Moses
From CreationWiki, the encyclopedia of creation science
Moses (Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה, Mōšeh; Arabic: موسىٰ, Mūsā; Ge'ez: ሙሴ, Musse) was the prophet, legislator, judge, and leader of the Israelites from the Exodus of Israel from slavery in Egypt to the doorstep of Canaan. He is best known for leading the Israelites out of Egypt, and for bringing the Ten Commandments down from Mount Sinai. He is also credited with writing most of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the modern Bible) ca. 1450-1400 B.C.
Moses was the son of Amram and Jochebed.
Contents |
Moses as prophet
Moses is highly esteemed as a prophet by the Jews, Christians, Muslims, Mormons, and Baha'i. Moses's call as a prophet is recorded in Exodus 3 . Moses had fled Egypt for his life, married, and was tending his father in law's sheep. One day in the wilderness, Moses saw a bush that burned but did not burn up, and came closer to investigate. Jehovah spoke to him out of the bush, instructing him to return to Egypt and lead the Israelites out of slavery. Moses worried, however, that he was not up to the task: he told Jehovah he was a poor speaker, and worried that the Israelites would not listen to him. In order to convince him to go back, Jehovah gave Moses a number of signs and miracles. Moses was convinced, and returned to Egypt to accomplish the tasks Jehovah had for him.
During Moses's time as a prophet, he announced the will of Jehovah to the Egyptians and Israelites, persuaded Jehovah not to wipe out the Israelites, performed miracles such as parting the Red Sea and bringing water from rocks in the wilderness, spoke face to face with God, and brought the Law of God to Man. In the New Testament, he appeared with Jesus at the transfiguration.
Although extraordinary in many respects, Moses was also flawed in several respects: notably his bad temper. The first time he received the Ten Commandments from God, he returned from the mountain to find the Israelites worshipping an idol; he became so angry that he threw the tablets to the ground, destroying them. Similarly, near the end of his life, the Israelites were in the wilderness, were thirsty, and were complaining. Jehovah told Moses to speak to a rock and bring forth water. Moses, however, snapped at the Israelites, saying, "Listen, you rebels! Must we bring water forth from the rock?" and striking it twice with his staff. Because Moses did not honor Jehovah in front of the Israelites, Jehovah punished Moses by not allowing him to enter Canaan before he died.
Moses as author
Moses is traditionally credited with being the author of the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Old Testament. Jesus seems to confirm this when he refers to Moses writing about him (John 5:46 ), and although he is not specific about exactly what Moses wrote, he would have been referring to the books generally understood as being written by Moses.
We cannot be certain as to how exactly the Pentateuch was written. One possibility is that Moses wrote the Pentateuch in their present form, and scribes added a few passages (such as reference to the death of Moses) after he died. Another possibility is that Moses wrote a number of different books over the course of his life which were later compiled by scribes into the Pentateuch. A third possibility is recorded by the Jewish historian Josephus: that Moses wrote about his own death before he died, for fear that the people might believe he escaped death because of his extraordinary virtue. Antiquities of the Jews, IV:1:49. Some sceptics argue that Moses could not have written Deuteronomy, as the book records Moses' death. However, that is recorded in the very last chapter, and there is no reason not to think that a later author didn't append the final chapter. Such an occurrence does not undermine the claim of Moses' authorship, despite the claims of some sceptics.
The source of the material is another open question. One possibility is that Moses did not write Genesis, but compiled it from pre-existing written documents handed down through the ancestors of the Israelites all the way back to Adam. Moses could have edited the text to update some information, but whilst Moses would not be the actual author of the book in this case, he would still be responsible for it in its final form, and it would therefore still be one of the "books of Moses". Another possibility is that Moses received the basis of the Pentateuch directly from God, as is recorded in the Book of Jubilees, and it was later compiled into historical form by scribes.
Moses as military leader
According to the Antiquities of the Jews, a Jewish history written by Flavius Josephus, Moses served in the Egyptian military prior to the Exodus of Israel (Antiquities 2:10 ). According to that account, the Ethiopians were raiding the Egyptians, and the Egyptians selected Moses to fight back.
Moses used a remarkable tactic in fighting the war, to take the Ethiopians by surprise. The Ethiopians were expecting Moses to attack by marching along the river, rather than by land, because the land between the two armies was so thick with snakes that it was impassable. Because it was so thick with snakes, the Ethiopians did not expect the Egyptians to march that route. But Moses decided to march that route to take them by surprise. In order to deal with the snakes, Moses hatched this plan: He had his men make boxes and put birds known as Ibes in them. He then brought the Ibes to the land with the snakes, and used them to repel the snakes. Without the snakes to worry about, his army was able to march across that route, take the Ethiopians by surprise, and defeat them.
Related References
See Also
| |||||||||||
