Skip to main content

Moses

Portrait of Moses

Moses was a prophet chosen by God to lead the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt during the Exodus. Through a series of divine plagues and the miraculous parting of the Red Sea, he guided the people to freedom and into the wilderness. On Mount Sinai, Moses received the Ten Commandments and the Mosaic Law directly from God, establishing the covenant that would define Israel's relationship with the divine. This narrative is central to Scripture as it illustrates themes of redemption, law, and faithfulness that underpin both the Old and New Testaments.

0:00

Videos from BibleProject

Exodus Overview (Part 1: Ch. 1-18)

God calls Moses to confront Pharaoh and rescue Israel from slavery in Egypt.

Exodus Overview (Part 2: Ch. 19-40)

Moses receives the covenant at Sinai and oversees the building of the Tabernacle.

Deuteronomy Overview

Moses gives his final words of wisdom before Israel enters the promised land.

BibleProject is the author and owner of this content. To find more BibleProject resources, visit bibleproject.com. Bible Navigator is not affiliated with BibleProject.

Commentary

Moses: God Uses the Broken

Your biggest failures don't disqualify you from being used by God.

Anxiety: God Is Not Frustrated With You

Moses begged God to send someone else. God gave him a helper instead of a rebuke.

Commentary by Bible Navigator.

This commentary is for inspirational and educational purposes only. It is not professional counseling, therapy, medical advice, or a substitute for professional help. If you are in crisis or need support, please reach out to a licensed professional or call 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline).

Biography

Born
c. 1526 BC, Egypt
Died
c. 1406 BC, Mount Nebo, Moab
Age
120 years
Occupation
Prophet, Leader, Lawgiver
Tribe
Levi
Father
Amram
Mother
Jochebed
Spouse
Zipporah
Children
Gershom, Eliezer
Era
Exodus
Nationality
Hebrew

Family

Parents
โ†“
Moses โšญ Zipporah
โ†“
Children
Gershom, Eliezer
Old Testament Exodus Prophet

Did You Know?

1

Although the Bible explains Moses' name through a Hebrew etymology as "drawn out" of the water, it closely matches the Egyptian term for "son" found in royal names like Thutmose, reflecting his adoption into Pharaoh's household during the New Kingdom period.

2

Moses initially resisted his divine commission at the burning bush by citing a speech impediment, prompting God to designate Aaron as his official spokesman while Moses retained ultimate authority in conveying messages to Pharaoh.

3

Upon descending Mount Sinai with the second tablets, Moses' face emitted such intense radiance from his direct encounter with God that he was forced to wear a veil when addressing the Israelites, a detail highlighting ancient Near Eastern concepts of divine glory as physically transformative.

4

Moses' marriage to a Cushite woman sparked familial opposition from Miriam and Aaron, resulting in Miriam's temporary affliction with leprosy as divine punishment, underscoring tensions over ethnic intermarriage in the wilderness period.

5

Moses was barred from entering Canaan for striking the rock at Meribah instead of speaking to it as instructed, a failure that ancient interpreters linked to broader themes of leadership accountability and the limits of Mosaic authority.

Key Passages

The Burning Bush

Exodus 3:1-22

God reveals His personal name (I AM) and commissions a reluctant shepherd to confront the world's greatest empire. This encounter establishes the pattern of God choosing unlikely people for impossible tasks.

N1ow Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.

2 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. 3 And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. 4 And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. 5 And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. 6 Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God. 7 And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; 8 And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 9 Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them. 10 Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt. 11 And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? 12 And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain. 13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? 14 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. 15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations. 16 Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt: 17 And I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, unto a land flowing with milk and honey. 18 And they shall hearken to thy voice: and thou shalt come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye shall say unto him, The LORD God of the Hebrews hath met with us: and now let us go, we beseech thee, three daysโ€™ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God. 19 And I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a mighty hand. 20 And I will stretch out my hand, and smite Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst thereof: and after that he will let you go. 21 And I will give this people favour in the sight of the Egyptians: and it shall come to pass, that, when ye go, ye shall not go empty: 22 But every woman shall borrow of her neighbour, and of her that sojourneth in her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: and ye shall put them upon your sons, and upon your daughters; and ye shall spoil the Egyptians.

Read full chapter: Exodus 3 โ†’

Crossing the Red Sea

Exodus 14:21-31

The defining act of Old Testament salvation - God parts the sea to deliver His people from slavery. This event becomes Israel's primary confession of faith and a type of baptism into new life.

A21nd Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.

22 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. 23 And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaohโ€™s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. 24 And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the LORD looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians, 25 And took off their chariot wheels, that they drave them heavily: so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the LORD fighteth for them against the Egyptians. 26 And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen. 27 And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. 28 And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them. 29 But the children of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea; and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. 30 Thus the LORD saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore. 31 And Israel saw that great work which the LORD did upon the Egyptians: and the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD, and his servant Moses.

Read full chapter: Exodus 14 โ†’

The Ten Commandments

Exodus 20:1-17

God gives His covenant law at Sinai, establishing the moral foundation for Israel's life as His people. These commands reveal God's character and define what it means to love Him and neighbor.

A1nd God spake all these words, saying,

2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. 7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. 8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: 11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. 12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. 13 Thou shalt not kill. 14 Thou shalt not commit adultery. 15 Thou shalt not steal. 16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. 17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbourโ€™s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbourโ€™s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbourโ€™s.

Read full chapter: Exodus 20 โ†’

Death of Moses

Deuteronomy 34:1-12

Moses views the Promised Land but cannot enter - a sobering reminder that even the greatest leaders face consequences for disobedience, yet God's purposes advance beyond any individual.

A1nd Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is over against Jericho. And the LORD shewed him all the land of Gilead, unto Dan,

2 And all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, unto the utmost sea, 3 And the south, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, unto Zoar. 4 And the LORD said unto him, This is the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed: I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither. 5 So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD. 6 And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Bethpeor: but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day. 7 And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated. 8 And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days: so the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended. 9 And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands upon him: and the children of Israel hearkened unto him, and did as the LORD commanded Moses. 10 And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, 11 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, 12 And in all that mighty hand, and in all the great terror which Moses shewed in the sight of all Israel.

Read full chapter: Deuteronomy 34 โ†’