# Who was Moses in the Bible?

Moses was the Hebrew boy raised in Pharaoh’s palace who became Israel’s leader. God spoke to him from a burning bush and sent him to bring Israel out of slavery in Egypt. At Mount Sinai he received the Ten Commandments. He led the people 40 years in the wilderness and died within sight of the promised land.

- When: The date of the Exodus is debated. One reading of 1 Kings 6:1 puts it about 1446 BC. Many scholars place it about 1270 to 1250 BC.
- Read: Exodus 1 to Deuteronomy 34. Start with [Exodus 2](https://www.lumin.faith/read/exodus/2).

Source: https://www.lumin.faith/bible-people/moses. Scripture quotations are from the Lumin Translation.

## Moses’s life, in order

1. **Drawn from the Nile** ([Exodus 2:1-10](https://www.lumin.faith/read/exodus/2#1-10)). Pharaoh orders Hebrew baby boys killed. Moses’ mother hides him in a basket, and Pharaoh’s daughter adopts him. Map: [Egypt](https://www.lumin.faith/bible-map#egypt).
2. **Flight to Midian** ([Exodus 2:11-22](https://www.lumin.faith/read/exodus/2#11-22)). Grown, he kills an Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew and runs to Midian, where he marries and keeps sheep.
3. **The burning bush** ([Exodus 3:1-15](https://www.lumin.faith/read/exodus/3#1-15)). At Horeb, God speaks from a bush that burns and is not burned up. He gives his name and sends Moses back. Map: [Mount Sinai](https://www.lumin.faith/bible-map#mount-sinai).
4. **“Let my people go”** ([Exodus 12:21-32](https://www.lumin.faith/read/exodus/12#21-32)). Pharaoh refuses, and ten plagues fall on Egypt. The last is the death of the firstborn, and Israel keeps the first Passover. Map: [Rameses](https://www.lumin.faith/bible-map#rameses).
5. **Through the sea** ([Exodus 14:15-31](https://www.lumin.faith/read/exodus/14#15-31)). God parts the sea, Israel crosses on dry ground, and Pharaoh’s army is drowned. Map: [The crossing of the sea](https://www.lumin.faith/bible-map#sea-crossing).
6. **The law at Sinai** ([Exodus 20:1-17](https://www.lumin.faith/read/exodus/20#1-17)). God gives the Ten Commandments, and Moses goes up the mountain to receive the law. Map: [Mount Sinai](https://www.lumin.faith/bible-map#mount-sinai).
7. **The golden calf** ([Exodus 32:1-14](https://www.lumin.faith/read/exodus/32#1-14)). While Moses is on the mountain, the people make an idol. Moses pleads with God for them.
8. **40 years** ([Numbers 14:1-35](https://www.lumin.faith/read/numbers/14#1-35)). At Kadesh the people refuse to enter the land, and God turns them back into the wilderness for 40 years. Map: [Kadesh-barnea](https://www.lumin.faith/bible-map#kadesh-barnea).
9. **Death on Mount Nebo** ([Deuteronomy 34:1-12](https://www.lumin.faith/read/deuteronomy/34#1-12)). God shows Moses the whole land from Mount Nebo. He dies there at 120, and no one knows where he is buried. Map: [Mount Nebo](https://www.lumin.faith/bible-map#mount-nebo).

## Key verses

> God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” Then he said, “This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I Am has sent me to you.’” ([Exodus 3:14](https://www.lumin.faith/read/exodus/3#14))

> Yahweh will fight for you, and you are to keep quiet.” ([Exodus 14:14](https://www.lumin.faith/read/exodus/14#14))

> Hear, Israel: Yahweh our God, Yahweh is one. Love Yahweh your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. ([Deuteronomy 6:4-5](https://www.lumin.faith/read/deuteronomy/6#4-5))

## What the Bible says, and what tradition adds

### Did Moses write the first five books of the Bible?

**Readers disagree.** Jewish and Christian tradition holds that he did, and the Bible says he wrote down parts of the law. Many scholars think the books were put together later from older material. Deuteronomy 34 tells of his death, so someone else wrote at least that. See [Exodus 24:4](https://www.lumin.faith/read/exodus/24#4).

### Where is Mount Sinai?

**Not known.** No one knows for sure. Jebel Musa in the Sinai Peninsula has been honored since the 4th century. Others point to mountains in Arabia or the northern Sinai.

### Who was the Pharaoh of the Exodus?

**Not known.** Exodus does not name him. Ramesses II is the most common guess for those who date the Exodus in the 1200s BC.

### Where is Moses buried?

**In the Bible.** The Bible says no one knows. God buried him in a valley in Moab. See [Deuteronomy 34:6](https://www.lumin.faith/read/deuteronomy/34#6).

## Related people

- [Joseph](https://www.lumin.faith/bible-people/joseph): Sold by his brothers. Rose to rule Egypt. Forgave them.
- [Elijah](https://www.lumin.faith/bible-people/elijah): Prophet of fire on Mount Carmel. Taken up in a whirlwind.
- [Abraham](https://www.lumin.faith/bible-people/abraham): Left home at God’s call. Father of Isaac and of Israel.