Childhood

             When Moses was born Pharaoh commanded all male Hebrew children, to be killed by drowning in the Nile river. They concealed Moses for three months. When Moses' mother was finally unable to hide him she put in a basket and sent it adrift in the Nile river. Moses' sister, Miriam, observed the progress of the tiny boat until it reached a place where Pharaoh's daughter was bathing. She decided to take the baby as her own, then Miriam came out of the bushes and said that her mom could nurse the baby.

Shepherd in Midian

             After Moses had reached adulthood, he went to see his brethren, who were enslaved by the Egyptians. Upon seeing an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, Moses killed the Egyptian and buried the body in the sand, supposing that no one who knew about the incident nor would talk about it. The next day, seeing two Hebrews quarreling, Moses tried to separate them, when the Hebrew taunted Moses for slaying the Egyptian. Moses soon discovered from a higher source that the affair was known, and that Pharaoh was likely to put him to death for it. As a result, he made his escape over the Sinai Peninsula.

             He stopped at a well, where he protected seven shepherdesses from a group of rude shepherds. The shepherdesses' father, Hobab, a priest of Midian, was immensely grateful for this assistance. Moses had given his daughters, and Hobab adopted him as his son. His daughter Zipporah was offered to Moses in marriage, and Moses was made the superintendent of Hobab's herds. For forty years Moses following the occupation of a shepherd, during which time his son Gershom was born. One day, Moses led his flock to Mount Horeb. At Mount Horeb, he saw a burning bush that would not be consumed. When he turned aside to look more closely at the marvel, God spoke to him from the bush, revealing His name to Moses.

The Plagues

             God commanded Moses to travel to Egypt and deliver his fellow Hebrews from bondage. God had Moses practice transforming his rod into a serpent and inflicting and healing leprosy, and told him that he could also pour river water on dry land to change the water to blood. Moses then set off for Egypt. He was met on the way by his elder brother, Aaron. and gained a hearing with his kin after they returned to Egypt. They believed Moses and Aaron after they saw the signs that were performed in the midst of the Israelite assembly. It is also revealed that during Moses' absence, the old Pharaoh had died, and been replaced by a new Pharaoh.

             Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and told him that the Lord God of Israel wanted Pharaoh to permit the Israelites to celebrate a feast in the wilderness. Pharaoh replied that he did not know their God and would not permit The people to celebrate the feast. He upbraided Moses and Aaron and made the Israelites find their own straw needed to make the bricks required by their servitude, besides meeting the same daily quota of bricks. Moses then began a series of plagues meant to cause Pharoah's ruin. The final plague was the slaying of the male first-born in an Egyptian family. These feats led to Pharoah's agreement to free the Israelites.

The Crossing of the Red Sea

             Moses led his people eastward, beginning the long journey to Canaan. The procession moved slowly, and they found it necessary to encamp three times before passing the Egyptian frontier. Meanwhile, Pharaoh had a change of heart, and sent his troops in pursuit of the refugees. Shut in between the Egyptian army and the sea, the Israelites despaired. God divided the waters so that they passed safely across on dry ground, but crushed the army as it pursued them into the water bed.

Moses

Summary