He supposed that his brothers would understand that God would deliver them by his hand, but they did not understand.

Acts 7:25

I stumbled across this while reading Stephen’s testimony to refresh my memory for another task. As God would have it, something caught the attention. This verse was a flashing neon sign that said, “Look at me!”

We know that Moses was chosen as the deliverer of Israel from Egypt. Stephen tells his audience that Moses knew his calling long before it was revealed to him by God. From where did Stephen get that idea?

In our small group, we are going through the book of Exodus verse-by-verse. In the part of the narrative to this point in Moses’ life, it is very difficult to even get a hint of that idea. That is, unless one pokes around the interactive of the Hebrew language and the cognates of the languages at the time.

It is intriguing to look into the origins of his name. In Hebrew, the name Moses is roughly spoken as Moshe. We get the terminal s from Greek language rules that do not allow a vowel to end a masculine proper noun.

Moshe

The underlying evidence is that whoever named Moses knew the Hebrew language well. The context in Exodus also provides some clue as to what the meaning of his name entails and how he received it.

Now a man of the house of Levi went and married a daughter of Levi. And the woman conceived and bore a son, and when she saw him, that he was a beautiful child, she hid him three months. When she could no longer hide him, she took for him a container made of bulrushes and daubed it with tar and with pitch. She then put the child in it and set it in the reeds by the river’s bank. Then his sister stood afar off so that she might know what would happen to him.

Exodus 2:1–4

Clearly, there is intrigue. A Levite couple bore a Levite son. It was at the time the Egyptians forced infanticide on the Israelis for fear of the strength in their growing numbers. The baby was put in the basket and sent into the river. His big sister Miriam watched to see what would happen to the infant.

The daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river while her maidens walked along by the river’s side, and when she saw the container among the reeds, she sent her maid, and she retrieved it. When she opened it, she saw the child. He was crying. She had compassion on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.”
Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call for you a nursing woman of the Hebrew women so that she may nurse the child for you?”
And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go.” So the young girl went and called the child’s mother.

Exodus 2:5–8

There is more here than meets the eye of the casual reader. Miriam had to be very close to all of this. As she watched the Egyptian princess’ handmaiden draw her brother from the water, she witnessed the compassion of the young woman. Perhaps that is what drew her. She was close enough that she would even suggest summoning a wet nurse for the new baby.

The princess wanted it to be so, and sent Miriam.

Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child away, and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him.

Exodus 2:9

It is the goodness of God that in such terrible circumstances when all Hebrew infants were brutally murdered, a mother was able to care for her own infant son and earn a paycheck for doing so. It is easy to see how God Himself lifts up motherhood and sees the importance of intimate bond between a mother and child.

Now the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses and said, “Because I drew him out of the water.”

Exodus 2:10

Moshe (Moses) would be under the care of his own mother until he was weaned. That would be somewhere between two and three years old. So now there is a bit of an understanding of the time that has elapsed until the naming of the child. The text says that the Egyptian princess names Moshe. The text also gives a hint to the meaning behind the name.

That is where the intrigue is. Moshe is more than just a name. Could it be that his Hebrew mother gave him his name?

The meaning of the name given in Exodus points to the Hebrew origin of the name. Exodus was written by Moshe. The text also hints at punnery. The meaning give makes it sound as if the word Moshe is passive in nature. Much like one drawn out (of the water.) To be etymologically correct, the word would be Mashuy. But the name Moshe has an active participle in it which changes it from passive to active. Thus the meaning of the name is one who draws (out of water.) Or better understood as the deliver.

Pharaoh’s daughter would Egyptianize the name with a cognate Mose. This word means child or offspring. In this way, Moshe’s name is prophetic. It is aligning directly from the promise given in Genesis 3:15 to the advent of Jesus. It is this (yet future) Child of the woman Who would be Deliverer.

It would be interesting to know if they had any idea of the eternal implications of what they were doing by living their own lives. Nevertheless, this is some tantalizing evidence that Moshe’s name pointed to him as deliverer of the Israelis long before God called him personally.

Mashah

The Egyptian princess claimed “I drew him out of the water.” This is in Exodus 2:10. The Hebrew word used for drew is mashah. That word is used only two more times in the Bible, both references are to being drawn out of the water.

He reached from on high and took me; He drew me out of mighty waters.

2 Samuel 22:17

He sent from above, He took me; He drew me out of many waters.

Psalm 18:16

My mind reels at how similar those two separate verses are. They connect the idea that the Deliverer draws one out of the water. Biblically, water is symbolic of chaos.

Mose

Perhaps the Egyptian Princess used the name Mose because she thought it conveyed a meaning similar to being drawn out of the water, not quite understanding the nuances of Hebrew. On the other hand, maybe it was more of a claim of her naturally giving birth. The Egyptian word Mose derives from a verb that means to give birth.

Unlike any other Egyptian name, Mose is missing a theophoric element. That is the idea that a name contains a salute to a god. In Egypt, Ramose means born of Ra. Thutmose is child of Thoth. Much in the same way Michael and Daniel end in El. Which salutes the One True God.

Moses

The name Moses is quite unique. I think that tends to validate Stephen’s assessment of what Moses knew when this happened:

In those days, when Moses was grown, he went out to his brothers and looked on their burdens; and he saw an Egyptian striking a Hebrew, one of his brothers. He looked this way and that way, and when he saw no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. When he went out the next day, two men of the Hebrews struggled with each other; and he said to him that did the wrong, “Why do you strike your companion?”
He said, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Moses feared and said, “Surely this thing is known.”

Exodus 2:11–14

Could it be that the impetus for Moses avenging that Israeli by killing the Egyptian be a hint that even at that time he foreknew of his role as deliverer of God’s people?

Stephen, moved by God, said Moses did know at that time.