

MOSES (מֹשֶׁ֔ה; LXX, Μωυση̂ς, Vulgate Moyses). The national hero who delivered the [[Israel|Israelites]] from [[Egypt|Egyptian]] [[slavery]], established them as an independent nation, and prepared them for entrance into [[Canaan]].

Name

The meaning of Moses' name is uncertain. If [[Hebrew]], as suggested by Exodus 2:6 and by the explanation given in v. 10, the name is derived from the rare Hebrew verb mashah, which occurs only in 2 Samuel 22:17 (Ps 18:16). If [[Egypt|Egyptian]], it may be derived from the word ms meaning “child,” or else from mw-s (“water-son”). Perhaps this is a wordplay, the word “draw forth” suggesting both the taking out of the river beside which the little ark was found and the bringing forth of a child by natural birth. While the name occurs more than 750 times in the [[Old Testament]], no further explanation is given; and like the names of some other prominent Old Testament characters, it is given to only one person, the great leader and lawgiver of Israel.