Ark of Moses. A small boat or basket made of the papyrus, a reed which grows in the marshes of Egypt. It was covered with bitumen to make it water-tight.

Law of Moses. It will be the object of this article to give a brief analysis of the substance of this law, to point out its main principles, and to explain the position which it occupies in the progress of divine revelation. In order to do this the more clearly, it seems best to speak of the law, 1st. In relation to the past; 2nd. In its own intrinsic character. 1.(a) In reference to the past, it is all-important, for the proper understanding of the law, to remember its entire dependence on the Abrahamic covenant. See Gal. 3:17-24. That covenant had a twofold character. It contained the “spiritual promise” of the Messiah; but it contained also the temporal promises subsidiary to the former. (b) The nature of this relation of the law to the promise is clearly pointed out. The belief in God as the Redeemer of man, and the hope of his manifestation as such in the person of the Messiah, involved the belief that the Spiritual Power must be superior to all carnal obstructions, and that there was in man a spiritual element which could rule his life by communion with a spirit from above. But it involved also the idea of an antagonistic power of evil, from which man was to be redeemed, existing in each individual, and existing also in the world at large. (c) Nor is it less essential to remark the period of the history at which it was given. It marked and determined the transition of Israel from the condition of a tribe to that of a nation, and its definite assumption of a distinct position and office in the history of the world. (d) Yet, though new in its general conception, it was probably not wholly new in its materials. There must necessarily have been, before the law, commandments and revelations of a fragmentary character, under which Israel had hitherto grown up. So far therefore as they were consistent with the objects of the Jewish law, the customs of Palestine and the laws of Egypt would doubtless be traceable in the Mosaic system. (e) In close connection with, and almost in consequence of, this reference to antiquity, we find an accommodation of the law to the temper and circumstances of the Israelites, to which our Lord refers in the case of divorce, Matt. 19:7, 8, as necessarily interfering with its absolute perfection. In many cases it rather should be said to guide and modify existing usages than actually to sanction them; and the ignorance of their existence may lead to a conception of its ordinances not only erroneous, but actually the reverse of the truth. (f) In close connection with this subject we observe also the gradual process by which the law was revealed to the Israelites. In Ex. 19-23, in direct connection with the revelation from Mount Sinai, that which may be called the rough outline of the Mosaic law is given by God, solemnly recorded by Moses, and accepted by the people. In Ex. 25-31 there is a similar outline of the Mosaic ceremonial. On the basis of these it may be conceived that the fabric of the Mosaic system gradually grew up under the requirements of the time. The first revelation of the law in anything like a perfect form is found in the book of Deuteronomy. Yet even then the revelation was not final; it was the duty of the prophets to amend and explain it in special points, Ezek. 18, and to bring out more clearly its great principles.

2. In giving an analysis of the substance of the law, it will probably be better to treat it, as any other system of laws is usually treated, by dividing it into—I. Laws Civil; II. Laws Criminal; III. Laws Judicial and Constitutional; IV. Laws Ecclesiastical and Ceremonial.

I. LAWS CIVIL.

1. Laws of Persons.

(a) Father and Son.—The power of a father to be held sacred; cursing or smiting, Ex. 21:15, 17; Lev. 20:9, and stubborn and willful disobedience, to be considered capital crimes. But uncontrolled power of life and death was apparently refused to the father, and vested only in the congregation. Deut. 21:18-21. Right of the first-born to a double portion of the inheritance not to be set aside by partiality. Deut. 21:15-17. Inheritance by daughters to be allowed in default of sons, provided, Num. 27:6-8, comp. 36, that heiresses married in their own tribe. Daughters unmarried to be entirely dependent on their father. Num. 30:3-5.

(b) Husband and Wife.—The power of a husband to be so great that a wife could never be sui juris, or enter independently into any engagement, even before God. Num. 30:6-15. A widow or a divorced wife became independent, and did not again fall under her father's power. ver. 9 Divorce (for uncleanness) allowed, but to be formal and irrevocable. Deut. 24:1-4. Marriage within certain degrees forbidden. Lev. 18, etc. A slave wife, whether bought or captive, not to be actual property, nor to be sold; if ill-treated, to be ipso facto free. Ex. 21:7-9; Deut. 21:10-14. Slander against a wife's virginity to be punished by fine, and by deprival of power of divorce; on the other hand, ante-connubial uncleanness in her to be punished by death. Deut. 22:13-21. The raising up of seed (Levirate law) a formal right to be claimed by the widow, under pain of infamy, with a view to preservation of families. Deut. 25:5-10.

(c) Master and Slave.—Power of master so far limited that death under actual chastisement was punishable, Ex. 21:20; and maiming was to give liberty ipso facto. vs. 26, 27. The Hebrew slave to be freed at the sabbatical year, and provided with necessaries (his wife and children to go with only if they came to his master with him), unless by his own formal act he consented to be a perpetual slave. Ex. 21:1-6; Deut. 15:12-18. In any case, it would seem, to be freed at the jubilee, Lev. 25:10, with his children. If sold to a resident alien, to be always redeemable, at a price proportioned to the distance of the jubilee. Lev. 25:47-54. Foreign slaves to be held and inherited as property forever, Lev. 25:45, 46; and fugitive slaves from foreign nations not to be given up. Deut. 23:15.

(d) Strangers.—These seem never to have been sui juris, or able to protect themselves, and accordingly protection and kindness toward them are enjoined as a sacred duty. Ex. 22:21; Lev. 19:33, 34.

2. Law of Things.

(a) Laws of Land (and Property).—(1) All land to be the property of God alone, and its holders to be deemed his tenants. Lev. 25:23. (2) All sold land therefore to return to its original owners at the jubilee, and the price of sale to be calculated accordingly; and redemption on equitable terms to be allowed at all times. Lev. 25:25-27. A house sold to be redeemable within a year; and if not redeemed, to pass away altogether. ch. 25:29, 30. But the houses of the Levites, or those in unwalled villages, to be redeemable at all times, in the same way as land; and the Levitical suburbs to be inalienable. ch. 25:31-34. (3) Land or houses sanctified, or tithes, or unclean firstlings, to be capable of being redeemed, at six-fifths value (calculated according to the distance from the jubilee year by the priest); if devoted by the owner and unredeemed, to be hallowed at the jubilee forever, and given to the priests; if only by a possessor, to return to the owner at the jubilee. Lev. 27:14-34. (4) Inheritance.

(b) Laws of Debt.—(1) All debts (to an Israelite) to be released at the seventh (sabbatical) year; a blessing promised to obedience, and a curse on refusal to lend. Deut. 15:1-11. (2) Usury (from Israelites) not to be taken. Ex. 22:25-27; Deut. 23:19, 20. (3) Pledges not to be insolently or ruinously exacted. Deut. 24:6, 10-13, 17, 18.

(c) Taxation.—(1) Census-money, a poll-tax (of a half shekel), to be paid for the service of the tabernacle. Ex. 30:12-16. All spoil in war to be halved; of the combatants' half, one five-hundredth, of the people's, one fiftieth, to be paid for a “heave offering” to Jehovah. (2) Tithes.—(a) Tithes of all produce to be given for maintenance of the Levites. Num. 18:20-24. (Of this one tenth to be paid as a heave offering for maintenance of the priests. vs. 24-32.) (b) Second tithe to be bestowed in religious feasting and charity, either at the holy place or (every third year) at home. Deut. 14:22-28. (g) First-fruits of corn, wine, and oil (at least one sixtieth, generally one fortieth, for the priests) to be offered at Jerusalem, with a solemn declaration of dependence on God the King of Israel. Num. 18:12, 13; Deut. 26:1-15. Firstlings of clean beasts; the redemption money (five shekels) of man and (half shekel, or one shekel) of unclean beasts to be given to the priests after sacrifice. Num. 18:15-18. (3) Poor laws.—(a) Gleanings (in field or vineyard) to be a legal right of the poor. Lev. 19:9, 10; Deut. 24:19-22. (b) Slight trespass (eating on the spot) to be allowed as legal. Deut. 23:24, 25. (g) Second tithe (see 2 b) to be given in charity. (d) Wages to be paid day by day. Deut. 24:15. (4) Maintenance of priests. Num. 18:8-32. (a) Tenth of Levites' tithe. (See 2 a.) (b) The heave and wave offerings (breast and right shoulder of all peace offerings). (g) The meat and sin offerings, to be eaten solemnly and only in the holy place. (d) First-fruits and redemption money. (See 2 g.) (e) Price of all devoted things, unless specially given for a sacred service. A man's service, or that of his household, to be redeemed at 50 shekels for man, 30 for woman, 20 for boy, and 10 for girl.

II. LAWS CRIMINAL.

1. Offences against God (of the nature of treason.)

1st Command. Acknowledgment of false gods, Ex. 22:20, as e.g., Molech Lev. 20:1-5, and generally all idolatry Deut. 13; 17:2-5.

2nd Command. Witchcraft and false prophecy. Ex. 22:18; Deut. 18:9-22; Lev. 19:31.

3rd Command. Blasphemy. Lev. 24:15, 16.

4th Command. Sabbath-breaking. Num. 15:32, 36.

Punishment in all cases, death by stoning. Idolatrous cities to be utterly destroyed.

2. Offences against Man.

5th Command. Disobedience to or cursing or smiting of parents, Ex. 21:15, 17; Lev. 20:9; Deut. 21:18-21, to be punished by death by stoning, publicly adjudged and inflicted; so also of disobedience to the priests (as judges) or the Supreme Judge. Comp. 1 Kings 21:10-14 (Naboth); 2 Chron. 24:21 (Zechariah).

6th Command. (1) Murder to be punished by death without sanctuary or reprieve, or satisfaction. Ex. 21:12, 14; Deut. 19:11-13. Death of a slave, actually under the rod, to be punished. Ex. 21:20, 21. (2) Death by negligence to be punished by death. Ex. 21:28-30. (3) Accidental homicide: the avenger of blood to seek safety by flight to a city of refuge, there to remain till the death of the high priest. Num. 35:9-28; Deut. 4:41-43; 19:4-10. (4) Uncertain murder to be expiated by formal disavowal and sacrifice by the elders of the nearest city. Deut. 21:1-9. (5) Assault to be punished by lex talionis, or damages. Ex. 21:18, 19, 22-25; Lev. 24:19, 20.

7th Command. (1) Adultery to be punished by death of both offenders; the rape of a married or betrothed woman, by death of the offender. Deut. 22:13-27. (2) Rape or seduction of an unbetrothed virgin to be compensated by marriage, with dowry (50 shekels), and without power of divorce; or, if she be refused, by payment of full dowry. Ex. 22:16, 17; Deut. 22:28, 29. (3) Unlawful marriages (incestuous, etc.) to be punished, some by death, some by childlessness. Lev. 20.

8th Command. (1) Theft to be punished by fourfold or double restitution; a nocturnal robber might be slain as an outlaw. Ex. 22:1-4. (2) Trespass and injury of things lent to be compensated. Ex. 23:5-15. (3) Perversion of justice (by bribes, threats, etc.), and especially oppression of strangers, strictly forbidden. Ex. 22:9, etc. (4) Kidnapping to be punished by death. Deut. 24:7.

9th Command. False witness to be punished by lex talionis. Ex. 23:1-3; Deut. 19:16-21. Slander of a wife's chastity, by fine and loss of power of divorce. Deut. 22:18, 19.

A fuller consideration of the tables of the Ten Commandments is given elsewhere. [Ten Commandments.]

III. LAWS JUDICIAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL.

1. Jurisdiction.

(a) Local judges (generally Levites, as more skilled in the law) appointed, for ordinary matters, probably by the people with approbation of the supreme authority (as of Moses in the wilderness), Ex. 18:25; Deut. 1:15-18, through all the land. Deut. 16:18. (b) Appeal to the priests (at the holy place), or to the judge; their sentence final, and to be accepted under pain of death. See Deut. 17:8-13; comp. appeal to Moses, Ex. 18:26. (c) Two witnesses (at least) required in capital matters. Num. 35:30; Deut. 17:6, 7. (d) Punishment, except by special command, to be personal, and not to extend to the family. Deut. 24:16. Stripes allowed and limited, Deut. 25:1-3, so as to avoid outrage on the human frame. All this would be to a great extent set aside—1st. By the summary jurisdiction of the king, see 1 Sam. 22:11-19 (Saul); 2 Sam. 12:1-5; 14:4-11; 1 Kings 3:16-28, which extended even to the deposition of the high priest. 1 Sam. 22:17, 18; 1 Kings 2:26, 27. The practical difficulty of its being carried out is seen in 2 Sam. 15:2-6, and would lead of course to a certain delegation of his power. 2nd. By the appointment of the Seventy, Num. 11:24-30, with a solemn religious sanction. In later times there was a local sanhedrin of twenty-three in each city, and two such in Jerusalem, as well as the Great Sanhedrin, consisting of seventy members, besides the president, who was to be the high priest if duly qualified, and controlling even the king and high priest. The members were priest, scribes (Levites), and elders (of other tribes). A court of exactly this nature is noticed as appointed to supreme power by Jehoshaphat. See 2 Chron. 19:8-11.

2. Royal Power.

The king's power limited by the law, as written and formally accepted by the king; and directly forbidden to be despotic. Deut. 17:14-20; comp. 1 Sam. 10:25. Yet he had power of taxation (to one tenth) and of compulsory service, 1 Sam. 8:10-18, the declaration of war, 1 Sam. 11, etc. There are distinct traces of a “mutual contract,” 2 Sam. 5:3; a “league,” 2 Kings 11:17; the remonstrance with Rehoboam being clearly not extraordinary. 1 Kings 13:1-6.

The princes of the congregation.—The heads of the tribes, see Josh. 9:15, seem to have had authority under Joshua to act for the people, comp. 1 Chron. 27:16-22; and in the later times “the princes of Judah” seem to have had power to control both the king and the priests. See Jer. 26:10-24; 38:4, 5, etc.

3. Royal Revenue.

(1) Tenth of produce. (2) Domain land. 1 Chron. 27:26-29. Note confiscation of criminal's land. 1 Kings 21:15. (3) Bond service, 1 Kings 5:17, 18, chiefly on foreigners. 1 Kings 9:20-22; 2 Chron. 2:16, 17. (4) Flocks and herds. 1 Chron. 27:29-31. (5) Tributes (gifts) from foreign kings. (6) Commerce; especially in Solomon's time. 1 Kings 10:22, 29, etc.

IV. ECCLESIASTICAL AND CEREMONIAL LAW.

1 . Law of Sacrifice (considered as the sign and the appointed means of the union with God, on which the holiness of the people depended).

a. ordinary sacrifices.

(a) The whole burnt offering, Lev. 1, of the herd or the flock; to be offered continually, Ex. 29:38-42; and the fire on the altar never to be extinguished. Lev. 6:8-13.

(b) The meat offering, Lev. 2; 6:14-23, of flour, oil, and frankincense, unleavened and seasoned with salt.

(g) The peace offering, Lev. 3; 7:11-21, of the herd or the flock; either a thank offering or a vow or free-will offering.

(d) The sin offering or trespass offering. Lev. 4, 5, 6.

(a) For sins committed in ignorance. Lev. 4.

(b) For vows unwittingly made and broken, or uncleanness unwittingly contracted. Lev. 5.

(c) For sins wittingly committed. Lev. 6:1-7.

b. extraordinary sacrifices.

(a) At the consecration of priests. Lev. 8, 9.

(b) At the purification of women. Lev. 12.

(g) At the cleansing of lepers. Lev. 13, 14.

(d) On the great day of atonement. Lev. 16.

(e) On the great festivals. Lev. 23.

2 . Law of Holiness (arising from the union with God through sacrifice).

a. holiness of persons.

(a) Holiness of the whole people as “children of God,” Ex. 19:5, 6; Lev. 11-15, 17, 18; Deut. 14:1-21, shown in

(a) The dedication of the first-born, Ex. 13:2, 12, 13; 22:29, 30, etc.; and the offering of all firstlings and first-fruits. Deut. 26, etc.

(b) Distinction of clean and unclean food. Lev. 11; Deut. 14.

(c) Provision for purification. Lev. 12, 13, 14, 15; Deut. 23:1-14.

(d) Laws against disfigurement. Lev. 19:27; Deut. 14:1; comp. Deut. 25:3, against excessive scourging.

(e) Laws against unnatural marriages and lusts. Lev. 18, 20.

(b) Holiness of the priests (and Levites).

(a) Their consecration. Lev. 8, 9; Ex. 29.

(b) Their special qualifications and restrictions. Lev. 21, 22:1-9.

(c) Their rights, Deut. 18:1-6; Num. 18, and authority. Deut. 17:8-13.

b. holiness of places and things.

(a) The tabernacle with the ark, the vail, the altars, the laver, the priestly robes, etc. Ex. 25-28, 30.

(b) The holy place chosen for the permanent erection of the tabernacle, Deut. 12, 14:22-29, where only all sacrifices were to be offered and all tithes, first-fruits, vows, etc., to be given or eaten.

c. holiness of times.

(a) The Sabbath. Ex. 20:9-11; 23:12, etc.

(b) The sabbatical year. Ex. 23:10, 11; Lev. 25:1-7, etc.

(g) The year of jubilee. Lev. 25:8-16, etc.

(d) The passover. Ex. 12:3-27; Lev. 23:4, 5.

(e) The feast of weeks (pentecost). Lev. 23:15, etc.

(z) The feast of tabernacles. Lev. 23:33-43.

(h) The feast of trumpets. Lev. 23:23-25.

(q) The day of atonement. Lev. 23:26-32, etc.

Such is the substance of the Mosaic law. The leading principle of the whole is its theocratic character, its reference, that is, of all action and thoughts of men directly and immediately to the will of God. It follows from this that it is to be regarded not merely as a law, that is, a rule of conduct based on known truth and acknowledged authority, but also as a revelation of God's nature and his dispensations. But this theocratic character of the law depends necessarily on the belief in God, as not only the creator and sustainer of the world, but as, by special covenant, the head of the Jewish nation. This immediate reference to God as their king is clearly seen as the groundwork of their whole polity. From this theocratic nature of the law follow important deductions with regard to (a) the view which it takes of political society; (b) the extent of the scope of the law; (c) the penalties by which it is enforced; and (d) the character which it seeks to impress on the people. (a) The Mosaic law seeks the basis of its polity, first, in the absolute sovereignty of God; next, in the relationship of each individual to God, and through God to his countrymen. It is clear that such a doctrine, while it contracts none of the common theories, yet lies beneath them all. (b) The law, as proceeding directly from God and referring directly to him, is necessarily absolute in its supremacy and unlimited in its scope. It is supreme over the governors, as being only the delegates of the Lord, and therefore it is incompatible with any despotic authority in them. On the other hand, it is supreme over the governed, recognizing no inherent rights in the individual as prevailing against or limited the law. It regulated the whole life of an Israelite. His actions were rewarded and punished with great minuteness and strictness—and that according to the standard, not of their consequences but of their intrinsic morality. (c) The penalties and rewards by which the law is enforced are such as depend on the direct theocracy. With regard to individual actions, it may be noticed that, as generally some penalties are inflicted by the subordinate and some only by the supreme authority, so among the Israelites some penalties came from the hand of man, some directly from the providence of God. (d) But perhaps the most important consequence of the theocratic nature of the law was the peculiar character of goodness which it sought to impress on the people. The Mosaic law, beginning with piety as its first object, enforces most emphatically the purity essential to those who, by their union with God, have recovered the hope of intrinsic goodness, while it views righteousness and love rather as deductions from these than as independent objects. The appeal is not to any dignity of human nature, but to the obligations of communion with a holy God. The subordination, therefore, of this idea also to the religious idea is enforced; and so long as the due supremacy of the latter was preserved, all other duties would find their places in proper harmony.

Mo´ses (Heb. Môsheh, “drawn,” i.e., from the water; in the Coptic it means “saved from the water”), the legislator of the Jewish people, and in a certain sense the founder of the Jewish religion. The immediate pedigree of Moses is as follows:

The history of Moses naturally divides itself into three periods of 40 years each. Moses was born at Goshen, in Egypt, b.c. 1571. The story of his birth is thoroughly Egyptian in its scene. His mother made extraordinary efforts for his preservation from the general destruction of the male children of Israel. For three months the child was concealed in the house. Then his mother placed him in a small boat or basket of papyrus, closed against the water by bitumen. This was placed among the aquatic vegetation by the side of one of the canals of the Nile. The sister lingered to watch her brother's fate. The Egyptian princess, who, tradition says, was a childless wife, came down to bathe in the sacred river. Her attendant slaves followed her. She saw the basket in the flags, and despatched divers, who brought it. It was opened, and the cry of the child moved the princess to compassion. She determined to rear it as her own. The sister was at hand to recommend a Hebrew nurse, the child's own mother. Here was the first part of Moses' training—a training at home in the true religion, in faith in God, in the promises to his nation, in the life of a saint—a training which he never forgot, even amid the splendors and gilded sin of Pharaoh's court. The child was adopted by the princess. From this time for many years Moses must be considered as an Egyptian. In the Pentateuch this period is a blank, but in the New Testament he is represented as “learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians,” and as “mighty in words and deeds.” Acts 7:22. This was the second part of Moses' training.

The second period of Moses' life began when he was forty years old. Seeing the sufferings of his people, Moses determined to go to them as their helper, and made his great life-choice, “choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt.” Heb. 11:25, 26. Seeing an Israelite suffering the bastinado from an Egyptian, and thinking that they were alone, he slew the Egyptian, and buried the corpse in the sand. But the people soon showed themselves unfitted as yet to obtain their freedom, nor was Moses yet fitted to be their leader. He was compelled to leave Egypt when the slaying of the Egyptian became known, and he fled to the land of Midian, in the southern and southeastern part of the Sinai peninsula. There was a famous well (“the well,” Ex. 2:15) surrounded by tanks for the watering of the flocks of the Bedouin herdsmen. By this well the fugitive seated himself and watched the gathering of the sheep. There were the Arabian shepherds, and there were also seven maidens, whom the shepherds rudely drove away from the water. The chivalrous spirit which had already broken forth in behalf of his oppressed countrymen broke forth again in behalf of the distressed maidens. They returned unusually soon to their father, Jethro, and told him of their adventure. Moses, who up to this time had been “an Egyptian,” Ex. 2:19, now became for a time an Arabian. He married Zipporah, daughter of his host, to whom he also became the slave and shepherd. Ex. 2:21; 3:1. Here for forty years Moses communed with God and with nature, escaping from the false ideas taught him in Egypt, and sifting out the truths that were there. This was the third process of his training for his work; and from this training he learned infinitely more than from Egypt. Stanley well says, after enumerating what the Israelites derived from Egypt, that the contrast was always greater than the likeness. This process was completed when God met him on Horeb, appearing in a burning bush, and, communicating with him, appointed him to be the leader and deliverer of his people.

Now begins the third period of forty years in Moses' life. He meets Aaron, his next younger brother, whom God permitted to be the spokesman, and together they return to Goshen in Egypt. From this time the history of Moses is the history of Israel for the next forty years. Aaron spoke and acted for Moses, and was the permanent inheritor of the sacred staff of power. But Moses was the inspiring soul behind. He is incontestably the chief personage of the history, in a sense in which no one else is described before or since. He was led into a closer communion with the invisible world than was vouchsafed to any other in the Old Testament. There are two main characters in which he appears—as a leader and as a prophet. (1) As a leader, his life divides itself into the three epochs—the march to Sinai; the march from Sinai to Kadesh; and the conquest of the transjordanic kingdoms. On approaching Palestine the office of the leader becomes blended with that of the general or the conqueror. By Moses the spies were sent to explore the country. Against his advice took place the first disastrous battle at Hormah. To his guidance is ascribed the circuitous route by which the nation approached Palestine from the east, and to his generalship the two successful campaigns in which Sihon and Og were defeated. The narrative is told so briefly that we are in danger of forgetting that at this last stage of his life Moses must have been as much a conqueror and victorious soldier as was Joshua. (2) His character as a prophet is, from the nature of the case, more distinctly brought out. He is the first as he is the greatest example of a prophet in the Old Testament. His brother and sister were both endowed with prophetic gifts. The seventy elders, and Eldad and Medad also, all “prophesied.” Num. 11:25-27. But Moses rose high above all these. With him the divine revelations were made “mouth to mouth.” Num. 12:8. Of the special modes of this more direct communication, four great examples are given, corresponding to four critical epochs in his historical career. (a) The appearance of the divine presence in the flaming acacia tree. Ex. 3:2-6. (b) In the giving of the law from Mount Sinai, the outward form of the revelation was a thick darkness as of a thunder-cloud, out of which proceeded a voice. Ex. 19:19; 20:21. On two occasions he is described as having penetrated within the darkness. Ex. 24:18; 34:28. (c) It was nearly at the close of these communications in the mountains of Sinai that an especial revelation of God was made to him personally. Ex. 33:21, 22; 34:5, 6, 7. God passed before him. (d) The fourth mode of divine manifestation was that which is described as beginning at this juncture, and which was maintained with more or less continuity through the rest of his career. Ex. 33:7. It was the communication with God in the tabernacle from out the pillar of cloud and fire. There is another form of Moses' prophetic gift, viz., the poetical form of composition which characterizes the Jewish prophecy generally. These poetical utterances are—

1. “The song which Moses and the children of Israel sung” (after the passage of the Red Sea). Ex. 15:1-19. 2. A fragment of a warsong against Amalek. Ex. 17:16. 3. A fragment of a lyrical burst of indignation. Ex. 32:18. 4. The fragments of warsongs, probably from either him or his immediate prophetic followers, in Num. 21:14, 15, 27-30, preserved in the “book of the wars of Jehovah,” Num. 21:14; and the address to the well. ch. 21:16, 17, 18. 5. The song of Moses, Deut. 32:1-43, setting forth the greatness and the failings of Israel. 6. The blessing of Moses on the tribes. Deut. 33:1-29. 7. The 90th Psalm, “A prayer of Moses, the man of God.” The title, like all the titles of the psalms, is of doubtful authority, and the psalm has often been referred to a later author.

Character.—The prophetic office of Moses can only be fully considered in connection with his whole character and appearance. Hos. 12:13. He was in a sense peculiar to himself the founder and representative of his people; and in accordance with this complete identification of himself with his nation is the only strong personal trait which we are able to gather from his history. Num. 12:3. The word “meek” is hardly an adequate reading of the Hebrew term, which should be rather “much enduring.” It represents what we should now designate by the word “disinterested.” All that is told of him indicates a withdrawal of himself, a preference of the cause of his nation to his own interests, which makes him the most complete example of Jewish patriotism. (He was especially a man of prayer and of faith, of wisdom, courage, and patience.) In exact conformity with his life is the account of his end. The book of Deuteronomy describes, and is, the long last farewell of the prophet to his people. This takes place on the first day of the eleventh month of the fortieth year of the wanderings, in the plains of Moab. Deut. 1:3, 5. Moses is described as 120 years of age, but with his sight and his freshness of strength unabated. Deut. 34:7. Joshua is appointed his successor. The law is written out and ordered to be deposited in the ark. ch. 31. The song and the blessing of the tribes conclude the farewell. chs. 32, 33. And then comes the mysterious close. He is told that he is to see the good land beyond the Jordan, but not to possess it himself. He ascends the mount of Pisgah and stands on Nebo, one of its summits, and surveys the four great masses of Palestine west of the Jordan, so far as it can be discerned from that height. The view has passed into a proverb for all nations. “So Moses the servant of Jehovah died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of Jehovah. And he buried him in a ‘ravine' in the land of Moab, ‘before' Beth-peor: but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day… . And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days.” Deut. 34:5, 6, 8. This is all that is said in the sacred record. (This burial was thus hidden probably—(1) To preserve his grave from idolatrous worship or superstitious reverence; and (2) Because it may be that God did not intend to leave his body to corruption, but to prepare it, as he did the body of Elijah, so that Moses could in his spiritual body meet Christ, together with Elijah, on the mount of transfiguration.)

Moses is spoken of as a likeness of Christ; and as this is a point of view which has been almost lost in the Church, compared with the more familiar comparisons of Christ to Adam, David, Joshua, and yet has as firm a basis in fact as any of them, it may be well to draw it out in detail. (1) Moses is, as it would seem, the only character of the Old Testament to whom Christ expressly likens himself: “Moses wrote of me.” John 5:46. It suggests three main points of likeness: (a) Christ was, like Moses, the great prophet of the people—the last, as Moses was the first. (b) Christ, like Moses, is a lawgiver: “Him shall ye hear.” (c) Christ, like Moses, was a prophet out of the midst of the nation, “from their brethren.” As Moses was the entire representative of his people, feeling for them more than for himself, absorbed in their interests, hopes and fears, so, with reverence be it said, was Christ. (2) In Heb. 3:1-19; 12:24-29; Acts 7:37, Christ is described, though more obscurely, as the Moses of the new dispensation—as the apostle or messenger or mediator of God to the people—as the controller and leader of the flock or household of God. (3) The details of their lives are sometimes, though not often, compared. Acts 7:24-28, 35. In Jude 9 is an allusion to an altercation between Michael and Satan over the body of Moses. It probably refers to a lost apocryphal book, mentioned by Origen, called the “Ascension” or “Assumption of Moses.” Respecting the books of Moses, see Pentateuch.