Index PDF
Index PDF
Index PDF
Moses
Moses
Moses Smashing the Tablets of the Law by artist Rembrandt Personal Born Died Goshen, Lower Egypt Mount Nebo, Moab
Moses (Hebrew: , Modern Moshe Tiberian Mh ISO 259-3 Moe ; Syriac: Moushe; Arabic: Ms ) was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the Qur'an, and Baha'i scripture, a former Egyptian prince and warrior,[citation needed] later turned religious leader, lawgiver, and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed. Also called Moshe Rabbenu in Hebrew ( , Lit. "Moses our Teacher/Rabbi"), he is the most important prophet in Judaism.[1] He is also an important prophet in Christianity and Islam, as well as a number of other faiths. The existence of Moses as well as the veracity of the Exodus story are disputed among archaeologists and Egyptologists, with experts in the field of biblical criticism citing logical inconsistencies, new archaeological evidence, historical evidence, and related origin myths in Canaanite culture.[2][3] Other historians maintain that the biographical details and Egyptian background attributed to Moses imply the existence of a historical political and religious leader who was involved in the consolidation of the Hebrew tribes in Canaan towards the end of the Bronze Age. According to the Book of Exodus, Moses was born in a time when his people, the Children of Israel, were increasing in numbers and the Egyptian Pharaoh was worried that they might ally with Egypt's enemies. Moses' Hebrew mother, Jochebed, secretly hid him when the Pharaoh ordered all newborn Hebrew boys to be killed upon the circulating prophecy among Egyptian priests of a messianic deliverer among the Hebrew slaves. Through the Pharaoh's sister Queen Bithia, the child was adopted as a foundling from the Nile river and grew up with the Egyptian royal family. After killing an Egyptian slavemaster, Moses fled across the Red Sea to Midian, where he encountered the God of Israel in the form of a "burning bush". God sent Moses back to Egypt to demand the release of the Israelites from slavery. After the Ten Plagues, Moses led the Exodus of the Israelites out of Egypt and across the Red Sea, after which they based themselves at Mount Sinai, where Moses received the Ten Commandments. After 40 years of wandering in the desert, Moses died within sight of the Promised Land.
Moses Rabbinical Judaism calculated a lifespan of Moses corresponding to 13911271 BCE;[4] Jerome gives 1592 BCE, and Ussher 1619 BCE as his birth year.[5]
Name
The biblical text explains the name Moeh as a derivation of the root mh "to draw", in Exodus 2:10 [6]: "she called his name Moses (): and she said, Because I drew him () out of the water." (KJV). The name is thus suggested to relate to drawing out in a passive sense, "the one who was drawn out". Those who depart from this tradition derive the name from the same root but in an active sense, "he who draws out", in the sense of "saviour, deliverer".[7] The form of the name as recorded in the Masoretic text is indeed the expected form of the Biblical Hebrew active participle.[8] Josephus argued for an Egyptian etymology, and some scholarly suggestions have followed this in deriving the name from Coptic terms mo "water" and `uses "save, deliver", suggesting a meaning "saved from the water".[9] Another suggestion has connected the name with the Egyptian ms, as found in Tuth-mose and Ra-messes, meaning "born" or "child".[10]
Biblical narrative
In the Hebrew Bible, the narratives of Moses are in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. According to the Book of Exodus, Moses was a son of Amram, a member of the Levite tribe of Israel descended from Jacob, and his wife, Jochebed. Jochebed (also Yocheved) was kin to Amram's father Kehath (Exodus 6:20). Moses had one older (by seven years) sister, Miriam, and one older (by three years) brother, Aaron. According to Genesis 46:11, Amram's father Kehath 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 an unnamed Egyptian Pharaoh had
Moses rescued from the Nile, 1638, by Nicolas Poussin.
Moses
commanded that all male Hebrew children born be killed by drowning in the river Nile. Jochebed, the wife of the Levite Amram, bore a son and kept him concealed for three months. When she could keep him hidden no longer, rather than deliver him to be killed, she set him in a marsh on the Nile River in a small craft of bulrushes coated in pitch. Moses' sister Miriam observed the tiny boat until the Pharaoh's daughter (Bithiah, Thermuthis ) came to bathe with her handmaidens. It is said that she spotted the baby in the basket and had her handmaiden fetch it for her. Miriam came forward and asked Pharaoh's daughter whether she would like a Hebrew woman to nurse the baby. Thereafter, Jochebed was employed as the child's nurse. Moses grew up and was brought to Pharaoh's daughter and became her son and a younger brother to the future Pharaoh of Egypt. Moses would not be able to become Pharaoh because he was not the 'blood' son of Bithiah, and he was the youngest.WP:NOTRS
Shepherd in Midian
From Dura-Europos synagogue.
After Moses had reached adulthood, he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew. Moses killed the Egyptian and buried his body in the sand. Moses soon discovered that the affair was known, and that Pharaoh was likely to put him to death for it. Moses then fled from Egypt across the Sinai Peninsula. In Midian he stopped at a well where he protected seven shepherdesses from a band of rude shepherds. The shepherdesses' father Hobab adopted him as his son. Hobab gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage, and made him the superintendent of his herds.[11] Moses lived in Midian for forty years as a shepherd, during which time his son Gershom was born. One day, Moses led his flock to Mount Horeb (Exodus 3 [12]), usually identified with Mount Sinai a mountain that was thought in the Middle Ages to be located on the Sinai Peninsula. There he saw a bush that burned, but was not consumed. When Moses came to look more closely, God spoke to him from the bush, revealing his name to Moses.
Moses
Moses before the Pharaoh, a 6th-century miniature from the Syriac Bible of Paris.
Moses
Moses holding up his arms during the battle, assisted by Aaron and Hur. Painting by John Everett Millais
From there they reached the plain of Rephidim, completing the crossing of the Red Sea.
Moses
Moses 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. The Tribe of Reuben, led by Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and 250 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 250 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 14,700 persons, and was ended only when Aaron went with his censer into the midst of the people. To prevent further murmurings and settle the matter permanently, Moses had each of the chief princes 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. North into Canaan 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. 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. Now ready to enter Canaan, the Israelites abandoned the idea of attacking the Canaanites head-on in Hebron, a city in the southern part of Canaan. Having been informed by spies that the Canaanites were too strong, it was decided that they would flank Hebron by going farther East, around the Dead Sea. This required that they pass through Edom, Moab, and Ammon. These three tribes were considered Hebrews by the Israelites as descendants of Lot, and therefore could not be attacked. However they were also rivals, and did not therefore give permission to allow the Israelites to pass openly through their territory. So Moses led his people carefully along the eastern border of Edom, the southernmost of these territories. While the Israelites were making their journey around Edom, they complained about the manna. After many of the people had been bitten by serpents and died, Moses made the brass serpent and mounted it on a pole, and if those who were bitten looked at it, they did not die.
Moses lifts up the brass serpent, curing the Israelites from poisonous snake bites in a painting by Benjamin West.
Moses According to the Biblical Book of Kings, this brass serpent remained in existence until the days of King Hezekiah, who destroyed it after persons began treating it as an idol. When they reached Moab, it was revealed that Moab had been attacked and defeated by the Amorites led by a king named Sihon. The Amorites were a non-Hebrew Canaanic people who once held power in the Fertile Crescent. When Moses asked the Amorites for passage and it was refused, Moses attacked the Amorites (as non-Hebrews, the Israelites had no reservations in attacking them), presumably weakened by conflict with the Moabites, and defeated them. The Israelites, now holding the territory of the Amorites just north of Moab, desired to expand their holdings by acquiring Bashan, a fertile territory north of Ammon famous for its oak trees and cattle. It was led by a king named Og. Later rabbinical legends made Og a survivor of the flood, suggesting that he had sat on the Ark and was fed by Noah. The Israelites fought with Og's forces at Edrei, on the southern border of Bashan, where the Israelites were victorious and slew every man, woman, and child of his cities and took spoil for their bounty. Balak, king of Moab, having heard of the Israelites' conquests, feared that his territory might be next. Therefore he sent 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 sent back word that he could do only what God commands, and God had, via a dream, told him not to go. Moab consequently sent higher ranking priests and offered Balaam honours, and so God told Balaam to go with them. Balaam thus set out with two servants to go to Balak, but an Angel tried to prevent him. At first the Angel was seen by only the ass Balaam was riding. After Balaam started to punish the ass for refusing to move, it was miraculously given the power to speak to Balaam, and it complained about Balaam's treatment. At this point, Balaam was allowed to see the angel, who informed him that the ass was the only reason the Angel did not kill Balaam. Balaam immediately repented, but was told to go on. Balak met with Balaam at Kirjath-huzoth, and they went to the high places of Baal, and offered sacrifices at seven altars, leading to Balaam's being given a prophecy by God, which Balaam related to Balak. However, the prophecy blessed Israel; Balak remonstrated, but Balaam reminded him that he could speak only the words put in his mouth, so Balak took him to another high place at Pisgah, to try again. Building another seven altars here, and making sacrifices on each, Balaam provided another prophecy blessing Israel. Balaam was finally taken by a now very frustrated Balak to Peor, and, after the seven sacrifices there, decided not to seek enchantments, but instead looked on the Israelites from the peak. The spirit of God came upon Balaam and he delivered a third positive prophecy concerning Israel. Balak's anger rose to the point where he threatened Balaam, but Balaam merely offered a prediction of fate.
A Russian Orthodox icon of the prophet Moses, Balaam then looked on the Kenites, and Amalekites and offered two gesturing towards the burning bush. 18th-century more predictions of fate. Balak and Balaam then went to their (Iconostasis of Transfiguration Church, Kizhi respective homes. Later, Balaam informed Balak and the Midianites Monastery, Karelia, Russia). that if they wished to overcome the Israelites for a short interval, they needed to seduce the Israelites to engage in idolatry.WP:NOTRS The Midianites sent beautiful women to the Israelite camp to seduce the young men to partake in idolatry, and the attempt proved successful.[17]
God then commanded Moses to kill everyone who had engaged in idolatry and to hang their heads, and Moses ordered the judges to carry out the mass execution. At the same time, one of the Israelites brought home a Midianitish woman in the sight of the congregation. Upon seeing this, Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron, took a javelin in his hand and thrust it through both the Israelite and the Midianitish woman, turning away the wrath of
Moses God. By that time, however, the 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. 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 [18] says Moses instructed the Israelite soldiers to kill every Midianite woman, boy, and non-virgin girl, although virgin girls were shared among the soldiers. The Israelites killed Balaam, and the five kings of Midian: Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba. Moses appointed Joshua, son of Nun, to succeed him as the leader of the Israelites. Moses then died at the age of 120.
Death
Moses was warned that he would not be permitted to lead the Israelites across the Jordan river, because of his trespass at the waters of Meribah (Deut. 32:51) but would die on its eastern shores (Num. 20:12). He therefore assembled the tribes, and delivered to them a parting address, which is taken to form the Book of Deuteronomy. When Moses finished, he sang a song and pronounced a blessing on the people. He then went up Mount Nebo to the top of Pisgah, looked over the promised land of Israel spread out before him, and died, at the age of one hundred and twenty, according to Talmudic legend on 7 Adar, his 120th birthday exactly.[19] God Himself buried him in an unknown grave in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Bethpeor (Deut. 34:6). Moses was thus the human instrument in the creation of the nation of Israel by communicating to it the Torah. More humble than any other man (Num. 12:3), he enjoyed unique privileges, for "there hath not arisen a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom YHWH knew face to face" (Deut. 34:10). See also Jude 1:9 [20] and Zechariah 3 [21].
Moses
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Mosaic law
The Book of Kings relates how a "law of Moses" was discovered in the Temple during the reign of King Josiah (r. 641609 BC). This book is mostly identified as an early version of the Book of Deuteronomy, perhaps chapters 5-26 and chapter 28 of the extant text. This text contains a number of laws, dated to the 8th century BC kingdom of Judah, a time when a minority Yahwist faction was actively attacking mainstream polytheism, succeeding in establishing official monolatry of the God of Israel under Josiah by the late 7th century BC. The law attributed to Moses, specifically the laws set out in Deuteronomy, as a consequence came to be considered supreme over all other sources of authority (the king and his officials), and the Levite priests were the guardians and interpreters of the law.[22] The Book of Deuteronomy (Deuteronomy 31:9 [23] and Deuteronomy 31:2426 [24]) describes how Moses writes "torah" (instruction) on a scroll and lays it beside the Ark of the Covenant.[25] Similar passages include, for example, Exodus 17:14, "And YHWH said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven;" Exodus 24:4, "And Moses wrote all the words of YHWH, and rose up early in the morning, and built an altar under the mount, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel;" Exodus 34:27, "And Yahweh said unto Moses, Write thou these words, for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel;" and Leviticus 26:46 [26] "These are the decrees, the laws and the regulations that the LORD established on Mount Sinai between himself and the Israelites through Moses."
William Blake's "Moses Receiving the Law", a pen and black ink sketch with additional colouring, is one of his many illustrations of biblical subjects. This sketch, completed circa 1780 is currently held by the Yale Center for British Art
Based on this tradition, "Mosaic law" came to refer to the entire legal content of the Pentateuch, not just the Ten Commandments explicitly connected to Moses in the biblical narrative. The content of this law was excerpted and codified in Rabbinical Judaism as the 613 Mitzvot. By Late Antiquity, the tradition of Moses being the source of the law in the Pentateuch also gave rise to the tradition of Mosaic authorship, the interpretation of the entire Torah as the work of Moses.
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Moses Isis thereafter contained a rod, in remembrance of that used for Moses' miracles. He describes Moses as 80 years old, "tall and ruddy, with long white hair, and dignified." Some historians, however, point out the "apologetic nature of much of Artapanus' work,":40 with his addition extra-biblical details, as with references to Jethro: The non-Jewish Jethro expresses admiration for Moses' gallantry in helping his daughters, and chooses to adopt Moses as his son.[]:133 In Strabo Strabo, a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher, in his Geography (c. AD 24), wrote in detail about Moses, whom he considered to be an Egyptian who deplored the situation in his homeland, and thereby attracted many followers who respected the deity. He writes, for example, that Moses opposed the picturing of the deity in the form of man or animal, and was convinced that the deity was an entity which encompassed everything land and sea::1132 35. An Egyptian priest named Moses, who possessed a portion of the country called the Lower Egypt, being dissatisfied with the established institutions there, left it and came to Judaea with a large body of people who worshipped the Divinity. He declared and taught that the Egyptians and Africans entertained erroneous sentiments, in representing the Divinity under the likeness of wild beasts and cattle of the field; that the Greeks also were in error in making images of their gods after the human form. For God [said he] may be this one thing which encompasses us all, land and sea, which we call heaven, or the universe, or the nature of things. . .. 36. By such doctrine Moses persuaded a large body of right-minded persons to accompany him to the place where Jerusalem now stands. . . . ''[30] In Strabos writings of the history of Judaism as he understood it, he describes various stages in its development: from the first stage, including Moses and his direct heirs; to the final stage where "the Temple of Jerusalem continued to be surrounded by an aura of sanctity." Strabos "positive and unequivocal appreciation of Moses personality is among the most sympathetic in all ancient literature." :1133 His portrayal of Moses is said to be similar to the writing of Hecataeus who "described Moses as a man who excelled in wisdom and courage."[]:1133 Egyptologist Jan Assmann concludes that Strabo was the historian "who came closest to a construction of Moses' religion as monotheism and as a pronounced counter-religion." It recognized "only one divine being whom no image can represent. . . [and] the only way to approach this god is to live in virtue and in justice.":38 In Tacitus The Roman historian Tacitus (ca. 56120 AD) refers to Moses by noting that the Jewish religion was monotheistic and without a clear image. His primary work, wherein he describes Jewish philosophy, is his Histories (ca. 100), where, according to Murphy, as a result of the Jewish worship of one God, "pagan mythology fell into contempt."[31] Tacitus states that, despite various opinions current in his day regarding the Jews' ethnicity, most of his sources are in agreement that there was an Exodus from Egypt. By his account, the Pharaoh Bocchoris, suffering from a plague, banished the Jews in response to an oracle of the god Zeus-Amun. A motley crowd was thus collected and abandoned in the desert. While all the other outcasts lay idly lamenting, one of them, named Moses, advised them not to look for help to gods or men, since both had deserted them, but to trust rather in themselves, and accept as divine the guidance of the first being, by whose aid they should get out of their present plight. In this version, Moses and the Jews wander through the desert for only six days, capturing the Holy Land on the seventh.[] In Longinus The Septuagint, the Greek version of the Hebrew Bible, influenced Longinus, who may have been the author of the great book of literary criticism, On the Sublime, although the true author is still unknown for certain. However, most scholars agree that the author lived in the time of Augustus or Tiberius, the first and second Roman Emperors.
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Moses The writer quotes Genesis in a "style which presents the nature of the deity in a manner suitable to his pure and great being," however he does not mention Moses by name, but instead calls him "the Lawgiver of the Jews." Besides its mention of Cicero, Moses is the only non-Greek writer quoted in the work, and he is described "with far more admiration than even Greek writers who treated Moses with respect, such as Hecataeus and Strabo.:1140 In Josephus In Josephus' (37 c. 100 AD) Antiquities of the Jews, Moses is mentioned throughout. For example Book VIII Ch. IV, describes Solomon's Temple, also known as the First Temple, at the time the Ark of the Covenant was first moved into the newly built temple: When King Solomon had finished these works, these large and beautiful buildings, and had laid up his donations in the temple, and all this in the interval of seven years, and had given a demonstration of his riches and alacrity therein; ... he also wrote to the rulers and elders of the Hebrews, and ordered all the people to gather themselves together to Jerusalem, both to see the temple which he had built, and to remove the ark of God into it; and when this invitation of the whole body of the people to come to Jerusalem was everywhere carried abroad, ... The Feast of Tabernacles happened to fall at the same time, which was kept by the Hebrews as a most holy and most eminent feast. So they carried the ark and the tabernacle which Moses had pitched, and all the vessels that were for ministration to the sacrifices of God, and removed them to the temple... Now the ark contained nothing else but those two tables of stone that preserved the ten commandments, which God spake to Moses in Mount Sinai, and which were engraved upon them...[32] According to Feldman, Josephus also attaches particular significance to Moses' possession of the "cardinal virtues of wisdom, courage, temperance, and justice." He also includes piety as an added fifth virtue. In addition, he "stresses Moses' willingness to undergo toil and his careful avoidance of bribery. Like Plato's philosopher-king, Moses excels as an educator.":130 In Numenius Numenius, a Greek philosopher who was a native of Apamea, in Syria, wrote during the latter half of the 2nd century AD. Historian Kennieth Guthrie writes that "Numenius is perhaps the only recognized Greek philosopher who explicitly studied Moses, the prophets, and the life of Jesus . . . "[33]:194 He describes his background: Numenius was a man of the world; he was not limited to Greek and Egyptian mysteries, but talked familiarly of the myths of Brahmins and Magi. It is however his knowledge and use of the Hebrew scriptures which distinguished him from other Greek philosophers. He refers to Moses simply as "the prophet", exactly as for him Homer is the poet. Plato is described as a Greek Moses.:101 In Justin Martyr The Christian saint and religious philosopher Justin Martyr (103165 AD) drew the same conclusion as Numenius, according to other experts. Theologian Paul Blackham notes that Justin considered Moses to be "more trustworthy, profound and truthful because he is older than the Greek philosophers." He quotes him: I will begin, then, with our first prophet and lawgiver, Moses . . . that you may know that, of all your teachers, whether sages, poets, historians, philosophers, or lawgivers, by far the oldest, as the Greek histories show us, was Moses, who was our first religious teacher.[]
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Moses
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Historicity
According to the documentary hypothesis, which holds that the Torah was compiled over the course of several centuries, the tradition of Moses as a lawgiver and culture hero of the Israelites can be traced to the Deuteronomist source, corresponding to the 7th-century Kingdom of Judah. Moses is a central figure in the Deuteronomist account of the origins of the Israelites, cast in a literary style of elegant flashbacks told by Moses. The mainstream view is that the Deuteronomist relies on earlier material that may date to the United Monarchy, so that the biblical narrative would be based on traditions that can be traced roughly to the 10th century, or about four centuries after the supposed lifetime of Moses. By contrast, Biblical minimalists such as Philip Davies and Niels Peter Lemche regard the Exodus as a fiction composed in the Persian period or even later, without even the memory of a historical Moses.
The question of the historicity of the Exodus (specifically, the Pharaoh of the Exodus, identification of whom would connect the biblical narrative to Egyptological chronology) has long been debated, without conclusive result. Manetho for instance in a distorted account reported in Josephus, states that Moses was originally Osarseph a renegade priest, who led a band of lepers out of Avaris (referred to as Raamses in the Bible).(Exodus 1:11 [34]) Some biblical scholarsWikipedia:Avoid weasel words are suggest that there may be a historical core beneath the Exodus and Sinai traditions, even if the biblical narrative dramatizes by portraying as a single event what was more likely a gradual process of migration and conquest. Thus, the motif of "slavery in Egypt" reflects the historical situation of imperialist control of the Egyptian Empire over Canaan after the conquests of Ramesses II, which declined gradually during the 12th century under the pressure from the Sea Peoples and the general Bronze Age collapse: Israel Finkelstein points to the appearance of settlements in the central hill country around 1200 as the earliest of the known settlements of the Israelites.[35] A cyclical pattern to these highland settlements, corresponding to the state of the surrounding cultures, suggests that the local Canaanites combined an agricultural and nomadic lifestyles. When Egyptian rule collapsed after the invasion of the Sea Peoples, the central hill country could no longer sustain a large nomadic population, so they went from nomadism to sedentism.Wikipedia:Please clarify However, Finkelstein states in the same book that at the time proposed by most scientists for the Exodus, Egypt was at the peak of its glory, with a series of fortresses guarding the borders and checkpoints watching the roads to Canaan. That means an exodus of the scale described in the Torah would have been impossible.[36] While the general narrative of the Exodus and the conquest of the Promised Land may be remotely rooted in historical events, the figure of Moses as a leader of the Israelites in these events cannot be substantiated.[37][38] William Dever agrees with the Canaanite origin of the Israelites but allows for the possibility of some immigrants from Egypt among the early hilltop settlers, leaving open the possibility of a Moses-like figure in Transjordan ca 1250-1200. Martin Noth holds that two different groups experienced the Exodus and Sinai events, and each group transmitted its own stories independently of the other one, writing that "The biblical story tracing the Hebrews from Egypt to Canaan resulted from an editor's weaving separate themes and traditions around a main character Moses, actually an obscure person from Moab."[39] The "Kenite hypothesis", originally suggested by Cornelius Tiele in 1872, supposes that the figure of Moses is a reflection of a historical Midianite priest of Yahweh, whose cult was introduced to Israel from southern Canaan (Edom, Moab, Midian) by the Kenites. This idea is based on an old tradition (recorded in Judges 1:16, 4:11) that
Moses Moses' father-in-law was a Midianite priest of Yahweh, as it were preserving a memory of the Midianite origin of the deity. While the role of the Kenites in the transmission of the cult is widely accepted, Tiele's view on the historical role of Moses finds less support in modern scholarship.[40] William Albright held a more favorable view towards the traditional views regarding Moses, and accepted the essence of the biblical story, as narrated between Exodus 1:8 and Deuteronomy 34:12, but recognized the impact that centuries of oral and written transmission have had on the account, causing it to acquire layers of accretions.
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Christianity
Moses
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Prophet Moses
Moses striking the rock Prophet, Saint, Seer, Lawgiver, Apostle to Pharaoh, Reformer, 'One to Whom God Spoke', [51] Exodus, Holy Forefather Born Died Honored in Goshen, Lower Egypt Mount Nebo, Moab Judaism Christianity Islam Orthodox Church & Catholic Church: Sept 4 Tablets of the Law [49] 'Our Leader Moses', [50] Leader of the
Feast Attributes
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 7:3943, 5153, for example, the rejection of Moses by the Jews who 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 Pharisees Nicodemus at night in the third chapter of the Gospel of John, he compared 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 responded 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 stated that He was provided to feed God's people. Moses, along with Elijah, is presented as meeting with Jesus in all three Gospel accounts of the Transfiguration of Jesus 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. Moses is considered to be a saint by several churches; and is commemorated as a prophet in the respective Calendars of Saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church, Roman Catholic Church, and Lutheran churches on September 4.[52] He is commemorated as one of the Holy Forefathers in the Calendar of Saints of the Armenian Apostolic Church on July 30.
Moses Mormonism Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (colloquially called Mormons) generally view Moses in the same way that other Christians do. However, in addition to accepting the Biblical account of Moses, Mormons include Selections from the Book of Moses as part of their scriptural canon. This book is believed to be the translated writings of Moses, and is included in the Pearl of Great Price. Latter-day Saints are also unique in believing that Moses was taken to heaven without having tasted death (translated). In addition, Joseph Smith, Jr. and Oliver Cowdery stated that on April 3, 1836, Moses appeared to them in the Kirtland Temple in a glorified, immortal, physical form and bestowed upon them the "keys of the gathering of Israel from the four parts of the earth, and the leading of the ten tribes from the land of the north."[53]
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Islam
Moses is mentioned more in the Quran than any other individual and his life is narrated and recounted more than that of any other prophet. In general, Moses is described in ways which parallel the prophet Muhammad,[54] and "his character exhibits some of the main themes of Islamic theology," including the "moral injunction that we are to submit ourselves to God." Moses is defined in the Qur'an as both prophet (nabi) and messenger (rasul), the latter term indicating that he was one of those prophets who brought a scripture and law to his people.
Huston Smith (1991) describes an account in the Qur'an of meetings in heaven between Moses and Muhammad, which Huston states were "one of the crucial events in Muhammad's life," and resulted in Muslims observing 5 daily prayers.[55] Moses is mentioned 502 times in the Qur'an; passages mentioning Moses include 2.49-61, 7.103-160, 10.75-93, 17.101-104, 20.9-97, 26.10-66, 27.7-14, 28.3-46, 40.23-30, 43.46-55, 44.17-31, and 79.15-25. and many others. Most of the key events in Moses' life which are narrated in the Bible are to be found dispersed through the different Surahs of Qur'an, with a story about meeting Khidr which is not found in the Bible. In the Moses story related by the Qur'an, Jochebed is commanded by God to place Moses in an ark and cast him on the waters of the Nile, thus abandoning him completely to God's protection.[] Pharaoh's wife Asiya, not his daughter, found Moses floating in the waters of the Nile. She convinced Pharaoh to keep him as their son because they were not blessed with any children. The Qur'an's account has emphasized Moses' mission to invite the Pharaoh to accept God's divine message as well as give salvation to the Israelites. According to the Qur'an, Moses encourages the Israelites to enter Canaan, but they are unwilling to fight the Canaanites, fearing certain defeat. Moses responds by pleading to Allah that he and his brother Aaron be separated from the rebellious Israelites. According to Islamic tradition, Moses is buried at Maqam El-Nabi Musa, Jericho.
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Baha'i Faith
In the Baha'i Faith, Moses is considered a messenger from God who is considered equally authentic as those sent in other eras.[56] An epithet of Moses in Baha'i scriptures is Interlocutor of God.[57] Moses is further described as paving the way for Baha'ullah and his ultimate revelation, and a teacher of truth, whose teachings were in line with the customs of his time.[58]
Modern reception
Literature
Thomas Mann's novella The Tables of the Law is a retelling of the story of the exodus from Egypt, with Moses as its main character.
In Freud
Sigmund Freud, in his last book, Moses and Monotheism in 1939, postulated that Moses was an Egyptian nobleman who adhered to the monotheism of Akhenaten. Following a theory proposed by a contemporary biblical critic, Freud believed that Moses was murdered in the wilderness, producing a collective sense of patricidal guilt that has been at the heart of Judaism ever since. "Judaism had been a religion of the father, Christianity became a religion of the son", he wrote. The possible Egyptian origin of Moses and of his message has received significant scholarly attention.[] Opponents of this view observe that the religion of the Torah seems different from Atenism in everything except the central feature of devotion to a single god, although this has been countered by a variety of arguments, e.g. pointing out the similarities between the Hymn to Aten and Psalm 104.[59] Freud's interpretation of the historical Moses is not well accepted among historians, and is considered pseudohistory by many.
Criticism
In the late 18th century the deist Thomas Paine commented at length on Moses' Laws in The Age of Reason, and gave his view that "the character of Moses, as stated in the Bible, is the most horrid that can be imagined",[60] giving the story at Numbers 31:13-18 [61] as an example. In the 19th century the agnostic Robert G. Ingersoll wrote "...that all the ignorant, infamous, heartless, hideous things recorded in the 'inspired' Pentateuch are not the words of God, but simply 'Some Mistakes of Moses'".[62] In the 2000s, the atheist Richard Dawkins referring, like Paine, to the incident at Numbers 31:13-18 [61], concluded, "No, Moses was not a great role model for modern moralists."[63]
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Figurative art
Moses is depicted in several U.S. government buildings because of his legacy as a lawgiver. In the Library of Congress stands a large statue of Moses alongside a statue of the Apostle Paul. Moses is one of the 23 lawgivers depicted in marble bas-reliefs in the chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives in the United States Capitol. The other twenty-two figures have their profiles turned to Moses, which is the only forward-facing bas-relief.[64]
Moses appears eight times in carvings that ring the Supreme Court Great Hall ceiling. His face is presented along with other ancient figures such as Solomon, the Greek god Zeus and the Roman goddess of wisdom, Minerva. The Supreme Court building's east pediment depicts Moses holding two tablets. Tablets representing the Ten Commandments can be found carved in the oak courtroom doors, on the support frame of the courtroom's bronze gates and in the library woodwork. A controversial image is one that sits directly above the chief justice's head. In the center of the 40-foot-long Spanish marble carving is a tablet displaying Roman numerals I through X, with some numbers partially hidden.[65]
Michelangelo's statue
Michelangelo's statue of Moses in the Church of San Pietro in Vincoli, Rome, is one of the most familiar masterpieces in the world.[citation needed] The horns the sculptor included on Moses' head are the result of a mistranslation of the Hebrew Bible into the Latin Vulgate Bible with Statue by Michelangelo Buonarotti in Basilica which he was familiar. The Hebrew word taken from Exodus means San Pietro in Vincoli, Rome either a "horn" or an "irradiation." Experts at the Archaeological Institute of America show that the term was used when Moses "returned to his people after seeing as much of the Glory of the Lord as human eye could stand," and his face "reflected radiance."[66] In early Jewish art, moreover, Moses is often "shown with rays coming out of his head." Another author explains, "When Saint Jerome translated the Old Testament into Latin, he thought no one but Christ should glow with rays of light so he advanced the secondary translation. However, writer J. Stephen Lang points out that Jerome's version actually described Moses as "giving off hornlike rays," and he "rather clumsily translated it to mean 'having horns.'" It has also been noted that he had Moses seated on a throne, yet Moses was neither a King nor ever sat on such thrones.
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Notes
[1] Maimonides, 13 principles of faith, 7th principle [2] The Quest for the Historical Israel: Debating Archeology and the History of Early Israel, 2007, Society of Biblical Literature, Atlanta, ISBN 978-1-58983-277-0. [3] John Van Seters, "The life of Moses", ISBN 90-390-0112-X [4] Seder Olam Rabbah [5] Jerome's Chronicon (4th century) gives 1592 for the birth of Moses, the 17th-century Ussher chronology calculates 1619 BC (Annals of the World, 1658) [6] http:/ / tools. wmflabs. org/ bibleversefinder/ ?book=Exodus& verse=2:10& src=KJV [7] HAW Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament [8] Lambdin, T.O., Intro. to Biblical Hebrew. NY:Charles Scribner's Sons, 1971. pp. 18-19 [9] Gesenius' Lexicon (1906), s.v. ; Gesenius was sympathetic towards the Coptic etymology. So also Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names [10] So BDB Theological Dictionary and HAW Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament; see [11] 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. [12] http:/ / tools. wmflabs. org/ bibleversefinder/ ?book=Exodus& verse=3& src=HE [13] http:/ / www. jweekly. com/ article/ full/ 28256/ it-was-moses-heart-not-his-tongue-that-made-him-a-leader/ [14] Shore [15] Elim and Elat are plurals of the word El in Phoenician and again associated with Asherah worship. The words Elim and Elat refer to the power of the high and mighty terebinth trees that the Phoenicians used for masts and Asherah poles. William Albright has associated Asherah groves with the incense trade spices and perfumes such as frankincense and myrrh. [16] Exodus , [17] Deuteronomy 23:36 summarises these incidents, and further states that the Ammonites were associated with the Moabites. Joshua, 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. [18] http:/ / tools. wmflabs. org/ bibleversefinder/ ?book=Numbers& verse=31& src=KJV [19] Talmud Bavli, Megilah 13b, Sotah 12b, Kidushin 38a, Beshalla, Wayassa', 5 [ed. Weiss, p. 60a]; comp. Josephus, l.c. iv. 8, 49. According to the Seder Olam in the year 2488 (corresponding to ca. Feb-Mar 1271 BCE; Seder Olam's calendar starts two years later than the one currently used by Jews.) [20] http:/ / tools. wmflabs. org/ bibleversefinder/ ?book=Jude& verse=1:9& src=31 [21] http:/ / tools. wmflabs. org/ bibleversefinder/ ?book=Zechariah& verse=3& src=31 [22] Graham, M.P, and McKenzie, Steven L., "The Hebrew Bible today: an introduction to critical issues" (Westminster John Knox Press, 1998) (http:/ / books. google. com. au/ books?id=owwhpmIVgSAC& printsec=frontcover& dq=The+ Hebrew+ Bible+ today:+ an+ introduction+ to+ critical+ issues& source=bl& ots=fUEuF-W9Ul& sig=YcThOSXuCkrdCzelf6hXPh0_2Mo& hl=en& ei=AOyRTKGFJ4KecIS89MYG& sa=X& oi=book_result& ct=result& resnum=2& ved=0CBsQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage& q& f=false) p.19ff [23] http:/ / tools. wmflabs. org/ bibleversefinder/ ?book=Deuteronomy& verse=31:9& src=KJV [24] http:/ / tools. wmflabs. org/ bibleversefinder/ ?book=Deuteronomy& verse=31:2426& src=KJV [25] Deuteronomy (http:/ / quod. lib. umich. edu/ cgi/ r/ rsv/ rsv-idx?type=DIV1& byte=719426). [26] http:/ / tools. wmflabs. org/ bibleversefinder/ ?book=Leviticus& verse=26:46& src=KJV [27] Hammer, Reuven. The Classic Midrash: Tannaitic Commentaries on the Bible, Paulist Press (1995) p. 15 [28] Droge, Arthur J. Homer or Moses?: Early Christian Interpretations of the History of Culture, Mohr Siebeck (1989) [29] Barclay, John M. G. Jews in the Mediterranean diaspora: from Alexander to Trajan (323 BCE - 117 CE), University of California Press (1996) p. 130 [30] Strabo. The Geography of Strabo, XVI 35, 36, Translated by H.C. Hamilton and W. Falconer, pp. 177-178,
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[31] Tacitus, Cornelius. The works of Cornelius Tacitus: With an essay on his life and genius by Arthur Murphy, Thomas Wardle Publ. (1842) p. 499 [32] Josephus, Flavius. The works of Flavius Josephus: Comprising the Antiquities of the Jews, trans. by William Whiston, (1854) Book VIII, Ch. IV, pp. 254-255 [33] Guthrie, Kenneth Sylvan. Numenius of Apamea: The Father of Neo-Platonism, George Bell & Sons (1917) [34] http:/ / tools. wmflabs. org/ bibleversefinder/ ?book=Exodus& verse=1:11& src=KJV [35] I Finkelstein and N. Na'aman, eds., From Nomadism to Monarchy (Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society, 1994) [36] Finkelstein, Israel and Silberman, Neil Asher (2001). The Bible Unearthed. New York: Free Press. ISBN 0-684-86912-8. [37] Who Were the Early Israelites? by William G. Dever (William B. Eerdmans Publishing, Grand Rapids, MI, 2003) [38] The Bible Unearthed by Neil Asher Silberman and Israel Finkelstein (Simon and Schuster, New York, 2001) [39] "Moses." Encyclopdia Britannica. 2007. Encyclopdia Britannica Online [40] DDD (1999:911). [41] Midrash Rabbah, Ki Thissa, XL. 3-3, Lehrman, P.463 [42] Yalkut Shimoni, Shemot 166 to Chronicles I 4:18, 24:6; also see Vayikra Rabbah 1:3; Chasidah p.345 [43] Rashi to Bava Batra 15s, Chasidah p.345 [44] Bava Batra 15a on Deuteronomy 33:21, Chasidah p.345 [45] Rashi to Berachot 54a, Chasidah p.345 [46] Eusebius, Prparatio Evangelica ix. 26 [47] Eusebius, l.c. ix. 27 [48] http:/ / tools. wmflabs. org/ bibleversefinder/ ?book=Genesis& verse=6:3& src=JP [49] This title is held specifically in Islam. [50] This is a specifically Jewish title [51] Moses is commemorated as a forefather, along with the patriarchs, in the Armenian Apostolic Church [52] Great Synaxaristes: (http:/ / www. synaxarion. gr/ gr/ sid/ 552/ sxsaintinfo. aspx). 4 . . [53] The Doctrine and Covenants 110:11 (http:/ / scriptures. lds. org/ en/ dc/ 110/ 11#11) [54] Keeler (2005) describes Moses from the Muslim perspective:
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Among prophets, Moses has been described as the one whose career as a messenger of God, lawgiver and leader of his community most closely parallels and foreshadows that of Muhammad, and as the figure that in the Koran was presented to Muhammad above all others as the supreme model of saviour and ruler of a community, the man chosen to present both knowledge of the one God, and a divinely revealed system of law. We find him clearly in this role of Muhammads forebear in a well-known tradition of the miraculous ascension of the Prophet, where Moses advises Muhammad from his own experience as messenger and lawgiver.
[55] Smith, Huston. The world's religions (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=eDMIwLHwKOcC& printsec=frontcover& dq=huston+ smith+ religion& ei=l7_lS4niMo7ylQTQxOXFCQ& cd=2#v=onepage& q=crucial events Muhammad's life& f=false) HarperCollins, (1991) p. 245 [56] Historical Context of the Bbi and Bah' Faiths (http:/ / info. bahai. org/ babi-and-bahai. html) [57] Paradise and Paradigm: Key Symbols in Persian Christianity and the Bah Faith, Christopher Buck - 1999 [58] The Bah': The Religious Construction of a Global Identity - Page 256, Michael McMullen - 2000 [59] Jan Assmann, op. cit. [60] Thomas Paine The Age of Reason part II, 1796 [61] http:/ / tools. wmflabs. org/ bibleversefinder/ ?book=Numbers& verse=31:13-18& src=! [62] Robert G. Ingersoll, Some Mistakes of Moses chapter XXIX [63] Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion, 2006, chapter 7 [64] "Courtroom Friezes: North and South Walls: Information Sheet." Supreme Court of the United States. [] [65] "In the Supreme Court itself, Moses and his law on display" (http:/ / www. christianindex. org/ 1087. article) Religion News Service [66] MacLean, Margaret. (ed) Art and Archaeology, Vol. VI, Archaeological Institute of America (1917) p. 97
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Further reading
- Asch, Sholem. Moses. New York: Putnam, 1958. ISBN 0-7426-9137-3. - Assmann, Jan. Moses the Egyptian: The Memory of Egypt in Western Monotheism. Harvard University Press, 1997. ISBN 0-674-58738-3. - Barenboim, Peter. Biblical Roots of Separation of Power, Moscow : Letny Sad, 2005, ISBN 5-94381-123-0, http:/ /lccn.loc.gov/2006400578 - Barzel, Hillel. "Moses: Tragedy and Sublimity." In Literary Interpretations of Biblical Narratives. Edited by Kenneth R.R. Gros Louis, with James S. Ackerman & Thayer S. Warshaw, 12040. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1974. ISBN 0-687-22131-5. - Buber, Martin. Moses: The Revelation and the Covenant. New York: Harper, 1958. - Card, Orson Scott. Stone Tables. Deseret Book Co., 1998. ISBN 1-57345-115-0. - Chasidah, Yishai. "Moses." In Encyclopedia of Biblical Personalities: Anthologized from the Talmud, Midrash and Rabbinic Writings, 34099. Brooklyn: Shaar Press, 1994. - Cohen, Joel. Moses: A Memoir. Mahwah, N.J.: Paulist Press, 2003. ISBN 0-8091-0558-6. - Daiches, David. Moses: The Man and his Vision. New York: Praeger, 1975. ISBN 0-275-33740-5. - Fast, Howard. Moses, Prince of Egypt. New York: Crown Pubs., 1958. - Freud, Sigmund. Moses and Monotheism. New York: Vintage, 1967. ISBN 0-394-70014-7. - Gjerman, Corey. Moses: The Father I Never Knew. Portland: Biblical Fantasticals, 2007. ISBN 978-1-4241-7113-2. - Halter, Marek. Zipporah, Wife of Moses. New York: Crown, 2005. ISBN 1-4000-5279-3. - Hoffmeier, James K. 'Moses and the Exodus.' In: Israel in Egypt: The Evidence for the Authenticity of the Exodus Tradition, pp.13563. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996. - Ingraham, J. H.. The Pillar of Fire: Or Israel in Bondage. New York: A.L. Burt, 1859. Reprinted Ann Arbor, Mich.: Scholarly Publishing Office, University of Michigan Library, 2006. ISBN 1-4255-6491-7. - Kirsch, Jonathan. Moses: A Life. New York: Ballantine, 1998. ISBN 0-345-41269-9. - Kohn, Rebecca. Seven Days to the Sea: An Epic Novel of the Exodus. New York: Rugged Land, 2006. ISBN 1-59071-049-5. - Lehman, S.M. (translator), Freedman, H. (ed.), Midrash Rabbah, 10 volumes, The Soncino Press, London, 1983. - Mann, Thomas. "Thou Shalt Have No Other Gods Before Me." In The Ten Commandments, 370. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1943. - Salibi, Kamal. The Bible Came from Arabia. London: Jonathan Cape, 1985. - Sandmel, Samuel. Alone Atop the Mountain. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1973. ISBN 0-385-03877-1. - Southon, Arthur E. On Eagles' Wings. London: Cassell and Co., 1937. Reprinted New York: McGraw-Hill, 1954. - Wiesel, Elie. Moses: Portrait of a Leader. In Messengers of God: Biblical Portraits & Legends, 174210. New York: Random House, 1976. ISBN 0-394-49740-6. - Wildavsky, Aaron. Moses as Political Leader. Jerusalem: Shalem Press, 2005. ISBN 965-7052-31-9. - Wilson, Dorothy Clarke. Prince of Egypt. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1949. - Van Seters, John: Life of Moses (http://books.google.com.au/books?id=qOOZgbPQlxUC& printsec=frontcover&dq=Seters+Life+of+Moses&hl=en&ei=0OgCTqLjJMTsrQeJva3yDQ&sa=X& oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=etymology&f=false) - K. van der Toorn, Bob Becking, Pieter Willem van der Horst: Dictionary of deities and demons in the Bible (http://books.google.com/books?id=yCkRz5pfxz0C&printsec=frontcover&dq=Dictionary+of+deities+and+ demons+in+the+Bible+DDD&hl=en&ei=F2cZTpDCGKr-mAW5s5QB&sa=X&oi=book_result& ct=book-thumbnail&resnum=1&ved=0CCwQ6wEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false)
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External links
This articleincorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: "Moses" (http:/ / jewishencyclopedia. com/view.jsp?artid=830&letter=M). Jewish Encyclopedia. 19011906. - The Geography, Book XVI, Chapter II (http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Strabo/16B*. html) The entire context of the cited chapter of Strabo's work
Moses Levite Precededby Lawgiver Succeededby NA Joshua
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License
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