Moon – Mosollamus

Moon

The .moon is ‘the lesser light to rule the night’ of the cosmogony of Genesis (1"). Its importance was in part due to the recurrence of its phases, which formed a measure for time. Each new moon, as it appeared, marked the commencement of a new period, and so in Hebrew the word for ‘moon’ and ‘month’ is the same. Sun and moon occur side by side in passages of Scripture, and to the moon as well as to the sun is ascribed a fertilizing power over and above the gift of light which comes from them to the earth. Just as we have in Deuteronomy 33:14 ‘the precious things of the fruits of the sun,’ so we have there ‘the precious things of the growth of the moons.’ As a consequence of this, the re-appearance of the new moon was eagerly looked for, and trumpets were blown and sacrifices offered on the day of the new moon. We gather also from Psalms 81:3 (RV) that something of a similar kind took place at the full moon. The moon took its part -with the sun in one of Joseph’s dreams when it ‘made obeisance’ to him (Genesis 37:9) and it stood still, ‘in the valley of Aijalon,’ at the command of Joshua, at the battle of Gibeon (Jos 10:12, 13; cf. Habakkuk 3:11). Language which must have been derived from the appearance of the moon during eclipses is used by the prophets. The moon is to be darkened or turned into blood (Joel 2) before ‘the day of the Lord’; and similar language is used by our Lord (e.g. Mark 13:24). We are told of the redeemed Zion that the fight of the moon is to be as the fight of the sun (Isaiah 30:26), and that there is to be no need of the moon, because the glory of God is to be the light of His people (Isaiah 60:19; cf. Revelation 21:23). Cautions against the worship of the moon, and punishment by death for the convicted worshippers, are to be found in Deuteronomy 4:19 17:3; whilst a superstitious salutation of the moon by kissing the hand, not quite unheard of even in our own day, is mentioned in Job 31:26, 27. Moon-worship by the burning of incense was offered In Jerusalem, and put down by Josiah (2 Kings 23:5).

Mount Sinai is supposed to have derived its name from the moon-god Sin, to whom worship was paid there.

For the worship of the ‘queen of heaven,’ see under Stars.

In the OT we meet more than once with crescentshaped ornaments (Judges 8:21. Isaiah 3:18) ; whether these are an indication of the worship of the moon is uncertain.

It has been always considered baneful in the bright clear atmosphere of the warmer regions of the earth to sleep exposed to the rays of the moon (Psalms 121:6). The influence of the earth’s satellite has long been considered hurtful. Our word ‘lunatic’ reproduces the idea of the Western world of our Lord’s time, that lunacy was due to the influence of the moon: the Greek word used in Matthew 4:24 17:15 shows this. In the RV the word is translated’ epileptic’ There are many still to be found who believe that the violence and recurrence of epileptic fits vary with the phases of the moon. H. A. Redpath.

Moossias

Moossias (1 Es g3>)=Maaseiah, Ezra 10:30. MOPH.— See Memphis. MORALITY.— See Ethics.

Morashtite

Agentilicadjectiveused todesignate the prophet Micah (Micah 1:1. Jeremiah 26:18). probably derived from Moresheth-gath (wh. see). Cf. Micah, p. 614" f.

Mordecai

1. A cousin (?) of queen Esther, who thwarted Haman’s plot against the Jews. See Esther and Esther [Book of]. 2. One of those who returned with Zerub. (Ezra 2:2. Nehemiah 7:7) ; called in 1 Esdras 5:8 Mardocheus.

MOBEH, the Hiphil participle from ySrah, means ‘teacher’ or ‘one who gives direction’ (2 Kings 17:28. Isaiah 30:20 etc.), and so is applied to a prophet (Isaiah 9:15). Sitting in the shelter of a sacred tree, the priest or seer delivered his direction or ‘oracles.’ 1. The terebinth (AV, wrongly, ‘plain’) of Moreh (Genesis 12) may have been so named from the theophany vouchsafed to Abraham there. The same spot may be indicated by the terebinths of Moreh (Deuteronomy 11:30). mentioned as indicating the position of Ebal and Gerizim. From their conjunction with Gilgal it has been suggested that the gilgal (‘stone circle’) and the terebinths were parts of the same sanctuary. There may be a reference to this place in Genesis 35:4. in Joshua 24. possibly also in Judges 9:6. Gilgal (Deuteronomy 11:30) may be Khirbet Jvleijel, fully li mile E. of Jacob’s Well. But this would not fix with certainty the position of the sanctuary of the terebinth.

2. The hill of Moreh (Jg?’) seems to have lain to the N. of the position occupied by Gideon, in the direction of the camp of the Midianites. Taking the narrative as it stands, the Midianites ‘pitched in the valley of Jezreel’ (6). while Gideon held the lower spurs of Gilboa towards Jezreel. ‘The spring of Harod’ is with some probability identified with ‘Ain JaUUi. The conspicuous hill on the other side of the vale, Jebel ed- Duhy, popularly now called Little Hermon, round the W. flanks of which, and northward in the plain, the Midianites would spread, may be almost certainly identified with the Hill of Moreh. The article with Moreh suggests the presence of a sanctuary on the hill. This may be represented by the modern shrine of Neby Duhy. Questions have been raised by the condition of the Heb. text, but no more probable identification has been suggested. Cf. Moreh. W. Ewing.

Moresheth-gath

Micah 1:14 only. It was probably the birth-place of the prophet Micah (Micah 1:1. Jeremiah 26:18), and must have been in the Shephelah. The Onomaslicon locates it east of, and near to, Eleutheropolis.

Moriah

1. The name. — In Genesis 22:2 Abraham was commanded to go ‘into the land of the Moriah,’ and to sacrifice Isaac upon ‘one of the mountains’ which God would tell him of. The derivationof the nameis obscure. The Peshitta (Syriac) version reads ‘of the Amorites,’ which may possibly be the true reading. The narrator (E), however, in v." appears to connect it with the verb ‘to see’ (which is etymologically impossible), and some of the early translators do the same in their rendering of the name in vX The Targumists emphasized the worship of Abraham at the spot, perhaps connecting the name with the verb ‘to fear’ — which is equally impossible.

2. The place. — The proverb recorded in v." clearly implies that the writer thought that Isaac was offered on the Temple mount at Jerusalem. And hence the Chronicler (2 Chronicles 3:1) names the Temple hill ‘Mount Moriah.’ From a spiritual point of view, the analogy often drawn between the offering of Isaac and the death of Christ makes the identification very suggestive. But Genesis 22:4 certainly contemplates a mountain at a much greater distance from the Philistine country, and much more conspicuous, than the Jerusalem hill. There is some similarity between the names Moriah and Moreh, the latter of which was at Shechem (Genesis 12:6. Deuteronomy 11:30), close to the hills Gerizim and Ebal. And it may have been owing to this that the Samaritans claimed Gerizim as Abraham’s mountain (cf. John 4:20). Geographically, it would suit the description in Genesis 22:4; but there is no real evidence for the identification. If the Syriac reading ‘Amorites’ be adopted, the locality of the mountain is entirely unknown, since the name is a general term employed by E to denote the Canaanite natives of Palestine. A. H. M’Neile.

Morning

See Time.

Mortar

(AV ‘morter’). See House, §§ 1. 4, and cf. Bitumen.

Mortar and Pestle

The use, from the earliest times, of the mortar and pestle for crushing the grains of the cultivated cereals, for the preparation of spices, and probably, as at the present day, for pounding meat and vegetables (see the Comm. on Proverbs 27:22) is attested by the constant occurrence of these articles in the remains of places recently excavated in Palestine. The mortars found at Gezer, as elsewhere, ‘are simply heavy stones, a foot or two across, in whose upper surface a hemispherical hollow is cut. The pestles are cyhndrical with [convex] bases, which not infrequently display marks of rough treatment (PEFSt, 1903, 118; illus. in Bliss, Mound of Many Cities, 86; Bliss and Macalister, Excavations in Palestine, Plates 72, 73).

The manna is expressly said to have been beaten in mortars as well as ground in mills (Numbers 11:8). Their use is implied for pounding certain spices (Exodus 30:36) and for the ‘bruised corn’ for the meal-offering of the first-fruits (Leviticus 2:14 RV). Copper mortars are also mentioned in later literature, and in Herod’s Temple the incense was pounded in mortars of gold. From the Mishna (Baba bathra, iv. 3) we learn that it was customary to have larger mortars fixed into the fioor of the house.

In Babylon, when a house was built, the sfeUer handed the pestle of the house-mortar to the purchaser, in token of the conveyance of the house to its new owner. Hence the frequent occurrence, in deeds of sale, of the words ‘the pestle has been handed over.’ Cf . art. Shoe. A. R. S. Kennedy.

Mortify

‘To mortify’ is in AV metaphorically ‘to put to death.’ Early writers could use it literally also, as Erasmus, Commune Crede, 81, ‘Christ was mortified, and killed in dede, as touchynge to his fleshe; but was quickened in spirite.’

Moserah, Moseroth

Moserah is named in Deuteronomy 10:6 as the place where Aaron died and was buried: Moseroth in Numbers 33:30, 31 as a ‘station’ on the route to Mt. Hor. Its location is quite uncertain.

Moses

1. Name. — The Hebrew narrator regards Mdsheh as a participle from the vb. mashah., ‘to draw’ Exodus 2:10). Jos. and Philo derive it from the Copt, mo ‘water,’ and ushe ‘saved’; this is implied in their spelling Mouses, also found in LXX and NT. It is more plausible to connect the name with the Egyptian mes, mesu, ‘son.’ Perhaps it was originally coupled with the name of an Egyp. deity — ct. Ba-mesu, Thoth-mes, and others — which was omitted under the influence of Israelite monotheism.

2. History. — (i.) The narrative of J. — Moses killed an Egyptian, and rebuked one of two Israelites who were striving together, and then he fled to Midian. There he helped seven daughters of the priest of Midian to water their flocks, dwelt with him, married his daughter Zipporah, and had one son by her, named Gershom (Exodus 2:11–22). The king of Egypt died (2«»«), and at J"‘s bidding Moses returned. On the way, J" smote him because he had not been circumcised before marriage; but Zipporah saved him by circumcising the child, and thus circumcising Moses by proxy (4:19, 24–26. These verses must be put back to this point). J" appeared in the burning bush and spoke to Moses. Moses was to gather the elders, give them J"‘s message, and demand permission from Pharaoh to sacrifice in the wilderness. Moses was given two signs to persuade the Israelites, and yet a third if the two were insufficient (32j>. i. 7. 8r>. 4:1–9) J" ^yas angTy at his continued diffidence. Moses spoke to the elders and they believed ; and then they made their demand to Pharaoh, which led to his increased severity (4:10–12, 29–31 5:3, 5, 23 6:1). Plagues were sent, the death of the fish in the river

(7. 18. 21». Mf.), frogs (gl-^- S-lta), fljes (20-32), murrain (9:1–7). hail (‘=• "‘• 24b. 26b-3i)_ locusts (lOm. 3-u. 13b. 14b. i6«. c. 16-19), See Plagues op Egypt. Pharaoh bade Israel go with their families, but refused to allow them animals for sacrifice; so Moses announced the death of the firstborn (10:24–26, 28 f. ll*-s). At a later time Israelite thought connected with the Exodus certain existing institutions. The ordinances relating to them were preserved by J, but their present position is due to redaction, and the result is a tangled combination in chs. 12. 13 of ordinance and narrative: the ritual of the Passover (12 "t), the death of the firstborn and the hurried flight of the Israelites (29-34. 37-39)_ commands concerning the Feast of Unleavened Cakes (13:3 <• "■ "), and the offering of firstlings (13:11–13). J" went before the people in a pillar of cloud and fire (IS^"), the water

was crossed (14^‘- ^l’- ‘Oa. 11-U. 19b. 21b. 24. SSb. 27b. 28b. 30), and Moses sang praise (15:1). Moses made the water at Marah fresh (15:22–25), and thence they moved to Elira ("). Fragments of J’s story of Massah are preserved(17’- 2"=‘‘"■ ■=), and parts of the account of the visit of Moses’ father-in-law, which it is difficult to separate from E (18:7–11). The narratives attached to the delivery of the laws of Sinai are in an extraordinarily confused state, but with a few exceptions the parts which are due to J can be recognized with some confidence. The theophany occurred (19:18). and Moses was bidden to ascend the mountain, where J’ gave him directions respecting precautions to be taken (19:20–22, 24, 1. 26) (v. ig a rcdactional addition of a remarkable character; due to "i"-" having been misplaced). Moses stayed forty days and nights on the mountain (3428«); J" descended, and Moses ‘invoked the name of J"‘ The laws given to him are fragmentarily preserved J" commanded him to write them down ("), and he obeyed (2si>).

The reason for the insertion of the laws so late in the book was tha.t the compiler of JE, finding laws in both J and E, and noticing the strong similarity between them, considered the J laws to be the renewal of tne covenant broken by the people’s apostasy. Hence the editorial additions in 34:1 (from ‘like unto the first’) and in v. 4 (‘like unto the first’).

A solemn ceremony sealed the covenant (24"- Something then occurred which roused the wrath of J"; it is doubtful if the original narrative has been preserved; but J has inserted a narrative which apparently explains the reason for the choice of Levites for Divine service (32:25–29). Moses interceded for the people (the vv. to be read in the following order, 33:1–4 17. i2f. 34:6 33:14–16). j» having been propitiated, Israel left the mountain, and Moses asked Hobab to accompany them (Numbers 10:29–36). Being weary of manna, they were given quails, which caused a plague (I I*-‘‘- 18-24S. si-36). Dathan and Abiram rebelled (ascribed by different comm. to J and to E, 16">- 2«- i2-i>. 2S’- 27b-32». 33f.). Fragments of the Meribah narrative at Kadesh appear to belong to J (20 ">). Moses sent spies through the S. of Palestine as far as Hebron. Caleb alone encouraged the people, and he alone was allowed to enter Canaan (IS’"-- ‘sb. 19. 22. 27». 28. 30. 31 14:15, 8, 9. 11-21. SI). Moses promised that Hebron should be Caleb’s possession (Joshua 14:6–14). The Canaanites were defeated at Hormah (perh. a later stratum of J, Numbers 21:1–3). Israel marched by Edom to Moab, and conquered Heshbon and other cities (21. 31. 32). The story of Balaam (parts of 22-24). Israel sinned with the Moabite women, and Moses hanged the chiefs (25. 4). Moses viewed the land from the top of Pisgah, and was buried in Moab (parts of Deuteronomy 34).

(ii.) The narrative of E. — The raidwives rescued Israelite infants (Ex l’5-2o«. 2i)_ jioses’ birth; his discovery and adoption by Pharaoh’s daughter (2:1–10). Moses was feeding Jethro’s sheep in Midian, when God called to him from a bush at Horeb, and told him to deliver Israel. He revealed His name ‘Ehyeh,’ and promised that Israel should triumphantly leave. Egypt (3 9-12, i3f. 2if.). Moses returned to Egypt, meeting Aaron on the way; they made their demand to Pharaoh, and were refused (4’7f. 20b. 5:1 f. 4). Moses, by means of his Divinely given staff, brought plagues — the turning of the river to blood (7. 20b. 23), the hail (922. 23». 24a. 26». 36), the lOCUStS (10:12, 13 "!>• 20), the darkness (21-23. 27). Moses was bidden to advise the Israelites to obtain gold, etc., from the Egyptians (ll’-a), which they did (12). They departed, taking with them Joseph’s mummy (13). They crossed the water (fragments are preserved from E’s account, 137«. c. lob. i6«. i6a. 19a. 25«), and Miriam sang praise (15:20, 21). On emerging into the desert, they were given manna; it is possible that E originally connected this event with the name ?«assoft,’ proving’(lS2"‘. 16:4, 15) Then follows E’s Meribah narrative, combined with J’s Massah narrative (17">- 2»- ">). Israel fought with Amalek under Joshua’s leadership, while Aaron and Hur held up Moses’ hands with the sacred staff (17:8–16). Jethro visited the Israelites with Moses’ wife and two sons; he arranged sacrifices, and a sacrificial feast, in which the elders of Israel took part (18’"- "• "). Seeing Moses overburdened with the duty of giving decisions, he advised him to delegate smaller matters to inferior officers; and Moses followed his advice. Jethro departed to his own home (18). Preparations were made for the theophany (ig’"‘- ‘"■), which then took place (‘"• " 20). Laws preserved by E and later members of his school of thought are grouped together in chs. 20-23 (see Exodus, Law). In the narratives in which the laws are set, two strata, E and E2, are perceptible, the latter supplying the narrative portions connected with the Ten Words of 20:1–17. E relates the ceremony which sealed the covenant (24:3–8) ; the usual practice of Moses with regard to the’ Tent of Tryst,’ where God used to meet with any one who wished to inquire of Him (33:7–11) and the people’s act of repentance for some sin which E has not preserved (33). E2 relates as follows: Moses told the people the Ten Words, and they promised obedience (19:7 f.; this must follow 20:1–17). Moses ascended the mountain to receive the written Words, leaving the people in the charge of Aaron and Hur (24’3-‘5» 31). During his absence Aaron made the golden bull, and Moses, when he saw it, brake the tablets of stone and destroyed the image; Aaron offered a feeble excuse, and J" smote the people (32 16-2). 36). Moses’ intercession has not been preserved in E, but it is supplied by a late hand in 32:30–34. We here resume the narrative of B. After the departure from Horeb a fire from J" punished the people for murmuring (Numbers 11). At the " Tent of Tryst’ J" took of Moses’ spirit and put it upon 70 elders who prophesied, including Eldad and Medad, who did not leave the camp; Joshua objected to the two being thus favoured, but was rebuked by Moses m-so). Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses for having married a foreign woman and then for claiming to have received Divine revelations; Miriam became leprous, but was healed at Moses’ intercession (12). On Dathan and Abiram (16) see above, under J. Miriam died at Kadesh (20:1). Twelve spies were sent, who brought back a large cluster of grapes, but said that the natives were numerous and powerful (IS""- "■ m. 28b. 27b. 29. 38). the peoplc determined to return to Egypt imder another captain (14). [Here occurs a lacuna, which is partially supplied by Deuteronomy 1:19–46. probably based on E.] Against Moses’ wish the people advanced towards Canaan, but were routed by the Amalekites and other natives (14). Edom refused passage through their territory (20). Aaron died at Moserah, and was succeeded by Eleazar (Deuteronomy 10:6). Serpents plagued the people for their murmuring, and Moses made the serpent of bronze (Numbers 21). Israel marched by Edom to Moab, and vanquished Sihon (2iiib-i6. 21-24.. 27-30); the story of Balaam (part 22-24). Israel worshipped Baal-peor, and Moses bade the judges hang the offenders (25’»- J" warned Moses that he was about to die, and Moses appointed Joshua to succeed him (Deuteronomy 31). Moses died in Moab, and his tomb was unknown. He was the greatest prophet in Israel (Deuteronomy 34).

(ill.) The narraiive of D is based upon the earlier sources, which it treats in a hortatory manner, dwelling upon the religious meaning of history, and its bearing upon life and morals, and Israel’s attitude to God. There are a few additional details, such as are suitable to a retrospect (e.g. I’-‘- ‘"• ^‘-si s^"- 23.23). and there are certain points on which the tradition differs more or less widely from those of JE; see Driver, Deut. p. xxxvf. But D supplies nothing of importance to our knowledge of Moses’ life and character.

(iv.) The narrative of P. — Israel was made to serve the Egyptians ‘with rigour’ (Ex !’■ ". Hb). when the king died, 3" heard their sighing, and remembered His covenant (2). He revealed to Moses His name Jahweh, and bade him tell the Israelites that they were to be delivered (6:2–9). Moses being diffident, Aaron his brother was given to be his ‘prophet’ (6:10–12 7:1–7). [The genealogy of Moses and Aaron is given in a later stratum of P, e"-^*.] Aaron turned his staff into a ‘reptile’ before Pharaoh (7:8–13). By Aaron’s instrumentality vrith Moses plagues were sent — all the water in Egypt turned into blood (7"- 21b. 22); frogs (8) gnats or mosquitoes boils (9). [As in J, commands respecting religious institutions are inserted in connexion with the Exodus: Passover (12:1–13, 24, 2. «3-so). Unleavened cakes Dedication of firstborn (13:1 f.).) The Israelites went to Etham (IS^") and thence to the Eed Sea. The marvel of the crossingis heightened, the waters standing up in a double wall (14i-‘- "■ ‘">. I6b-i8. 211.. c. 221. 26. 27.. 28.). In the wilderness of Sin the people murmured, and manna was sent; embedded in the narrative are fragments of P’s story of the quails (16, exc. vv. 4, 15) They moved to Rephidlm (17), and thence to Sinai (19’- =‘"). After seven days J" called Moses into the cloud (24"‘>-"») and gave him instructions with regard to the Tabernacle and its worship (25-31"), and also gave him the Tablets of the Testimony(31"°). [Other laws ascribed to Divine communication with Moses are collected in Lev. and parts of Num.] "When Moses descended, his face shone, so that he veiled it when he was not alone in J"‘s presence (34). A census was taken of the fighting men preparatory to the march, and the writer takes occasion to enlarge upon the organization of the priestly and Levitical families (Nu 1-4). The cloud which descended upon the Tabernacle was the signal for marching and camping (9:15–23), and the journey began (10). With the story of Dathan and Abiram (see above) there are entwined two versions of a priestly story of rebellion — (1) Korah and 260 princes, all of them laymen, spoke against Moses and Aaron for claiming, in their capacity of Levites, a sanctity superior to that of the rest of the congregation. (2) Korah and the princes were Levites, and they attacked Aaron for exalting priests above Levites (parts of 16). The former version has its sequel in 17; Moses and Aaron were vindicated by the budding of the staff for the tribe of Levi. In the wilderness of Zln Moses struck the rock, with an angry exclamation to the murmuring people, and water flowed; Moses and Aaron were rebuked for lack of faith [the fragments of the story do not make it clear wherein this consisted], and they were forbidden to enter Canaan (parts of 201.- 2-18). Joshua, Caleb, and ten other spies were sent from the wilderness of Paran; the two former alone brought a good account of the land, and they alone were permitted to enter Canaan; the other ten died by a plague (parts of 13. 14; see above under J and E). Aaron died at Mt. Hor (202i">-2s). Israel marched by Edom to Moab (20 21«»- Phinehas was promised’ an everlasting priesthood’ for his zeal in punishing an Israelite who had brought a Mldianite woman into the camp (25:6–15). All the last generation having died except Joshua and Caleb, a second census was taken by Moses and Eleazar (26). Moses appointed Joshua to succeed him (27). The Midianites were defeated and Balaam was slain (31). Moses died on Mt. Nebo, aged 120 (Deuteronomy 34).

3. Historicity. — In the OT, there are presented to us the varying fortunes of a Semitic people who found their way into Palestine, and were strong enough to settle in the country in defiance of the native population. Although the Invaders were greatly in the minority as regards numbers, they were knit together by an esprit de corps which made them formidable. And tBis was the outcome of a strong religious belief which was common to all the branches of the tribe — the belief that every member of the tribe was under the protection of the same God, Jahweh. And when it is asked from what source they gained this united belief, the analogy of other religions suggests that it probably resulted from the influence of some strong personaMty. The existence and character of the Hebrew race require such a person as Moses to account for them. But while the denial that Moses was a real person is scarcely within the bounds of sober criticism, it does hot follow that all the details related of him are literally true to history. What Prof. Driver says of the patriarchs in Genesis is equally true of Moses in Ex., Nu.: ‘The basis of the narratives in Genesis is in fact popular oral tradition; and that being so, we may expect them to display the characteristics which popular oral tradition does in other cases. They may well Include a substantial historical nucleus; but details may be due to the involuntary action of popular invention or imagination, operating during a long period of time; characteristic anecdotes, reflecting the feelings, and explaining the relations, of a later age may thus have become attached to the patriarchs; phraseology and expression will nearly always be ascribed rightly to the narrators who casit these traditions into their present literary shape’ (art. ‘Jacob’ in DB 11. 534).

Moses is portrayed under three chief aspects — as (i.) a Leader, (11.) the Promoter of the religion of J", (ui.) Lawgiver, and ‘Prophet’ or moral teacher.

(i.) Moses as Leader. — Some writers think that there is evidence which shows that the Israelites who went to Egypt at the time of the famine did not comprise the whole nation. Whether this be so or not, however, there is no sufficient reason for doubting the Hebrew tradition of an emigration to Egypt. Again, if Israelites obtained permission — as foreign tribes are known to have done — to occupy pasture land within the Egyptian frontier, there could be nothing surprising if some of them were pressed into compulsory building labour; for it was a common practice to employ foreigners and prisoners in this manner. But in order to rouse them, and knit them together, and persuade them to escape, a leader was necessary. If, therefore, it is an historical fact that they were in Egypt, and partially enslaved, it Is more hkely than not that the account of their deliverance by Moses also has an historical basis. It is impossible, in a short article, to discuss the evidence in detail. It is in the last degree unsafe to dogmatize on the extent to which the narratives of Moses’ life are historically accurate. In each particular the decision resolves itself into a balance of probabilities. But that Moses was not an individual, but stands for a tribe or group of tribes, and that the narratives which centre round him are entirely legendary, are to the present writer pure assumptions, unscientific and uncritical. The minuteness of personal details, the picturesqueness of the scenes described, the true touches of character, and the necessity of accounting for the emergence of Israel from a state of scattered nomads into that of an organized tribal community, are all on the side of those who maintain that in its broad outlines the account of Moses’ leadership is based upon fact.

(ii.) Moses as the Promoter of the religion of Jahweh. — Throughout the OT, with the exception of Ezk 40-48, the forms and ceremonies of J" worship observed in every age are attributed to the teaching of Moses. It is to be noticed that the earliest writer (J) uses the name ‘Jahweh’ from his very first sentence (Genesis 2) and onwards, and assumes that J" was known and worshipped by the ancestors of the race; and in Ex. he frequently employs the expression ‘J" the God of the Hebrews’ (S’s 5:3 7:16 9:1, 13 iQs). But, in agreement with E and P, he ascribes to Moses a new departure in J" worship inaugurated at Sinai. E and P relate that the Name was a new revelation to Moses when he was exiled In Midian, and that he taught it to the Israelites in Egypt. And yet in 3:6 E represents J" as saying to Moses, ‘I am the God of thy father’ [the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob (unless this clause is a later insertion, as in ‘". 4:5)). And in 6:3 P states categorically that God appeared unto Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but He was not known to them by His name’ Jahweh.’ All the sources, therefore, imply that Moses did not teach a totally new rehgion; but he put before the Israelites a new aspect of their religion; he defined more clearly the relation in whicn they were to stand to God: they were to tBink of Him in a peculiar sense as their God. When we go further and inquire whence Moses derived the name ‘Jahweh,’ we are landed in the region of conjectures. Two points, however, are clear: (1) that the God whose name was ‘Jahweh’ had, before Moses’ time, been conceived of as dwelling on the sacred mountain Horeb or Sinai (3:1–5, 12 19:4) (2) that Hebrews 7 worshipped by a branch of the Midianites named Kenites (Judges 1:16 4:11), of whom Jethro was a priest (Exodus 3:1 IS’). From these facts two conjectures have been made. Some have supposed that Moses learned the name ‘Jahweh’ from the Midianites; that He was therefore a foreign God as far as the Israelites were concerned; and that, after hearing His name for the first time from Moses in Egypt, they journeyed to the sacred mountain and were there admitted by Jethro into the Kenite worship by a sacrificial feast at which Jethro officiated. But it is hardly likely that the Israelites, enslaved in Egypt, could have been so rapidly roused and convinced by Moses’ proclamation of an entirely new and foreign deity. The action taken by Jethro in organizing the sacrifice might easily arise from the fact that he was in his own territory, and naturally acted as host towards the strangers. The other conjecture, which can claim a certain plausibility, is that J" was a God recognized by Moses’ own tribe of Levi. From Exodus 4:24, 27 it is possible to suppose that Aaron was not in Egypt, but in the vicinity of Horeb, which he already knew as the ‘mountain of God.’ If Moses’ family, or the tribe of Levi, and perhaps (as some conjecture) the Rachel tribes, together with the Midianite branch of Semites, were already worshippers of J", Moses’ work would consist in proclaiming as the God of the whole body of Israelites Him whose help and guidance a small portion of them had already experienced. If either of these conjectures is valid, it only puts back a stage the question as to the ultimate origin of the name ‘Jahweh.’ But whatever the origin may have been, it is difiicult to deny to Moses the glory of having united the whole body of Israelites in the single cult which excluded all other deities.

(iii.) Moses as Prophet and Lawgiver. — If Moses taught the Israelites to worship J", it may safely be assumed that he laid down some rules as to the method and ritual of His worship. But there is abundant justification for the belief that he also gave them injunctions which were not merely ritual. It is quite arbitrary to assume that the prophets of the 8th cent, and onwards, who preached an ethical standard of rehgion, preached something entirely new, though it is probable enough that their own ethical feeling was purer and deeper than any to which the nation had hitherto attained. The prophets always held up a lofty ideal as something which the nation had failed to reach, and proclaimed that for this failure the sinful people were answerable to a holy God. And since human nature is alike in all ages, there must have been at least isolated individuals, more high-souled than the masses around them, who strove to live up to the light they possessed. And as the national history of Israel postulates a leader, and their religion postulates a great personality who drew them, as a body, into the acceptance of it, so the ethical morality which appears in the laws of Exodus, and in a deeper and intenser form in the prophets, postulates a teacher who instilled into the nucleus of the nation the germs of social justice, purity, and honour. Moses would have been below the standard of an ordinary sheik if he had not given decisions on social matters, and Exodus 18 pictures him as so doing, and 33:7–11 shows that it was usual for the people to go to him for oracular answers from God. It is in itself probable that the man who founded the nation and taught them their religion, would plant in them the seeds of social morality. But the question whether any of the codified laws, as we have them, were directly due to Moses is quite another matter. In the life of a nomad tribe the controlling factor is not a corpus of specific prescriptions, but the power of custom. An immoral act is condemned because ‘it is not wont so to be done’ (Genesis 34:7, 2 Samuel 13:12). The stereotyping of custom in written codes is the product of a comparatively late stage in national life. And a study of the history and development of the Hebrew laws leads unavoidably to the conclusion that while some few elements in them are very ancient, it is impossible to say of any particular detail that it is certainly derived from Moses himself; and it is further clear that many are certainly later than his time.

4. Moses in the NT. — (i.) All Jews and Christians in Apostolic times (including our Lord Himself) held that Moses was the author of the Pentateuch. Besides such expressions as ‘The law of Moses’ (Luke 2:22), ‘Moses enjoined’ (Matthew 8:4), ‘Moses commanded’ (Matthew 19:7), ‘Moses wrote’ (Mark 12), ‘Moses said’ (Mark 7:10), and so on, his name could be used alone as synonymous with that which he wrote (Luke 16 24:27).

(ii.) But because Moses was the representative of the Old .Dispensation, Jesus and the NT writers thought of tiim as something more. He was an historical personage of such unique prominence in Israel’s history, that his whole career appeared to them to afford parallels to spiritual factors in the New Covenant. The following form an interesting study, as illustrating points which cover a wide range of Christian truth: The ‘glory’ on Moses’ face (2 Corinthians 3:7–18), the brazen serpent (John 3:14), the Passover (John 19:36. Hebrews 11:28, 1 Corinthians 5:7 f.). the covenant sacrifice at Horeb (Matthew 26:28, Mark 14:24. Luke 22:20. 1 Corinthians 11:25; see also Hebrews 9:18–20, 1 Peter 1:2 with Hort’s note), the terrors of the Sinai covenant (Hebrews 12:18–24), the crossing of the sea (1 Corinthians 10:2), the manna (John 6:30–35, 41–58) the water from the rock (1 Corinthians 10:3, 4), Moses as a prophet (Acts 3:22 7:37. John 1:21–23; and see John 6:14 7:40 [Luke 7:39)). the magicians of Egypt (2 Tl 3:8), the plagues (Revelation 8:5, 7, 8 9:2–4 15:6–8 16:2–4, 10, 1. 18. 2i)_ and ‘the song of Moses the servant of God’ (Revelation 15:3). A. H. M’ Netlb.

Mosollamus

1. 1 Esdras 8:44 =Meshullam, Ezra 8:16. 2. 1 Esdras 9:14 =Meshullani, Ezra 10:15.