Moses as a Hero

The Book of Exodus is interesting not only because it explains the origins of the Jewish law system, but because the main prophet Moses is the first traditional Romantic hero to emerge from the Bible. He manifests all the traits of a traditional hero. Like a romantic hero he possesses a constant and encumbering self-doubt that he must overcome. He stands up to great challenges, like confronting the Pharaoh and demanding the freedom of his people at the risk of his own life. And he wields his own weapon, the miraculous staff by which he channels all of God’s power. These elements give Moses traditional heroic status, but Moses also takes on the role of the religious priest. As God declares early on, Moses is God’s representative to the people, and Moses makes God’s relationship with the Israelites a personal one. Moses converses frequently with God in a manner more like friends than God and servant. Moses listens and relays God’s instructions to the people, prays and talks with God, and even calms God when he is angry with the Israelite people. Moses’s dialogue with God portrays God in softer, human terms—as someone who listens, grieves, and is actually capable of making rash decisions in the heat of emotion as often as changing his mind. This old testament god almost resembles the impulsive, imperfect Mesopotamian gods of more than the all-knowing, all-forgiving and perfect god of the New Testament.