Moses Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ==Etymology of name== [[File:Moses - Alta-Tadema.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|[[The Finding of Moses (Alma-Tadema painting)|''The Finding of Moses'']], painting by [[Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema]], 1904]] The [[Egyptian language|Egyptian]] root {{transliteration|egy|[[wikt:msj|msy]]}} ('child of') or ''mose'' has been considered as a possible etymology,{{sfn|Davies|2020|p=181}} arguably an abbreviation of a [[theophoric name]] with the god’s name omitted. The suffix mose appears in Egyptian pharaohs’ names like [[Thutmose]] ('born of [[Thoth]]') and [[Ramose]] ('born of [[Ra]]').<ref name="Hays">{{cite book |title=Hidden Riches: A Sourcebook for the Comparative Study of the Hebrew Bible and Ancient Near East |last=Hays |first=Christopher B. |publisher=[[Presbyterian Publishing Corporation|Presbyterian Publishing Corp]] |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-664-23701-1 |page=116 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r5W7BwAAQBAJ&pg=PA116}}</ref> One of the Egyptian names of [[Ramesses II|Ramesses]] was ''Ra-mesesu mari-Amon'', meaning “born of Ra, beloved of Amon” (he was also called ''Usermaatre [[Setepenre]],'' meaning “Keeper of light and harmony, strong in light, elect of Re”). However, the biblical scholar [[Kenneth Kitchen]] argued that this – or any Egyptian origin for the name – was unlikely, as the sounds in the Hebrew {{transliteration|hbo|m-š-h}} do not correspond to the pronunciation of Egyptian {{transliteration|egy|[[wikt:msj|msy]]}} in the relevant time period.<ref>Kenneth A. Kitchen, ''On the Reliability of the Old Testament'' (2003), pp. 296–97: "His name is widely held to be Egyptian, and its form is too often misinterpreted by biblical scholars. It is frequently equated with the Egyptian word 'ms' (Mose) meaning 'child', and stated to be an abbreviation of a name compounded with that of a deity whose name has been omitted. And indeed we have many Egyptians called Amen-mose, Ptah-mose, Ra-mose, Hor-mose, and so on. But this explanation is wrong. We also have very many Egyptians who were actually called just 'Mose', without omission of any particular deity. Most famous because of his family's long lawsuit in the middle-class scribe Mose (of the temple of Ptah at Memphis), under Ramesses II; but he had many homonyms. So, the omission-of-deity explanation is to be dismissed as wrong ... There is worse. The name of Moses is most likely not Egyptian in the first place! The sibilants do not match as they should, and this cannot be explained away. Overwhelmingly, Egyptian 's' appears as 's' (samekh) in Hebrew and West Semitic, while Hebrew and West Semitic 's' (samekh) appears as 'tj' in Egyptian. Conversely, Egyptian 'sh' = Hebrew 'sh', and vice versa. It is better to admit that the child was named (Exod 2:10b) by his own mother, in a form originally vocalized 'Mashu', 'one drawn out' (which became 'Moshe', 'he who draws out', i.e., his people from slavery, when he led them forth). In fourteenth/thirteenth-century Egypt, 'Mose' was actually pronounced 'Masu', and so it is perfectly possible that a young Hebrew Mashu was nicknamed Masu by his Egyptian companions; but this is a verbal pun, not a borrowing either way."</ref> Linguist [[Abraham Yahuda]], based on the spelling given in the [[Tanakh]], argues that it combines "water" or "seed" and "pond, expanse of water," thus yielding the sense of "child of the [[Nile]]" ({{transliteration|egy|[[wikt:mw|mw]]-[[wikt:š|š]]}}).<ref>Ulmer, Rivka. 2009. [https://books.google.com/books?id=wKH3qsGzlb0C&pg=PA269 ''Egyptian Cultural Icons in Midrash'']. [[Walter de Gruyter|de Gruyter]]. p. 269.</ref> The biblical account of Moses' birth provides him with a [[folk etymology]] to explain the ostensible meaning of his name.<ref name="Hays"/><ref>Naomi E. Pasachoff, Robert J. Littman (2005), [https://books.google.com/books?id=z4eaj09hscAC&pg=PA5 ''A Concise History of the Jewish People''], Rowman & Littlefield, p. 5.</ref> He is said to have received it from the [[Pharaoh's daughter (Exodus)|Pharaoh's daughter]]: "he became her son. She named him Moses [{{lang|hbo|מֹשֶׁה}}, {{transliteration|hbo|Mōše}}], saying, 'I drew him out [{{lang|hbo|מְשִׁיתִֽהוּ}}, {{transliteration|hbo|mǝšīṯīhū}}] of the water'."<ref>{{bibleverse|Exodus|2:10|HE}}</ref><ref name="Maciá">Maciá, Lorena Miralles. 2014. [https://books.google.com/books?id=AWMIBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA155 "Judaizing a Gentile Biblical Character through Fictive Biographical Reports: The Case of Bityah, Pharaoh's Daughter, Moses' Mother, according to Rabbinic Interpretations"]. pp. 145–175 in C. Cordoni and G. Langer (eds.), ''Narratology, Hermeneutics, and Midrash: Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Narratives from Late Antiquity through to Modern Times''. [[Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht]].</ref> This explanation links it to the [[Semitic languages|Semitic]] root {{lang|sem|משׁה}}, {{transliteration|sem|m-š-h}}, meaning "to draw out".<ref name="Maciá"/>{{sfn|Dozeman|2009|pp=81–82}} The eleventh-century [[Tosafot|Tosafist]] [[Isaac ben Asher ha-Levi|Isaac b. Asher haLevi]] noted that the princess names him the active participle 'drawer-out' ({{lang|hbo|מֹשֶׁה}}, {{transliteration|hbo|mōše}}), not the passive participle 'drawn-out' ({{lang|hbo|נִמְשֶׁה}}, {{transliteration|hbo|nīmše}}), in effect prophesying that Moses would draw others out (of Egypt); this has been accepted by some scholars.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Riva on Torah, Exodus 2:10:1|url=https://www.sefaria.org/Riva_on_Torah,_Exodus.2.10.1|access-date=2021-03-14|website=Sefaria}}</ref><ref name="Greifenhagen" /> The [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] etymology in the Biblical story may reflect an attempt to cancel out traces of Moses' [[Egyptians|Egyptian origins]].<ref name="Greifenhagen" /> The Egyptian character of his name was recognized as such by ancient Jewish writers like [[Philo]] and [[Josephus]].<ref name="Greifenhagen">Greifenhagen, Franz V. 2003. [https://books.google.com/books?id=r1evAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA63 ''Egypt on the Pentateuch's Ideological Map: Constructing Biblical Israel's Identity'']. Bloomsbury. pp. 60ff [62] n.65. [63].</ref> Philo linked Moses' name ({{Lang-grc|Μωϋσῆς|translit=Mōysēs|lit=Mōusḗs}}) to the Egyptian ([[Coptic language|Coptic]]) word for 'water' ({{transliteration|cop|möu}}, {{lang|cop|μῶυ}}), in reference to his finding in the Nile and the biblical [[folk etymology]].<ref group="note">{{Verse translation|lang=grc|εἶτα δίδωσιν ὄνομα θεμένη Μωυσῆν ἐτύμως διὰ τὸ ἐκ τοῦ ὕδατος αὐτὸν ἀνελέσθαι· τὸ γὰρ ὕδωρ μῶυ ὀνομάζουσιν Αἰγύπτιοι|"Since he had been taken up from the water, the princess gave him a name derived from this, and called him Moses, for Möu is the Egyptian word for water."|attr1=[[Philo of Alexandria]], ''De Vita Mosis'', I:4:17.|attr2=Colson, F. H., trans. 1935. ''On Abraham. On Joseph. On Moses'', (''[[Loeb Classical Library]]'' 289). Cambridge, Massachusetts: [[Harvard University Press]]. pp. 284–85.}}</ref> Josephus, in his ''[[Antiquities of the Jews]]'', claims that the second element, {{transliteration|hbo|-esês}}, meant 'those who are saved'. The problem of how an Egyptian princess (who, according to the Biblical account found in the book of [[Book of Exodus|Exodus]], gave him the name "Moses") could have known Hebrew puzzled medieval Jewish commentators like [[Abraham ibn Ezra]] and [[Hezekiah ben Manoah]]. Hezekiah suggested she either converted to the [[Judaism|Jewish]] religion or took a tip from [[Jochebed]] (Moses' mother).<ref name="Shurpin">Shurpin, Yehuda. [https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/5753263/jewish/Is-Moses-a-Jewish-or-Egyptian-Name.htm ''Is Moses a Jewish or Egyptian Name?'']. [[Chabad.org]].</ref><ref name="Salkin">Salkin, Jeffrey K. (2008). [https://books.google.com/books?id=-dzNOFuoEigC&pg=PA54 ''Righteous Gentiles in the Hebrew Bible: Ancient Role Models for Sacred Relationships'']. [[Jewish Lights Publishing|Jewish Lights]]. pp. 47ff [54].</ref><ref>Harris, Maurice D. 2012. [https://books.google.com/books?id=AhNNAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA23 ''Moses: A Stranger Among Us'']. [[Wipf and Stock]]. pp. 22–24.</ref> The Egyptian princess who named Moses is not named in the book of Exodus. However, she was known to Josephus as Thermutis (identified as Tharmuth),<ref name="Maciá"/> and some within Jewish tradition have tried to identify her with a "daughter of Pharaoh" in [[1 Chronicles]] 4:17 named [[Bithiah]],<ref name=scolnic>[[Benjamin Scolnic|Scolnic, Benjamin Edidin]]. 2005. [https://books.google.com/books?id=1afWPqclgHYC&pg=PA82 ''If the Egyptians Drowned in the Red Sea where are Pharaoh's Chariots?: Exploring the Historical Dimension of the Bible'']. [[University Press of America]]. p. 82.</ref> but others note that this is unlikely since there is no textual indication that this daughter of Pharaoh is the same one who named Moses.<ref name=scolnic /> Ibn Ezra gave two possibilities for the name of Moses: he believed that it was either a translation of the Egyptian name instead of a transliteration or that the Pharaoh's daughter was able to speak Hebrew.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Did Pharaoh's Daughter Name Moses? In Hebrew? |url=https://www.thetorah.com/article/did-pharaohs-daughter-name-moses-in-hebrew |access-date=2022-04-18 |website=TheTorah.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=What Was Moshe's Real Name? |url=https://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/627663/jewish/What-Was-Moshes-Real-Name.htm |first=Y. Eliezer |last=Danzinger |work=Chabad.org |date=2008-01-20<!-- Based on YAML metadata --> |access-date=5 May 2022}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page