MOSES: BIRTH AND CALL

The Role of Moses

The Exodus story is not a heroic epic told to celebrate the accomplishment of Moses as the
liberator of his people. The narrator’s major purpose is to glorify the God of Israel, the “Divine
Warrior” whose strong hand and outstretched arm won the victory over his adversaries, Pharaoh and
his hosts. Nevertheless, in this story Moses plays an essential role. It was through Moses the political
leader, that the people were brought out of the land of Egypt, and it was through Moses, the mediator
between God and the people, that the meaning of the crisis and the miraculous deliverance from it was
declared. While brooding over the fate of his people during his exile, Moses’ understanding was
illuminated by an experience that took place in a lonely mountain spot in the Sinaitic wilderness. On
the strength of this experience, he returned to Egypt, where he rallied his countrymen and announced
the meaning of the events that was taking place. Let us turn, then, to the narratives dealing with
Moses in Exodus 2-4.

Moses’ Background

All that we know about is contained in the biblical narratives. Even this knowledge is limited
by the fact that the narrators were not interested in Moses’ biography. Although the narrative portrays
a historical figure of tremendous status, it focuses not so much on Moses’ personality as on the God
who prepares and summons him to be the agent in the accomplishment of the divine purpose.

The tradition of Exodus 2 that Moses was brought up and trained in Egyptian circles in
probably authentic, although it is colored with elements of folklore. The story of the baby in the
basket of bulrushes [Exodus 2:1-10], for example, is reminiscent of a similar account from Sargon of
Akkas [c. 2300 B.C.]. In an inscription, Sargon says that his mother gave birth to him in secret,
placed him in a basket of rushes sealed with bitumen, and cast the basket adrift in the river. Akki, the
drawer of water, lifted him out of the water and reared him as his son. So from humble beginnings
Sargon rose to be the mighty king of the city of Agade, from which the Akkadians took their name.
Moreover, the motif of the adoption of the infant Moses by Pharaoh’s daughter [Ex. 1:7-10] is
strikingly paralleled in an ancient Mesopotamian legal text, which stipulates that a foundling be
turned over to a nurse who is to receive wages for suckling the child; then, after a three-year period of
guardianship, he shall be adopted and shall receive an education as a scribe. Clearly, the tradition of
Moses’ humble birth and his upbringing in Pharaoh’s court has been influenced by various elements
that appealed to popular imagination. Yet Moses’ name is an authentic indication of Egyptian nurture,
which is after all one of the main points of the story. To be sure, the Hebrew story-teller, by a play
words, tries to derive the name of Moses [Hebrew: Mosheh] from a Hebrew verb meaning “to draw
out” [mashah], and even says the Egyptian princess knew enough Hebrew to explain the name in this
manner. But this is an example of the popular explanation of the names on the basis of assonance, or
the similarity of sound, as though we were to explain the name Abel by the Egyptian verb [mose]
meaning “is born” and frequently appears in such theophorous names as Tuth-mose [i.e., the god Toth
is born], Ptah-mose, or Ra-meses. Royal children born on the anniversary of a particular deity were
named in this fashion; and sometimes pharaohs of the nineteenth dynasty were referred to in the
shortened form Mose, without the name of the deity. Other members of Moses’ tribe, the tribe of
Levi [Ex. 2:1], also had Egyptian names, for instance Merari and Phinehas [Ex. 6:16, 25]. Possibly the
name Aaron is Egyptian too.

Despite his nurture in Pharaoh’s court, Moses continued to have a strong feeling of
identification with his Hebrew kinsmen, as shown vividly by the story of his impulsive action on
seeing and Egyptian taskmaster beating a Hebrew slave [Ex. 2:11-15]. The rumor of his act of murder
spread quickly and, fearing the wrath of the Pharaoh [probably Seti I, who began the imperial projects
in the Delta], he fled his life not to return until there was a change of administration- that is, at the
beginning of the reign of Rameses II [see Exodus 2;23: 4:18-20]. He took refuge in “the land of
Midian”, an area of the Sinaitic Peninsula controlled by certain Midianite shepherds. There after
showing kindness of some girls at the well, he was given hospitality in the tent of “the priest of
Midian” and eventually married one of his daughters, Zipporah [2:15-22]. Various traditions have
survived about the name of Moses’ father-in-law: sometimes he is called Jethro [Ex. 2:18: cf. Num.
29], though perhaps the latter was the head of the clan and the father of Jethro. In any case, Moses’
connection with the Midianites is undoubtedly authentic.

The Burning Bush

It was while tending the flocks of his father-in-law in the wilderness that Moses stumbled
upon ”upon the mountain of God”. The story of Moses’ encounter with “the God of the fathers” in
that sacred place and the ;mighty struggle that this precipitated within him is one of the masterpieces
of the Old Testament [Ex. 3-4; 17]. It should be read with imagination and empathy, as one who read
a piece of poetry, for it communicated a dimension of meaning that cannot be cramped into the limits
of precise prose. When the narrative is read critically, various irregularities become evident; for
instance, Moses’ father-in-law is here named Jethro, not Reuel or Hobab; the sacred mountain is
explicitly called Horeb, not Sinai; as we shall see presently, there is some alternation in the usage of
the names for deity. These disparities may be accounted for in part by the theory, which had won
wide scholarly favor, that separate literary traditions have been woven together, although increasingly
it is recognized that the story bears the marks of the oral tradition which preceded literary
compositions. In any case, the story comes to us in its final form as a superb example of narrative art.

Once the story is read poetically, some of the modern reader’s problems are
minimized or fade into insignificance. It is foolish, for instance, to rationalize the burning bush as
though this vision were something that could have been seen with the objective eye of a camera. In
the ancient world generally, and in the Old Testament in particular, fire was frequently the symbol for
the manifestation of God [e.g., Ex. 13:21; 19:24]. The narrator intends to say that Moses
unexpectedly found himself standing on sacred ground in the presence of dread. The response to this
divine manifestation is described tersely [Ex. 3:6]: “Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at
‘Elohim’ [deity]”.

The experience of the holy, which both fascinates and repels, is a well-known phenomenon in
the history of religions. In this instance, however, the holy is not a numinous, nameless power or
“mysterium tremendum”, but is identified with the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Holiness is the
expression of divine will which breaks into the world in order to upset the oppressive regime of the
Pharaoh and to deliver slaves whose condition was ignored. Notice how the narrator quickly shifts
attention from Moses’ seeing the bush that did not burn to his hearing the God who speaks to him in
the historical hour. The way God is described as speaking is clear evidence that the problem of the
Hebrew slaves in Egypt lay deeply upon Moses’ heart. It must be remembered that Moses had run
away from Egypt after an indignant outburst of anger against a slave driver. So when God speaks to
Moses, he speaks with historical accent. His speech is a declaration of what he plans to do. Notice
how several verbs are employed to describe the divine intention: “I have seen the affliction of my
people… and have heard their cry… I know their sufferings, and have come down to deliver them…”
[Ex.. 3:7-8]. According to the Mosaic faith, God is not aloof from human affairs to work out his
purpose. He takes himself known by his deeds, which are historical events. In this narrative we come
to the very heart of Israel’s historical faith.

According to some religions, man’s highest aspiration is to be lifted above-sense experience

into immediate union with God. In such an ineffable experience individuality fades away and the self,
like a drop of water in a great ocean, is absorbed into the Divine. This is not the kind of mysticism
with which the Old Testament deals Moses’ encounter with God sharpened his sense of individuality
and made him more acutely conscious of the demands of the historical situation. In the “I and Thou”
dialogue, Moses was given the task and was summoned to take his part in the historical drama”
“Come I will send you to Pharaoh…” [Ex. 3:10]. With profound religious insight, the narrative
describes his uneasiness about the call and the various protests he offered in an attempt to stay on the
comfortable sidelines of history. The “voice of God” did not come literally out of a burning bush but
out of a historical situation that was illumined with new meaning and depth as Moses reflected on it.
In that historical crisis and God of the fathers made known his purpose, his demand, and his promise.
And the divine call to decision and responsibility is one of the characteristic notes of Israel’s faith.

The Role of Moses in Hebrew Heritage

Exodus 2:1-10 is most probably a late addition to the saga of Moses and the Exodus. Whether
this account is historically accurate or not, we do not know. The only thing we can be sure of is that
Moses is portrayed as someone with a double heritage: one as a Hebrew and the other as an Egyptian.

Many biblical scholars would question that Moses was actually raised as a member of the
pharaoh’s household. Egyptian records make no reference to him. The quality of his leadership
during the Exodus, however, testifies to his fine educational background and would support the idea
that he was reared by a family of high position in Egyptian society.
--Scott Libbey

Another writer says of Moses:

The Israelite storyteller of later days delighted to trace the series of incidents led step by step
to the deliverance of their people from slavery in Egypt and the beginning of their history as a nation
called especially to the service of God. They saw a divine providence at work, saving the life of the
infant Moses when so many other Israelite children were being destroyed. This providence gained for
Moses the educational advantages of Egyptian nobles and they involved him in difficulties making it
impossible for him to continue indefinitely the leisured life of the palace. The various elements in the
experiences of Moses fit together like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle to make him the kind of leader
that his people needed. His education in the royal schools gave him a training that was not open to
other Israelites. Nevertheless, he kept in touch with the traditions of his own people so that he did not
become wholly swallowed up by Egyptian life. And the years that he spent as shepherd in Midian,
which might have seemed wasted for so great a future leader, were actually a period when all his
powers were being brought to their necessary maturity.

Moses did not see the meaning of the things that were happening to him at the time when they
happened. When he went out one day and seeing an Israelite being beaten by an Egyptian guard, he
struck down the Egyptian and killed him, he did not realize that in this action he was once and for all
casting his lot with his own oppressed people. He acted on the impulse of the moment, but what
happened provided a turning point in his life. Similarly, when the dead became known and Moses had
to escape from Egypt, it must have seemed to him like the tragic early ending of a promising career.
He had no way of knowing that he was entering upon the final stage of preparation for his lifework. It
was not until later that it was revealed to Moses how in all these events the hand of God was directing
him toward his true destiny.
--Freedman

Very definitely, the Hebrew writers read into Moses’ life and events the hand of God and the
divine purpose. Indeed, as Frances Eastman suggests,” …it is God, not the man Moses, who is put to
the fore. Moses is of heroic statue, one of the truly great man of history, but the story focuses on the
God who calls him to be his agent rather than on the personality of Moses”.

Moses is confronted by the living God and called to be His spokesman and interpreter. He is
not called to a position of privilege or honor, but to responsibility.

In the Old Testament, fire is often a symbol of the presence of God. The burning bush points
to Moses’ awareness that he was visited by the living God. These verses communicate a sense of
awesomeness of the experience and of the distance between God and man.
 In response to God’s call to him, Moses expressed doubt and hesitation. We can understand
his hesitation. However, Exodus 3:11-13 also indicates that Moses did not fully treat God’s power.
The narrative relates a demonstration of the power of God through a series of signs [Ex. 4:2-9].
--Scott Libbey

Frances Eastman’s way of explaining these events is as follows:

The account in Exodus 3 and 4 of Moses’ encounter with “the God of the fathers” and the
struggle that went on within him as a result must be read with religious imagination. If we
concentrate on explaining the burning bush as a literal phenomenon, we will get bogged down in
standing outside the Bible and demanding that it demonstrate scientifically the deep religious truth it
is relating. This is not our aim. Fire is a frequent Old Testament symbol of God’s presence.
Whatever Moses saw on the mountain led him to realize that he was in the presence of God.

The conversation between Moses and God announces the heart of Israel’s faith. God is
involved in the human scene; He cares. He is going to do something about our situation. He will
make himself and his purpose known through the events that will take place. Moses receives no
assurance that he is the right man for the job. God simply says that He will be with him.

Moses must have been very happy to learn about God’s liberating intention for the Hebrew
people who were afflicted in Egypt. But when he realized that he was going to be the main
implementor of the divine intention, Moses had many excuses. J. N. Schofield summarizes these as:

1. I am nobody. To this God replied with a promise that rings through all prophetic
experience, “I will be with you”.

2. I don’t know you. To this God said, “I am the same god as your fathers worshipped, but I
will give you a new experience of me, a new name or knowledge of me, a new
awareness of what I am doing and so of what I am”.

3. No one will believe me. To this God answered that he would enable Moses to do deeds
that would convince friend and foe of the power of his God.

4. I am not eloquent. To this God’s answer made clear the relation between the prophet and
God- “I will make you a god and Aaron your brother will be your prophet; you
will put the words in his mouth and he will speak them” [Ex. 4:10].

God’s Name

Let us focus our attention on one of those alibis: the question about the name of God [Ex.
3:13]. God’s answer to the question is narrated in Exodus 3:13-14. Bernhard W. Anderson considers
these verses as “one of the most cryptic passages in the Old Testament”, pointing out not only that
there is meaning but also mystery surrounding a name. Among the Hebrews, it was held that “the
name is filled with mysterious power and significance, for the name represents the innermost self or
identity of a person”. Therefore, the question of Moses is an attempt to discover the nature and
mystery of God’s name.

The phrase “I Am Who I Am” is a translation of the Hebrew “ehyeh asher ehyeh”. But the
more accurate translation, according to Martin Buber, is “I will be there as I will be there”. “Ehyeh”
or Yahweh, the revealed name of God on the Old Testament, is the first person singular of the verb
“to be”. The verb signifies that God has a dynamic nature of his being. God is known by what He
does. God’s being is known by divine activity in history.
 God made His command clear and summoned Moses to fulfill His will. God also gave the
assurance to Moses that he would know who God is by what He causes to happen in historical events:
the liberating acts on behalf of the Hebrews.