Revision #7297
Moses
Localized for English-speaking readers (msgbatch_01GvFKF6zaroxwZ2RCatyoPp)
Status: approved
Changes from the previous English revision
= ## Definition and Meaning
- Moses is the figure in the Old Testament who led the people of Israel out of slavery in Egypt and delivered God's law to the people. Exodus 2:10 connects his name with the meaning "drawn out of the water." Jewish and Christian traditions regard him as one of the most important prophets.
+ Moses is the leader in the Old Testament who brought the people of Israel out of slavery in Egypt and delivered God's law to them. Exodus 2:10 links his name to his rescue from the Nile: "Because I drew him out of the water." Jewish and Christian traditions regard him as one of the most important prophets.
=
= ## Biblical and Historical Background
- - He was born at a time when Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, had ordered that Hebrew male infants be killed, and he was adopted and raised by Pharaoh's daughter.
+ - He was born when Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, had ordered that Hebrew male infants be killed. Pharaoh's daughter adopted and raised him.
= - After killing an Egyptian, he fled to Midian and married Zipporah. He later received God's call from the burning bush at Mount Horeb (Exodus 3).
- - Following the ten plagues, the Passover, and the crossing of the Red Sea, he received the Ten Commandments and the law at Mount Sinai and erected the tabernacle, a portable place of worship.
- - Because of the incident at Meribah, he was told that he would not enter Canaan (Numbers 20:12); after viewing the land from Mount Nebo, he died at the age of 120 (Deuteronomy 34).
+ - After the ten plagues, the Passover, and the crossing of the Red Sea, he received the Ten Commandments and the law at Mount Sinai. He also set up the tabernacle, a portable place of worship.
+ - Because of what happened at Meribah, he was told that he would not enter Canaan (Numbers 20:12). After viewing the land from Mount Nebo, he died at the age of 120 (Deuteronomy 34).
=
- Traditionally, Moses has been regarded as the author of the Pentateuch. Modern biblical criticism has proposed that multiple sources were edited together over a long period. Scholars are also divided over the date of the Exodus, with proposals including the fifteenth century BC and the thirteenth century BC. In the New Testament, Moses is mentioned alongside Jesus or compared with him in passages such as the account of the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:3), John 1:17, and Hebrews 3.
+ Tradition has regarded Moses as the author of the Pentateuch. Modern biblical criticism, however, has proposed that the Pentateuch was compiled from multiple sources edited over a long period. Scholars also disagree about the date of the Exodus; the main proposals place it in the fifteenth or the thirteenth century BC. In the New Testament, Moses appears alongside Jesus or is compared with him, as in the account of the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:3), John 1:17, and Hebrews 3.
=
- ## Practice in the Korean Church
- In Korean preaching, the Exodus is frequently used as a text pointing to salvation as deliverance from sin, and the forty years in the wilderness as a picture of the journey of faith. The scene in which Aaron and Hur hold up Moses' hands (Exodus 17) is commonly cited as an illustration of intercessory prayer. Sunday school curricula and Vacation Bible School programs also feature Moses as a leading biblical figure.
+ ## Practice in the Church
+ Christian traditions place different emphases on the Mosaic law.
+ - The Reformed tradition, including Presbyterian churches, teaches the Ten Commandments as a rule of life for believers. The Westminster Confession of Faith and its catechisms treat them in detail.
+ - Lutheranism stresses the distinction between law and gospel and emphasizes that the law serves to bring the knowledge of sin.
+ - Churches influenced by dispensationalism treat the period in which the Mosaic law was given as a distinct era, or dispensation.
+ - The Seventh-day Adventist Church observes a Saturday Sabbath on the basis of the fourth commandment. Most Protestant churches, by contrast, worship on the Lord's Day.
=
- Denominations differ in their emphasis when interpreting the Mosaic law.
- - The Reformed tradition, including Presbyterian churches, teaches the Ten Commandments as a rule of life for believers and treats them in detail in the Westminster Confession of Faith and its catechisms.
- - Lutheranism places weight on the distinction between law and gospel and emphasizes the law's function of bringing the knowledge of sin.
- - Churches influenced by dispensationalism treat the period in which the Mosaic law was given as a distinct era (dispensation).
- - The Seventh-day Adventist Church keeps a Saturday Sabbath on the basis of the fourth commandment. Most Protestant churches, by contrast, worship on the Lord's Day.
+ On the authorship of the Pentateuch, conservatives have generally affirmed Mosaic authorship, while progressives have accepted the findings of critical scholarship.
=
- On the question of the authorship of the Pentateuch, conservatives have generally affirmed Mosaic authorship, while progressives have accepted the findings of critical scholarship. These differing views of Scripture became a point of contention during the schisms in the Korean Presbyterian Church in the 1950s.
+ In Korean Protestant preaching, the Exodus is frequently presented as a picture of salvation as deliverance from sin, and the forty years in the wilderness as an image of the journey of faith. Korean preachers also commonly cite the scene in which Aaron and Hur hold up Moses' hands (Exodus 17) as an illustration of intercessory prayer. In Korean churches, Sunday school curricula and Vacation Bible School programs feature Moses as a leading biblical figure. Differing views of Scripture, including the question of Pentateuchal authorship, became a point of contention during the schisms in the Korean Presbyterian Church in the 1950s.
Full revision
Moses is the Old Testament leader and prophet who led the people of Israel out of bondage in Egypt and received and delivered God's law at Mount Sinai.
Definition and Meaning
Moses is the leader in the Old Testament who brought the people of Israel out of slavery in Egypt and delivered God's law to them. Exodus 2:10 links his name to his rescue from the Nile: "Because I drew him out of the water." Jewish and Christian traditions regard him as one of the most important prophets.
Biblical and Historical Background
- He was born when Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, had ordered that Hebrew male infants be killed. Pharaoh's daughter adopted and raised him.
- After killing an Egyptian, he fled to Midian and married Zipporah. He later received God's call from the burning bush at Mount Horeb (Exodus 3).
- After the ten plagues, the Passover, and the crossing of the Red Sea, he received the Ten Commandments and the law at Mount Sinai. He also set up the tabernacle, a portable place of worship.
- Because of what happened at Meribah, he was told that he would not enter Canaan (Numbers 20:12). After viewing the land from Mount Nebo, he died at the age of 120 (Deuteronomy 34).
Tradition has regarded Moses as the author of the Pentateuch. Modern biblical criticism, however, has proposed that the Pentateuch was compiled from multiple sources edited over a long period. Scholars also disagree about the date of the Exodus; the main proposals place it in the fifteenth or the thirteenth century BC. In the New Testament, Moses appears alongside Jesus or is compared with him, as in the account of the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:3), John 1:17, and Hebrews 3.
Practice in the Church
Christian traditions place different emphases on the Mosaic law.
- The Reformed tradition, including Presbyterian churches, teaches the Ten Commandments as a rule of life for believers. The Westminster Confession of Faith and its catechisms treat them in detail.
- Lutheranism stresses the distinction between law and gospel and emphasizes that the law serves to bring the knowledge of sin.
- Churches influenced by dispensationalism treat the period in which the Mosaic law was given as a distinct era, or dispensation.
- The Seventh-day Adventist Church observes a Saturday Sabbath on the basis of the fourth commandment. Most Protestant churches, by contrast, worship on the Lord's Day.
On the authorship of the Pentateuch, conservatives have generally affirmed Mosaic authorship, while progressives have accepted the findings of critical scholarship.
In Korean Protestant preaching, the Exodus is frequently presented as a picture of salvation as deliverance from sin, and the forty years in the wilderness as an image of the journey of faith. Korean preachers also commonly cite the scene in which Aaron and Hur hold up Moses' hands (Exodus 17) as an illustration of intercessory prayer. In Korean churches, Sunday school curricula and Vacation Bible School programs feature Moses as a leading biblical figure. Differing views of Scripture, including the question of Pentateuchal authorship, became a point of contention during the schisms in the Korean Presbyterian Church in the 1950s.