---

Moses

Text: drawn (or Egypt. mesu, "son;" hence Rameses, royal son). On the 
invitation of Pharaoh (Gen. 45:17-25), Jacob and his sons went down 
into Egypt. This immigration took place probably about 350 years 
before the birth of Moses. Some centuries before Joseph, Egypt had 
been conquered by a pastoral Semitic race from Asia, the Hyksos, who 
brought into cruel subjection the native Egyptians, who were an 
African race. Jacob and his retinue were accustomed to a shepherd's 
life, and on their arrival in Egypt were received with favour by the 
king, who assigned them the "best of the land", the land of Goshen, to 
dwell in. The Hyksos or "shepherd" king who thus showed favour to 
Joseph and his family was in all probability the Pharaoh Apopi (or 
Apopis). 

Thus favoured, the Israelites began to "multiply exceedingly" (Gen. 
47:27), and extended to the west and south. At length the supremacy of 
the Hyksos came to an end. The descendants of Jacob were allowed to 
retain their possession of Goshen undisturbed, but after the death of 
Joseph their position was not so favourable. 

The Egyptians began to despise them, and the period of their 
"affliction" (Gen. 15:13) commenced. They were sorely oppressed. They 
continued, however, to increase in numbers, and "the land was filled 
with them" (Ex. 1:7). The native Egyptians regarded them with 
suspicion, so that they felt all the hardship of a struggle for 
existence. In process of time "a king [probably Seti I.] arose who 
knew not Joseph" (Ex. 1:8). (See PHARAOH.) 

The circumstances of the country were such that this king thought it 
necessary to weaken his Israelite subjects by oppressing them, and by 
degrees reducing their number. They were accordingly made public 
slaves, and were employed in connection with his numerous buildings, 
especially in the erection of store-cities, temples, and palaces. The 
children of Israel were made to serve with rigour. 

Their lives were made bitter with hard bondage, and "all their 
service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour" (Ex. 1:13, 
14). But this cruel oppression had not the result expected of reducing 
their number. On the contrary, "the more the Egyptians afflicted them, 
the more they multiplied and grew" (Ex. 1:12). 

The king next tried, through a compact secretly made with the guild of 
midwives, to bring about the destruction of all the Hebrew male 
children that be born. But the king's wish was not rigorously 
enforced; the male children were spared by the midwives, so that "the 
people multiplied" more than ever. Thus baffled, the king issued a 
public proclamation calling on the people to put to death all the 
Hebrew male children by casting them into the river (Ex. 1:22). But 
neither by this edict was the king's purpose effected. 

One of the Hebrew households into which this cruel edict of the king 
brought great alarm was that of Amram, of the family of the Kohathites 
(Ex. 6:16-20), who with his wife Jochebed and two children, Miriam, a 
girl of perhaps fifteen years of age, and Aaron, a boy of three years, 
resided in or near Memphis, the capital city of that time. In this 
quiet home a male child was born (B.C. 1571). 

His mother concealed him in the house for three months from the 
knowledge of the civic authorities. But when the task of concealment 
became difficult, Jochebed contrived to bring her child under the 
notice of the daughter of the king by constructing for him an ark of 
bulrushes, which she laid among the flags which grew on the edge of 
the river at the spot where the princess was wont to come down and 
bathe. 

Her plan was successful. The king's daughter "saw the child; and 
behold the child wept." The princess (see PHARAOH'S DAUGHTER [1]) sent 
Miriam, who was standing by, to fetch a nurse. She went and brought 
the mother of the child, to whom the princess said, "Take this child 
away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages." Thus 
Jochebed's child, whom the princess called "Moses", i.e., "Saved from 
the water" (Ex. 2:10), was ultimately restored to her.

As soon as the natural time for weaning the child had come, he was 
transferred from the humble abode of his father to the royal palace, 
where he was brought up as the adopted son of the princess, his mother 
probably accompanying him and caring still for him. He grew up amid 
all the grandeur and excitement of the Egyptian court, maintaining, 
however, probably a constant fellowship with his mother, which was of 
the highest importance as to his religious belief and his interest in 
his "brethren." 

His education would doubtless be carefully attended to, and he would 
enjoy all the advantages of training both as to his body and his mind. 
He at length became "learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians" (Acts 
7:22). Egypt had then two chief seats of learning, or universities, at 
one of which, probably that of Heliopolis, his education was 
completed. Moses, being now about twenty years of age, spent over 
twenty more before he came into prominence in Bible history.

These twenty years were probably spent in military service. There is a 
tradition recorded by Josephus that he took a lead in the war which 
was then waged between Egypt and Ethiopia, in which he gained renown 
as a skilful general, and became "mighty in deeds" (Acts 7:22). After 
the termination of the war in Ethiopia, Moses returned to the Egyptian 
court, where he might reasonably have expected to be loaded with 
honours and enriched with wealth. 

But "beneath the smooth current of his life hitherto, a life of 
alternate luxury at the court and comparative hardness in the camp and 
in the discharge of his military duties, there had lurked from 
childhood to youth, and from youth to manhood, a secret discontent, 
perhaps a secret ambition. Moses, amid all his Egyptian surroundings, 
had never forgotten, had never wished to forget, that he was a 
Hebrew." 

He now resolved to make himself acquainted with the condition of his 
countrymen, and "went out unto his brethren, and looked upon their 
burdens" (Ex. 2:11). This tour of inspection revealed to him the cruel 
oppression and bondage under which they everywhere groaned, and could 
not fail to press on him the serious consideration of his duty 
regarding them. 

The time had arrived for his making common cause with them, that he 
might thereby help to break their yoke of bondage. He made his choice 
accordingly (Heb. 11:25-27), assured that God would bless his 
resolution for the welfare of his people. He now left the palace of 
the king and took up his abode, probably in his father's house, as one 
of the Hebrew people who had for forty years been suffering cruel 
wrong at the hands of the Egyptians. He could not remain indifferent 
to the state of things around him, and going out one day among the 
people, his indignation was roused against an Egyptian who was 
maltreating a Hebrew. He rashly lifted up his hand and slew the 
Egyptian, and hid his body in the sand. 

Next day he went out again and found two Hebrews striving together. He 
speedily found that the deed of the previous day was known. It reached 
the ears of Pharaoh (the "great Rameses," Rameses II.), who "sought to 
slay Moses" (Ex. 2:15). 

Moved by fear, Moses fled from Egypt, and betook himself to the land 
of Midian, the southern part of the peninsula of Sinai, probably by 
much the same route as that by which, forty years afterwards, he led 
the Israelites to Sinai. He was providentially led to find a new home 
with the family of Reuel, where he remained for forty years (Acts 
7:30), under training unconsciously for his great life's work. 

Suddenly the angel of the Lord appeared to him in the burning bush 
(Ex. 3), and commissioned him to go down to Egypt and "bring forth the 
children of Israel" out of bondage. He was at first unwilling to go, 
but at length he was obedient to the heavenly vision, and left the 
land of Midian (4:18-26). On the way he was met by Aaron (q.v.) and 
the elders of Israel (27-31). He and Aaron had a hard task before 
them; but the Lord was with them (ch. 7-12), and the ransomed host 
went forth in triumph. (See EXODUS.) 

After an eventful journey to and fro in the wilderness, we see them at 
length encamped in the plains of Moab, ready to cross over the Jordan 
into the Promised Land. There Moses addressed the assembled elders 
(Deut. 1:1-4; 5:1-26:19; 27:11-30: 20), and gives the people his last 
counsels, and then rehearses the great song (Deut. 32), clothing in 
fitting words the deep emotions of his heart at such a time, and in 
review of such a marvellous history as that in which he had acted so 
conspicious a part. 

Then, after blessing the tribes (33), he ascends to "the mountain of 
Nebo (q.v.), to the top of Pisgah, that is over against Jericho" 
(34:1), and from thence he surveys the land. "Jehovah shewed him all 
the land of Gilead, unto Dan, and all Naphtali, and the land of 
Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, unto the utmost sea, 
and the south, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of 
palm trees, unto Zoar" (Deut. 34:2-3), the magnificient inheritance of 
the tribes of whom he had been so long the leader; and there he died, 
being one hundred and twenty years old, according to the word of the 
Lord, and was buried by the Lord "in a valley in the land of Moab, 
over against Beth-peor" (34:6). 

The people mourned for him during thirty days. Thus died "Moses the 
man of God" (Deut. 33:1; Josh. 14:6). He was distinguished for his 
meekness and patience and firmness, and "he endured as seeing him who 
is invisible." "There arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto 
Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, in all the signs and the 
wonders, which the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt to 
Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land, and in all that 
mighty hand, and in all the great terror which Moses shewed in the 
sight of all Israel" (Deut. 34:10-12). 

The name of Moses occurs frequently in the Psalms and Prophets as the 
chief of the prophets. In the New Testament he is referred to as the 
representative of the law and as a type of Christ (John 1:17; 2 Cor. 
3:13-18; Heb. 3:5, 6). Moses is the only character in the Old 
Testament to whom Christ likens himself (John 5:46; comp. Deut. 18:15, 
18, 19; Acts 7:37). In Heb. 3: 1-19 this likeness to Moses is set 
forth in various particulars. In Jude 9 mention is made of a 
contention between Michael and the devil about the body of Moses. This 
dispute is supposed to have had reference to the concealment of the 
body of Moses so as to prevent idolatry.