Looking at Exodus, the call of Moses (Ex 1-6)

PARASHA: “Shemot” (Names) Exodus 1:1-6:1


We enter into a new era, Jacob/Israel and Joseph are now in the past, yet their legacy continues, in “Am Yisrael” (The People of Israel).

”70 souls” entered Mitzraim (Egypt). It is interesting that the Hebrew word “Nefesh” is used for “souls” yet the word is in singular, but why? Is there a symbolism here? If we are to read this in the English, we would read; “70 soul entered Egypt”.

One could say that the word “Nefesh” (Soul) could refer to the whole “Family” of Israel as ONE (Echad) family unit, as we are ONE with Elohim, then all of Israel was ONE as well.

hundreds of years later, we have a few million Hebrews. There is a list in the beginning of Exodus of the “b'nei Israel” (the sons of Israel) and they had their children, and their children had children, etc. They remained in the area of “Goshen” along the Nile Delta, farming, raising cattle, probably a few became merchants, they adapted to the life in Egypt, got used to seeing Egyptian deities, probably understood spoken Egyptian. Who knows if many became “Egyptianized” did they bow down to the deities? Let's hope not.

How much did they retain about Adonai? El Shaddai? We don't know, but I am sure that the story of Joseph and how he brought his family to Egypt from Canaan was passed down from family to family. The story of the famine, and how Yosef preserved life in midst of the famine. So “B'nei Israel” multiplied, and the land was filled with the “B'nei Israel”, and now the Egyptians start to get nervous. In verse 8, problems start;

” And there arose a new king over Egypt who knew not Joseph” This new king had overthrown the Hyksos rulers, and did not personally know Yosef nor knew of his accomplishments to save Egypt. Some tradition says that in part, the Hebrews had become “Egyptianized” and failed to keep the memory of Yosef alive and what he did.

There are a few ideas of who it might have been. Some believer it might have been “Pharaoh Ahmose” the title “Pharaoh” is not the name, it is only a title which means “ruler”. It might have been “Ahmose” or even “Rameses II”. A little on Egyptian words and etymology, the Egyptian word “meses” or “mose” means “born of” so the name “Moshe” or “Moses” is similar to “meses” (born of) or (Taken from).

Since Moses was “Taken from the water, or from the river (The Nile). We ask what might have been the Egyptian name Moses used? The Egyptian word for “river” is “iteru” so, his name might have been “Iterumose” or “Iterumeses” (given ancient Egyptian entomology) There were many “Rameses” it means “Born of the god RA” “Ahmose” probably (born of “Ah”) “Thutmose” (born of the god Thut) and so on. So many pharaohs took on those names.

Also, the title “Pharaoh” is exactly that, a title, not a name. It comes from two Egyptian words; “per” and “o” “Per” = house, and “O” = great. So the title “pharaoh” means “of the Great House”

It would be like saying; “I am going to Washington D.C. to see the White House” What you are saying is that you are going to see the president, who “lives” in the White House.

The pharaoh of verse 8 is paranoid and thinks that the Israelites will join, perhaps with the Hittites, to over throw Egypt. It is said that “Senoset” the pharaoh that gave rise to power to Joseph was a foreign king, a “Semite” known as a “Hyksos king”, perhaps that was why he felt some kinship with Joseph. Now the slavery starts and the Hebrews (Egyptian word is “Hapiru”) are made slaves, and the good times are over.

Yet Elohim hears the cries of his people, and has selected the tribe of Levi, through a couple; Amran and Jochebed, to bring into the world, “Moshe” who would be a sort of “Mashiach” (like Yosef) to lead Israel OUT of Egypt, in God's appointed time. YHVH has a time for ALL THINGS, we cannot rush God's clock, it ticks slowly for us, yet it ticks out second by second and includes us all in the plan of things.

the throne of Egyptian probably changes, and the pharaohs continue to be paranoid, one develops a plan to “curb” the birth rate by killing the baby boys, according to the historian 'Ted Stewart' in his book “solving the Exodus Mystery” the pharaoh who ordered the death of the male infants was “Sesostris III” we see that Moshe is adopted by the daughter of this pharaoh.

At the time when Moshe grows up and is in the palace, being raised as a “prince of Egypt” and at the time, “retaining (inside) his Hebrew identity”. We remember that his kills an Egyptian in defending one of his own, the Pharaoh that sought his death was “Amenemhet III”. When Moshe fled and spent 40 years in Madian, upon returning, he faced the Pharaoh “Amenemhet IV” who was the Pharaoh of the Exodus, who pursued the Israelites through the Red Sea, (and didn't quite make it, receiving a very fatal water baptism). (T. Stewart, Solving the Exodus Mystery, http://www.biblediscoveries.com).

When Moshe fled, there is an interesting verse, 2:15, it says that “Moshe fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian (which is now Saudi Arabia). “And he sat down by a well" (a water well symbolizes life).

We can read scripture from a literal standpoint. Yes, Moshe fled and probably went East then South to get to the land of Midian. If he took that direct route (no one knows for sure) it would have been a 250-mile hike. We don’t know how many supplies he took with him,
how much water, etc, since he was on the run, pharaoh threatened to kill him. But he arrived might thirsty.

PIC: Summer sunrise. Some day soon, we will all rise to meet the "Son"


A well was a meeting point in those days, so he knew that people would be coming to get water. Sure enough, came Yitro’s daughters to get water and he was there to help and defend the damsels. Yet we need also to look at this from a derashic and symbolic standpoint. Moshe has made contact with the “well”. A water-well represents life. Moshe hangs on to life. One of Yeshua’s titles is “The Living Water”. We might look at that well symbolically as “Yeshua, the Well of Living Water (Yeshua, HaBeer Mayim Chayim)

Adonai had grace upon grace to Moshe, since he would be his instrument of redeeming Israel from Egyptian bondage. The word for “grace” is “Rachem” and “Rachamim” is the plural form; “a large and plentiful amount of grace” there is “Mayim” in “Rachamim” (spelled with the Hebrew letters) so grace is like plentiful water, and since Yeshua is the “Living Water” He is the author of “grace”. Moshe would be a “Messiah type” who would “take is people out” and that is meaning of the name “Moshe” (taken out of) so he would live up to his name.

He is something else interesting. How does Moshe represent The Messiah? The word “HaMashiach” is spelled in Hebrew; “Hey, Mem, Sheen, Yod, Chet” and the words “Moshe Chai” (Moses lives) have the “Same Letters!” “Mem, Sheen, Hey, Chet, Yod” in gematria, it equals “363”

When we add 3+6+3 = 12, which is the number of the tribes that Moshe led from bondage. 1+2=3, and “3” is the number which represent “Elohim” who led the people through the wilderness. So, we can conclude that “Moshe lives in Mashiach, and the Spirit of Mashiach lives in Moshe” He was guided by the Spirit of God for 120 years.

Matthew 2:15 states; “Out of Egypt I have called my son” Yeshua went down to Egypt with his parents to escape Herod, they spent some years there and then returned to Israel. Yet also Israel is the son, as he went to Egypt when he was old, and his bones were “carried out” yet Moshe also represents Israel as a nation, and Moshe went out with Israel, and since Moshe symbolizes Mashiach, then, the verse fits both parties (yet primarily, it fits Yeshua first).

This Parashah has so much that I wish to concentrate on the “Calling of Moshe” in chapter three of Shemot God calls to Moshe while he is taking care of Yitro's sheep near Mt. Sinai. A note to mention is that God prepares his servants beforehand, before sending them out on the mission fields, “Midian and the flocks of sheep” were the training grounds and subjects of his training, before leading out “Human sheep” to the land of Midian that “he now knew and was familiar with”