Moses
About this date: The biblical sequence is clear, but proposed absolute dates and historical reconstructions differ.
Leads the Exodus and mediates Israel's covenant at Sinai.
Historical context
Exodus through Joshua follows deliverance from Egypt, covenant at Sinai, wilderness leadership, tabernacle service, and entry into the land. Historical reconstructions and absolute dates remain debated.
Key points
- Leads the Exodus and mediates Israel's covenant at Sinai.
- Primary reading: Exodus 2–20. Read the complete passage in its literary context.
- Follow the movement from deliverance to covenant and communal vocation while distinguishing the biblical account from debated historical reconstructions.
Scripture
- Exodus 2–20 — Principal biblical passage cluster for Moses; check the summary against the complete text.
Primary sources
Irenaeus writes in Against Heresies:
Irenaeus explicitly joins Moses's confession of God to the Father confessed by Christ.
the Maker of heaven and earth, whom also the prophets proclaimed — whom Christ, too, confesses as His Father
Passage context and translation
Irenaeus argues against Marcionite and other rival creator-gods by joining Moses's confession of the one God to Jesus's confession of the Father as Lord of heaven and earth.
Before the excerpt
Or shall it be (what is really the case)
After the excerpt
whom also the law announces, saying: Hear, O Israel; The Lord your God is one God?
Sources and further reading
- USCCB introduction to Exodus
Literary and historical introduction; not independent verification of every narrated event.