Patriarch / Lawgiver · OT
Moses
The Hebrew prophet who led Israel out of Egyptian slavery and received the Law on Mount Sinai.
Moses (Hebrew: Mosheh, 'drawn out') is the central human figure of the Old Testament. Born in Egypt during a Pharaonic decree against Hebrew sons, he was hidden in a basket on the Nile and adopted by Pharaoh's daughter, raised in the royal court, and educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians. After killing an Egyptian taskmaster who was beating a Hebrew, he fled to Midian and shepherded the flocks of Jethro for forty years.
At the burning bush on Horeb, God revealed the divine name 'I AM' and commissioned Moses to confront Pharaoh. Through the ten plagues and the Passover, Moses led Israel out of Egypt and across the Red Sea. At Sinai he received the Ten Commandments and the framework of Israel's worship. He led the nation through forty years of wilderness wandering, recorded in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Forbidden to enter Canaan because of his striking the rock at Meribah, he died on Mount Nebo at one hundred and twenty years old, and the Lord himself buried him.
The New Testament treats Moses as a prefiguration of Christ — the mediator of the old covenant pointing forward to the mediator of the new (Hebrews 3:1-6).
Key moments
The burning bush
God reveals himself as 'I AM that I AM' and commissions Moses to deliver Israel.
The ten plagues and Passover
Pharaoh refuses to let Israel go; the Lord judges Egypt and institutes the Passover.
Crossing the Red Sea
Israel walks through on dry ground; Pharaoh's army is destroyed.
Mount Sinai and the Law
Moses receives the Ten Commandments and the tabernacle pattern.
Striking the rock at Meribah
His public disobedience bars him from the Promised Land (Numbers 20).
Death on Nebo
He sees Canaan from afar and dies; the Lord buries him.
Key verses
"And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you."
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"And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and Jehovah caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all the night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left."
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"And God spake all these words, saying, I am Jehovah thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me."
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"Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men that were upon the face of the earth."
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"So Moses the servant of Jehovah died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of Jehovah. And he buried him in the valley in the land of Moab over against Beth-peor: but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day. And Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated."
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"By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; choosing rather to share ill treatment with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; accounting the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt: for he looked unto the recompense of reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible."
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Frequently asked
How old was Moses when he died?
Deuteronomy 34:7 records that Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died, with eyesight undimmed and natural strength unabated.
Why was Moses not allowed to enter the Promised Land?
At the waters of Meribah (Numbers 20:7-12), God commanded Moses to speak to the rock. Instead, in anger, he struck it twice. Because he failed to honor God before the people, the Lord forbade him from leading Israel into Canaan.
Who wrote the first five books of the Bible?
Jewish and Christian tradition attributes the Pentateuch — Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy — to Moses, with the closing verses about his death added by Joshua or another inspired editor.
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