The Story of Moses

Jews, Christians, and Muslims, all revere Moses as a great prophet. He is considered the greatest prophet in Judaism and he is “ the most frequently cited individual in the Qu’ran. (Ishmael Instructs Isaac, pg.132). Although there are some differences, the basic Story of Moses and his role in the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt is very similar in the Torah, The Bible and The Qu’ran. In all three books, we watch the maturation of a man as he develops the qualities and leadership skills to bring together a group of squabbling individuals into a nation of united people with a common goal.
Moses was sent down a river in a basket because Pharoah had ordered all Jewish male children to be drowned in the Nile River. The Torah and The Bible tell us that The Pharaoh’s daughter discovers Moses in his basket. Miriam, Moses’ sister steps out of hiding and asks the Pharaoh’s daughter if she would like a Hebrew woman to nurse the baby. The princess says yes and Miriam calls Moses’ mother. She raises him till his teen years when she brings him to Pharaoh’s daughter, at which time she names him Moses.

When Moses was a bit older he comes across an Egyptian beating a Hebrew. Defending his kinsman, Moses strikes and kills the Egyptian. Moses realizes that others know he has killed an Egyptian. When Pharoah learns of the murder, he orders Moses killed. Moses flees to Midian. It is here that Moses rescues the daughter of the local priest of Midian, named Reuel but known as Jethro. Moses marries his daughter, Zipporah who gives birth to a son named Gershom.

Many years later Pharaoh dies and the Israelites cried out to God to free them from bondage.

Moses, while tending his flock comes across a blazing bush that wondrously is not consumed by the flame. The Lord calls to him and tells him to remove his sandals and Moses, afraid to look at God, hides his face. God calls to Moses telling him to return to Egypt to free the Israelites from bondage. Moses fears that no one will believe him. In The Torah and The Bible God tells him to say that his name is Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh, which means, “I will be what I will be.” He further says the he is “The God of your fathers, of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob.” (Exodus 3:15) Moses expresses doubts and God reassures Moses that he will succeed and that the Israelites will believe God has sent him. God demonstrates to Moses how he will convince the people by turning Moses’ stick into a snake, his skin to leprosy, and promises that if the Israelites still do not believe him that he should take water from the Nile, pour it into the sand and it will turn to blood. Moses continues to protest that he is not deserving because he is slow of speech. God assures him that his brother Aaron will be his mouthpiece.

Moses meets his brother Aaron in the dessert and together they return to Egypt. In Egypt Moses shows the signs God gave him and the Israelites believe him. Moses and Aaron approach pharaoh and tell him that their God has ordered Israelites to celebrate a festival in the wilderness. Pharaoh says no and responds by doubling their workload. The Israelites in their anger blame Moses and Aaron for their extra work. Moses asks God why he is bringing harm to his people and God reassures him that everything will be all right. God once again sends Moses to reassure the Israelites that he speaks for the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and that through a series of signs he will convince Pharoah to let the Israelites leave Egypt. So once again Moses and Aaron approach Pharaoh and ask him to let the Israelites go. God hardens Pharaoh’s heart and Pharaoh refuses. A series of 10 plagues are released upon Egypt. 1) All the waters in Egypt are turned to blood and all the fish die. 2) Frogs infest Egypt. 3)Lice crawl over every man, woman and beast that lived in the land 4) A cloud of insects attack the people. 5) A severe pestilence strikes the livestock of the Egyptians. 6) Egyptian people are covered in boils. 7) Thunder, hail and fire stuck the land of the Egyptians. 8) Locusts cover the sky and fields. 9)Darkness falls for 3 days. 10) Every first-born Egyptian child dies including Pharaoh’s son. Finally, Pharoah is convinced and the Israelites leave Egypt.

After the Israelites depart, God once again hardens Pharoah’s heart and Pharoah sends an army after the Jews. Once again the Israelites blame Moses for their hardships. Moses reassures them and strikes the sea with his staff and the sea opens up a path of dry land for them to cross. As the Egyptians begin to cross, God orders Moses to stretch out his hand and the dry path closes and drowns the Egyptians.

The Israelites wandered in the Sinai desert for 40 years. All three religions teach that this time in a desolate environment was necessary for the Israelites to be tested and to find for themselves their faith in God. Again, when they become hungry and thirsty they turn on Moses and blame him for their woes. When they complained of no meat, God provided quail. When they complained of no bread, manna fell from heaven. When they complain of no water, God tells Moses to strike his staff against a rock and water comes pouring out. After three months the Israelites arrived at the foot of the holy mountain of Sinai. A cloud encompasses the mountain and God descends into the cloud. God calls to Moses and Moses climbs up the mountain. God speaks and delivers to Moses the Ten Commandments. Since Moses is gone for a long time, the people begin to lose faith and want to make a God of their own. In the Torah and Bible, Aaron tells them to bring all the gold jewelry they have, and cast it into a mold. Aaron molds it into a golden calf, and the people worship this golden calf. When Moses returns he is infuriated. He throws down the tablets and they shatter. Then he takes the calf that the people made and burns it. He grinds the calf to powder and puts it into the people’s water, and makes them drink it. Once again, he goes up the mountain and writes down the commandments.

The Jews continue to wander through the desert toward the Promised Land for the remainder of the 40 years. Moses is allowed to see the Promised Land but not enter. He climbs to the top of Mt. Nebo, which overlooks Canaan. God says, “This is the land which I swore to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I will give it to your offspring. I have let you see it with your own eyes, but you shall not cross there. (Deuteronomy 34:4)

Differences worth noting

In the Qu’ran, it is the wife of Pharaoh, Asiya (A) who rescues Moses and convinces her husband to let him be raised in the palace. Asiya (A) is considered one of the four greatest women in Islam. There is no mention of the Pharaoh’s wife in The Torah and Bible.

Another interesting difference between the Qu’ran and The Torah and Bible is the tone of the exchange between Allah and Moses. In The Torah and Bible, Moses expresses his doubts and insecurities and appears reluctant to accept the role that God has chosen for him. In The Qu’ran, Moses is portrayed more as a willing partner who asks Allah for the help he will need to accomplish his task.

In Judaism, the Festival of Passover is derived from the story of the ten plagues and the exodus of the Jews from Egypt. Passover is the celebration of the freedom of the Jews from bondage and slavery. In the Qu’ran there is no reference or connection to the story of Passover.

An Orthodox or fundamentalist view of Judaism holds that God delivered not only the ten commandments but the entire written and oral Torah to Moses while on Mt. Sinai. A more liberal view maintains that it was the Ten Commandments revealed on that day and biblical man wrote the rest of The Torah over a period of time.

The role and character of Aaron in The Qu’ran differs somewhat from his role and character in The Bible and Torah. This becomes evident during the Golden Calf episode. In the Torah and Bible, it is evident that Aaron is a willing participant in making the calf. In the Qu’ran, he insists that the people overpowered him and he had no choice but to join in the act. The cloud over Aaron’s character remains stronger in The Torah and Bible.
Also, in the Qu’ran all the people beg for mercy and forgiveness while in The Torah and Bible, it is only the Levites who join Moses and they then take up arms, killing thousands of their fellow Israelites.

In The Torah and Bible, God makes it clear that Moses is allowed to see The Promised Land, but he may not enter. One popular theory suggests it is a consequence for having taken a human life without God’s commandment to do so. Another explanation comes from the Torah, itself. In Numbers 20:12 God says to Moses “because you did not trust in me, to show my holiness before the eyes of the Israelites, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.” The suggested explanation is that Moses did not make it clear that it was God, not Moses who brought forth water out of the rock. In the Qu’ran, there is no mention of Moses being forbidden to enter the Promised Land as some sort of punishment. In fact, in The Qu’ran, there is no specific description of how and when Moses dies other than it is before entering the Promised Land.

One minor but interesting detail is the mention of the character of Haman in The Qu’ran. There is no mention of this character in The Story of Moses in The Torah and Bible. However, the character of Haman does exist in the Book of Esther and is an evil enemy of the Jews.

The Spirit of The Story of Moses:

There are many themes and lessons embedded in The Story of Moses, including the greatness of Moses as a visionary, a leader and a prophet. But perhaps the true spirit of this story is to teach us that change and growth can only come when we have learned the skills of patience, adaptation, cooperation and compromise. (Top of Page)

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The story of Noah

The story of Abraham

The story of Joseph

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