| Moses,
Hebrew prophet
and lawgiver and founder of Israel, or the Jewish people. The story of
his life is set forth principally in the Old Testament books of Exodus
and Deuteronomy. According to this account, he was born in Goshen, a part
of ancient Egypt. At that time the Hebrews lived in Egypt and were oppressed
by the Egyptian ruler, Pharaoh. Just before the birth of Moses, Pharaoh
had ordered that all Hebrew male infants be put to death. To save her child,
Moses's mother placed him in a basket made of papyrus and set it floating
on the Nile River in the view of his sister, Miriam (see Exodus 2:4; Numbers
26:59). He was rescued by the daughter of Pharaoh, who brought the infant
up as her own child. When an adult, Moses killed an Egyptian who had murdered
a Hebrew; he then fled from Egypt. Moses was a shepherd until he was 80
years of age.
At this time the god of the Hebrews, Yahweh, or Jehovah, appeared to
him in a burning bush and commanded him to go back to Egypt and deliver
his people from their bondage; he was to lead them out of Egypt to the
land of Canaan, in what was later Palestine, where they were to settle
permanently. To assist him in this project Yahweh gave Moses the power
to perform miracles. The Exodus Moses went to Pharaoh with his brother
Aaron, but in spite of the miracles he worked, such as changing the water
of the Nile to blood and bringing plagues upon the Egyptians, Pharaoh would
not release the Hebrew people. At last, he consented, and Moses led the
Hebrews out of Egypt toward Canaan. As they neared the Red Sea, a hostile
Egyptian army, dispatched by Pharaoh, came upon them from the rear. Moses
stretched out his arm, whereupon the Red Sea rose up in two walls, leaving
dry land between them.
The Hebrews crossed on the land, but when the Egyptians tried to pursue
them, the walls of water broke upon them, and they drowned. When the Hebrews
reached Sinai, on the Sinai Peninsula, Moses ascended the mountain to speak
with Yahweh. He spent 40 days and nights with Yahweh, from whom he received
two tablets of stone on which were inscribed the Ten Commandments, which
thereafter constituted the fundamental laws of the Hebrews. After 40 years
of wandering in the wilderness and desert under Moses's leadership and
the endurance of many hardships, such as earthquakes, plagues, fires, thirst,
and wars with the native people of Palestine, the Hebrews at last came
to Canaan. Moses was permitted by Yahweh to see Canaan, the Promised land,
from the top of Mount Pisgah (now in Jordan), and then he died. Before
he died, however, he turned the leadership of the people over to Joshua.
Although the dates of Moses's birth and death are hard to establish,
many contemporary authorities believe that the exodus took place in the
13th century BC. The Pentateuch Besides being one of the most famous national
leaders and lawgivers in history, Moses was reputedly the author of the
first five books of the Old Testament, known collectively as the Pentateuch,
and also of other parts of the Old Testament, including possibly the Book
of Job. Scholars agree almost unanimously, however, that these books are
the interwoven work of many authors. In Christianity Moses is also well
known to Christians; he is mentioned frequently in the New Testament. At
Christ's transfiguration, he represents the Law (see Matthew 17:3), and
the role he plays in the Old Testament is pointed out in the Epistle to
the Hebrews, so as to offer a comparison with that of Christ (see Hebrews
3:1-6). He is also mentioned in the Gospel of John, again to underscore
the role of Christ as the fulfillment of the Scriptures (see John 1:17). |
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