Customer Reviews

Moses: A Life

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Since there is no archeological evidence that Moses ever existed, author Jonathan Kirsch uses the words of the bible,together with modern biblical scholarship to re-create the great prophet who exists between the lines of scripture. Kirsch goes through each chapter of the bible beginning with the book of Exodus and ending with the book of Deuteronomy and shows where various traditions and counter-traditions might have intersected. He shows the Moses who is portrayed as a great hero by the "Deuteronomist" and the Moses whose role is diminished by the "Priestly source." He discusses virtually every theory including the theory that their were two Moses and the first was murdered! This is surely not the book to read if you are a bible literalist (or an Orthodox Jew) and I certainly don't agree with all his points, being partial to the biblical story myself. But Kirsch is a lively writer and it is an interesting read nonetheless, as is Kirsch's "King David".

This book focuses in on more then Moses' life. If it just did that, you wouldn't need to buy it, you could just read a Bible. Instead, in "Moses, A Life", the author discusses Moses' life, from the perspective of many different people. Some of these stories are funny, others shocking, but they were all educational and insightful

My favorite passage in this book was the fact that, apparently, in some Bibles it says that Moses has horns. The author relates an experience where someone was starring at him, looking for horns, because the author is Jewish. It strikes me as a very funny scene. Yet, at the same time, it is sad. Here was someone, who read the Bible and took it very seriously, apparently mislead by a bad translation. How many people may have been mislead about more serious parts of the Bible?

In truth, according to this author, the Bible says that Moses was marked by his talks with God. After Moses meet with God, Moses covered his face. People who saw his face were shocked. It was this experience that was translated as Moses having horns. I never knew that Moses had to keep his face covered and also never knew that others thought Moses had horns. As such, items like this made this book very interesting to me.

There are many other examples. Did you know that God tried to kill Moses after he picked him to be his spokeperson to the Pharoah? Did you know that some believe Moses was a prince of Ethiopia? Did you know that the Jewish leaders may have had a secret code, which was given to Moses by God? Otherwise, how did he prove, to them, that he was God's messenger?

If you like interesting facts like this, you will enjoy this book. If you, however, are looking for a religious book, this book may not be you. This is not a book on theology. It is a book about history or religious history. If that is the type of book you like, you will love Mose's, A Life. For these types of people, I recommend it.

At this time of year, many of us will dust off our video copy of DeMille's THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, prop our children in front of the tube, and bask in the glorious figure of Moses a la Hollywood.

But perhaps our time would be better spent getting to know the enigmatic figure presented in the Bible.

Jonathan Kirsch's book MOSES: A LIFE helps us to do just that. In clear prose, Kirsch attempts to knit together a portrait of one of the most influential figures in Western Culture...a figure who may not have even existed.

In so doing, Kirsch draws not only upon the Bible but also on other records related to the man credited with delivering God's Law. These sources include rabbinical literature as well as the writings of philosophers (Philo, Freud). While the result is not without its puzzles, the overall effect is that of understanding. It is perhaps fitting that Yahweh, the enigmatic God of the Hebrews, should pick as his messenger a man as complex and contradictory as himself.

Kirsch does not flinch from recounting these contradictions (nor does he allow sympathy for his subject to cloud the fact that no contemporary record of Moses--outside of the Bible--exists). Further, he is not above explaining some of the darker passages of Holy Writ--including God's attempted murder of the messenger he had just chosen to deliver his people (a truly bizarre and difficult passage). As a result, the popular myths about Moses fall. But what remains is a figure far more interesting.

Kirsch does assume that the reader is somewhat familiar with the J, E, P, D composition of the Pentatuch (a theory now widely accepted and explained very well in Friedman's WHO WROTE THE BIBLE?), and, at times, his examinations of rabbinical special pleading are tedious. But, overall, MOSES: A LIFE is a highly readable and interesting work, with much to offer for non-fundamentalist believers and non-believers alike.

As someone who was raised in a multi-faith home (Buddhist mother, Catholic father) and who was always intrigued by Cecil B. DeMille's rendition of Charlton Heston as Moses, as well as Ben Kingsley's and Burt Lancaster's respective title roles, I wanted to find something less Hollywood about my favorite biblical hero in written form. This book was it, and very thought-provoking. I didn't find it offensive, but instead, found it was something along the lines of a written History Channel biography about Moses. This book moved me so much, I gave it to an Islamic co-worker as a gift, because Moses does transcend all faiths and appeals to us all. This is the 2nd book I've purchased from this author. Another good read, Harlot By The Side of the Road is highly-recommended.

Objective and comprehensive. I enjoyed it as much if not more than his other work. Mr. Kirsch does not embellish Moses nor does he demean him. He makes him human. It is a biography compilled from numerous sources, rich in detail and broad in scope. The story of a man with all his human strenghs and weaknesses convinced by God to undertake a task he did not want and did not feel capable of.

This work might be objectionable and unsettling to the faith based, but read with an open mind it rewards the reader with insight and new appreciation. A great tale in every regard that can nurture your spirit
and reinforce your faith if read with an open heart and an open mind.

Kirsch has provided an excellent resource on Moses. He details the life of Moses from scripture, then highlighting it and detailing it with Rabbinical additions, apocryphal stories, and the latest scholarly research. If he had left it with that, this book would be a must for anyone who cares about any of the top three monotheistic religions, Judaism, Christianity, or Islam. But in his summing-up, Kirsch beats us over the head with his own sanctimonious preaching, criticizing points of view he apparently doesn't understand or want us to. His rambling and occasionally spiteful insights may be applauded by those who think of religions as toilet paper -- all brands are pretty much the same and what matters is not the brand but your choice thereof -- but sincere Jews, Christians, and Moslems who actually believe what they say they believe (which is the modern definition of an extremist) will find these self-righteous musings a slap in the face. As far as the writing, there's too little variety of language, and words like "complied" and "ranted" become monotonous. Otherwise, the book is a good resource for beginning a study of Moses; and one should locate and read his sources more thoroughly than this book itself, which should go on the shelf with dictionaries and concordances, books that are good to have around when you need them but which you don't need to read through.

This is a truly insightful book. Not only does it cover various sources in and around Moses's life, but it does so in an amazingly amicable prose. A definite must for everyone with any sense of theological thought.

I fished the book on tape from the bargain bin and hooked my Moby Dick! In much the same way as Branagh's Henry V changed my view of Shakespeare, Kirsch's Moses a Life changed my view of "Five Books of Moses".
How could such a powerful man of "history" to many really be one of the most mysterious? What about the horns? What about Moses' stammer, his covered face?
If you've ever watched the Ten Commandments more than 3 times you owe it to yourself to buy the tape or Kindle this puppy and enjoy the eye-opening ride.

The audio recording:
Jonathan Kirsch is an excellent writer: his "Harlot by the Side of the Road" is worth reading and re-reading, and the audio version of "Harlot" is pretty good. Hs "Moses: A Life" is a pretty good read, though not equal to the quality of "Harlot." But this review is about the AUDIO RECORDING as delivered by actor/reader Michael Gross. It is terrible.
Mr. Kirsch wrote the book for an adult readership, but Mr. Gross doesn't seem to know it: his delivery is slow and over-acted, as if he is reading (or telling) a fairy tale or children's bible story to pre-schoolers, or telling a bedtime story to a child of three or four years. It is irritating and insulting.
I have owned the audio recording of "Moses" for several years and, on at least three occasions, I have tried to listen to the recording. But I have never made it through Side One. I finally threw away the entire recording.
Read the book; it's well worth the time. Avoid the recording; it's terrible.

Moses: A Life is a book by Jonathan Kirsch, an author, attorney, and book review columnist. This book is an argument against who the biblical Moses was. As Kirsch states, "Yet much of what we think we know about Moses is simply made up, and much of what the Bible does say about him is left out of both sacred and secular art"(Moses: A Life, p.1). Kirsch seems to not believe that Moses was a real person and that what we are left with is the deep wonder of who the real Moses was, if he did exist. In the book, there are many accounts of the biblical Moses that may be never spoken of to the common sermon hearer. Examples are that "Moses is shown to act in timid and even cowardly ways, throw temper tantrums, dabble in magic, carry out purges and inquisitions and conduct wars of extermination, and talk back to God" (Moses: A Life p.2).
Unfortunately, Kirsch's book is filled with many mistakes in his argument. One of the problems is that Kirsch writes "It was Jethro, not Moses, who offered the very first sacrifice to Yahweh" (Moses: A Life p.8). This is incorrect. The Passover was the earlier sacrifice to Yahweh and it was done first by Moses and the Israelites. Next, Kirsch writes "According to a slightly revisionist reading of the Bible, Jethro was a sorcerer and Moses was his apprentice-an apprentice who eventually replaced his master" (Moses: A Life p.8, 9). There is no account in the Bible of Jethro, in any instance, being a worker of any magic or sorcery. Another poor sentence that Kirsch uses is "Only an eerie blood ritual performed by Moses' wife, Zipporah, managed to turn away the divine assault at the last moment and save his life" (Moses: A Life p.12) It seems to be neglected that all of the males of Abraham were to take part in the circumcision or be cut off from the people by divine judgment (Genesis 17 NASB). Here, Moses was saved from that judgment. Kirsch later states "And Moses wrote this law [torah], and delivered it unto the priests and the elders of Israel" (Moses: A Life p.14). Regrettably, Kirsch takes advantage of the meaning of the word torah. Torah can mean law and the Five Books of Moses. Here he uses the law form of torah to be used as the Five Books of Moses in this statement, thus taking a gain on the casual reader who is not carefully studying the text. It is not stated that Moses wrote the torah/five books. It is written that Moses wrote the torah/law. On the next page, Kirsch makes one more error before the reader. Moses' "father-in-law is identified as Reuel in one passage, Jethro in another, and Hobab in a third!" (Moses: A Life p.15). Again, after a quick study, the Bible reader will learn that Hobab is actually Jethro's son and not Jethro himself.
Later in chapter seven, Kirsch expresses disagreement with the amount of people that were apart of the Exodus journey. He comments that the number of Israelites is not accurate because two different number amounts are given. One of the numbers is given in Exodus 12:37 and a smaller number in the Song of Deborah in Judges 5:8. When reading the Bible though, the reader will take into account that by the time that the Israelites left the desert excursion, all of the adults, except Joshua and Caleb, had died, leaving a much smaller amount of people as noted in Judges. Sadly, these adults died because they would not believe Yahweh (Numbers 14:29). Furthermore in the chapter, Kirsch writes that Yahweh "would punish and humble the Egyptians in a display of divine flash-and-dazzle. God even went to the trouble of `hardening' Pharaoh's heart yet again to make sure that the Egyptians played their appointed role in the set-piece battle at the Red Sea" (Moses: A Life pgs. 184, 185). Here too, Kirsch is ignoring that Pharaoh, as head and sovereign of the Egyptians, repeatedly chose to disobey God's commands that were spoken through Moses and the plagues that ensued as a result. This continual defiance brought about the consequence of death. One reaps what one sows.
Afterward, in chapter twelve, Kirsch alludes that "Moses was now only a talismanic name and a faint memory, not a living presence" and "we find that Hosea could not bring himself to mention Moses by name when he recalled the events of the Exodus"(Moses: A Life p.360). Disappointingly, Kirsch uses the wrong verse. It is actually Hosea 12:13 that he means and in that verse, Hosea addresses Moses by his God-given title of prophet instead. The next inaccurate declaration that Kirsch makes is "and ultimately he is wholly discarded" (Moses: A Life p.360). Jonathan Kirsch does note that Moses is mentioned in Matthew 17:3, but he does not allow the reader to know that Moses is mentioned and referenced two more times in the Tanakh - Old Testament and seventy-seven times in the entire New Testament. A Bible reader may wonder what Kirsch means when he proclaims that Moses is "wholly discarded" after Hosea's words in light of this evidence.
Finally, in the next four paragraphs, Kirsch proclaims his own liberalistic beliefs. He wants the reader to view Moses as a dictating barbarian and also as a "kinder, gentler" man (Moses: A Life pgs. 362-363). Kirsch states that "some narrow-minded people rely on the Bible to condemn their fellow human beings for the most intimate aspects of their private lives" and "some zealots claim to find a warrant in biblical law for the maiming and murder of their fellow human beings" (Moses: A Life p.362). Because Kirsch is using the term Bible and referencing portions from the New Testament, it can be assumed that he is referring to those who call themselves Christians. Christians have no right or justification to condemn any person. Christians are called to love, as when Jesus Christ stated "love your neighbor as you love yourself" (Matthew 19:19 NASB). The Apostle Paul too, refers back to Jesus, when he writes "For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, `You shall Love your neighbor as yourself" (Galatians 5:14 NASB). Kirsch is seemingly trying to convince the reader that Christians are foolish for believing on the biblical text when speaking on or referring Moses. Christians are free from the Mosaic Law. This is stated several times by the Apostle Paul in his epistles. Examples are "you are not under law but under grace" (Romans 6:14 NASB) and "nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified" (Galatians 2:16 NASB). Lastly, Kirsch does not even attempt to mention the Muslim belief upon the existence of Moses, which is rather sad. The greatest part of the reading is on page 15, when Kirsch informs the reader "The image of Moses that emerges from the Bible itself is a mosaic of odd biographical fragments, and we cannot know with certainty which of these pieces of a life are authentic" (Moses: A Life p.15). Here the reader learns that the premise of Kirsch's work relies upon "a mosaic of odd biographical fragments". This is not a justifiable and logical approach for subjecting a reader. An author, attorney, and book review columnist, as Kirsch is, needs to consider this when creating a book to be sold to and read by the public.