An Historical Perspective for the Book of Mormon ~ Moses

Moses

 

 

After Joseph’s death, pharaohs rose to power who did not like the idea of so many Israelites in Egypt and so they put them into slavery for hundreds of years.  Finally a deliverer was born into the tribe of Levi (another of Jacob’s sons).  Cecil B. DeMille did a great job of portraying this Bible story in his movie The Ten Commandments. Moses freed the Israelite slaves and after 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, brought them to the land which had been promised to their forefathers.

Each tribe was given a land inheritance except for the tribe of Levi – Moses’ own tribe.  The Levites were called to be the ministers in Israel – beginning with Moses’ brother Aaron and his sons – and they were given their inheritance among all the tribes.  You will not see a land for Levi on the above map.  In the beginning, the Israelites existed as a confederation of tribes governed by judges.  They had wars and disputes with their neighbors, sometimes winning and sometimes losing, but they were not a great military or political power in the Middle East - until the reign of King David.  David's was the golden age of the Kingdom of Israel, never to be repeated.  By the time his son, Solomon was on the throne, seeds of dissension were already sown.

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Text copyright June 2013 Gebara Education 

Picture of Moses from www.lds.org 

Map of Israel from www.israelmessiah.com