MOSES

(approx.1482 – Sept. 4, 1362 BC)

Moses, from Egyptian mes, mesu or Heb. ‘child’; or possibly from ‘to pull out, take’. According to Flavius Josephus, this derives from the Egypt. mwu and eses – ‘saved from water’. Founder of the monotheistic religion of Jehovism and unifier of Israel. Illegitimate Israelite. Born in the town of Avaris (Raamses), Egypt. Legend tells us that his mother was Jochebed, daughter of Levi (or belonging to a family of the same name); his father Amram, son of Kohath, the grandson of Levi. Closest relatives were the high priest Acharon (his older brother) and the prophetess Miriam (his older sister). Moses’ adopted mother was the Pharaoh’s daughter, probably Hatshepsut. He was of average height or tall, physically well developed. One of the oldest precisely attributable images is a 3rd-century fresco in the synagogue at Dura Europos. In maturity Moses had a sparse beard streaked with grey. Stammered, from a certain date preferred to cover his face with a cloth in public, suffered from leprosy. His first wife was Farbis, daughter of the ruler Meroe; his second Zipporah, daughter of the Midian priest Jethro (Reuel). Children from his second marriage: Gershom (the first-born) and Eliezer. Moses was educated at the Pharaoh’s court and with priests practising the state religion of Egypt until he had a vision of the God Yahweh. God prompted him to become an advocate of radical monotheism. During his lifetime Moses had various occupations, including priest, army commander, migrant cattle breeder and ethnarch. Helped the Egyptian rulers quell the uprising in Meroe. His original composition is called the Torah or Law of Moses (Pentateuch), which includes the Books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. Sentenced to death by the Egyptian Pharaoh for murder. Hid from justice abroad, in the Sinai Desert, Midian; the case was closed after several years elapsed. After the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt, Moses was sought by the forces of justice for inciting unrest and public disorder. With the children of Israel he crossed the lands of the Amalekites, the Pharan Desert, Arabia, the Kadesh-Barni Oasis, Idumea, Moab and Ammon, until he came to the border with Canaan. Moses died on Pisgah Peak, part of Mount Nebo just outside the town of Jericho, Canaan. Buried on the summit of Mount Nebo, the ridge of Abarim, land of Moab. The precise whereabouts of his mortal remains are unknown.