Prophet, Lawgiver, Liberator of Israel
c. 1391–1271 BC · Old Testament
The greatest prophet of the Old Testament — led Israel out of Egyptian slavery, received the Ten Commandments, and wrote the first five books of the Bible.
Moses is the central figure of the Old Testament after Abraham — the prophet through whom God delivered Israel from Egyptian slavery and gave the law that would shape Israel's identity for centuries. Born in Egypt during a time when Pharaoh ordered all Hebrew male infants killed (Exodus 1-2), Moses was placed in a basket on the Nile by his mother Jochebed and was discovered by Pharaoh's daughter, who raised him as her own. As a young man, Moses killed an Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew slave and fled to Midian, where he became a shepherd and married Zipporah, daughter of the priest Jethro. At 80 years old, Moses encountered God in the burning bush at Mount Horeb (Exodus 3). God revealed his name — YHWH ('I AM WHO I AM') — and commissioned Moses to return to Egypt to deliver Israel. Despite Moses's protests of inadequacy, God promised his presence and provided his brother Aaron as spokesman. Moses returned to Egypt and confronted Pharaoh with ten plagues, culminating in the death of the firstborn and the institution of Passover. He led Israel across the Red Sea (which God parted), through 40 years in the wilderness, and to the brink of the Promised Land. At Mount Sinai, Moses received the Ten Commandments and the broader Torah from God — the foundation of Jewish religious and civil law. Moses interceded for Israel repeatedly when they sinned, including in the golden calf incident when he literally pleaded for God to spare the people (Exodus 32). He spoke with God 'face to face, as a man speaks with his friend' (Exodus 33:11). Because of one act of disobedience at Meribah (Numbers 20), Moses was not permitted to enter the Promised Land. He died at 120 years old on Mount Nebo, viewing Canaan from afar (Deuteronomy 34). The Bible says 'there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face' (Deuteronomy 34:10).
Hidden in a basket on the Nile, raised by Pharaoh's daughter
God reveals his name YHWH and calls Moses to deliver Israel
Egypt struck with successive judgments culminating in the Passover
Israel walks through on dry ground; Pharaoh's army drowns
God's law given at Mount Sinai
Moses pleads for God to spare Israel
Striking the rock instead of speaking; barred from the Promised Land
Views the Promised Land from afar at age 120
Moses's significance is fourfold. First, he is the deliverer who freed Israel from slavery — a foundational pattern for biblical theology of redemption that Christians would later see fulfilled in Christ delivering humanity from slavery to sin. Second, he is the lawgiver — the mediator through whom God established the moral, ceremonial, and civil law that ordered Israel's life. Third, he is the prophet par excellence — the model against which all later prophets were measured (Deuteronomy 18:15, where Moses prophesies that God will raise up 'a prophet like me from your brothers' — applied to Christ in Acts 3:22). Fourth, Moses is traditionally credited as the author of the Torah (the first five books of the Bible). At the Transfiguration (Matthew 17), Moses appears alongside Elijah with Christ — representing the Law alongside the Prophets, both pointing to Jesus. The New Testament treats Moses as deeply important but ultimately surpassed: 'the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ' (John 1:17).
“Let my people go!”— Exodus 5:1
“Be still, and you shall see the salvation of the Lord.”— Exodus 14:13
“Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?”— Exodus 3:11
Moses was the greatest prophet of the Old Testament — the deliverer of Israel from Egyptian slavery, the lawgiver who received the Ten Commandments and the Torah at Mount Sinai, and (traditionally) the author of the first five books of the Bible. He led Israel for 40 years through the wilderness from Egypt to the brink of the Promised Land. Deuteronomy 34:10 records that 'there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face.'
Moses died at 120 years old (Deuteronomy 34:7). Scripture divides his life into three 40-year periods: the first 40 years in Pharaoh's palace (Acts 7:23 — 'When he was forty years old'), the next 40 years as a shepherd in Midian (Acts 7:30 — 'When forty years had passed'), and the final 40 years leading Israel out of Egypt and through the wilderness. Despite his age at death, 'his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated' (Deuteronomy 34:7).
Because of one act of disobedience at Meribah (Numbers 20:1-13). Israel was thirsty in the wilderness; God commanded Moses to speak to a rock to bring out water. Instead, Moses struck the rock twice with his staff (his anger at the people's complaining had gotten the better of him) and took credit for the miracle: 'Hear now, you rebels: must we bring water for you out of this rock?' Water did flow, but God told Moses that because he had not honored him as holy before the people, he would not enter the Promised Land. Moses pleaded but God refused to relent.
The Ten Commandments are the moral commands God gave Israel through Moses at Mount Sinai (Exodus 20:1-17 and Deuteronomy 5:6-21). They are: (1) You shall have no other gods before me. (2) You shall not make idols. (3) You shall not take the LORD's name in vain. (4) Remember the Sabbath day. (5) Honor your father and mother. (6) You shall not murder. (7) You shall not commit adultery. (8) You shall not steal. (9) You shall not bear false witness. (10) You shall not covet. They form the foundation of Jewish and Christian moral teaching.