Pronunciation: MOH-zis
His Place Among the High Priests
Moses is tenth in the order of the 24 High Priest Communities. He is brother to the Rivers. His Watcher is Pawnel, “Face of God,” who teaches selflessness.
The Meaning of His Name
“According to the Exodus reading, the name Moses means to be drawn out of water. This meaning indicates his being taken out of the river by Pharaoh’s daughter. And it was a spiritual meaning that Moses was raised up and came out of the Living Water to walk with God. The name Moses describes who he is and defines his spiritual character” (Handbook p. 134). In Deuteronomy 33:5 “Moses is called the king in Jeshurun” (Moses p. 159).
His Birth Name, Nahaben
He was born Nahaben. His mother “had a baby son who she named Nahaben, which is to say the Son of the River.” When she prayed for him, “the Lord told her not to give the child away but to make him a basket of reeds and give him to the river, for he was a Son of the River, and in this way the Lord would save his life” (I Achee 4:12–13). Years later Aaron “told him that he was born with the name Nahaben, which means Son of the River” (I Achee 4:43; Moses 8:53). Enoch foresaw that “there shall be one called Nahaben who shall be prominent among the children of Abraham, who shall refuse to take the mark or support such practices, because he will know me” (Enoch, Bedal 15:42).
What He Established
Moses established the holy identities of nations. Through this, he allowed Christ to have the covenant, covenant communities, and nations — or, more simply said, to have covenant people.
What Moses Named the Lord
Moses named Him “The King of Kings” — declared before Pharaoh’s own court: “Would you show forth this day that the God of Israel is the King of Kings?”
The Burning Bush
Moses worshipped daily in his tabernacle, gazing toward the mountain named for the stream that fed it. His son Gershom was the one who first spotted the burning bush and ran to tell him. Moses and Zipporah went to see it together; it burned still that evening, and still through the night. Zipporah, afraid, prayed for him as he went out the next morning to see what it might mean. It was there the Lord answered him with the fuller name — Anokeesed, “I am lovingkindness.”
Where to Read
- Moses 8:122 (p. 268)
- I Achee 4:23 (p. 148)
- Handbook (p. 577)
- Melchizedek 12:58 (p. 460)
- Handbook p. 134
- Moses p. 159
- I Achee 4:12–13 (p. 145)
- I Achee 4:43 (p. 155)
- Moses 8:53 (p. 249)
- Enoch, Bedal 15:42 (p. 515)