IslamDraft · awaiting advisor review
Is Muhammad the “prophet like Moses” in Deuteronomy 18?
In short
No. Moses promised a prophet raised up “from among you, from your brothers”, and in Deuteronomy “your brothers” means fellow Israelites. The book itself defines what makes a prophet like Moses: knowing the LORD face to face and doing signs among the people. The New Testament sees the promise fulfilled in Jesus.
The Objection
God tells Moses he will raise up a prophet “from among their brothers, like you”. The Israelites’ brothers are the Ishmaelites, the Arabs. Muhammad, like Moses, was a lawgiver, a political and military leader who married, had children and died a natural death; Jesus did none of these things. The Qur’an says Muhammad is foretold in the Torah (Qur’an 7:157).
Put as its strongest advocates would put it.
The Christian Case
- Scripture
Moses first says the prophet will come “from among you, from your brothers”, speaking to Israel. In the chapter before, the same phrase rules out a foreigner as Israel’s king: “one from among your brothers… you may not put a foreigner over you.” In Deuteronomy “brothers” means fellow Israelites.
- Scripture
Deuteronomy ends by saying what made Moses unique: the LORD knew him face to face, and he did signs and wonders before the people. Lists of shared traits such as marriage or leadership could fit many people; the Bible’s own test points to intimacy with God and mighty works.
- Scripture
Peter and Stephen applied the promise to Jesus, and crowds who saw his signs said he was “the Prophet who is to come”. Like Moses, Jesus mediated a covenant, spoke God’s words, and did signs before the people.
- Scripture
The same passage says how to recognise a true prophet: what he speaks in the LORD’s name comes to pass. It also warns against speaking in the name of other gods.
Where the Evidence Is Weaker
Whether a list of shared traits makes someone “like Moses” is a matter of judgement, and Muslim and Christian readers weigh the traits differently. The argument from “brothers” is strong within Deuteronomy, but a Muslim who trusts Qur’an 7:157 first may not be persuaded by context alone.
Arguments to Avoid
- Ridiculing Muhammad’s character to win the point: argue from the text.
- Claiming that “brothers” could never mean a related nation anywhere in the Bible: Deuteronomy 2:4 calls Edom Israel’s brothers. The point is how Deuteronomy uses it of a prophet or king for Israel.
- Assuming the person in front of you holds this view; many Muslims have never heard it.
Read for Yourself
Deuteronomy 18:15–22
15The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken; 16According to all that thou desiredst of the LORD thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not. 17And the LORD said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken. 18I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. 19And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him. 20But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. 21And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken? 22When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.
Deuteronomy 34:10–12
10And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, 11In all the signs and the wonders, which the LORD sent him to do in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land, 12And in all that mighty hand, and in all the great terror which Moses shewed in the sight of all Israel.
Acts 3:22–26
22For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. 23And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people. 24Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days. 25Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. 26Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.
Further Reading
- The Qur’an and the Bible: Text and Commentary · Gabriel Said Reynolds (2018)A scholar of Islam reads the two side by side.
- Answering Islam (2nd edition) · Norman L. Geisler and Abdul Saleeb (2002)
- No God but One: Allah or Jesus? · Nabeel Qureshi (2016)
Drafted with Opened AI and awaiting review by Opened’s apologetics advisors. Labels show the kind of support each point has: Scripture is what the Bible says; historical evidence and philosophical arguments can be checked by anyone; “Christians differ” marks questions on which faithful Christians disagree.
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