Moses
Moses is the prophet God used to lead Israel out of slavery in Egypt and to give them his law. Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy tell his story, from his birth in Egypt to his death on Mount Nebo.
Moses was born in Egypt when Pharaoh had ordered every newborn son thrown into the Nile. His mother hid him in a basket by the river, and Pharaoh's daughter found him and raised him as her son. As a grown man he killed an Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew, and he fled to Midian. There he married Zipporah and kept sheep.
God spoke to Moses from a burning bush and sent him back to Egypt, with his brother Aaron to speak for him. God sent plagues on Egypt, and after the first Passover Pharaoh let Israel go. God parted the Red Sea, gave Israel his law at Mount Sinai, and fed them in the wilderness. Because of what happened at the waters of Meribah, Moses did not enter the promised land. He saw it from Mount Nebo and died there at 120.
Deuteronomy says no prophet arose in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face (Deuteronomy 34:10). The New Testament often speaks of the law of Moses. John writes that the law was given through Moses, and grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (John 1:17).
Moses' Story
Follow his life from a basket by the Nile to the top of Mount Nebo. Read each event in Scripture, and see how it all fits together.
- Part 1 · 3 eventsBorn in EgyptIsrael is enslaved in Egypt. Moses is born, hidden in a basket, and raised by Pharaoh's daughter.
- Part 2 · 4 eventsCalled in MidianMoses flees to Midian and marries there. God calls him from a burning bush and sends him back to Egypt.
- Part 3 · 3 eventsBefore PharaohMoses and Aaron ask Pharaoh to let Israel go. Pharaoh refuses and makes the people's work harder.
- Part 4 · 11 eventsThe Plagues and the PassoverGod sends plagues on Egypt. After the first Passover, Pharaoh lets Israel go.
- Part 5 · 3 eventsThrough the SeaGod leads Israel with a pillar of cloud and fire, and they cross the Red Sea on dry ground.
- Part 6 · 5 eventsJourney to SinaiIn the desert God gives water, manna and quail, and Moses learns to share the work of leading.
- Part 7 · 10 eventsAt Mount SinaiGod gives the Ten Commandments and his covenant. Israel worships a golden calf, and Moses pleads for them.
- Part 8 · 13 eventsIn the WildernessIsrael refuses to enter Canaan and wanders for 40 years. Moses faces rebellion, loss and his own failure.
- Part 9 · 6 eventsLast WordsOn the plains of Moab, Moses teaches the law again, blesses the tribes, and dies on Mount Nebo.
- Part 10 · 1 eventAfter His DeathLong after his death, Moses appears with Jesus on a high mountain.
Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy tell Moses' life mostly in order. In Deuteronomy, Moses retells some earlier events near the end of his life. The Bible gives his age at a few points but no dates. Where the details differ, the event says so.
Quick Links
Jump straight to the signs God did through Moses, the law and songs he gave, and his prayers.
Key facts
Tap a reference to read the verses.
- Born
- In Egypt, to a family from the tribe of Levi
- Parents
- Amram and Jochebed
- Exodus 2 does not name his parents. They are named later, in Exodus 6:20.
- Brother and sister
- Aaron, three years older, and Miriam
- Raised by
- Pharaoh's daughter, who named him Moses
- Exodus explains the name with her words, “I drew him out of the water.”
- Education
- Taught all the wisdom of the Egyptians
- Wife
- Zipporah, daughter of the priest of Midian
- Numbers 12:1 says Moses had married a Cushite woman (older Bibles such as the KJV say “Ethiopian”). Christians differ on whether this was Zipporah or a second wife.
- Father-in-law
- Jethro, the priest of Midian
- Exodus 2:18 calls the priest of Midian Reuel, and Judges 4:11 calls Hobab the father-in-law of Moses. Readers explain these names in different ways.
- Sons
- Gershom and Eliezer
- Age
- 80 when he spoke to Pharaoh, and 120 when he died
- Acts 7 adds that he was 40 when he fled Egypt, and that 40 more years passed before the burning bush.
- Known as
- The servant of the LORD, the man of God, and a prophet
- Character
- Very humble, more than anyone on earth
- Older Bibles such as the KJV say “meek.”
- Spoke with God
- Face to face, as a man speaks with his friend
- In the same chapter God tells Moses, “You cannot see my face” (Exodus 33:20). Many take “face to face” to mean God spoke with Moses directly and closely. Christians explain this in different ways.
- Writing
- He wrote down the LORD's words, the law, and a song. The title of Psalm 90 calls it a prayer of Moses.
- Jewish and Christian tradition calls Genesis through Deuteronomy the books of Moses (see Mark 12:26). Christians differ on how much of these books Moses wrote himself.
- Died
- In the land of Moab, after seeing the promised land from Mount Nebo
- Deuteronomy says no one knows where his grave is (Deuteronomy 34:6).