The Prefix To _____Moses’ Name
Exodus 2:10 The child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. And she named him Moses, and said, “Because I drew him out of the water.”
There is some misunderstanding within the Christian community (and potentially other faiths) with regard to how or why Moses got his name. I know this sounds like a really boring reason to journal but please stay with me because I think you will see that the truth behind it reveals something really incredible and Marvel comic awesome about God and His intentions for Moses… and you. Give me at least a few paragraphs before you move on. Of course now that you are committed, I have decided to do the rest of the journal in one solid paragraph; he smiled sarcastically.
Most of the confusion comes from the verse in Exodus itself. Not that the Scripture causes confusion but it was originally written in Hebrew and we miss some of the subtlety now that Moses’ name has been transliterated through Latin and/or Greek and then to English. I won’t go into all the details (because that part IS pretty boring) but suffice it to say that the name “Moses” does not only mean “to draw out of the water” like the verse insinuates. The Egyptian name “Mosheh” (Moses) sounds like the Hebrew word “mashah” which means “to draw out.” It is a sort of wordplay that would be like if I named my son “Juan” because he was my first child… get it? He is my first Juan?
Anyway, Moses’ name sounds like a Hebrew word that means “to draw out” but it does not only mean “to draw out” in this situation because his name is not reported as a Hebrew name. His name is an Egyptian name. He was named by his Egyptian guardian that drew him out of the water. Even if it was intended to be the Hebrew “Mashah” what people would have heard in Egypt was the Egyptian “Mosheh.” So what does “Moses” mean in Egyptian? I am glad you asked.
In the Egyptian language, “Moses” means “is born.” As simple as that. Moses= is born. So why is that significant? Wow, you are asking great questions today. That is significant because among the pharaohs they would often name themselves and their children using a variation of “moses” as a suffix. Perhaps you have heard of Rameses? Knowing what you know now about the Egyptian language can you figure out what his name means? Rameses means “Ra” (Egyptian god of the sun) “is born.” “Thutmose” means “Thoth” (Egyptian god of wisdom) “is born.” “Ahmoses” means “Iah” (Egyptian moon god) “is born.” So Moses is just the suffix of a name; ____ is born. Poor Moses, he seems to have never gotten the rest of his name. It would be like describing someone as ____ing. Not running, jumping or laughing but just ____ing. He was only ever half named; that must be why he had such temper.
But God loves naming things, so it would seem very fit that He Himself would give Moses a name or at the very least change Moses’ name so that he didn’t have to go all over the desert with this sorry Egyptian half label. Kids would probably pick on him and stuff. Well maybe God did give him a new name and we just missed it. As promised, this is where it gets interesting.
In Exodus 3:13-14 God is speaking to Moses at the burning bush and discussing all that this mission entails. Moses, ever questioning, says he is worried because as he goes to the sons of Israel and tells them that the God of their fathers sent him, they are likely to ask, “Who are you?” As he goes to Pharoah and tells him to let His people go, Pharoah will want to know under whose authority. God never flinches and tells Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
It is from these words “I AM” that the Hebrew people constructed the name of God now pronounced Yahweh. Did you see what just happened there? God just gave Moses a new name, not literally but through wordplay. He filled in the blank for Moses and gave a prefix to his suffix. Did you miss it? And it is important that God changed it just as He was commissioning Moses to go and set His people free from the Egyptian pharaoh and all of his gods. Let me help you out if you are still not able to stitch the pieces together.
From now on, whenever Moses was asked his name he would reply, “I AM Moses.” When the Hebrews hear Moses’ pleas with them to follow him away from Egypt, they will ask, “Why should we follow an Egyptian like you? Who are you anyway?” To which he will answer, “I AM Moses.” When pharaoh asks, “Who are you that I should pay you any mind?” Moses will answer, “I AM Moses.” God filled in his little blank and put His own covenant making name in place of the void. He is not “Ra”moses, or “Thut”moses, but rather he is “Yahweh”moses and more powerful than any Egyptian pharaoh or their made up gods. Kids won’t be making fun of him now! All of this and he is only a type of the Messiah to come. The Messiah will be the true Moses because in Him the full meaning of “I AM Moses” becomes “Yahweh is born.” Emmanual, God with us.
Read that last paragraph one more time just in case it hasn’t sunken in. I told you it would be worth it if you hung on for a minute! So whenever you go out there and no matter what opposing force you stand before, when they say “Who are you?” You put your hands on your hips, push out your chest and belt out “I AM Franklin!” Or “I AM Keisha!” and watch the cohorts draw back and fall to the ground just as they did when Jesus invoked the same name before choosing the cross (John 18:4-6). Even if you have never been proud of your name. Perhaps your parents tormented with the name of your 19th Century grandpa Ruchibard, but you have a fabulous banner if only you say boldly, “I AM Ruchibard!” Go get’em today Ruchibard, you serve an awesome God.
