“And Moses Will I Raise Up to Deliver Thy People out of the Land of Egypt”

Alan C. Miner

Although in 2 Nephi 3:10 it is the Lord that is speaking about "Moses" who he would raise up to deliver the people of Joseph out of Egypt, we should keep in mind that it was Joseph of Egypt who apparently wrote this prophecy down. Whether he personally inscribed these prophecies on the brass plates or whether someone transscribed them at a later time is not mentioned. Nevertheless, if they were written down by Joseph one might ask, Why was the name "Moses" and the details of what Moses would do not known to the people of Joseph and possibly to Pharaoh at the time of Moses' birth? Perhaps they were.

Although the king over Egypt "knew not Joseph" (Exodus 12:8), the Pharaoh was ordering all sons born to the Israelites to be killed (Genesis 1:15-22). Could these actions have been partly based on the fact that Moses' name and mission were made known to Pharaoh? Was Pharaoh reacting to prophecy in the same way Herod would order slaying of all children under the age of two in order to prevent Jesus from becoming King of the Jews? The Hebrew scriptures say that it was Pharaoh's daughter who "called his name Moses: and she said [that] because [she] drew him out of the water" (Exodus 2:10). Interestingly, the footnote for this verse in our present edition notes that the meaning of "Moses" in Egyptian was "To beget a child" and in Hebrew it was "To draw out." One might ask, did the Pharaoh's daughter intend to give her child an Egyptian name or a Hebrew name? And if it was an Egyptian name, why would the scriptures cite a Hebrew derivation? And if it was meant to be an Egyptian name, would the Pharaoh have recognized the double meaning of the name as it related to Joseph's prophecy? Interestingly, the idea of Moses' name being known well beforehand just as the idea of Jesus' name being known well beforehand has apparently been eliminated from the Hebrew scriptures. [Alan C. Miner, Personal Notes]

Step by Step Through the Book of Mormon: A Cultural Commentary

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