The Old Testament tells about the life and deeds of many righteous prophets. Moses occupies a special place among them - it was he who predicted the birth of Jesus Christ and delivered the Jews from Egyptian oppression. In the creation of a number of miracles, he was helped by a special attribute known as the rod or staff of Moses. This artifact is shrouded in many secrets: where did it come from, where did it disappear after the death of the prophet, what did it look like and can it be found today? This article will talk about the staff and try to answer the most interesting questions.
The Origin of Moses
Moses was born at a time when the Jewish people were under Egyptian rule. According to legend, the Egyptian pharaohs forced them to do slave work and constantly controlled them through their overseers, who often did not consider Jewish slaves to be human.
As the years passed, the Pharaoh realized that there were too many Israelite slaves. So much so that the increased number of slaves began to threaten political stability and couldturn into an uprising and a coup. To maintain power, Ramses ordered all newborn Israeli boys to be drowned in the waters of the Nile. But not all mothers were able to find the strength to obey the cruel order. Moses' mother, Jochebed, was struck by the extraordinary beauty of her newborn son.
Not wanting to part with him, she hid him for three months, and then, when it was no longer possible to hide the child, she put him in a basket and took him to the banks of the Nile, trusting in the will of the gods. Moses' sister hid in the bush to see what would happen to her brother. By a happy coincidence, at that moment, the daughter of the pharaoh, who could not have children, went down to the river to swim.
When she saw the basket with the wonderful baby from which the light emanated, she immediately decided to take him to the palace and raise him as her child. The sister of Moses, who witnessed the rescue, came out of hiding and offered the princess his mother as a nurse for the baby. This is how the salvation of Moses happened, his reunion with his mother, and life began at the palace.
Moses grew up in the pharaoh's palace, guarded and loved as his own heir. Pharaoh Ramses himself often took him to his place to babysit an unusually beautiful and intelligent baby. One day this led to an accident that nearly killed Moses. Pharaoh, playing with the baby, who at that time was several years old, put him on his lap. The child, playing out, knocked nemes off Ramses' head - a special headdress symbolizing power. The priests immediately suspected evil, deciding that the babypretends to the crown, and gave the child a test of coal and diamonds, hoping that the child will want to play with precious stones, thereby demonstrating a craving for we alth and power and compromising himself.
Moses chose coals, burned himself and got an injury (burn of the sky), which deprived him of the ability to speak clearly for life.
Escape from Egypt
The boy grew up and noticed more and more injustice around. Once he even killed an Egyptian overseer. The Egyptian liked the wife of a Jewish slave and, having raped the woman, he decided to kill her husband in order to avoid publicity. There was a fight, during which they were caught by the adopted son of the pharaoh's daughter. Wishing to intercede for an innocent slave, he intervened in the battle and, as legend has it, uttered the name of the Lord, which killed the criminal. Pharaoh, having learned about this case, decided to get rid of his heir as soon as possible.
Of course, he didn't make this decision because of the overseer's death. It was also the fact that Moses was becoming an adult and began to pose a threat to the power of the pharaoh. More and more often, Ramses noticed a threat to himself in his named grandson and did not approve of his attitude towards the Jews.
Pharaoh sent mercenaries, but as soon as one of them brought his sword over the head of the future prophet, the blade crumbled into many pieces. The would-be killer and other mercenaries who witnessed this were immediately punished by God, losing their hearing or sight.
Realizing that the pharaoh would stop at nothing to destroy his once beloved grandson, and now a political opponent, Moses fled from Egypt. On the run,while on the neighboring land of Mediam with Egypt, he met a shepherd. A little later, he married his daughter. For forty years, Moses lived the life of an ordinary shepherd, helping his father-in-law take care of the flock. During this time, the affairs of the Jews in Egypt only got worse, but Moses did not know how to help his people.
The first miracle created by the staff
One day Moses, as usual, was tending sheep at the foot of Mount Horeb. Suddenly he heard a voice calling him. Looking around, Moses realized that the voice was coming from a burning thorn bush. It was also a miracle that the bush burned, but did not burn. The man guessed that this was how God addressed him, and answered the call. The Lord said that Moses was chosen to save the Jews from sorrow and take them to new lands. To do this, he must go to the pharaoh and ask him to free the Jews and release them into the desert. Moses was amazed: how can he speak with Pharaoh and lead people if he cannot speak well because of the sky deified in childhood?
The Lord assured Moses of the success of the case: his brother Aaron would speak on behalf of the prophet, and in order for the Jews to believe in a divine omen, God gave Moses the ability to work miracles: the staff of Moses, with which he went out to graze cattle, could turn into a snake. Another sign meant to convince the people of Moses' prophetic destiny was the sickness spots on his hands that could disappear.
So the rod of Moses was born, with which he will perform many miracles and free the Egyptian people.
Exodus of the Jews and the second miracle
As expected, Pharaoh did not want to let the Jewish people go. The miracles created by Moses - the staff-serpent and the disappearance of leprosy - did not convince the ruler of the shepherd's chosen by God. He stated that he had already seen such miracles from his priests. Then Moses spoke about the prophecy: 10 punishments in the form of diseases and pests will befall Egypt if the Jews are not released. Pharaoh did not believe the prophet and ordered Moses and his brother to get out of the palace.
But as soon as they left, the Nile filled with blood, people began to get sick and live in poverty, and the crop was destroyed by locusts. The tenth punishment was the death of all the firstborn in Egyptian families. Seeing the tears of his people, losing children and loved ones, dying from disease and hunger, the pharaoh called Moses and ordered him to gather all the Jews and go out into the desert in order to pray for the forgiveness of the Egyptian people. So the Jews received from the pharaoh the right to leave Egypt for a while. But Moses, now in charge of 600 Jewish men and their families, did not even think about returning.
So began the exodus from Egypt. People walked non-stop for several days and nights, and the Lord himself showed them the way. Pharaoh soon realized that the Jewish slaves would not want to go back, and sent his best army in pursuit of them. The Egyptian pursuers overtook the Jewish people as they approached the Red Sea. Caught in a dead end, people prepared to accept death, but God showed Moses the way to salvation. The prophet, at the command of the Lord, struck the shore with his staff - and the sea waters parted before the Jewish people. They were able to movesea, while before the Egyptians the water closed again.
Third miracle
After overcoming the depths of the sea, the Jews had a long and difficult journey through the desert. On the way, exhausted and tired people more than once showed cowardice, accusing Moses of lying and losing hope of salvation. The prophet turned to God for help every time. The Lord sent down food for the starving Jews, giving people manna from heaven. At the foot of Mount Horeb, the Jews began to ask for water. Then Moses struck the rock with his staff, and water flowed out of the cleft. When they got to Mount Sinai, God sent the Jews tablets of commandments that the Jews must follow.
The Fourth Miracle
The Jews wandered in the desert for forty years. During this time, many of those who left Egypt died. The people again murmured against the prophet because of thirst and hunger. And then the prophet again struck the rock with the rod to extract the water.
After several decades of wandering, it took for the people to believe in God and learn to follow the commandments, the Jews came to the Promised Land.
Fifth Use of the Wand
Some sources indicate that the staff of Moses was used five times. The last time the people suffered from thirst, the prophet struck the rock twice, doubting his words and God and wanting to get water as soon as possible. For such cowardice, the Lord sent him punishment: Moses himself did not reach Palestine, having died earlier. The Prophet only managed to see the Promised Land from afar.
The staff's influence on people
There is a legend according to which the commander Joshua turned to Moses for help before a difficult battle. The Prophet delivered a speech and also showed his staff to the soldiers. Through the power of the word coming from him, the troops felt a special inspiration and won the battle.
The origin of the staff
From the Old Testament it is known where the power that could work miracles came from in the staff - probably God himself endowed the staff with it when he appeared to Moses in the form of a flaming bush for the first time. But what was this artifact and where did Moses get it from? Now in Istanbul, the staff of Moses is exhibited in the Topkapi Palace. It is an ordinary shepherd's stick made of wood. But according to the sources, Moses did not make his staff himself. There is a legend in the Torah and in the Islamic tradition that Moses received his staff as a gift from his father-in-law Yitro.
The Secret of Yitro and the Staff
It would seem that everything is simple: the father-in-law gave Moses a staff. But was Yitro a simple shepherd? It turns out not. Yitro was a priest and adviser to the pharaoh, but, unlike other Egyptian nobility, he always took the side of the Jews, sympathizing with them.
One day the priest Yitro realized that the Egyptian polytheism is the wrong religion, and began to preach faith in Jehovah (God-father of Jesus Christ). He immediately announced to the people that he could no longer be a priest and told about his fabrications. The people were so stunned that they turned their backs on Yitro and his family, and he was forced to leave Egypt and lead the life of an ordinary shepherd. With him he took his priestly sceptres, symbols of divine power, one ofwhich he subsequently gave to Moses as a gift.
Divine Creation of the Staff of Moses
There is also a legend according to which the rod was created by God at the twilight of the sixth day of the creation of the world and then transferred to Adam. After the expulsion of Adam and Eve, the staff passed to the sons of Adam, and then somehow ended up with the Egyptian pharaohs, where he was noticed and asked for by the priest Yitro. Thus, we can talk about the divine origin of the artifact and the special idea of the Lord, according to which the staff returned to the sons of Jacob.
Appearance
We can only guess what this relic looked like. If we talk about the staff of Moses kept in the Topkapi Palace, then it is an ordinary shepherd's wooden staff with traces of knots. Many believers are skeptical that this item worked miracles. Only Istanbul tour guides have no doubts: the staff of Moses (pictured below), according to them, is the original, and this does not need proof.
You can imagine what the staff looked like, according to the legend preserved by the Jews and Muslims. Relying on the fact that Moses received this item from an Egyptian priest, we can conclude that the staff was probably a wooden or metal stick decorated with God's names and epithets - such wands were used in the rituals of Egyptian priests and depicted in paintings with Egyptian deities.
As an amulet, the Jews depict the staff of Moses in the form of a rod with drawings on the knobs and inscriptions of the religiouscharacter.
The mystery of the disappearance
Moses died before reaching Palestine, - so God punished him for the fact that the prophet was cowardly and doubted the correctness of his path. His grave was hidden by God so that the pagans could not make a cult from the grave of the prophet. Therefore, the place where Moses is buried remains unknown to this day.
At the same time, the place where the staff of Moses is located today has become a mystery. This gives rise to numerous theories and speculations.
Possible locations for the staff
Moses is one of the most important prophets of Christians, Jews and Muslims. Therefore, the rod with which he performed miracles is a revered shrine. But where is the staff of Moses now? According to one version, as already mentioned, it is kept in Turkey, in the Topkapi Palace Museum. It is not possible to find out whether the staff of Moses in Istanbul is genuine. There is also no consensus among believers on this matter.
You can also look at one of the variations of the sacred relic in Jordan. On Mount Nebo there is a sculpture symbolizing the first miracle - the transformation of a wand into a snake.
Thus, you can see two objects: a sculptural image and an allegedly genuine staff in the treasury of the Topkapi Palace. You can also look at the many paintings depicting the life and miracles performed by Moses. On them, the staff is most often braided with a snake, only occasionally it looks like an Egyptian priestly rod.
Reflection in culture
The staff of Moses is often present in the paintings with the prophet, where,as a rule, it is either a simple shepherd's stick, or resembles a sculpture from Mount Nebo.
The American cartoon "Prince of Egypt" tells about the life of the prophet. The wand is also depicted there as a simple stick used by shepherds.
In the popular TV series "Supernatural" the staff of Moses acts as an instrument of execution, an incredibly powerful weapon of heaven. With his help, the owner of the relic can send the so-called Egyptian executions on his enemies. Outwardly, this staff looks like a wooden cane with a handle.
