Adell Doyle, age 15, of Casper, Wyo., for her question:

WHO WAS MOSES?

  Moses was the patriarch who led the Hebrews out of Egypt   and was their leader and lawgiver during their years of   wandering in the wilderness. The story of his life is told principally in the Old Testament books of Exodus and Deuteronomy.   According to the Old Testament, Moses was born in a part of   ancient Egypt. At that time the Hebrews were oppressed by the   Egyptian Pharaoh or ruler. 

Just before the birth of Moses, the Pharaoh ordered that   all Hebrew male infants be put to death. To save her child,   Moses' mother placed him in a basket made of papyrus and set it   floating on the Nile River. He was rescued by the Pharoah's   daughter, who brought the infant up as her own child.   When an adult, Moses fled from Egypt. He was a shepherd  until he was 80 years old. At this time the god of Hebrews, Yahweh, appeared to him in a burning bush and   commanded him to go back to Egypt and deliver his people from   their bondage.   Moses led the Hebrews out of Egypt. As they neared the Red   Sea, a hostile Egyptian army, dispatched by the Pharaoh, came   upon them from the rear. Moses stretched out his arm and the   Red Sea parted. The Hebrews crossed on the land, but when the   Egyptians tried to follow them, the water broke upon them and   they were drowned. Moses received the 10 Commandments, the fundamental law of the Hebrews, from Yahweh on the pinnacle of Mt. Sinai.

After 40 years of wandering in the wilderness under Moses' leadership and enduring many hardships, such as earthquakes, fires and wars, the Hebrews at last came to Canaan, in what was later Palestine. Moses was permitted by Yahweh to see Canaan, the promised land, from the top of Mount Pisgah (in Jordan), and then he died.

Before Moses died, he turned the leadership of his people over to Joshua. Moses was mourned by his grateful people and was honored ever afterwards. Although the dates of Moses' birth and death are hard to establish, many authorities say that the exodus took place in the 13th century B.C.

Besides being one of the most famous national leaders and lawgivers in history, Moses was reputedly the author of the first five books of the Old Testament, known collectively as the Pentateuch, and also of other parts of the Old Testament, including possibly the Book of Job. Scholars agree almost unanimously, however, that these books are the interwoven work of many authors.