Information AboutMoses |
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]] Moses ( (7 Adar 2368 - 7 Adar 2488 in the Hebrew calendar); 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 Christianity , Islam and the Bahá'í Faith . 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 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. 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 Israelite s 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 . Jochebed (also Yocheved) was also the sister of Amram's father Kohath . (Exodus vi 20) Aaron was Moses' elder brother. 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.see Reference Halley's Bible Handbook ]] Jochebed, the wife of the Levite Amram, bore a son and kept him concealed for three months. Biblical data on Moses 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. In the Biblical account, Moses' sister 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
Shepherd in Midian ]] After Moses had reached adulthood, he went to see how his brethren who were enslaved to the of the Gulf Of Aqaba 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. Antiquities of the Jews, Book II, Chapter 11, Paragraph 2 No further mention is made of Moses' first wife Tharbis in either Exodus or Flavius Josephus except in the case where Aaron and Miriam taunted Moses about it. There he sojourned forty years, following the occupation of a shepherd, during which time his son Gershom was born. Exodus 2:16–22 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. When he turned aside to look more closely at the marvel, God spoke to him from the bush, revealing His Name to Moses. 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. Exodus 4:2–9 Flavius Josephus mentions that Moses also practiced the pouring of the river water in Antiquities of the Jews, Book II, Chapter 12, Paragraph 3 , but it appears that this might be a mistake on Josephus' part 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. Exodus 4:20–31 It is also revealed that during Moses' absence, the Pharaoh of the Oppression (sometimes identified with upon the Egyptians. The third was Lice , Gnat s, 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 from the sky in the morning and quail in the evening took care of the situation. Ex. 16 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. Ex. 17:1–7 ]]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. Ex. 17:8–13 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. Ex. 18 When the . Exodus 24:14 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. Exodus 32 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 Ethiopia n, Josephus explains the marriage of Moses to this Ethiopian in the ''Antiquities of the Jews'' and about him being the only one through whom the Lord spoke. Miriam was punished with leprosy for seven days. Numbers 12:1–15 The people left ) 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. Numbers 13–14 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. Numbers 16 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. Numbers 17:1–8 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. Num. 20:1–13 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. , curing the Israelites from Snake Bites.]] Now ready to enter Canaan, the Israelites abandon the idea of attacking the Canaanites head-on in 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 Rabbi nical 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 , in his farewell speech, also makes reference to it. Nehemiah, Micah, and Joshua continue in the historical account of Balaam, who next advises the Midianites how to bring disaster on the Israelites by seducing the people with idols and beautiful women, which proves partly successful. 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. Num. 25:1–13 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. Num. 31:17-18 The Israelites killed Balaam, and the five kings of Midian: Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba. Num. 31:8 Moses appointed Joshua , son of Nun , to succeed him as the leader of the Israelites. Num. 27:15–23 Moses then died at the age of 120. 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). He therefore assembled the tribes and delivered to them a parting address, which forms the Book of Deuteronomy. In this address it is commonly supposed that he recapitulated the Law, reminding them of its most important features. 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. Yhwh Himself buried him in an unknown grave (Deut. xxxiv.). Moses was thus the human instrument in the creation of the Israelitish nation; he communicated to it all its laws. 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). Death of Moses RELIGIOUS VIEWS OF MOSES Moses in Jewish thought See Also: Moses in Rabbinic Literature In the Hebrew calendar, he was born on the 7th of Adar 2368 and died on the 7th of Adar 2488. 7 adar in Jewish History 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 . Jewish historians who lived at Alexandria , such as Eupolemus , attributed to Moses the feat of having taught the Phoenicia ns their alphabetEusebius, ''Præparatio Evangelica'' ix. 26, 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 ChenephresEusebius, l.c. ix. 27. To Orthodox Jews, Moses is really ''Moshe Rabbenu, `Eved HaShem, Avi haNeviim zya"a''. He is called "Our Leader Moshe", "Servant of God", and "Father of all the Prophets". In the He received the Torah , as much for the revealed (written and oral) and the hidden (the ''`hokhmat nistar'', 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). He is also considered the greatest prophet.http://www.jewfaq.org/moshe.htm Arising in part from his age, but also because 120 is elsewhere stated as the maximum age for Noah's descendants (one interpretation of ), "may you live to 120" has become a common blessing among Jews. Religious views of Moses 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 . New Testament writers often compared Jesus' words and deeds with Moses' to explain Jesus' mission. 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. Moses also figures in several of Jesus' messages. 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. 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. Calling himself the "bread of life", Jesus states that he is now provided to feed God's people. 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. Such parallels, unlike those mentioned above, are not pointed out in Scripture. See the article on Typology . His relevance to modern Christianity has not diminished. He is considered to be a saint by several churches; and is commemorated as a prophet in the respective Calendars of Saints of the Lutheran 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 Islam See Also: Islamic view of Moses In the . The Qur'an narrates much of Moses' life in relation to God. The Qur'an and the Bible are similar on the basic outline of Moses' life. But some distinctive accounts, such as the story of Moses and Al Khidr , are found only in the Qur'an. Moses in Mormon thought See Also: Book of Moses Members of the and subsequent prophets. 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. See Book HISTORIOGRAPHY OF MOSES 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 features prominently in later traditions such as the Midrash , Mishna and Qur'an ; these texts draw on and diverge from Biblical accounts. See the article on The Bible And History . No other surviving written records from Egypt, and Akhenaten following their respective reigns, a sort of '' Damnatio Memoriae ''. Moses in Artapanus of Alexandria This account is excerpted from the Hellenistic Jewish historian Artapanus Of Alexandria (2nd century BCE), as reproduced by Eusebius . Moses in Strabo The following excerpt comes from the Roman historian Strabo (c. 24 CE):
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| {{cquote2''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 | "http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/information/entry/Crete" class="copylinks">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 Assyria n 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'' |
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