After the death of Patriarch Joseph, the situation of the Jews changed dramatically. The new king, who did not know Joseph, began to fear that the Jews, having become a numerous and strong people, would go over to the enemy’s side in the event of war. He appointed commanders over them to wear them out with hard work. Pharaoh also ordered the killing of newborn Israelite boys. The very existence of the chosen people is under threat. However, God's Providence did not allow this plan to be carried out. God saved the future leader of the people, Moses, from death. This greatest Old Testament prophet came from the tribe of Levi. His parents were Amram and Jochebed (Exodus 6:20). The future prophet was younger than his brother Aaron and sister Mariam. The baby was born when Pharaoh's order to drown newborn Jewish boys in the Nile was in force. The mother hid her child for three months, but then was forced to hide him in a basket in the reeds on the river bank. Pharaoh's daughter saw him and took him into her house.. Moses' sister, who was watching from afar, offered to bring a nurse. According to God's will, it was arranged so that his own mother became his nurse, raising him in her home. When the boy grew up, his mother brought him to the pharaoh's daughter. While living in the king's palace as an adopted son, Moses was taught all the wisdom of Egypt, and was mighty in words and deeds (Acts 7:22).

When should he turned forty years old, he went out to his brothers. Seeing that the Egyptian was beating the Jew, he, defending his brother, killed the Egyptian. Fearing persecution, Moses fled to the land of Midian and was received in the house of the local priest Raguel (aka Jethro), who married his daughter Zipporah to Moses.

Moses lived in the land of Midian Fourty years. Over these decades, he gained that inner maturity that made him capable of accomplishing a great feat - with God's help free the people from slavery. This event was perceived by Old Testament people as central in the history of the people. It is mentioned more than sixty times in the Holy Scriptures. In memory of this event, the main Old Testament holiday was established - Easter. The outcome has spiritual and educational significance. The Egyptian captivity is an Old Testament symbol of the slavish subordination of humanity to the devil until the redemptive feat of Jesus Christ. The Exodus from Egypt marks spiritual liberation through the New Testament Sacrament of Baptism.

The exodus was preceded by one of the most important events in the history of the chosen people. epiphanies. Moses tended his father-in-law's sheep in the desert. He reached Mount Horeb and saw that The thorn bush is engulfed in flames, but does not burn. Moses began to approach him. But God called to him from the midst of the bush: don't come here; take off your shoes from your feet, for the place on which you stand is holy ground. And he said: I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.(Exodus 3:5-6).

The outer side of the vision - a burning but not consumed thorn bush - depicted the plight of the Jews in Egypt. Fire, as a destroying force, indicated the severity of suffering. Just as the bush burned and was not consumed, so the Jewish people were not destroyed, but were only purified in the crucible of disasters. This is a prototype of the Incarnation. The Holy Church adopted the symbol of the Burning Bush of the Mother of God. The miracle lies in the fact that this thorn bush, in which the Lord appeared to Moses, has survived to this day. It is located in the fence of the Sinai monastery of St. Catherine the Great Martyr.

The Lord who appeared to Moses said that scream the children of Israel suffering from the Egyptians reached Him.

God sends Moses on a great mission: bring my people the children of Israel out of Egypt(Exodus 3:10). Moses humbly speaks of his weakness. God responds to this hesitation with clear and overpowering words: I'll be with you(Exodus 3:12). Moses, having accepted high obedience from the Lord, asks the name of the Sender. God said to Moses: I Am That I Am (Exodus 3:14). In a word Existing in the Synodal Bible the sacred name of God is conveyed, inscribed in the Hebrew text with four consonants ( tetragram): YHWH. The above passage shows that the prohibition to pronounce this secret name appeared much later than the time of the Exodus (perhaps after the Babylonian captivity).

During the reading aloud of sacred texts in the tabernacle, temple, and later in synagogues, instead of the tetragram, another name of God was pronounced - Adonai. In Slavic and Russian texts the tetragram is conveyed by the name Lord. In biblical language Existing expresses the personal beginning of absolute self-sufficient being, on which the existence of the entire created world depends.

The Lord strengthened the spirit of Moses two miraculous actions. The rod turned into a snake, and Moses' hand, which was covered with leprosy, was healed. The miracle with the rod testified that the Lord was giving Moses the authority of the leader of the people. The sudden defeat of the hand of Moses by leprosy and its healing meant that God had endowed His chosen one with the power of miracles to fulfill his mission.

Moses said he was tongue-tied. The Lord strengthened him: I will be at your mouth and teach you what to say.(Exodus 4:12). God gives the future leader his elder brother as an assistant Aaron.

Coming to Pharaoh, Moses and Aaron, on behalf of the Lord, demanded that the people be released into the desert to celebrate the holiday. Pharaoh was a pagan. He declared that he did not know the Lord and that the people of Israel would not let them go. Pharaoh became bitter against the Jewish people. Jews did hard work at this time - they made bricks. Pharaoh ordered their work to be made more difficult. God again sends Moses and Aaron to declare His will to Pharaoh. At the same time, the Lord commanded to perform signs and wonders.

Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a serpent. The wise men and sorcerers of the king and the magicians of Egypt did the same with their spells: they threw down their wands, and they became snakes, but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods.

The next day the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron to perform another miracle. When Pharaoh went to the river, Aaron struck the water with his rod in front of the king's face and water turned to blood. All the reservoirs in the country were filled with blood. Among the Egyptians, Nile was one of the gods of their pantheon. What happened with the water was supposed to enlighten them and show the power of the God of Israel. But this one first of the ten plagues of Egypt only hardened Pharaoh's heart even more.

Second execution took place seven days later. Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and went out frogs covered the ground. The disaster prompted Pharaoh to ask Moses to pray to the Lord to remove all the frogs. The Lord fulfilled the requests of His saint. Toads are extinct. As soon as the king felt relief, he again fell into bitterness.

Therefore I followed third plague. Aaron struck the ground with his rod, and they appeared midges and began to bite people and livestock. In the original Hebrew these insects are called kinnim, in Greek and Slavic texts - sketches. According to the 1st century Jewish philosopher Philo of Alexandria and Origen, these were mosquitoes - a common scourge of Egypt during the flood period. But this time all the dust of the earth became midges throughout the whole land of Egypt(Exodus 8:17). The Magi were unable to repeat this miracle. They told the king: this is the finger of God(Exodus 8:19). But he didn't listen to them. The Lord sends Moses to Pharaoh to tell him on behalf of the Lord to let the people go. If he does not comply, they will be sent throughout the country dog flies. It was fourth plague. Her tools were flies. They are named canine, apparently because they had a strong bite. Philo of Alexandria writes that they were distinguished by their fierceness and persistence. The fourth plague has two features. Firstly, The Lord performs a miracle without the mediation of Moses and Aaron. Secondly, the land of Goshen, in which the Jews lived, was freed from disaster so that Pharaoh could clearly see absolute power of God. The punishment worked. Pharaoh promised to release the Jews into the desert and make a sacrifice to the Lord God. He asked to pray for him and not to go far. Through the prayer of Moses, the Lord removed all the dog flies from Pharaoh and the people. Pharaoh did not let the Jews go into the desert.

followed fifth plague - pestilence which struck all the livestock of Egypt. The Jewish cattle are no longer in trouble. God also carried out this execution directly, and not through Moses and Aaron. Pharaoh's tenacity remained the same.

Sixth plague was accomplished by the Lord only through Moses (in the first three, Aaron was the mediator). Moses took a handful of ashes and threw them towards the sky. People and livestock were covered boils. This time the Lord Himself hardened Pharaoh's heart. He did this, apparently, in order to further reveal His all-conquering power to the king and all the Egyptians. God says to Pharaoh: I will send tomorrow, at this very time, a very strong hailstorm, the like of which has not been seen in Egypt since the day of its foundation until now.(Exodus 9:18). The sacred writer notes that those servants of Pharaoh who feared the words of the Lord hastily gathered their servants and flocks into houses. The hail was accompanied by thunder, which can be explained as voice of God from heaven. Psalm 77 gives additional details of this execution: they beat down their grapes with hail, and their sycamores with ice; gave up their cattle to hail and their flocks to lightning(47-48). Blessed Theodoret explains: “The Lord brought upon them hail and thunder, showing that He is the Lord of all the elements." God carried out this execution through Moses. The land of Goshen was not damaged. It was seventh plague. Pharaoh repented: this time I have sinned; The Lord is righteous, but I and my people are guilty; pray to the Lord: let the thunders of God and the hail cease, and I will let you go and will no longer hold you back(Exodus 9:27-28). But the repentance was short-lived. Soon the pharaoh again fell into a state bitterness.

Eighth Plague was very scary. After Moses stretched out the rod over the land of Egypt, The Lord brought a wind from the east, which lasted day and night. Locusts attacked all the land of Egypt and ate all the grass and all the greenery on the trees.. Pharaoh repents again, but, apparently, as before, his repentance is superficial. The Lord hardens his heart.

Peculiarity ninth plague in that it was caused by the symbolic action of Moses stretching out his hands to heaven. Installed for three days thick darkness. By punishing the Egyptians with darkness, God showed the insignificance of their idol Ra, the sun god. Pharaoh yielded again.

Tenth Plague was the worst. The month of Abib has arrived. Before the exodus began, God commanded that Passover be celebrated. This holiday became the main one in the Old Testament sacred calendar.

The Lord told Moses and Aaron that every family on the tenth day of Abib (after the Babylonian captivity this month began to be called Nissan) took one lamb and kept him apart until the fourteenth day of this month, and then slaughtered him. When the lamb is slain, they shall take some of its blood and They will anoint it on both doorposts and on the lintel of the doors in the houses where they will eat it..

At midnight on the 15th of Aviva the Lord struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, as well as all the firstborn of livestock. The firstborn Jews were not harmed. Because the doorposts and lintels of their houses were anointed with the blood of the sacrificial lamb, The angel who smote the firstborn of Egypt, passed by. The holiday established in memory of this event was called Easter (Heb. Passover; from a verb meaning jump over something, pass by).

The blood of the lamb was a prototype of the atoning Blood of the Savior, the Blood of cleansing and reconciliation. Unleavened bread (unleavened bread), which Jews were supposed to eat on Easter days, also had a symbolic meaning: in Egypt, Jews were in danger of becoming infected with pagan wickedness. However, God brought the Jewish people out of the land of enslavement and made them a spiritually pure people, called to holiness: And you will be holy people to Me(Exodus 22, 31). He must reject the previous leaven of moral corruption and start a clean life. Unleavened bread that cooks quickly symbolized that speed, with which the Lord led His people out of the land of enslavement.

Easter meal expressed general unity of its participants with God and among themselves. The fact that the lamb was cooked whole, including the head, also had a symbolic meaning. The bone shouldn't have been crushed.

Go, Moses,
Down to the land of Egypt.
And tell old Pharaoh:
"Let My people go!"

When the people of Israel were in the land of Egypt...
Let My people go!
He was oppressed and humiliated...
Let My people go!

And God said: Go, Moses,
Down to the land of Egypt.
And tell old Pharaoh:
"Let My people go!"

And Moses went to the land of Egypt...
Let My people go!
And he made it clear to the old Pharaoh...
Let My people go!

Yes, the Lord said: Go, Moses,
Down to the land of Egypt.
And tell old Pharaoh:
"Let My people go!"

The brave Moses conveyed the words of God:
"Let My people go!"
If we don't leave, your firstborns will die.
Let My people go!

Because the Lord said: Go, Moses,
Down to the land of Egypt.
And tell old Pharaoh:
"Let My people go!"

Tell old Pharaoh:
"Let My people go!" Go Moses
Down to the land of Egypt.
And tell old Pharaoh:

When the nation of Israel was in the land of Egypt ...
Let my people go!
He was oppressed and humiliated...
Let my people go!

And God said: Go, Moses,
Down to the land of Egypt.
And tell old Pharaoh:
& Let my people! &

And Moses went into the land of Egypt...
Let my people go!
And he made it clear the old Pharaoh, ...
Let my people go!

Yes, the Lord said, Go, Moses,
Down to the land of Egypt.
And tell old Pharaoh:
& Let my people! &

Word of God handed to Moses a bold:
& Let my people! &
If we do not die, your firstborn will die.
Let my people go!

Because the Lord said, Go, Moses,
Down to the land of Egypt.
And tell old Pharaoh:
& Let my people! &

Tell old Pharaoh:
& Let my people! &

The very existence of Moses is quite controversial. For many years, historians and biblical scholars have been discussing this topic. According to biblical scholars, Moses is the author of the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Jewish and Christian Bible. But historians have found some contradictions in this.

The Prophet Moses is one of the central figures in the Old Testament. He saved the Jews from the oppression of the Egyptian rulers. True, historians continue to insist on their own, because there is no evidence of these events. But the personality and life of Moses certainly deserve attention, since for Christians he is a prototype.

In Judaism

The future prophet was born in Egypt. Moses' parents belonged to the tribe of Levi. From time immemorial, the Levites had the duties of priests, so they did not have the right to own their own lands.

Estimated period of life: XV-XIII centuries. BC e. At that time, the Israeli people were resettled in Egypt due to famine. But the fact is that for the Egyptians they were strangers. And soon the pharaohs decided that the Jews could become dangerous for them, because they would side with the enemy if anyone decided to attack Egypt. The rulers began to oppress the Israelites; they literally made them slaves. Jews worked in quarries and built pyramids. And soon the pharaohs decided to kill all Jewish male babies in order to stop the growth of the Israeli population.

Moses' mother Jochebed tried to hide her son for three months, and when she realized that she could no longer do this, she put the child in a papyrus basket and sent it down the Nile River. The basket with the baby was noticed by the pharaoh's daughter, who was swimming nearby. She immediately realized that it was a Jewish child, but she spared him.

Moses' sister Mariam watched everything that happened. She told the girl that she knew a woman who could become a nurse for the boy. Thus, Moses was nursed by his own mother. Later, the pharaoh's daughter adopted the child, and he began to live in the palace and received an education. But with his mother's milk, the boy absorbed the faith of his ancestors, and was never able to worship the Egyptian gods.

It was difficult for him to see and tolerate the cruelty to which his people were subjected. One day he witnessed a terrible beating of an Israeli. He simply could not pass by - he snatched the whip from the hands of the warden and beat him to death. And although the man believed that no one had seen what happened, soon the pharaoh ordered to find his daughter’s son and kill him. And Moses had to flee from Egypt.

Moses settled in the Sinai desert. He married the priest's daughter Zipporah and became a shepherd. Soon they had two sons - Gersham and Eliezer.

Every day a man tended a flock of sheep, but one day he saw a thorn bush that was burning with fire, but was not consumed. Approaching the bush, Moses heard a voice calling him by name and ordering him to take off his shoes, since he was standing on holy ground. It was the voice of God. He said that Moses was destined to save the Jewish people from the oppression of the Egyptian rulers. He must go to Pharaoh and demand that the Jews be made free, and in order for the people of Israel to believe him, God gave Moses the ability to perform miracles.

At that time, another pharaoh ruled Egypt, not the one from whom Moses fled. Moses was not so eloquent, so he went to the palace with his older brother Aaron, who became his voice. He asked the ruler to release the Jews to the promised lands. But Pharaoh not only did not agree, but also began to demand even more from the Israeli slaves. The Prophet did not accept his answer; he came to him with the same request more than once, but each time he was refused. And then God sent ten disasters, the so-called biblical plagues, to Egypt.

First the waters of the Nile became blood. Only for the Jews did it remain pure and drinkable. The Egyptians were able to drink only the water they bought from the Israelites. But Pharaoh considered this witchcraft, and not God’s punishment.

The second plague was an invasion of frogs. Amphibians were everywhere: on the streets, in houses, beds and food. Pharaoh told Moses that he would believe that God had sent this disaster to Egypt if he would make the frogs disappear. And he agreed to let the Jews go. But as soon as the toads disappeared, he retracted his words.

And then the Lord sent midges to attack the Egyptians. Insects crawled into my ears, eyes, nose and mouth. At this point the sorcerers began to assure Pharaoh that this was a punishment from God. But he was adamant.

And then God brought down the fourth plague on them - dog flies. Most likely, gadflies were hidden under this name. They stung people and livestock, giving no rest.

Soon the Egyptians' livestock began to die, while nothing happened to the Jews' animals. Of course, Pharaoh already understood that God was protecting the Israelites, but he again refused to give the people freedom.

And then the bodies of the Egyptians began to become covered with terrible ulcers and boils, their bodies itched and festered. The ruler was seriously frightened, but God did not want him to let the Jews go out of fear, so he sent down a hail of fire on Egypt.

The eighth punishment of the Lord was an invasion of locusts, they ate all the greenery on their way, not a single blade of grass remained on the land of Egypt.

And soon thick darkness fell over the country; not a single source of light dispelled this darkness. Therefore, the Egyptians had to move by touch. But the darkness became denser every day, and it became more and more difficult to move, until it became completely impossible. Pharaoh again called Moses to the palace, he promised to let his people go, but only if the Jews left their livestock. The Prophet did not agree to this and promised that the tenth plague would be the most terrible.

In one night, all the firstborn children in Egyptian families died. To prevent punishment from befalling the Israelite babies, God commanded that every Jewish family slaughter a lamb and smear its blood on the doorposts of their houses. After such a terrible disaster, Pharaoh released Moses and his people.

This event came to be referred to by the Hebrew word “Pesach,” which means “passing.” After all, the wrath of God “went around” all the houses. The holiday of Passover, or Passover, is the day of the deliverance of the Israeli people from Egyptian captivity. Jews had to bake the slaughtered lamb and eat it standing with their family. It is believed that over time this Easter transformed into the one that people know now.

On the way from Egypt, another miracle happened - the waters of the Red Sea parted for the Jews. They walked along the bottom, and so they managed to cross to the other side. But Pharaoh did not expect that this path would be so easy for the Jews, so he set off in pursuit. He also followed along the bottom of the sea. But as soon as Moses’ people were on the shore, the water closed again, burying both Pharaoh and his army in the abyss.

After a three-month journey, the people found themselves at the foot of Mount Sinai. Moses climbed to its top to receive instructions from God. The dialogue with God lasted 40 days, and it was accompanied by terrible lightning, thunder and fire. God gave the prophet two stone tablets on which the main commandments were written.

At this time, the people sinned - they created the Golden Calf, which people began to worship. Coming down and seeing this, Moses broke both the tablets and the Calf. He immediately returned to the top and for 40 days atone for the sins of the Jewish people.

The Ten Commandments became God's law for people. Having accepted the commandments, the Jewish people promised to observe them, thus a sacred Covenant was concluded between God and the Jews, in which the Lord promised to be merciful to the Jews, and they, in turn, are obliged to live correctly.

In Christianity

The life story of the prophet Moses is the same in all three religions: a Jewish foundling, raised in the family of an Egyptian pharaoh, frees his people and receives the Ten Commandments from God. True, in Judaism the name of Moses sounds differently - Moshe. Also, sometimes Jews call the prophet Moshe Rabbeinu, which means “our teacher.”

In Christianity, the famous prophet is revered as one of the main prototypes of Jesus Christ. By analogy with how in Judaism God gives people the Old Testament through Moses, so Christ brings the New Testament to Earth.

Also considered an important episode in all branches of Christianity is the appearance of Moses together with the prophet Elijah before Jesus on Mount Tabor during the Transfiguration. And the Orthodox Church included the icon of Moses in the official Russian iconostasis and designated September 17 as the day of remembrance of the great prophet.

In Islam

In Islam, the prophet also has a different name - Musa. He was a great prophet who spoke to Allah as to a simple man. And at Sinai, Allah sent down to Musa the sacred scripture - Taurat. In the Koran, the name of the prophet is mentioned more than once; his story is given as an edification and example.

Real facts

Moses is believed to be the author of the Pentateuch, the five volumes of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. For many years, until the seventeenth century, no one dared to doubt this. But over time, historians found more and more inconsistencies in the presentation. For example, the last part describes the death of Moses, and this contradicts the fact that he himself wrote the books. There are also a lot of repetitions in the books - the same events are interpreted differently. Historians believe that there were several authors of the Pentateuch, since different terminology is found in different parts.

Unfortunately, no physical evidence of the existence of the prophet was discovered in Egypt. There was no mention of Moses in either written sources or archaeological finds.

Over hundreds of years, his personality has become overgrown with legends and myths, there are constant disputes around the life of Moses and the “Pentateuch,” but so far no religion has abandoned the “Ten Commandments of God,” which the prophet once presented to his people.

Death

For forty years Moses led the people through the desert, and his life ended on the threshold of the promised land. God commanded him to climb Mount Nebo. And from the top Moses saw Palestine. He lay down to rest, but it was not sleep that came to him, but death.

The place of his burial was hidden by God so that the people would not begin a pilgrimage to the grave of the prophet. As a result, Moses died at 120 years old. He lived for 40 years in the palace of Pharaoh, another 40 - he lived in the desert and worked as a shepherd, and for the last 40 - he led the Israeli people out of Egypt.

Moses' brother Aaron did not even reach Palestine; he died at the age of 123 due to lack of faith in God. As a result, the follower of Moses, Joshua, brought the Jews to the promised land.

Memory

• 1482 – fresco “The Testament and Death of Moses”, Luca Signorelli and Bartolomeo della Gatta
• 1505 – Painting “The Trial of Moses by Fire”, Giorgione
• 1515 – Marble statue of Moses,
• 1610 – Paintings “Moses with the Commandments”, Reni Guido
• 1614 – Painting “Moses in front of the burning bush”, Domenico Fetti
• 1659 – Painting “Moses Breaking the Tablets of the Covenant”
• 1791 – Fountain in Bern “Moses”

• 1842 – Painting “Moses lowered by his mother onto the waters of the Nile”, Alexey Tyranov
• 1862 – Painting “The Finding of Moses”, Frederick Goodall
• 1863 – Painting “Moses pouring out water from a rock”,
• 1891 – Painting “The Crossing of the Jews through the Red Sea”,
• 1939 – Book “Moses and Monotheism”,
• 1956 – Film “The Ten Commandments”, Cecil DeMille
• 1998 – Cartoon “Prince of Egypt”, Brenda Chapman
• 2014 – Film “Exodus: Kings and Gods”,

Moses is the greatest Old Testament prophet, the founder of Judaism, who led the Jews from Egypt, where they were in slavery, accepted the Ten Commandments from God on Mount Sinai and united the Israeli tribes into a single people.

In Christianity, Moses is considered one of the most important prototypes of Christ: just as through Moses the Old Testament was revealed to the world, so through Christ the New Testament was revealed.

The name "Moses" (in Hebrew Mosheʹ) is believed to be of Egyptian origin and means "child". According to other instructions - “recovered or rescued from the water” (this name was given to him by the Egyptian princess who found him on the river bank).

The four books of the Pentateuch (Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy), which make up the epic of the Exodus of the Jews from Egypt, are dedicated to his life and work.

Birth of Moses

According to the biblical account, Moses was born in Egypt into a Jewish family during the time when the Jews were enslaved by the Egyptians, around 1570 BC (other estimates around 1250 BC). Moses' parents belonged to the tribe of Levi 1 (Ex. 2:1). His older sister was Miriam and his older brother was Aaron (the first of the Jewish high priests, the ancestor of the priestly caste).

1 Levi- the third son of Jacob (Israel) from his wife Leah (Gen. 29:34). The descendants of the tribe of Levi are the Levites, who were responsible for the priesthood. Since of all the tribes of Israel the Levites were the only tribe not endowed with land, they were dependent on their fellows.

As you know, the Israelis moved to Egypt during the lifetime of Jacob-Israel 2 (XVII century BC), fleeing famine. They lived in the eastern Egyptian region of Goshen, bordering the Sinai Peninsula and watered by a tributary of the Nile River. Here they had extensive pastures for their herds and could roam freely around the country.

2 Jacob,orYakov (Israel) - the third of the biblical patriarchs, the youngest of the twin sons of the patriarch Isaac and Rebekah. From his sons came the 12 tribes of the people of Israel. In rabbinic literature, Jacob is seen as a symbol of the Jewish people.

Over time, the Israelites multiplied more and more, and the more they multiplied, the more hostile the Egyptians were towards them. Eventually there were so many Jews that it began to inspire fear in the new pharaoh. He told his people: “The Israeli tribe is multiplying and can become stronger than us. If we have a war with another state, then the Israelis can unite with our enemies.” To prevent the Israelite tribe from strengthening, it was decided to turn it into slavery. The pharaohs and their officials began to oppress the Israelites as strangers, and then began to treat them as a conquered tribe, like masters and slaves. The Egyptians began to force the Israelites to do the most difficult work for the benefit of the state: they were forced to dig the ground, build cities, palaces and monuments for kings, and prepare clay and bricks for these buildings. Special guards were appointed who strictly monitored the execution of all these forced labors.

But no matter how the Israelites were oppressed, they still continued to multiply. Then Pharaoh gave the order that all newborn Israeli boys should be drowned in the river, and only girls should be left alive. This order was carried out with merciless severity. The people of Israel were in danger of complete extermination.

During this time of trouble, a son was born to Amram and Jochebed, from the tribe of Levi. He was so beautiful that light emanated from him. The father of the holy prophet Amram had a vision that spoke of the great mission of this baby and of God's favor towards him. Moses' mother Jochebed managed to hide the baby in her home for three months. However, no longer able to hide him, she left the baby in a tarred reed basket in the thickets on the banks of the Nile.

Moses being lowered by his mother onto the waters of the Nile. A.V. Tyranov. 1839-42

At this time, Pharaoh's daughter went to the river to swim, accompanied by her servants. Seeing a basket among the reeds, she ordered it to be opened. A tiny boy lay in the basket and cried. Pharaoh's daughter said, "This must be one of the Hebrew children." She took pity on the crying baby and, on the advice of Moses’ sister Miriam, who approached her and was watching what was happening from afar, agreed to call the Israeli nurse. Miriam brought her mother Jochebed. Thus, Moses was given to his mother, who nursed him. When the boy grew up, he was brought to Pharaoh's daughter, and she raised him as her son (Ex. 2:10). Pharaoh's daughter gave him the name Moses, which means "taken out of the water."

There are suggestions that this good princess was Hatshepsut, daughter of Thothmes I, later the famous and only female pharaoh in the history of Egypt.

The childhood and youth of Moses. Flight into the desert.

Moses spent the first 40 years of his life in Egypt, raised in the palace as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. Here he received an excellent education and was initiated into “all the wisdom of Egypt,” that is, into all the secrets of the religious and political worldview of Egypt. Tradition says that he served as commander of the Egyptian army and helped the pharaoh defeat the Ethiopians who attacked him.

Although Moses grew up free, he never forgot his Jewish roots. One day he wanted to see how his fellow tribesmen lived. Seeing an Egyptian overseer beating one of the Israelite slaves, Moses stood up for the defenseless and, in a fit of rage, accidentally killed the overseer. Pharaoh found out about this and wanted to punish Moses. The only way to escape was to escape. And Moses fled from Egypt to the Sinai desert, which is near the Red Sea, between Egypt and Canaan. He settled in the land of Midian (Ex. 2:15), located on the Sinai Peninsula, with the priest Jethro (another name is Raguel), where he became a shepherd. Moses soon married Jethro's daughter, Zipporah, and became a member of this peaceful shepherd family. So another 40 years passed.

Calling of Moses

One day Moses was tending a flock and went far into the desert. He approached Mount Horeb (Sinai), and here a wondrous vision appeared to him. He saw a thick thorn bush, which was engulfed in a bright flame and was burning, but still did not burn out.

The thorn bush or “Burning Bush” is a prototype of God-manhood and the Mother of God and symbolizes the contact of God with a created being

God said that He chose Moses to save the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt. Moses had to go to Pharaoh and demand that he release the Jews. As a sign that the time has come for a new, more complete Revelation, He proclaims His Name to Moses: "I Am Who I Am"(Ex.3:14) . He sends Moses to demand, on behalf of the God of Israel, to release the people from the “house of slavery.” But Moses is aware of his weakness: he is not ready for a feat, he is deprived of the gift of speech, he is sure that neither Pharaoh nor the people will believe him. Only after persistent repetition of the call and signs does he agree. God said that Moses in Egypt had a brother Aaron, who, if necessary, would speak in his place, and God himself would teach both what to do. To convince unbelievers, God gives Moses the ability to perform miracles. Immediately, by His order, Moses threw his rod (shepherd's stick) to the ground - and suddenly this rod turned into a snake. Moses caught the snake by the tail - and again there was a stick in his hand. Another miracle: when Moses put his hand in his bosom and took it out, it became white from leprosy like snow, when he put his hand in his bosom again and took it out, it became healthy. “If they don’t believe this miracle,- said the Lord, - then take water from the river and pour it on the dry land, and the water will become blood on the dry land.”

Moses and Aaron go to Pharaoh

Obeying God, Moses set out on the road. On the way, he met his brother Aaron, whom God ordered to go out into the desert to meet Moses, and they came together to Egypt. Moses was already 80 years old, no one remembered him. The daughter of the former pharaoh, the adoptive mother of Moses, also died long ago.

First of all, Moses and Aaron came to the people of Israel. Aaron told his fellow tribesmen that God would lead the Jews out of slavery and give them a land flowing with milk and honey. However, they did not immediately believe him. They were afraid of Pharaoh's revenge, they were afraid of the path through the waterless desert. Moses performed several miracles, and the people of Israel believed in him and that the hour of liberation from slavery had come. Nevertheless, the murmur against the prophet, which began even before the exodus, then flared up repeatedly. Like Adam, who was free to submit to or reject the higher Will, the newly created people of God experienced temptations and failures.

After this, Moses and Aron appeared to Pharaoh and declared to him the will of the God of Israel, so that he would release the Jews into the desert to serve this God: “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: Let My people go, that they may celebrate a feast for Me in the wilderness.” But Pharaoh answered angrily: “Who is the Lord that I should listen to him? I don’t know the Lord and I won’t let the Israelites go.”(Ex.5:1-2)

Then Moses announced to Pharaoh that if he did not release the Israelites, then God would send various “plagues” (misfortunes, disasters) to Egypt. The king did not listen - and the threats of the messenger of God came true.

Ten Plagues and the Establishment of Easter

Pharaoh's refusal to fulfill God's command entails 10 "plagues of Egypt" , a series of terrible natural disasters:

However, the executions only embitter the pharaoh even more.

Then the angry Moses came to Pharaoh for the last time and warned: “This is what the Lord says: At midnight I will pass through the middle of Egypt. And every firstborn in the land of Egypt will die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh...to the firstborn of the slave girl...and all the firstborn of livestock.” This was the last and most severe 10th plague (Exodus 11:1-10 - Exodus 12:1-36).

Then Moses warned the Jews to slaughter a one-year-old lamb in each family and anoint the doorposts and lintel with its blood: by this blood God will distinguish the homes of the Jews and will not touch them. The lamb was to be roasted over a fire and eaten with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Jews must be ready to hit the road immediately.

At night, Egypt suffered a terrible disaster. “And Pharaoh arose by night, he and all his servants, and all Egypt; and there was a great cry in the land of Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not a dead man.”

The shocked Pharaoh immediately summoned Moses and Aaron and ordered them, along with all their people, to go into the desert and perform worship so that God would take pity on the Egyptians.

Since then, Jews every year on the 14th day of the month of Nissan (the day falling on the full moon of the vernal equinox) Easter holiday . The word "passover" means "to pass by," because the angel who struck the firstborn passed by the Jewish houses.

From now on, Easter will mark the liberation of the People of God and their unity in a sacred meal - a prototype of the Eucharistic Meal.

Exodus. Crossing the Red Sea.

That same night, the entire Israeli people left Egypt forever. The Bible indicates the number of those who left was “600 thousand Jews” (not counting women, children and livestock). The Jews did not leave empty-handed: before fleeing, Moses ordered them to ask their Egyptian neighbors for gold and silver items, as well as rich clothes. They also took with them the mummy of Joseph, which Moses searched for for three days while his fellow tribesmen collected property from the Egyptians. God himself led them, being in a pillar of cloud during the day and in a pillar of fire at night, so the fugitives walked day and night until they reached the seashore.

Meanwhile, Pharaoh realized that the Jews had deceived him and rushed after them. Six hundred war chariots and selected Egyptian cavalry quickly overtook the fugitives. There seemed to be no escape. Jews - men, women, children, old people - crowded on the seashore, preparing for inevitable death. Only Moses was calm. At the command of God, he extended his hand to the sea, struck the water with his staff, and the sea parted, clearing the way. The Israelites walked along the bottom of the sea, and the waters of the sea stood like a wall to their right and left.

Seeing this, the Egyptians chased the Jews along the bottom of the sea. Pharaoh's chariots were already in the middle of the sea when the bottom suddenly became so viscous that they could hardly move. Meanwhile, the Israelis made it to the opposite bank. The Egyptian warriors realized that things were bad and decided to turn back, but it was too late: Moses again extended his hand to the sea, and it closed over Pharaoh’s army...

The crossing of the Red (now Red) Sea, accomplished in the face of imminent mortal danger, becomes the culmination of a saving miracle. The waters separated the rescued from the “house of slavery.” Therefore, the transition became a prototype of the sacrament of baptism. A new passage through water is also a path to freedom, but to freedom in Christ. On the seashore, Moses and all the people, including his sister Miriam, solemnly sang a song of thanksgiving to God. “I sing to the Lord, for He is highly exalted; he threw his horse and rider into the sea..." This solemn song of the Israelis to the Lord underlies the first of the nine sacred songs that make up the canon of songs sung daily by the Orthodox Church in worship.

According to biblical tradition, the Israelites lived in Egypt for 430 years. And the Exodus of the Jews from Egypt took place, according to Egyptologists, around 1250 BC. However, according to the traditional point of view, the Exodus occurred in the 15th century. BC e., 480 years (~5 centuries) before the construction of Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem began (1 Kings 6:1). There are a significant number of alternative theories of the chronology of the Exodus, consistent to varying degrees with both religious and modern archaeological perspectives.

Miracles of Moses

The road to the Promised Land ran through the harsh and vast Arabian Desert. First, they walked for 3 days through the desert of Sur and found no water except bitter water (Merrah) (Exodus 15:22-26), but God sweetened this water by commanding Moses to throw a piece of some special tree into the water.

Soon, having reached the Sin desert, the people began to grumble from hunger, remembering Egypt, when they “sat by the cauldrons of meat and ate bread to their fill!” And God heard them and sent them from heaven manna from heaven (Ex. 16).

One morning, when they woke up, they saw that the entire desert was covered with something white, like frost. We began to look: the white coating turned out to be small grains, similar to hail or grass seeds. In response to the surprised exclamations, Moses said: “This is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat.” Adults and children rushed to gather manna and bake bread. From then on, every morning for 40 years they found manna from heaven and ate it.

Manna from heaven

The collection of manna took place in the morning, since by noon it melted under the rays of the sun. “The manna was like coriander seed, the appearance of bdellium.”(Num. 11:7). According to Talmudic literature, when eating manna, young men felt the taste of bread, old people - the taste of honey, children - the taste of oil.

In Rephidim, Moses, at the command of God, brought water out of the rock of Mount Horeb, striking it with his rod.

Here the Jews were attacked by a wild tribe of Amalekites, but were defeated by the prayer of Moses, who during the battle prayed on the mountain, raising his hands to God (Ex. 17).

Sinai Covenant and 10 Commandments

In the 3rd month after leaving Egypt, the Israelites approached Mount Sinai and camped opposite the mountain. Moses first ascended the mountain, and God warned him that he would appear before the people on the third day.

And then this day came. The phenomenon in Sinai was accompanied by terrible phenomena: clouds, smoke, lightning, thunder, flames, earthquakes, and the sound of a trumpet. This communication lasted 40 days, and God gave Moses two tablets - stone tablets on which the Law was written.

1. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; Let you have no other gods before Me.

2. Do not make for yourself an idol or any image of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth below, or that is in the water below the earth; You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I am the Lord your God. God is jealous, punishing the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, and showing mercy to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

3. Do not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave without punishment the one who takes His name in vain.

4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy; six days thou shalt work, and do all thy work; but the seventh day is a Sabbath unto the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, neither thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor yours, nor your donkey, nor any of your livestock, nor the stranger who is in your gates; For in six days the Lord created heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them, and rested on the seventh day; Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and sanctified it.

5. Honor your father and your mother, (so that it may go well with you and) so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

6. Don't kill.

7. Do not commit adultery.

8. Don't steal.

9. Do not bear false witness against your neighbor.

10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house; Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his field, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor (any of his livestock), nor anything that is thy neighbor's.

The law that was given to ancient Israel by God had several purposes. First, he asserted public order and justice. Secondly, he singled out the Jewish people as a special religious community professing monotheism. Thirdly, he had to make an internal change in a person, morally improve a person, bring a person closer to God through instilling in a person the love of God. Finally, the law of the Old Testament prepared humanity for the adoption of the Christian faith in the future.

The Decalogue (ten commandments) formed the basis of the moral code of all cultural humanity.

In addition to the Ten Commandments, God dictated laws to Moses that outlined how the people of Israel should live. Thus the Children of Israel became a people - Jews .

The Wrath of Moses. Establishment of the tabernacle of the covenant.

Moses ascended Mount Sinai twice, remaining there for 40 days. During his first absence the people sinned terribly. The wait seemed too long to them and they demanded that Aaron make them a god who led them out of Egypt. Frightened by their unbridledness, he collected gold earrings and made a golden calf, in front of which the Jews began to serve and have fun.

Coming down from the mountain, Moses in anger broke the Tablets and destroyed the calf.

Moses breaks the tablets of the Law

Moses severely punished the people for their apostasy, killing about 3 thousand people, but asked God not to punish them. God had mercy and showed him His glory, showing him a chasm in which he could see God from behind, because it is impossible for man to see His face.

After that, again for 40 days, he returned to the mountain and prayed to God for the forgiveness of the people. Here, on the mountain, he received instructions about the construction of the Tabernacle, the laws of worship and the establishment of the priesthood.It is believed that the book of Exodus lists the commandments on the first broken tablets, and Deuteronomy lists what was written the second time. From there he returned with God's face illuminated by the light and was forced to hide his face under a veil so that the people would not go blind.

Six months later, the Tabernacle was built and consecrated - a large, richly decorated tent. Inside the tabernacle stood the Ark of the Covenant - a wooden chest lined with gold with images of cherubim on top. In the ark lay the tablets of the covenant brought by Moses, a golden container with manna, and Aaron’s rod that flourished.

Tabernacle

To prevent disputes about who should have the right of the priesthood, God commanded that a staff be taken from each of the twelve leaders of the tribes of Israel and placed in the tabernacle, promising that the staff of the one He had chosen would blossom. The next day Moses found that Aaron's rod had produced flowers and brought almonds. Then Moses laid Aaron's rod before the ark of the covenant for safekeeping, as a testimony to future generations of the Divine election of Aaron and his descendants to the priesthood.

Moses' brother, Aaron, was ordained high priest, and other members of the tribe of Levi were ordained priests and "Levites" (in our opinion, deacons). From this time on, the Jews began to perform regular religious services and animal sacrifices.

End of wandering. Death of Moses.

For another 40 years Moses led his people to the promised land - Canaan. At the end of the journey, the people again began to be faint-hearted and grumble. As punishment, God sent poisonous snakes, and when they repented, he commanded Moses to erect a copper image of a serpent on a pole so that everyone who looked at it with faith would remain unharmed. The serpent lifted up in the desert, as St. Gregory of Nyssa - is the sign of the sacrament of the cross.

Despite great difficulties, the prophet Moses remained a faithful servant of the Lord God until the end of his life. He led, taught and mentored his people. He arranged their future, but did not enter the Promised Land because of the lack of faith shown by him and his brother Aaron at the waters of Meribah in Kadesh. Moses struck the rock twice with his rod, and water flowed out of the rock, although once was enough - and God became angry and declared that neither he nor his brother Aaron would enter the Promised Land.

By nature, Moses was impatient and prone to anger, but through Divine education he became so humble that he became “the meekest of all people on earth.” In all his deeds and thoughts, he was guided by faith in the Almighty. In a sense, the fate of Moses is similar to the fate of the Old Testament itself, which through the desert of paganism brought the people of Israel to the New Testament and froze on its threshold. Moses died at the end of forty years of wandering on the top of Mount Nebo, from which he could see the promised land from afar - Palestine. God told him: “This is the land that I swore to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob... I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not enter it.”

He was 120 years old, but neither his vision was dull nor his strength exhausted. He spent 40 years in the palace of the Egyptian pharaoh, another 40 with flocks of sheep in the land of Midian, and the last 40 wandering at the head of the Israeli people in the Sinai desert. The Israelites commemorated the death of Moses with 30 days of mourning. His grave was hidden by God so that the Israeli people, who were inclined at that time towards paganism, would not make a cult out of it.

After Moses, the Jewish people, spiritually renewed in the desert, were led by his disciple, who led the Jews to the Promised Land. For forty years of wandering, not a single person remained alive who came out of Egypt with Moses, and who doubted God and worshiped the golden calf at Horeb. In this way, a truly new people was created, living according to the law given by God at Sinai.

Moses was also the first inspired writer. According to legend, he is the author of the books of the Bible - the Pentateuch as part of the Old Testament. Psalm 89, “The Prayer of Moses, the Man of God,” is also attributed to Moses.

Svetlana Finogenova

Where did Moses flee from and where did he walk through the desert for forty years?

Moses - Mu-sey. Where can one go who has become No-mind? Towards no-mind, or more correctly, into a state of no-mind, emptiness of mind.

Moses walked through the desert to the land of his ancestors. And what is the land of ancestors for a person, for any person? The primitive state of mind, where the Life Force and Wisdom form a single whole (see Fig. 102). This is the state of God, the state of universal love, which only God can possess. Moses - Mu-sey - walked towards a state of unity, this is the promised land.

Then it becomes clear where Moses left from. He left/fled from Egypt, and this is Zhi-pet - a Living Soul. Egypt in the Bible is meant to personify life on earth, in a fleshy body, and the goal of man is to break with the dense half-mind and turn into love, that is, to merge with no-mind/emptiness. When this happens, a person gains wisdom. In a divided state of mind, this state can never be achieved, so Moses left Egypt, walked in the desert for forty years, purified his mind until he came to the promised land, that is, until he gained reason.

Moses was pursued by Pharaoh and his soldiers. Pharaoh - taraon - tara-on- container-he (living soul). Pharaoh, I think, personifies the human body, the flesh with its feelings (soldiers) and mind. They are the ones who persecute anyone who wants to go out of the mind and become emptiness. And it is they who perish on the dark bottom, when the seeker descends into the kingdom of Veles. The mind dies, and in its place comes no-mind - emptiness and wisdom.

The words “When Moses fled from Egypt, he was pursued by Pharaoh and his soldiers” mean: “When Moses decided to part with the half-hearted mind in which he had lived until that moment, the body and five senses began to pursue him, trying to hold him.” When Moses sank to the deepest depths, the sea closed over them and they died.

Thus Moses attained the state of emptiness and no-mind. Here you ask a legitimate question: “But then he walked in the desert for forty years?” No, dear reader, it’s just the opposite. We are again dealing with a non-linear mind, when the past and future change places. Deciding to become no-mind and emptiness and setting out on the path of awakening the mind, Moses first purified his mind for forty years, and then the moment came when he sank to the bottom and his mind finally died there.

Another question. I always talk about a period of thirty years and three years, but why are we talking about forty years here? I think here we are dealing with an ancient layer of knowledge that existed before the Teachings of Christ. It was ruled by cycles seven and forty, the Bible is a book about life in the material world. But when the cycles Three, Nine and Thirty were discovered, then the Gospel appeared - the Good News and the New Testament/Way.

Important conclusion. In ancient times, modern Egypt could not be called Egypt, because everything in it was set up so that the “I” of a person - his mind - would die. The twelve main temples along the Nile represent the step-by-step dying of man's self and the transformation of man into god. The twelve labors of Hercules, which we will consider below, will show this very clearly to you.

It is interesting how the story of Moses affects our history.