Born In: Land of Goshen, Ancient Egypt
Born In: Land of Goshen, Ancient Egypt
Moses, famed as the ‘Law Giver of Israel’, was born towards the end of fourteenth century BCE in Egypt. Considered a prophet by all Abrahamic religions, he has a special place in Judaism, where he is referred as Moshe Rabbenu or ‘Moses our Teacher’. Born into a family of Hebrew slaves, he was raised in the Egyptian royal household as the son of a princess, receiving the best education. Later, he came to know about his origin and fled to the desert of present day Arabian Peninsula after killing an Egyptian slave master. There God revealed Himself to him and told him to deliver His chosen people and take them to the Promised Land. He, therefore, returned to Egypt and led an ever-complaining horde of ex-slaves out of Egypt into the desert of Arabian Peninsula. There, at the Sinai Mountain, he received the Ten Commandments from the Lord. He later instituted number of laws and customs, based on the Commandments, thus forming the basis of Hebrew culture. Once his task was done, he handed over his responsibilities to Joshua and went up the Mount Nebo, where he breathed his last.
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Spouse/Ex-: Zipporah
father: Amram
mother: Jochebed
siblings: Aaron, Miriam
children: Eliezer, Gershom
Born Country: Egypt
place of death: Mount Nebo, Jordan
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As is the case of all ancient figures, there is a controversy about the year in which Moses was born; different scholars have different opinions on that. But if we go by accepted tradition, Moses was born in Egypt sometime in 1391-1392 BCE.
Both his parents, Amram and Jochebed (also known as Yocheved), were Levites. He was the youngest of their three children, having a sister called Miriam, elder to him by seven years and a brother called Aaron, elder by three years.
According to tradition, the Israelites came to Egypt some 400 years before the birth of Moses. Initially, they earned their living by working independently; but later were turned into slaves by the Pharaoh, whose identity is yet to be fixed. In spite of that, their number continued to grow.
By the time Moses was born, the community had become quite large. The Pharaoh, fearing that they might join his enemies, ordered that all new born Hebrew male children must be cast in the River Nile to be drowned.
Jochebed, not having the heart to kill her son, hid him for the first three months. Thereafter, she placed him in a bulrush basket, made watertight with slime and pitch and floated it down the Nile while Miriam kept a watch from afar.
Soon the basket was stuck in bulrushes growing near the riverbank. By and by, the Pharaoh’s daughter, identified by different text as Bithiah or Thermuthis, came to bathe at the riverbank. Married to Mered from the Tribe of Judah, she did not have any child of her own.
On hearing a baby’s cry, she started looking around and found an infant lying in a weed basket. Moved by compassion, she took him home. According to some text, as advised by Miriam, who was hovering nearby, Bithiah appointed Jochebed as his wet nurse.
Declaring him to be her own child, the princess named the infant, Moses or Moshe, which in Hebrew meant ‘drew out of the water’. However, some scholars believe the name has been derived from Egyptian ‘mose’, meaning ‘is born’.
As a son of a princess, Moses grew up among the splendor of Egyptian royal court, having the best of everything. His foster mother made sure that he received the best of education. From his later accomplishment, it is evident he had deep knowledge about religious, civil and military matters.
As he grew up, he somehow came to know about his Hebrew origin. Curious, he began to visit Hebrew quarters, growing sympathy for the plight of his people, who had to labour under most inhuman condition.
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