will consume us: if we hear the voice of the LORD our God any more, then we shall die.[v. 26] For who is there of all flesh, that hath heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived?

They used the excuse that no-one could listen to God and live, but they already knew that Moses spoke with God face-to-face and Moses was still alive and hadn't been 'zapped' by an almighty bolt of lightning from heaven! It's the same with us today: God wants us to speak with Him as a friend, not as Someone to be feared. God usually speaks to us today through the Word of God, the Bible, but if you don't know how to start, just tell Him exactly that: He'd love to do it. After all, He died to do so. He's speaking to you all the time: all you have to do is respond: the ball's in your court.

You can find who Moses killed in Genesis.

Moses and the Exodus he led from Egypt are absolutely foundational to biblical history and the development of Jewish tradition. However, we have no historical or archaeological evidence for the Exodus from Egypt. Almost all scholars now believe that Moses did not lead the Israelites out of Egypt after 430 years there. They say that the Israelites did not really conquer the land of the Canaanites, but were themselves rural Canaanites who left the region of the rich coastal cities and settled peacefully in the hitherto sparsely populated hinterland. Carol A. Redmount ('Bitter lives', published in The Oxford History of the Biblical World) says that recent research indicates that even more of the extant Exodus account than previously thought comes from periods during or after the Israelite monarchy or even the Babylonian Exile.

Some scholars believe the story of Moses and the Exodus from Egypt is so well attested in the Bible that there must be a historical basis behind the legend. They believe the Book of Exodus might be based in small part on a true story of a small band of escaping slaves who were found by the Midianites, near death in the desert, and nursed back to health and allowed to continue their journey northwards to be reunited with their Canaanite or Hebrew countrymen. On this view, there were no plagues of Egypt (and the Egyptian records support this), no parting of the Red Sea, no Ten Commandments and no Ark of the Covenant.

The biblical achievements of Moses are important to Jewish identity, even if we now know they were not important in history. For more information, please visit: http://christianity.answers.com/theology/moses-in-history-and-tradition

God asked Moses to do many things (from Exodus ch.3 until Deuteronomy ch.34). The effect of all of them was to get the Israelites out of Egypt, give them the Torah, and form them into a nation all of whom would serve God. See also:

Moses

The Exodus

The Torah

This article will give short biographies of Moses and Joshua, and will answer some questions about them.

Moses' mother didn't want him to die. So she made a basket for him and put him in it to float in the Nile reeds. He was found by Pharaoh's daughter, who took pity on him (Exodus ch.2) and raised him as her own son.

Moses was forced to flee after killing a cruel Egyptian taskmaster, and went to Midian, where he wedded the daughter of Jethro.

He eventually achieved the highest level of prophecy (Deuteronomy ch.34) and was called upon by God (Exodus ch.3). He brought the Israelites out of Egyptian slavery (Exodus ch.12). He received the Torah from God (Exodus 24:12) and later recorded it in writing (Deuteronomy 31:24). He went up on Mount Sinai for 40 days and nights (Deuteronomy ch.9-10) and brought down the Two Stone Tablets with the Ten Commandments (Exodus 31:18). He brought the Israelites into the covenant with God (Exodus ch.19 and ch.24), and he oversaw the building of the Tabernacle (Exodus ch.35-40). He was the humblest of men and the greatest of prophets (Numbers ch.12).

• How did Moses know he was an Israelite?

2) Moses was not a prisoner in the royal palace. He came and went as he pleased (Exodus 2:11 and 2:13) and sought out his people (ibid).

• Did Moses ever sin or make a mistake?

Moses' sin is mentioned (Numbers 20:12 and 24) again and again (Numbers ch.27, Deuteronomy ch.32). He struck the rock which was, by a miracle of God, made into a source of water (Numbers ch.20). He was supposed to speak to the rock instead (ibid). Striking the rock served to slightly diminish the miracle.

It should be self-understood that this criticism of Moses is only in proportion to his greatness. In the final analysis, he remained the most godly person who ever lived (Deuteronomy ch.34).

• Why was Joshua chosen as leader after Moses?

As Moses approached the time when he would have to hand over the helm of leadership, Joshua turned out to be the best choice to carry on, and God named him as Moses' successor (Numbers ch.27).

• What are the contents of the Book of Joshua?

1. God tells Joshua to be strong
2. Joshua sends two spies to Jericho
3. The Israelites enter Canaan
4. The Israelites conquer Jericho miraculously
5. The Israelites are defeated at the city of Ai
6. The punishment of Achan who violated a national oath
7. The second battle of Ai
8. The treaty with the Gibeonites
9. The battle against the attackers of Gibeon
10. The conquering of most of Canaan
11. The division of the land among Israelite tribes
12. The apportioning of the Levite cities
13. The apportioning of the Cities of Refuge
14. The altar built by Reuben and Gad
15. Joshua's speech to the Israelites
16. Joshua's death

• Why did Joshua kill the Canaanites?

Note:

1) The Canaanites were exceptionally wicked (Leviticus ch.18, Deuteronomy ch.18).

2) Israel (Canaan) originally belonged to the Semites (after the Flood) and was gradually seized from them by the Canaanites (Rashi commentary, Genesis 12:6). This was one of the reasons why God gave the land to Abraham and his descendants (Genesis ch.13), since he was a Semite (Genesis ch.11).

3) The Israelites did not simply slaughter the Canaanites. They fought them in proper battle (Joshua ch.10) with miraculous assistance from God (Exodus ch.23).

4) They warned the Canaanites concerning God's command to take Canaan (Jerusalem Talmud, Shevi'it 6:1), and gave them a chance to leave the land (ibid). The Girgashites took the warning seriously and departed to Africa (ibid.), while the Gibeonites made a treaty with the Israelites (Joshua ch.9). The rest of the Canaanites insisted on fighting, and attacked the Israelites with a massive army (Joshua ch.11).

5) Whenever fighting, the Israelites never completely surrounded any town. They offered conditional peace, and then (if peace was rejected) left one area open for escape so that whoever wanted to flee could do so (Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Laws of kings and war ch.6).

No, Moses was semitic, usually a swarthy skinned people.

Answer 2

According to Sigmund Freud(Moses and Monothiesm)and bibical evidence, Moses was a Black Egyptian(Hamite). The root of the word semitic is semi, which means half(like semi-annual or semi-circle). Black Americans, many of whom are swarthy, (some are much lighter due to centuries of mixing with Whites, Native Americans, and others) are still classified as Black, not semitic. The same must hold true for Moses. You can't allow the rules to be changed because of racial, cultural and/or religious bias.

Answer 3

Moses was a Jew; and Jews were and are known to be a copper or olive color of skin. Sigmund Freud is not a reliable source, as he believed that man's primary goal for life is for sexual pleasures, which is un-Biblical.

Answer 4

Yes Moses was most definitely "darkskinned" the term black as related to skin is a recent phenomenon. People here keep saying that Moses was swarthy" they are correct, but then as if they don't understand the term will quickly say that Moses was not African, when he most definitely was "African" Swarthy: dark-skinned: naturally having skin of a dark color; "a dark-skinned beauty"; "gold earrings gleamed against her dusky cheeks"; "a smile on his swarthy face"; "`swart' is archaic"

As can easily be seen here swarthy means darkskinned. What people today call black!

In general people accept that when Africa is mentioned, darkskinned people are implied. While this is not emphatically true, Moses was most definitely a dark skinned Hebrew, as Hebrews come in many shades just as so called African Americans do as well. It is a very well kept secret of the origin of the negroes in the Americas and who they really are.

Answer 5

(Jewish answer) First I'll respond to the numerous mistakes in the above answers.

a) Semites are not all swarthy. They are often olive-toned but come in other shades as well, including light-skinned.

b) (answer 2) Freud was expressing a mere opinion with no evidence.

c) "Semitic" has nothing to do with "semi" anything. It's from Shem, one of Noah's sons (Genesis ch.10), ancestor of the Israelites and other nations.

d) If one admits that Africans are not Semitic, what does that have to do with Moses the Semite?

e) (answer 4) According to dictionaries, "swarthy" can refer to any skin-tone from olive-skinned to Black.

f) Moses was born in Egypt, but that proves nothing concerning his appearance, since he had two Israelite parents. Moreover, the Israelites did not "mix" (have sexual relations) with the Egyptians (Rashi commentary, Numbers ch.26).

g) DNA studies have debunked the claim that African-Americans are Israelite.

Now to return to the original question:

Just as today, Israelites came in differing skin-tones, heights, and body-types. Our tradition is that the twelve sons of Jacob (the 12 Tribes) were not completely similar to each other in appearance, though none of them was really dark-skinned (Rashi commentary on Genesis 12:11).

Abraham himself came from Western Asia, and since Jews have intermarried very little in the last 3800 years, he probably looked like Jews today.

DNA testing of Jewish communities worldwide has shown that they are all interrelated and of Middle Eastern genetics, comparable to the Sephardim today (not African or Egyptian).

Moses was an Israelite, a great-great grandson of Jacob. He was born 245 years after the death of Abraham. The time when Moses was born was when the Pharaoh had ordered his people to kill all Israelite male infants because he (Pharaoh) was afraid that the Israelites would become too strong for him (Exodus ch.1-2).

Moses' mother didn't want him to die. So she made a basket for him and put him in it to float in the Nile reeds. He was found by Pharaoh's daughter, who took pity on him (Exodus ch.2) and raised him as her own son.

Moses was forced to flee after killing a cruel Egyptian taskmaster, and went to Midian, where he wedded the daughter of Jethro.

He eventually achieved the highest level of prophecy (Deuteronomy ch.34) and was called upon by God (Exodus ch.3). He brought the Israelites out of Egyptian slavery (Exodus ch.12). He received the Torah from God (Exodus 24:12) and later recorded it in writing (Deuteronomy 31:24). He went up on Mount Sinai for 40 days and nights (Deuteronomy ch.9-10) and brought down the Two Stone Tablets with the Ten Commandments (Exodus 31:18). He brought the Israelites into the covenant with God (Exodus ch.19 and ch.24), and he oversaw the building of the Tabernacle (Exodus ch.35-40). He was the humblest of men and the greatest of prophets (Numbers ch.12).

See also:

What problems did Moses face and overcome?

God threatened to kill them, not disown them (Numbers 14:12). Moses responded with a prayer of intercession and supplication (Numbers ch.14). ("Disowning" could be applied, to some extent, to Exodus 33:1-3, but that was a case of sin [the Golden Calf], not complaints).

See also:

More about Moses

Why did the Israelites complain