Tuesday 14 July 2009

Background

What's in a name? Often, more than we can imagine! This is oneof the fascinating and richly rewarding aspects of studying theHebrew Bible. The name given to the child 'Moses' is pregnant withmeaning.

And later, as the man he was to become, Moses became a figure ofreverence for Jews, Christians and Muslims. A renowned biblicalsceptic has referred to him as "the greatest man who neverlived"(!) But whether you believe in his existence or have doubts,Moses nevertheless remains one of the great figures in the humanfaith adventure.

As the verse above states, Pharaoh's daughter (Pharaoh = king ofEgypt) gave Moses his name (in Hebrew: Moshe) because she said, "Idrew him out of the water" (in Hebrew: meshihitu). In the Hebrewthere is a play on the words - a pun - but not in the current senseof a bad joke play on words. Instead, it is a play on words whichis infused with meaning. In the Hebrew account, the princessassumed that 'Moses' strictly referred to her act of pulling himfrom the river. Not so. For the Hebrew author(s), who wrote thisaccount long after it happened, Moses would be the one who 'pullsout' (moshe is an active verb) the Hebrew people from theirservitude in Egypt.

Little did the princess know - nor could she have imagined - thather relatively insignificant act of saving one Hebrew infant wouldresult in the saving act God would perform through him in savingthe Hebrew people from the tyranny of her father!

To Ponder

In our world, where thousands of children dieevery day of disease and malnourishment, we sometimes salve ourconsciences by thinking that they perhaps are better off andwouldn't have had the chance to live productive or happy livesanyway. What if Moses, child of a slave, had not been saved?

The Bible is filled with examples of God turningseemingly insignificant events into major turning points. If youever feel your daily routine has little meaning or significance, towhat extent might you benefit from reviewing it in light of theMoses story?