The story of Moses. How many years did Moses lead the Jews through the desert? The story of the exodus of the Jews from Egypt through the Sinai Desert

Moses is the greatest Old Testament prophet, the founder of Judaism, who led the Jews out of Egypt, where they were in slavery, accepted the Ten Commandments from God on Mount Sinai and united the Israeli tribes into a single people.

In Christianity, Moses is considered one of the most important prototypes of Christ: just as through Moses the Old Testament was revealed to the world, so through Christ the New Testament was revealed.

The name "Moses" (in Hebrew - Moshe), presumably Egyptian origin and means "child". According to other instructions - “recovered or rescued from the water” (this name was given to him by the Egyptian princess who found him on the river bank).

The four books of the Pentateuch (Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy), which make up the epic of the Exodus of the Jews from Egypt, are dedicated to his life and work.

Birth of Moses

According to the biblical account, Moses was born in Egypt into a Jewish family during the time when the Jews were enslaved by the Egyptians, around 1570 BC (other estimates around 1250 BC). Moses' parents belonged to the tribe of Levi 1 (Ex. 2:1). His older sister was Miriam, and the older brother was Aaron (the first of the Jewish high priests, the ancestor of the priestly caste).

1 Levi- the third son of Jacob (Israel) from his wife Leah (Gen. 29:34). The descendants of the tribe of Levi are the Levites, who were responsible for the priesthood. Since of all the tribes of Israel the Levites were the only tribe not endowed with land, they were dependent on their fellows.

As you know, the Israelis moved to Egypt during the lifetime of Jacob-Israel 2 (XVII century BC), fleeing famine. They lived in the eastern Egyptian region of Goshen, bordering the Sinai Peninsula and watered by a tributary of the Nile River. Here they had extensive pastures for their herds and could roam freely around the country.

2 JacoborYakov (Israel) - the third of the biblical patriarchs, the youngest of the twin sons of the patriarch Isaac and Rebekah. From his sons came the 12 tribes of the people of Israel. In rabbinic literature, Jacob is seen as a symbol of the Jewish people.

Over time, the Israelites multiplied more and more, and the more they multiplied, the more hostile the Egyptians were towards them. Eventually there were so many Jews that it began to inspire fear in the new pharaoh. He told his people: “The Israeli tribe is multiplying and can become stronger than us. If we have a war with another state, then the Israelis can unite with our enemies.” To prevent the Israelite tribe from strengthening, it was decided to turn it into slavery. The pharaohs and their officials began to oppress the Israelites as strangers, and then began to treat them as a conquered tribe, like masters and slaves. The Egyptians began to force the Israelites to do the most difficult work for the benefit of the state: they were forced to dig the ground, build cities, palaces and monuments for kings, and prepare clay and bricks for these buildings. Special guards were appointed who strictly monitored the execution of all these forced labors.

But no matter how the Israelites were oppressed, they still continued to multiply. Then Pharaoh gave the order that all newborn Israeli boys should be drowned in the river, and only girls should be left alive. This order was carried out with merciless severity. The people of Israel were in danger of complete extermination.

During this time of trouble, a son was born to Amram and Jochebed, from the tribe of Levi. He was so beautiful that light emanated from him. The father of the holy prophet Amram had a vision that spoke of the great mission of this baby and of God's favor towards him. Moses' mother Jochebed managed to hide the baby in her home for a period of time. three months. However, no longer able to hide him, she left the baby in a tarred reed basket in the thickets on the banks of the Nile.

Moses being lowered by his mother onto the waters of the Nile. A.V. Tyranov. 1839-42

At this time, Pharaoh's daughter went to the river to swim, accompanied by her servants. Seeing a basket among the reeds, she ordered it to be opened. A tiny boy lay in the basket and cried. Pharaoh's daughter said, "This must be one of the Hebrew children." She took pity on the crying baby and, on the advice of Moses’ sister Miriam, who approached her and was watching what was happening from afar, agreed to call the Israeli nurse. Miriam brought her mother Jochebed. Thus, Moses was given to his mother, who nursed him. When the boy grew up, he was brought to Pharaoh's daughter, and she raised him as her son (Ex. 2:10). Pharaoh's daughter gave him the name Moses, which means "taken out of the water."

There are suggestions that this good princess was Hatshepsut, daughter of Thothmes I, later the famous and only female pharaoh in the history of Egypt.

The childhood and youth of Moses. Flight into the desert.

Moses spent the first 40 years of his life in Egypt, raised in the palace as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. Here he received an excellent education and was initiated into “all the wisdom of Egypt,” that is, into all the secrets of the religious and political worldview of Egypt. Tradition says that he served as commander of the Egyptian army and helped the pharaoh defeat the Ethiopians who attacked him.

Although Moses grew up free, he never forgot his Jewish roots. One day he wanted to see how his fellow tribesmen lived. Seeing an Egyptian overseer beating one of the Israelite slaves, Moses stood up for the defenseless and, in a fit of rage, accidentally killed the overseer. Pharaoh found out about this and wanted to punish Moses. The only way to escape was to escape. And Moses fled from Egypt to the Sinai desert, which is near the Red Sea, between Egypt and Canaan. He settled in the land of Midian (Ex. 2:15), located on the Sinai Peninsula, with the priest Jethro (another name is Raguel), where he became a shepherd. Moses soon married Jethro's daughter, Zipporah, and became a member of this peaceful shepherd family. So another 40 years passed.

Calling of Moses

One day Moses was tending a flock and went far into the desert. He approached Mount Horeb (Sinai), and here a wondrous vision appeared to him. He saw a thick thorn bush, which was engulfed in a bright flame and was burning, but still did not burn out.

The thorn bush or “Burning Bush” is a prototype of God-manhood and the Mother of God and symbolizes the contact of God with a created being

God said He chose Moses to save the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt. Moses had to go to Pharaoh and demand that he release the Jews. As a sign that the time has come for a new, more complete Revelation, He proclaims His Name to Moses: "I Am Who I Am"(Ex.3:14) . He sends Moses to demand, on behalf of the God of Israel, to release the people from the “house of slavery.” But Moses is aware of his weakness: he is not ready for a feat, he is deprived of the gift of speech, he is sure that neither Pharaoh nor the people will believe him. Only after persistent repetition of the call and signs does he agree. God said that Moses in Egypt had a brother Aaron, who, if necessary, would speak in his place, and God himself would teach both what to do. To convince unbelievers, God gives Moses the ability to perform miracles. Immediately, by His order, Moses threw his rod (shepherd's stick) to the ground - and suddenly this rod turned into a snake. Moses caught the snake by the tail - and again there was a stick in his hand. Another miracle: when Moses put his hand in his bosom and took it out, it became white from leprosy like snow, when he put his hand in his bosom again and took it out, it became healthy. “If they don’t believe this miracle,- said the Lord, - then take water from the river and pour it on the dry land, and the water will become blood on the dry land.”

Moses and Aaron go to Pharaoh

Obeying God, Moses set out on the road. On the way, he met his brother Aaron, whom God ordered to go out into the desert to meet Moses, and they came together to Egypt. Moses was already 80 years old, no one remembered him. The daughter of the former pharaoh died long ago, foster mother Moses.

First of all, Moses and Aaron came to the people of Israel. Aaron told his fellow tribesmen that God would lead the Jews out of slavery and give them a land flowing with milk and honey. However, they did not immediately believe him. They were afraid of Pharaoh's revenge, they were afraid of the path through the waterless desert. Moses performed several miracles, and the people of Israel believed in him and that the hour of liberation from slavery had come. Nevertheless, the murmur against the prophet, which began even before the exodus, then flared up repeatedly. Like Adam, who was free to submit to or reject the higher Will, the newly created people of God experienced temptations and failures.

After this, Moses and Aron appeared to Pharaoh and declared to him the will of the God of Israel, so that he would release the Jews into the desert to serve this God: “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: Let My people go, that they may celebrate a feast for Me in the wilderness.” But Pharaoh answered angrily: “Who is the Lord that I should listen to him? I don’t know the Lord and I won’t let the Israelites go.”(Ex.5:1-2)

Then Moses announced to Pharaoh that if he did not release the Israelites, then God would send various “plagues” (misfortunes, disasters) to Egypt. The king did not listen - and the threats of the messenger of God came true.

Ten Plagues and the Establishment of Easter

Pharaoh's refusal to fulfill God's command entails 10 "plagues of Egypt" , a series of terrible natural disasters:

However, the executions only embitter the pharaoh even more.

Then the angry Moses came to Pharaoh in last time and warned: “This is what the Lord says: At midnight I will pass through the middle of Egypt. And every firstborn in the land of Egypt will die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh...to the firstborn of the slave girl...and all the firstborn of livestock.” This was the last and most severe 10th plague (Exodus 11:1-10 - Exodus 12:1-36).

Then Moses warned the Jews to slaughter a one-year-old lamb in each family and anoint the doorposts and lintel with its blood: by this blood God will distinguish the homes of the Jews and will not touch them. Lamb meat was to be baked over a fire and eaten with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Jews must be ready to hit the road immediately.

At night, Egypt suffered a terrible disaster. “And Pharaoh arose by night, he and all his servants, and all Egypt; and there was a great cry in the land of Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not a dead man.”

The shocked Pharaoh immediately summoned Moses and Aaron and ordered them, along with all their people, to go into the desert and perform worship so that God would take pity on the Egyptians.

Since then, Jews every year on the 14th day of the month of Nissan (the day falling on the full moon spring equinox) commit Easter holiday . The word "passover" means "to pass by," because the angel who struck the firstborn passed by the Jewish houses.

From now on, Easter will mark the liberation of the People of God and their unity in a sacred meal - a prototype of the Eucharistic Meal.

Exodus. Crossing the Red Sea.

That same night, the entire Israeli people left Egypt forever. The Bible indicates the number of those who left was “600 thousand Jews” (not counting women, children and livestock). The Jews did not leave empty-handed: before fleeing, Moses ordered them to ask their Egyptian neighbors for gold and silver items, as well as rich clothes. They also took with them the mummy of Joseph, which Moses searched for for three days while his fellow tribesmen collected property from the Egyptians. God himself led them, being in a pillar of cloud during the day and in a pillar of fire at night, so the fugitives walked day and night until they reached the seashore.

Meanwhile, Pharaoh realized that the Jews had deceived him and rushed after them. Six hundred war chariots and selected Egyptian cavalry quickly overtook the fugitives. There seemed to be no escape. Jews - men, women, children, old people - crowded on the seashore, preparing for inevitable death. Only Moses was calm. At the command of God, he extended his hand to the sea, struck the water with his staff, and the sea parted, clearing the way. The Israelites walked along the bottom of the sea, and the waters of the sea stood like a wall to their right and left.

Seeing this, the Egyptians chased the Jews along the bottom of the sea. Pharaoh's chariots were already in the middle of the sea when the bottom suddenly became so viscous that they could hardly move. Meanwhile, the Israelis made it to the opposite bank. The Egyptian warriors realized that things were bad and decided to turn back, but it was too late: Moses again extended his hand to the sea, and it closed over Pharaoh’s army...

The crossing of the Red (now Red) Sea, accomplished in the face of imminent mortal danger, becomes the culmination of a saving miracle. The waters separated the rescued from the “house of slavery.” Therefore, the transition became a prototype of the sacrament of baptism. A new passage through water is also a path to freedom, but to freedom in Christ. On the seashore, Moses and all the people, including his sister Miriam, solemnly sang a song of thanksgiving to God. “I sing to the Lord, for He is highly exalted; he threw his horse and rider into the sea..." This solemn song of the Israelis to the Lord underlies the first of the nine sacred songs that make up the canon of songs sung daily by the Orthodox Church in worship.

According to biblical tradition, the Israelites lived in Egypt for 430 years. And the Exodus of the Jews from Egypt took place, according to Egyptologists, around 1250 BC. However, according to the traditional point of view, the Exodus occurred in the 15th century. BC e., 480 years (~5 centuries) before the construction of Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem began (1 Kings 6:1). There is a significant number alternative theories chronology of the Exodus, in varying degrees consistent with both religious and modern archaeological point of view.

Miracles of Moses

The road to the Promised Land ran through the harsh and vast Arabian Desert. At first they walked for 3 days through the desert of Sur and found no water except bitter (Merrah) (Exodus 15:22-26), but God sweetened this water by commanding Moses to throw a piece of some special tree into the water.

Soon, having reached the Sin desert, the people began to grumble from hunger, remembering Egypt, when they “sat by the cauldrons of meat and ate bread to their fill!” And God heard them and sent them from heaven manna from heaven (Ex. 16).

One morning, when they woke up, they saw that the entire desert was covered with something white, like frost. We started looking: white coating turned out to be small grains, similar to hail or grass seeds. In response to the surprised exclamations, Moses said: “This is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat.” Adults and children rushed to gather manna and bake bread. From then on, every morning for 40 years they found manna from heaven and ate it.

Manna from heaven

The collection of manna took place in the morning, since by noon it melted under the rays of the sun. “The manna was like coriander seed, the appearance of bdellium.”(Num. 11:7). According to Talmudic literature, when eating manna, young men felt the taste of bread, old men - the taste of honey, children - the taste of oil.

In Rephidim, Moses, at the command of God, brought water out of the rock of Mount Horeb, striking it with his rod.

Jews were attacked here wild tribe Amalekites, but were defeated by the prayer of Moses, who during the battle prayed on the mountain, raising his hands to God (Ex. 17).

Sinai Covenant and 10 Commandments

In the 3rd month after leaving Egypt, the Israelites approached Mount Sinai and camped opposite the mountain. Moses first ascended the mountain, and God warned him that he would appear before the people on the third day.

And then this day came. Terrible phenomena accompanied by a phenomenon in Sinai: a cloud, smoke, lightning, thunder, flame, earthquake, trumpet blast. This communication lasted 40 days, and God gave Moses two tablets - stone tablets on which the Law was written.

1. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; Let you have no other gods before Me.

2. Do not make for yourself an idol or any image of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth below, or that is in the water below the earth; You shall not worship them or serve them, for I am the Lord your God. God is jealous, punishing the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, and showing mercy to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

3. Do not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave without punishment the one who takes His name in vain.

4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy; six days thou shalt work, and do all thy work; but the seventh day is a Sabbath unto the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, neither thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor yours, nor your donkey, nor any of your livestock, nor the stranger who is in your gates; For in six days the Lord created heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them, and rested on the seventh day; Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and sanctified it.

5. Honor your father and your mother, (so that it may go well with you and) so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

6. Don't kill.

7. Do not commit adultery.

8. Don't steal.

9. Do not bear false witness against your neighbor.

10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house; Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his field, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor (any of his livestock), nor anything that is thy neighbor's.

The law that was given ancient Israel God, had several goals. First, he asserted public order and justice. Secondly, he highlighted Jewish people as a special religious community professing monotheism. Thirdly, he had to make an internal change in a person, morally improve a person, bring a person closer to God through instilling in a person the love of God. Finally, the law of the Old Testament prepared humanity for the adoption of the Christian faith in the future.

The Decalogue (ten commandments) formed the basis of the moral code of all cultural humanity.

In addition to the Ten Commandments, God dictated laws to Moses that outlined how the people of Israel should live. Thus the Children of Israel became a people - Jews .

The Wrath of Moses. Establishment of the tabernacle of the covenant.

Moses ascended Mount Sinai twice, remaining there for 40 days. During his first absence the people sinned terribly. The wait seemed too long to them and they demanded that Aaron make them a god who led them out of Egypt. Frightened by their unbridledness, he collected gold earrings and made a golden calf, in front of which the Jews began to serve and have fun.

Coming down from the mountain, Moses in anger broke the Tablets and destroyed the calf.

Moses breaks the tablets of the Law

Moses severely punished the people for their apostasy, killing about 3 thousand people, but asked God not to punish them. God had mercy and showed him His glory, showing him a chasm in which he could see God from behind, because it is impossible for man to see His face.

After that, again for 40 days, he returned to the mountain and prayed to God for the forgiveness of the people. Here, on the mountain, he received instructions about the construction of the Tabernacle, the laws of worship and the establishment of the priesthood.It is believed that the book of Exodus lists the commandments on the first broken tablets, and Deuteronomy lists what was written the second time. From there he returned with God's face illuminated by the light and was forced to hide his face under a veil so that the people would not go blind.

Six months later, the Tabernacle was built and consecrated - a large, richly decorated tent. Inside the tabernacle stood the Ark of the Covenant - a wooden chest lined with gold with images of cherubim on top. In the ark lay the tablets of the covenant brought by Moses, a golden container with manna, and Aaron’s rod that flourished.

Tabernacle

To prevent disputes about who should have the right of the priesthood, God commanded that a staff be taken from each of the twelve leaders of the tribes of Israel and placed in the tabernacle, promising that the staff of the one He had chosen would blossom. The next day Moses found that Aaron's rod had produced flowers and almonds. Then Moses laid Aaron's rod before the ark of the covenant for safekeeping, as a testimony to future generations of the Divine election of Aaron and his descendants to the priesthood.

Moses' brother, Aaron, was ordained high priest, and other members of the tribe of Levi were ordained priests and "Levites" (in our opinion, deacons). From this time on, the Jews began to perform regular religious services and animal sacrifices.

End of wandering. Death of Moses.

For another 40 years Moses led his people to the promised land - Canaan. At the end of the journey, the people again began to be faint-hearted and grumble. God sent as punishment poisonous snakes, and when they repented, he commanded Moses to erect a copper image of the serpent on a pole, so that everyone who looked at it with faith would remain unharmed. The serpent lifted up in the desert, as St. Gregory of Nyssa - is the sign of the sacrament of the cross.

Despite great difficulties, the prophet Moses remained a faithful servant of the Lord God until the end of his life. He led, taught and mentored his people. He arranged their future, but did not enter the Promised Land because of the lack of faith shown by him and his brother Aaron at the waters of Meribah in Kadesh. Moses struck the rock twice with his rod, and water flowed out of the rock, although once was enough - and God became angry and declared that neither he nor his brother Aaron would enter the Promised Land.

By nature, Moses was impatient and prone to anger, but through Divine education he became so humble that he became “the meekest of all people on earth.” In all his deeds and thoughts, he was guided by faith in the Almighty. In a sense, the fate of Moses is similar to the fate of the Old Testament itself, which through the desert of paganism brought the people of Israel to the New Testament and froze on its threshold. Moses died at the end of forty years of wandering on the top of Mount Nebo, from which he could see the promised land from afar - Palestine. God told him: “This is the land that I swore to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob... I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not enter it.”

He was 120 years old, but neither his vision was dull nor his strength exhausted. Spent 40 years in the palace Egyptian pharaoh, the other 40 - with flocks of sheep in the land of Midian, and the last 40 - while wandering at the head of the Israeli people in the Sinai desert. The Israelites commemorated the death of Moses with 30 days of mourning. His grave was hidden by God so that the Israeli people, who were inclined at that time towards paganism, would not make a cult out of it.

After Moses, the Jewish people, spiritually renewed in the desert, were led by his disciple, who led the Jews to the Promised Land. For forty years of wandering, not a single person remained alive who came out of Egypt with Moses, and who doubted God and worshiped the golden calf at Horeb. Thus a truly new people was created, living according to the law, given by God in Sinai.

Moses was also the first inspired writer. According to legend, he is the author of the books of the Bible - the Pentateuch as part of the Old Testament. Psalm 89, “The Prayer of Moses, the Man of God,” is also attributed to Moses.

Svetlana Finogenova

The four books of the Pentateuch (Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy), which make up the epic of the Exodus of the Jews from Egypt, are dedicated to his life and work.

Birth and childhood

There are suggestions that this good princess was Termutis, daughter of Ramesses II, or, according to another assumption, Hat-asu (Hatshepsut??), daughter of Thothmes I, the later famous independent ruler of Egypt from the 18th dynasty.

Moses was dedicated to " in all the wisdom of Egypt", that is, into all the secrets of the religious and political worldview of Egypt. Tradition tells that he, at the head of the Egyptian army, made a brilliant campaign in Ethiopia and married the Ethiopian princess Farbis.

From the Bible we only know that Moses, deeply upset by the slave state of his people, once in a fit of rage killed an Egyptian overseer who was cruel to the Israelite slaves, and, fearing punishment, “fled from Pharaoh and stopped in the land of Midian” Ex. 2:15 from the priest Jethro (Jethro), Ex. 2:18, or (middle name) Raguel 3:1. There he marries his daughter Zipporah (Zipporah) and tends his father-in-law's cattle.

Revelation and Exodus

The stubbornness of the pharaoh exposed the country to the horrors of the “Ten Plagues of Egypt”: turning the waters of the Nile into blood; invasion of toads; livestock pestilence; disease in humans and livestock, expressed in inflammation with abscesses; hail and fire between hail; locust invasion; darkness; the death of the firstborn of Egyptian families and of all the firstborn of livestock.

The children of Israel set out and miraculously crossed the sea. In the third month after leaving Egypt, the Israelites approached Mount Sinai, where Moses received from God the Tablets of the Covenant with the Ten Commandments, which became the basis of the Mosaic legislation (Torah). The Mosaic legislation and especially the famous “Decalogue” formed the basis of the moral code of all cultural humanity. So the Sons of Israel became a real people - Jews. Here, on the mountain, he received instructions on the construction of the Tabernacle and the laws of worship.

Moses went up Mount Sinai twice, staying there for 40 days, and “saw” God face to face. During his first absence, the people sinned terribly: they made a Golden Calf, in front of which the Jews began to serve and have fun. Moses, in anger, broke the Tablets and destroyed the calf.

Later life

Moses lived 120 years. He spent forty years in the palace, another forty with flocks of sheep in the land of Midian, and the last forty in wandering at the head of the Israeli people in the Sinai desert, which was associated with many adversities for Moses. Despite great difficulties, Moses remained a servant of God, continued to lead the people chosen by God, teach and instruct them. He announced the future of the tribes of Israel, but did not enter the promised land, like Aaron, because of the sin they committed at the waters of Meribah in Kadesh (they did not show sufficient faith to demonstrate the holiness of God). Moses died just before entering the Promised Land and was buried on Mount Nebo. His grave was hidden by God so that the Israeli people, who were inclined at that time towards paganism, would not make a cult out of it.

Moses in world religions

In Judaism

In Christianity

Moses is the great prophet of Israel, according to legend, the author of the books of the Bible (the so-called Pentateuch of Moses as part of the Old Testament). On Mount Sinai, he received the Ten Commandments from God.

In Christianity, Moses is considered one of the most important prototypes of Christ: just as through Moses the Old Testament was revealed to the world, so through Christ the New Testament.

The memory of the prophet Moses is celebrated by the Russian Orthodox Church September 17 (new century).

In Islam

In the Muslim tradition, the name Moses sounds like Musa (Arabic: موسى ‎‎). He is a prophet in Islam to whom the Taurat was revealed.

Musa's call to prophecy

Musa is one of the descendants of the prophet Yaqub. He was born and lived for some time in Egypt. At that time, there was a Pharaoh who ruled there, who was an unbeliever. Musa fled from the pharaoh to the prophet Shuaib, who at that time owned Madyan.

One day Musa was moving along the road, heading to Egypt, past Mount Al-Tur. At night, when it got colder, he and his wife were sitting in a tent and suddenly saw a fire in the distance. Musa said to his wife: “Wait here, I’ll go and see what kind of fire it is and bring some fire to melt the hearth and keep warm.”

Approaching the place where he saw the fire, Musa did not find anything, but suddenly heard a voice addressed to him: “O Musa! Verily, I am I, your Lord. Therefore, take off your shoes, for you are in the sacred valley of Tuva.

I have chosen you; So, listen to the revelation. Verily, I am I - Allah; there is no god but Me. Therefore worship Me and observe Prayer in remembrance of Me.

Go to Pharaoh and politely tell him that maybe he will remember Allah and stop being cruel and unjust. And so that he believes you, show him this miracle.”

Musa was afraid to return to Egypt because the Pharaoh would capture and execute him for the man that Musa had once killed.

Musa was tongue-tied and it was difficult for him to speak. He was afraid that he would not be able to tell Pharaoh anything. In Egypt, Musa had a brother, Harun, who was a righteous man. Musa called to his Lord:

“My lord, I am afraid that they will accuse me of lying. My breath will be taken away, and I will not be able to utter words. Send Haruna with me, since I am guilty before them and am afraid that they will kill me.”

Allah said to him: “O Musa, do not be afraid and remember that I saved you when you were a baby. Go with Our signs. I am with you and will not leave you. Go you and your brother Harun. So, go both of you to Pharaoh and tell him: “We are the Messengers of our Lord, the Lord of the Worlds.” Ask him to save the children of Israel from torment and humiliation.”

So Allah Almighty granted revelation to Musa and his brother Harun, peace be upon them, and they became Messengers of Allah. Allah sent them to Pharaoh to urge him to accept Islam.

Death of Musa

Prophet Musa moved with his people to the Holy Land, where hostile polytheistic tribes lived. The people told Prophet Musa: “We will not go there until they leave it.” Others said: “As long as they live there, we will never go there. You yourself go and fight with them, and we will stay here.” Prophet Musa became angry and called them sinners.

Allah Almighty punished the people of Musa, peace be upon him. They wandered the earth day and night for forty years.

Prophet Musa continued to call people to believe in One God. And so he taught people until his death. First his brother Harun died, and after some time the Angel of Death Azrael took the spirit of the prophet Musa, peace be upon them.

Antique tradition

In art

• poem by I. Y. Franko “Moses”

See also

Notes

Links

• Article " Moses» in the Electronic Jewish Encyclopedia
• Thematic selections about Moses from The Urantia Book (Russian). Retrieved October 15, 2008.

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See what “Prophet Moses” is in other dictionaries:

This term has other meanings, see Moses (meanings). Prophet Moses: Leader Liberator Moses ... Wikipedia

- (משֶׁה Moshe) sculpture by Michelangelo The Jewish legislator who united ... Wikipedia

Me, male; simple to Mosey2, I.Otch.: Moiseevich, Moiseevna; decomposition Moiseich.Derivatives: Moses; Mosya; Moseyka; Mosyak; Monya; Monyuka; Mulya; Munya; Musya.Origin: (Ancient Hebrew personal name Mose (Jewish legislator))Name day: January 27, February 7, 8… … Dictionary of personal names

- (drawn or saved from water) (Ex. 2:10, etc.) leader and legislator of the Jewish people, prophet and first sacred writer of everyday life. He was born in Egypt 1574 or 1576 years BC. and was the son of Amram and Jochebed. When Moses was born, his mother... Bible. Dilapidated and New Testaments. Synodal translation. Biblical encyclopedia arch. Nikifor.

Baby in a floating basket

When Pharaoh noticed that the number of Israelite people was growing, he became worried and ordered the midwives who helped Jewish women during childbirth to kill all the boys. The midwives knew that this was bad and did not listen to Pharaoh, but God blessed them. Then Pharaoh ordered the Egyptians to take all the Israelite boys and throw them into the Nile.

A husband and wife from the tribe of Levi had a third child. They fell in love with their son and hid him in the hope that the Egyptians would not find him, but by the age of three months he was too old to hide. Then the mother wove a basket and tarred it so that water would not penetrate. She put the baby there and hid it in the Nile reeds. His sister Mariam kept watch nearby to see if anything had happened to her brother.

An unexpected find

One day, Pharaoh’s daughter went for a swim and saw from the shore that a basket was floating in the reeds. She sent one of her slaves for her. Looking into the basket, she was surprised to see what was there. beautiful baby. He began to cry. She felt sorry for him and decided to save him and take him in with her. Then Mariam came out of hiding and asked:

Can I bring an Israeli woman to feed him?

Yes, of course,” the princess answered, and Mariam ran for her mother.

Take him,” said the princess, “and nurse him for me.” I'll pay you.

And so it turned out that the child was nursed by his own mother until he grew up and was transferred to the princess. She named him Moses.

Escape

Moses lived in a palace, but did not forget that he was an Israelite. One day he saw that an Egyptian had hit his relative. Thinking that there was no one nearby, he killed the offender and buried him in the sand. The next day he saw two Israelis fighting and asked:

Why are you hitting yours?

“It’s none of your business,” the Israeli answered. – It’s not for you to judge me. Maybe you want to kill me like that Egyptian?

Moses realized that someone had seen everything and was facing execution. He fled to the Medes, to the land of Midian. There he helped two sisters who were being prevented from watering their cattle. The grateful father, Rachel, took him as a shepherd and gave him one of his sisters, Sophora, in marriage.

Burning bush

While Moses lived with the Medes, the Israelites suffered in Egypt. They cried out to God, and He heard. The time has come to save them. One day, Moses was tending his father-in-law's sheep and suddenly saw something strange: the bush in front of him was burning, but was not consumed. Coming closer, he heard:

Moses, I am God. Stay away and take off your shoes, for this place is holy.

Afraid to look at God, Moses covered his face.

“I heard,” God continued, “how My people pray for help. To help them, I chose you. Go to Pharaoh and tell him to let them go, and then lead them to the Promised Land.

“I can’t,” said Moses.

You will be able to, - God answered, - because I am with you.

Then Moses asked:

If I tell the people that You sent me, they will ask Your Name. What should I answer them?

And God said:

My name is Jehovah.

Moses works miracles

God promised His help, but Moses was still afraid. He thought that people would not believe that God spoke to him, and Pharaoh would not let them leave Egypt. God showed Moses His power. He ordered to throw the rod, and it turned into a snake. Moses jumped back and God said:

Take her by the tail.

Moses carefully picked up the snake and it became a rod again.

When you perform this miracle, God said, people will believe you. Now put your hand in your bosom.

Moses put his hand in, took it out and saw that it was leprous.

And now - again, - said God.

He took out his hand, and there was no leprosy.

If they don’t believe the first miracle, God said, they will believe the second and listen to you.

Forty years were coming to an end. Before letting the people into the Promised Land, God had to make sure that the older generation was no longer there, and sent Moses to count the people. Of the elders, only Caleb and Joshua, faithful to one God, could enter Canaan.

The Midianites seduced many of the Israelites into idolatry, and God ordered a battle with this tribe. The Israelites killed them, burned their cities, and took the cattle for themselves. God's people were glad that not a single Israelite was killed. Out of gratitude, he offered the conquered jewelry to Moses and Eleazar. They took them and placed them in the tabernacle as a gift to God.

Finally Israel stood on the banks of the Jordan. Everyone looked at the Promised Land and thanked God that they were about to enter it.

The people of Israel are divided on both banks of the Jordan River

The tribes of Reuben and Gaza and half the tribe of Manasseh remained beyond the Jordan. They asked Moses to settle them there, and not across the river with the other tribes. Moses became angry.

What's the matter? – he asked. – Are you so afraid of the Canaanites? Do you want others to fight for you?

No, what are you talking about! - they answered. “It’s just that the land here is good for our herds, there is something to feed on.” We will leave our families and livestock, and we ourselves will go with everyone across the river and fight until we destroy the Canaanites. Then we'll come back here. Moses thought and questioned those who were camped by the river. Everyone agreed and added that the Canaanites must first be expelled.

Why were cities of refuge needed?

Moses wondered how the people in Canaan would live without him. He said that some cities should be given to the Levites for their special service. There should be plenty of pastures around every city. It is also necessary to identify cities of refuge where everyone can flee if they accidentally kill someone. Perhaps a relative of the deceased will try to take revenge, but if the murderer took refuge in such a city and told everything to the local judges, no one has the right to touch him. He must live there until the high priest dies. Then he is free to go home, no one will punish him.

These cities do not hide murderers, but those who accidentally took their lives.

Moses did not go to Canaan and gave a long speech, recalling everything that happened after Egypt. What if they forgot in forty years how much mercy there was from God? He saw how easily the people forget God's commands and simply disobey them. Now he recalled all the commandments that told them how they should live. “Remember,” he said, “you cannot honor other gods. Do not create idols and do not worship them. Do not take the Name of God in vain and always observe the Sabbath. Honor your father and mother. Don't kill, don't steal, don't lie, don't commit adultery. And don’t covet anything that belongs to others.”

Then he reminded them of another 613 rules and repeated everything they needed to know about anniversaries and holidays established in memory of the mercies of God. Finally he said that Joshua would lead them. After this, he climbed Mount Nebo and looked across the river. He was one hundred and twenty years old.

Joshua - leader of the people of Israel

When Moses died, Joshua became the leader of Israel. He had previously helped Moses and was one of two spies who brought good news from Canaan, encouraging the people to trust God. The Lord said to Him:

Prepare them to cross the river. I will give them the land for you to walk on. Don't be afraid of the Canaanites. I will be with you and protect you. Just obey Me and be courageous. Joshua told the people that it was time to cross the river. He reminded the tribes of Reuben and Gaza and half the tribe of Manasseh that their families could remain on the east bank, and they themselves could return to their families and graze livestock on fertile lands.

Everyone promised to obey Joshua, for God had chosen him as leader. So after Jesus, Muhammad became the leader and prophet of God not only for the Israelis and Arabs, but also for the peoples of the whole world until the end of the World.

After the death of Patriarch Joseph, the situation of the Jews changed dramatically. The new king, who did not know Joseph, began to fear that the Jews, having become a numerous and strong people, would go over to the enemy’s side in the event of war. He appointed commanders over them to wear them out with hard work. Pharaoh also ordered the killing of newborn Israelite boys. Existence itself is under threat chosen people . However, God's Providence did not allow this plan to be carried out. God saved the future leader of the people, Moses, from death. This greatest Old Testament prophet came from the tribe of Levi. His parents were Amram and Jochebed (Exodus 6:20). The future prophet was younger than his brother Aaron and sister Mariam. The baby was born when the Pharaoh's order to drown newborns in the Nile was in force Jewish boys. The mother hid her child for three months, but then was forced to hide him in a basket in the reeds on the river bank. Pharaoh's daughter saw him and took him into her house.. Moses' sister, who was watching from afar, offered to bring a nurse. According to God's will, it was arranged so that became his nurse birth mother who raised him in her home. When the boy grew up, his mother brought him to the pharaoh's daughter. While living in the king's palace as an adopted son, Moses was taught all the wisdom of Egypt, and was mighty in words and deeds (Acts 7:22).

When should he turned forty years old, he went out to his brothers. Seeing that the Egyptian was beating the Jew, he, defending his brother, killed the Egyptian. Fearing persecution, Moses fled to the land of Midian and was received in the house of the local priest Raguel (aka Jethro), who married his daughter Zipporah to Moses.

Moses lived in the land of Midian forty years. Over these decades, he gained that inner maturity that made him capable of accomplishing a great feat - with God's help free the people from slavery. This event was perceived by Old Testament people as central in the history of the people. It is mentioned more than sixty times in the Holy Scriptures. In memory of this event, the main Old Testament holiday was established - Easter. The outcome has spiritual and educational significance. The Egyptian captivity is an Old Testament symbol of the slavish subordination of humanity to the devil until redemptive feat Jesus Christ. The Exodus from Egypt marks spiritual liberation through the New Testament Sacrament of Baptism.

The exodus was preceded by one of the most important events in the history of the chosen people. epiphanies. Moses tended his father-in-law's sheep in the desert. He reached Mount Horeb and saw that The thorn bush is engulfed in flames, but does not burn. Moses began to approach him. But God called to him from the midst of the bush: don't come here; take off your shoes from your feet, for the place on which you stand is holy ground. And he said: I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.(Exodus 3:5-6).

The outer side of the vision - a burning but not consumed thorn bush - depicted the plight of the Jews in Egypt. Fire, as a destroying force, indicated the severity of suffering. Just as the bush burned and was not consumed, so the Jewish people were not destroyed, but were only purified in the crucible of disasters. This is a prototype of the Incarnation. The Holy Church adopted the symbol of the Burning Bush Mother of God . The miracle lies in the fact that this thorn bush, in which the Lord appeared to Moses, has survived to this day. It is located in the fence of the Sinai monastery of St. Catherine the Great Martyr.

The Lord who appeared to Moses said that scream the children of Israel suffering from the Egyptians reached Him.

God sends Moses on a great mission: bring my people the children of Israel out of Egypt(Exodus 3:10). Moses humbly speaks of his weakness. God responds to this hesitation with clear and overpowering words: I'll be with you(Exodus 3:12). Moses, having accepted high obedience from the Lord, asks the name of the Sender. God said to Moses: I Am That I Am (Exodus 3:14). In a word Existing in the Synodal Bible the sacred name of God is conveyed, inscribed in the Hebrew text with four consonants ( tetragram): YHWH. The above passage shows that the prohibition to pronounce this secret name appeared much later than the time of the Exodus (perhaps after the Babylonian captivity).

While reading aloud sacred texts in the tabernacle, temple, and later in synagogues, instead of the tetragram, another name of God was pronounced - Adonai. In Slavic and Russian texts the tetragram is conveyed by the name Lord. In biblical language Existing expresses the personal beginning of absolute self-sufficient being, on which the existence of the entire created world depends.

The Lord strengthened the spirit of Moses two miraculous actions. The rod turned into a snake, and Moses' hand, which was covered with leprosy, was healed. The miracle with the rod testified that the Lord was giving Moses the authority of the leader of the people. The sudden defeat of the hand of Moses by leprosy and its healing meant that God had endowed His chosen one with the power of miracles to fulfill his mission.

Moses said he was tongue-tied. The Lord strengthened him: I will be at your mouth and teach you what to say.(Exodus 4:12). God gives the future leader his elder brother as an assistant Aaron.

Coming to Pharaoh, Moses and Aaron, on behalf of the Lord, demanded that the people be released into the desert to celebrate the holiday. Pharaoh was a pagan. He declared that he did not know the Lord and that the people of Israel would not let them go. Pharaoh became bitter against the Jewish people. Jews did hard work at this time - they made bricks. Pharaoh ordered their work to be made more difficult. God again sends Moses and Aaron to declare His will to Pharaoh. At the same time, the Lord commanded to perform signs and wonders.

Aaron cast his rod before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a serpent. The wise men and sorcerers of the king and the magicians of Egypt did the same with their spells: they threw down their wands, and they became snakes, but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods.

The next day the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron to perform another miracle. When Pharaoh went to the river, Aaron struck the water with his rod in front of the king's face and water turned to blood. All the reservoirs in the country were filled with blood. Among the Egyptians, Nile was one of the gods of their pantheon. What happened with the water was supposed to enlighten them and show the power of the God of Israel. But this one first of the ten plagues of Egypt only hardened Pharaoh's heart even more.

Second execution took place seven days later. Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and went out frogs covered the ground. The disaster prompted Pharaoh to ask Moses to pray to the Lord to remove all the frogs. The Lord fulfilled the requests of His saint. Toads are extinct. As soon as the king felt relief, he again fell into bitterness.

Therefore I followed third plague. Aaron struck the ground with his rod, and they appeared midges and began to bite people and livestock. In the original Hebrew these insects are called kinnim, in Greek and Slavic texts - sketches. According to the 1st century Jewish philosopher Philo of Alexandria and Origen, these were mosquitoes - a common scourge of Egypt during the flood period. But this time all the dust of the earth became midges throughout the whole land of Egypt(Exodus 8:17). The Magi were unable to repeat this miracle. They told the king: this is the finger of God(Exodus 8:19). But he didn't listen to them. The Lord sends Moses to Pharaoh to tell him on behalf of the Lord to let the people go. If he does not comply, they will be sent throughout the country dog flies. It was fourth plague. Her tools were flies. They are named canine, apparently because they had strong bite. Philo of Alexandria writes that they were distinguished by their fierceness and persistence. The fourth plague has two features. Firstly, The Lord performs a miracle without the mediation of Moses and Aaron. Secondly, the land of Goshen, in which the Jews lived, was freed from disaster so that Pharaoh could clearly see absolute power of God. The punishment worked. Pharaoh promised to release the Jews into the desert and make a sacrifice to the Lord God. He asked to pray for him and not to go far. Through the prayer of Moses, the Lord removed all the dog flies from Pharaoh and the people. Pharaoh did not let the Jews go into the desert.

followed fifth plague - pestilence which struck all the livestock of Egypt. For the Jewish cattle, the disaster has passed. God also carried out this execution directly, and not through Moses and Aaron. Pharaoh's tenacity remained the same.

Sixth plague was accomplished by the Lord only through Moses (in the first three, Aaron was the mediator). Moses took a handful of ashes and threw them towards the sky. People and livestock were covered boils. This time the Lord Himself hardened Pharaoh's heart. He did this, apparently, in order to further reveal His all-conquering power to the king and all the Egyptians. God says to Pharaoh: I will send tomorrow, at this very time, a very strong hailstorm, the like of which has not been seen in Egypt since the day of its foundation until now.(Exodus 9:18). The sacred writer notes that those servants of Pharaoh who feared the words of the Lord hastily gathered their servants and flocks into houses. The hail was accompanied by thunder, which can be explained as voice of God from heaven. Psalm 77 gives additional details of this execution: they beat down their grapes with hail, and their sycamores with ice; gave up their cattle to hail and their flocks to lightning(47-48). Blessed Theodoret explains: “The Lord brought upon them hail and thunder, showing that He is the Lord of all the elements." God carried out this execution through Moses. The land of Goshen was not damaged. It was seventh plague. Pharaoh repented: this time I have sinned; The Lord is righteous, but I and my people are guilty; pray to the Lord: let the thunders of God and the hail cease, and I will let you go and will no longer hold you back(Exodus 9:27-28). But the repentance was short-lived. Soon the pharaoh again fell into a state bitterness.

Eighth Plague was very scary. After Moses stretched out the rod over the land of Egypt, The Lord brought a wind from the east, which lasted day and night. Locusts attacked all the land of Egypt and ate all the grass and all the greenery on the trees.. Pharaoh repents again, but, apparently, as before, his repentance is superficial. The Lord hardens his heart.

Peculiarity ninth plague in that it was caused by the symbolic action of Moses stretching out his hands to heaven. Installed for three days thick darkness. By punishing the Egyptians with darkness, God showed the insignificance of their idol Ra, the sun god. Pharaoh yielded again.

Tenth Plague was the worst. The month of Abib has arrived. Before the exodus began, God commanded that Passover be celebrated. This holiday became the main one in the Old Testament sacred calendar.

The Lord told Moses and Aaron that every family on the tenth day of Abib (after the Babylonian captivity this month began to be called Nissan) took one lamb and kept him apart until the fourteenth day of this month, and then slaughtered him. When the lamb is slain, they shall take some of its blood and They will anoint it on both doorposts and on the lintel of the doors in the houses where they will eat it..

At midnight on the 15th of Aviva the Lord struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, as well as all the firstborn of livestock. The firstborn Jews were not harmed. Because the doorposts and lintels of their houses were anointed with the blood of the sacrificial lamb, The angel who smote the firstborn of Egypt, passed by. The holiday established in memory of this event was called Easter (Heb. Passover; from a verb meaning jump over something, pass by).

The blood of the lamb was a prototype of the atoning Blood of the Savior, the Blood of cleansing and reconciliation. Unleavened bread (unleavened bread), which the Jews were supposed to eat in Easter days, also had a symbolic meaning: in Egypt, Jews were in danger of becoming infected with pagan wickedness. However, God brought the Jewish people out of the land of enslavement and made them a spiritually pure people, called to holiness: And you will be holy people to Me(Exodus 22, 31). He must reject the previous leaven of moral corruption and start a clean life. Unleavened bread that cooks quickly symbolized that speed, with which the Lord led His people out of the land of enslavement.

Easter meal expressed general unity of its participants with God and among themselves. Symbolic meaning It also had the fact that the lamb was cooked whole, with the head. The bone shouldn't have been crushed.

IN Old Testament the lives and deeds of many righteous people and prophets are described. But one of them, p rare birth of Christ and who delivered the Jews from Egyptian oppression, we especially honor him. It is about Moses the Seer of God that the Scripture says that there will be no other such prophet among the children of Israel.

Miraculous rescue of a baby

At the time when future prophet came into being, the Israelites were subordinate to the Egyptians. They had to do the most difficult work under the constant supervision of guards. Fearing that over time the Jews, whose numbers were increasing year by year, could become a threat to the state, Pharaoh Ramses commanded, so that all male babies born to Israeli women would be killed by being thrown into the waters of the Nile.

It was during this difficult time that Moses was born. As soon as he was born, he struck his mother Jochebed extraordinary beauty. Wanting to save her son, the woman hid him for 3 months in her home. When it became impossible to hide the existence of the baby, Jochebed put him in a basket with a tarred bottom, took him to the Nile and left him there in the reed thickets. Moses' sister Mariam stayed to watch what would happen to her brother next.

At this time I went down to the river Pharaoh's barren daughter. Guided by an unknown force, she chose for her bathing exactly the place where Moses lay, abandoned by his mother. According to legend, such a bright light emanated from the basket with the baby that it was impossible not to notice it. And then the pharaoh’s daughter sees a child endowed with extraordinary beauty. Realizing that he was born to an Israeli woman, the princess nevertheless decides to take the boy with her to the palace as a adopted son.

The quick-witted Mariam, who witnessed the miraculous salvation of her brother, suggested that Pharaoh's daughter find a nurse for the child among Jewish women and suggested the candidacy of Jochebed. So the baby was returned to his mother, who had been with him for up to 2-3 years.

At the Pharaoh's court

A few years later, Jochebed gave the grown child to Pharaoh’s daughter. The boy was not only handsome and physically strong, but also smart. Despite his origins, little Moses was accepted and loved by Pharaoh. Living in the palace, he received an excellent education. His only drawback was tongue-tiedness, acquired after one unusual incident.

According to the biblical parable, Ramses and Moses, who was still too young at that time, sometimes spent time together. One day, the pharaoh sat the baby on his lap, and he, having played out, knocked off his headdress. The priests suspected this was an evil sign. Wanting to test their fears, they brought two trays to the boy. On one of them were diamonds, and on the other were hot sparkling coals. The logic of the priests was simple: the attention of a foolish baby should have been attracted by the flickering of coals. If a child reaches out his hand to precious stones, then he is capable of realizing his own actions, and the pharaoh’s headdress was knocked off deliberately.

Legend has it that the smart boy actually reached for the diamonds first, but the angel withdrew his hand and directed it to the second tray. Grabbing the coal, the baby immediately put it in his mouth, got burned and cried bitterly. The priests' suspicions were dispelled. But the resulting injury to the palate and tongue led to the fact that Moses could no longer pronounce words clearly and clearly.

Of course, no one oppressed the adopted son of the pharaoh’s daughter and forced him to do hard work. But the future prophet was always worried about the fate of his people.

Killing an Egyptian

As Moses grew older, he became aware of the plight of the Israelites. One day he saw an overseer brutally beating a Jew. The Egyptian did not react to all the persuasion. And then Moses kills him, and the body is buried in the sand.

According to one version, the conflict between the overseer and the slave arose over a girl. The Jewish man really liked the wife of the Jew. Having subjected the woman to violence, he, afraid of publicity, decided to get rid of her husband forever. It was at this moment that the future prophet found them. Since the taskmaster's action was punishable by death, Moses did so. This angered Pharaoh, who ordered him to be killed.

There is another explanation for why Ramses suddenly took up arms against Moses. After all, the life of a simple overseer for the pharaoh did not mean anything compared to the life of the adopted son of a princess. There is information in the Old Testament that the murder of the Egyptian was committed in an unusual way. Moses killed the rapist by calling the name of the Lord. It was this spiritual power that Pharaoh was afraid of when he learned what had happened.

There is a legend that the sword, raised over the head of Moses by Pharaoh's servant, shattered into many pieces, and those present either became deaf, blind, or lost their minds.

Realizing what he was in danger of mortal danger, Moses flees Egypt. By that time he was forty years old.

Shepherd and flock

The fugitive settles on the land of Mediamskaya. There he marries the daughter of a local priest, who will bear him 2 sons, and works as a shepherd for his father-in-law.

There are many symbolic events in the biography of the prophet Moses. A striking example is that he spent decades herding sheep in the desert. In the Bible, the relationship between God and the humanity he created is often compared to the relationship of a shepherd with his flock. According to the holy fathers, this is how the Lord prepared Moses for the role of spiritual leader who would lead the Israelites (the flock of God) through the desert to the Promised Land.

This is how the next forty years were lived. During this time, Pharaoh died, from whose anger the prophet was hiding. Nothing has changed in the life of the Israelis. They continued to suffer from oppression and exhaustion from hard work.

Fireproof thorn bush

One day when Moses was tending his flock o at the foot of Mount Horeb, he heard a voice calling him. Looking back, he noticed a thorn bush that was blazing with a bright flame, but did not burn out. Moses, realizing that the Lord had appeared to him, responded to the call. God told the prophet that he wanted to save the Jews from sorrow and take them out of Egypt to the lands where honey and milk flow. Moses should have come to Pharaoh and asked him to let the Israelites go into the desert.

The amazed shepherd wondered how he, being tongue-tied, would be able to convince his fellow tribesmen to leave Egypt and follow him. To this the Lord replied that he would become an assistant to the prophet Moses. brother Aaron who will be his mouth. And to make it easier for Jews to believe, God endowed a simple shepherd with the ability to perform signs:

• thrown to the ground by Moses the rod turned into a snake;
• Visible symptoms of leprosy appeared and disappeared on the prophet’s hand.

Having obeyed, Moses went to Egypt, where, together with Aaron, he conveyed the will of the Lord to the people of Israel and, by performing signs, managed to convince them to go into the desert.

10 misfortunes sent to the Egyptians

Pharaoh refused to let the Israelites go. The signs performed by Moses did not convince the king of Egypt, since his priests performed similar miracles. And then the ancient prophet predicted a terrible punishment, waiting for all Egyptians. It consisted of 10 punishments (or executions):

Before the tenth plague, the Israelites were ordered to observe the Passover (translated from Hebrew "Easter" means "to pass by"). The lamb had to be slaughtered, cooked whole over the fire and eaten with unleavened bread. The blood of the lamb was to be smeared on the doors of their houses. Seeing this sign, the angel of death passed by without touching the Jewish children. The firstborn of the Egyptians were all killed in one night. There was not a single family that was not affected by this misfortune.

Truly scary picture appeared before the eyes of Pharaoh! Seeing tears and hearing the cry of his people, he called Moses and Aaron to him and allowed them to lead the Israelites into the desert so that they would pray to the Lord to stop sending misfortunes and troubles to the Egyptians.

In that terrible night prophet to whom turned eighty years old, together with Jews, numbering about 600 thousand people, excluding women and children, left Egypt forever.

Moses and the Exodus from Egypt

According to the Bible, this great event happened in 1250 BC uh. The Lord Himself, turning into a pillar of fire, showed the way to the Israelites. They walked for several days and nights until they approached the shore of the Red Sea.

Meanwhile, Pharaoh realized that the Jews were not going to go back. The Egyptian cavalry, sent in pursuit, quickly overtook the fugitives. The Jews, crowding at the water's edge, prepared for imminent death. But then a miracle happened. Moses, strike in a rod across the sea, he ordered the waters to part. And so it happened. The Jews crossed the seabed, and the waters closed over the Egyptians, drowning the Pharaoh's army.

The further journey of the Israelis to the Promised Land ran through the Arabian Desert. They had to endure many difficulties; more than once they showed cowardice and grumbled at Moses, blaming him for the hardships of their situation. The Prophet pacified the people every time, turning to God for help:

• when the Jews were exhausted from hunger, Moses offered prayers to the Lord, after which God sent down manna from heaven, which served as food;
• To help people suffering from thirst, the prophet extracted water from Mount Horeb by hitting it with a staff.

Three months have passed. The Jews approached the foot of Mount Sinai, having climbed which Moses received from God the tablets containing brief laws or commandments, according to which every person was supposed to live.

In total, the prophet led the Jews through the desert for forty years. But this path could not be passed faster. And it's not a matter of distance. It is known that Moses could lead his people along a short path. But it took exactly four decades for the Jews to learn to trust God, trust in him. It was necessary to overcome large number difficulties so that every Israeli can realize the price paid for his freedom.

Death of a Prophet

Moses himself was not destined to get to the treasured lands. The Lord only showed him Palestine from Mount Nebo. The Seer of God died at the age of 120. Joshua completed the work of the prophet by bringing the Jews to the Promised Land.

The grave of Moses was hidden by God so that people inclined towards paganism would not make a cult out of it. The place of his burial is unknown to this day.

The legend of Moses is reflected in all world religions. In Islam, the prophet Musa is the interlocutor of Allah, to whom he sent down the Taurat. In Judaism, Moshe is considered the “father” of all prophets, who received the Torah from God on Mount Sinai. In Christianity, Moses is revered as greatest prophet, through whom the Lord transmitted the Ten Commandments to humanity. Its significance is also evidenced by the fact that it was Moses and Elijah who appeared to Jesus on Mount Tabor. There was no other prophet like him among the children of Israel!