Meaning of the Name Moses
From the Hebrew name Moshe. Exodus 2:10 explains the name with the verb 'to draw out': 'I drew him out of the water.' Many scholars also connect it with the Egyptian element 'born (child)' (mose), seen in pharaohs' names.
Origin
The name Moses is of Hebrew (probably with an Egyptian root) origin.
Who is Moses in the Bible?
Moses is the leader who brought Israel out of slavery in Egypt: called at the burning bush, he led the people through the Red Sea and received the Law at Sinai. The first five books of the Bible are traditionally linked with his name.
The story of Moses in the Bible
Moses' story begins on the Nile with a baby rescued from a death decree: Pharaoh's daughter draws him out of the water, and his name recalls that moment — I drew him out of the water. Raised in Egypt's palace, he kills an Egyptian after seeing his people oppressed and flees to Midian. There God calls him from a bush that burns without burning up to bring his people out of Egypt. To a hesitant Moses, God reveals himself as I AM WHO I AM and promises to be with him. After ten plagues Pharaoh yields; Moses leads the people through the Red Sea as the waters part. At Mount Sinai he receives the Law and the Ten Commandments on tablets of stone, then guides a grumbling, resistant people through forty years of wilderness. He sees the promised land from afar but does not enter it, dying in Moab. Deuteronomy bids him farewell as a prophet without equal, whom the LORD knew face to face; the first five books of the Bible are traditionally linked with his name.
Is Moses mentioned in the Quran?
The name Moses (Musa) also appears in the Quran, where he is among the most frequently mentioned prophets. In the Bible, he is the leader of the Exodus and the central figure of the Torah.
Verses where Moses appears
- Exodus 2:10 —
The child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses, and said, “Because I drew him out of the water.”
- Exodus 3:10-14 —
Come now therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh, that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children…
- Deuteronomy 34:10 —
Since then, there has not arisen a prophet in Israel like Moses, whom Yahweh knew face to face,