The Prophet Like Mosheh
It is very difficult to imagine the picture which floated in Mosheh’s mind, when he urged the people to await a prophet like him, for he is speaking of a future state but in images drawn from his current world. What was in his mind when he uttered these words? And whose words were they indeed? It is the object of this work to seek the answers to these questions, as we will present to the readers a new approach so that they can have the confidence to delve into the meaning of Mosheh’s words: “a prophet like me”. Thus, it will be clear to the readers that in the preceding articles on the subject and in this one, we hope we have not left the question open as to the identity of that prophet. It would be therefore advantageous for the studious readers to study the matter in its entirety, as it is all explained in our commentaries in various places.
Prophecy is bestowed only upon individuals of strong characters in order to be drawn into the sublime concepts of heaven to comprehend and grasp them. Chosen for their missions, the prophets must not be overcome by their natural inclinations for they will be set apart for the work they have been called. When Ruach of the Eternal rests upon a prophet, the soul becomes transformed into a different person in order to understand the concepts of heaven, which he has never known before, as it was said about Shaul in 1Samuel 10:6: “The spirit of God will descend upon you, and you shall prophesy with them. And you will be transformed into a different person”.
There are levels of prophecy among the prophets, and none is called greater than another. The terms “major prophets” and “minor prophets” do not refer any greatness but to the volumes of their work. There were prophets who received prophetic revelations only in a visionary dream, as it is said in Numbers 12:6: “If there be a prophet among you, I the Eternal make Myself known to him in a vision, and I speak to him in a dream”. Some received the visions directly from the Supernal One, while others through messengers, as it was the case with the prophet Daniel. When any of the prophets prophesied, their physical strength became weak, they lost control over their faculties, as it is said in Genesis 15:12 about Avraham: “and a deep sleep fell upon Avram”, and about Daniel (Dan 10:8): “I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me; My appearance was horribly changed and I retained no strength”. All the prophets did not prophesy whenever they desired. Instead, they were selected to convey a message to the people at a certain time and moment.
What is important to understand is that when a vision or a dream was bestowed upon a prophet, it was given in metaphoric imagery or allegory, which were not meant to be taken literally by the careful readers. The interpretation of the imagery the prophet received was “projected” upon his mind so that he could comprehend its meaning. In some cases, however, even then the prophets could not grasp the imagery. For example, the imagery of the heavenly chariot in Ezekiel 1, similarly, the flying scroll the prophet saw in Zechariah 5 and the prophetic days whose meaning Daniel could not comprehend. At times, the visions were granted to the prophets with or without interpretations explaining them. Nevertheless, they were all metaphoric visions the prophets received in their minds which were not meant to be taken as literal images or physical objects. All the prophets of Israel were subjects to the above mentioned limitations to the level of their prophecy, with one exception: Mosheh. Mosheh was not like the other prophets; he was unique. In what way was Mosheh unique among the other prophets of Israel?
Rabbi Mosheh Ben Maimon aka Maimonides (1135-1204) is considered the greatest Jewish scholar of the Middle Ages, who codified Jewish law known as Mishneh Torah (Repetition of Torah). He is the one who also codified the 13 principles of faith, one of which is that the Eternal conveys prophecy to man. In his Mishneh Torah, Foundations of the Torah, Rabbi Mosheh Ben Maimon explains why Mosheh, our teacher and law giver, was different. As we said above, all other prophets received prophecies in dreams or visions directly or through the medium of messengers (angels), thus they perceived only metaphoric imagery. But not so for Mosheh, to whom the Eternal spoke while he was awake, as Numbers 7:89 states:
When Mosheh went into the Tent of Meeting to speak with Him, he heard the voice of One speaking to him from above the ark-cover that was on the ark of the Testimony, from between the two keruvim. Thus, He spoke to him.
The action verbs in “Mosheh went into” … “to speak with Him”, “he heard the voice” indicate that he was in a full alert cognitive state when he met the Eternal in the Tent of Meeting. There the Presence of the Eternal was manifested over the Tent, and the voice emanated from within it. These words demonstrate the great stature of Mosheh compared to all other prophets after him. Torah states “the voice” (with the definite article, meaning that it was the well-known voice, with which the Eternal spoke to him on Sinai. This communication between the Most High and a human was not a simple matter of speaking in the way humans speak. Maimonides comments in The Guide of the Perplexed that the Eternal does not literally speak which would involve sound waves and words as humans speak, but what was occurring between them was something much more complex and mysterious. Yet, He engaged in conversation with Mosheh as attested in Exodus 33:11: “Thus the Eternal spoke to Mosheh face to face, as a man speaks to his friend”. “Thus He spoke to him”: Mosheh talked with the Eternal while in full consciousness in which he was aware of himself and of the situation he was in. The Eternal Elohim and Mosheh spoke to each other without the medium of an angel, and without metaphors or allegories, as Numbers 12:8 states:
I speak with him mouth to mouth, and plainly, and not in dark speeches. And he sees the similitude of the Eternal.
Mosheh was in full consciousness perceiving the matter in its fullness. And while all other prophets were overawed and even terrified, the Eternal spoke to His prophet Mosheh “as a man speaks to a friend”, with no mediator between them. Unlike all other prophets, who could not prophesy whenever they so desired, Mosheh was in a constant contact with the Eternal; whenever they both desired, they talked. This is telling that there has never been any one equal to Mosheh in stature and character, or who had reached such respect as he.
In Foundations of the Torah, Maimonides comments that “if a prophet arises and attempts to dispute Mosheh’s prophecy by performing great signs and wonders, we should not listen to him. We know with certainty that he performed those signs through magic or sorcery”. “This conclusion is reached”, continues Maimonides, “because the prophecy of Mosheh, our teacher, is not dependent on wonders, so that we could compare these wonders, one against the other. Rather we saw and heard with our own eyes and ears as he did”. Why is Maimonides so firm in stating that? Because, the Torah remains forever without change, addition, or subtraction, as Deuteronomy 13:1 states: “All these matters which I command to you, you shall be careful to perform. You may not add to it or diminish from it”, likewise Deuteronomy 29:28: “What is revealed is for us and our children forever, to carry out all the words of this Torah” and it is also said elsewhere: “It is an everlasting statute for all your generations”. This teaches that a prophet cannot add a new law or change in any form the Torah that was given to Mosheh, who is the prophet of all prophets.
But if there is someone who will arise and perform a sign or wonder and even many signs and wonders, and then says that “God has sent him” to change the Torah or even worse to diminish it altogether, he is a false prophet, as we explained in the article Hebrew Words: Sign, Wonder, and Prophet on Deuteronomy 13. Such a “prophet” has come to deny the Word of the Eternal, and we should not even listen to him, for he was empowered to do perform such miracles and was sent by the Eternal to test us whether we will remain faithful to Him. Thus far Maimonides.
Now in Deuteronomy 18, Mosheh bade the people to wait a prophet like him, whom the Eternal would raise up for them from their midst, saying,
The Eternal your Elohim shall raise up for you a prophet like me from your midst, from your brothers. Listen to him, according to all you asked of the Eternal your Elohim in Horev in the day of the assembly, saying, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the Eternal my Elohim, nor let me see this great fire anymore, lest I die. (Deu 18:15-16)
Mosheh did not, like other prophets, speak in figure of speech. With these words Mosheh urged them to listen to this prophet, according to all they asked of the Eternal at Mount Horev when they witnessed the thunders, the lightning flashes, the voice of the shophar, the mountain smoking, and they heard the Eternal speaking to them the words of the Covenant. But they were very scared and trembled out of fear saying to Mosheh, “You speak with us and we hear, but let not Elohim speak with us, lest we die” (Exo 20:18-19). But Mosheh said to the people, “Do not fear, for Elohim has come to prove you, and in order that His fear be before you, so that you do not sin” (Exo 20:20). Had they chosen to just continue to listen to, they would have heard the warning in Exo 20:23 and would not have sinned by having made a gold image of the Eternal. Scripture goes on to say that the Eternal said to Mosheh in response to their request,
What they have spoken is good. I shall raise up for them a prophet like you out of the midst of their brothers. And I shall put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And it shall be, the man who does not listen to My words which he speaks in My Name, I require it of him. (Deu 18:18-19)
According to the plain meaning of the verses, these words were spoken to Mosheh here but at Sinai. Now in Deuteronomy, forty years later, Mosheh revealed them to the new generation reminding them of this event and telling them an important detail which their fathers did not know, namely, it was the Eternal who promised the coming of such a prophet. As it turns out, in Deuteronomy, the people heard for the first time that another prophet, a prophet like Mosheh, would come and he would speak the words given to him to speak. What is meant by the Eternal’s statement, “I shall raise up for them a prophet like you … And I shall put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him”? This prophet shall not come in the future to establish anything new or other than what the Eternal had already spoken to Mosheh and the people at Horev. But rather this prophet will require the people to fulfill the laws of the Torah and will teach them the laws and the statutes, as Mosheh taught them. Anyone who speaks and does otherwise is not the prophet the Eternal has promised, even if that person teaches Israel to neglect one yud or one tittle, or even worse to break the least commands in the Torah. The Eternal told Mosheh to convey this warning to the people that if they would not hearken to the words of that prophet, He would require it of them, meaning, “I will punish him for his refusal to listen to the words of My prophet”; all in accordance with the words the Eternal spoke to the last prophet Malachi,
Remember the Torah of Mosheh, My servant, which I commanded him in Horev for all Israel: the statues and the judgements. (Mal 3:22; 4:4 in the Christian Bibles)
In order to assure Israel that any future communication from the Eternal that would come to Israel, Mosheh told them that this prophet would convey the Torah to them in the same way he (Mosheh) conveyed it to Israel in the desert. Thus, the Eternal made it very clear through Mosheh and Malachi that the promised prophet would reiterate the Torah and its laws without additions or subtractions, as Mosheh had already conveyed them to them.
We find the following difference of opinion. Traditional commentators offer two interpretations of the passage in question. We will explain that these are not the only way to interpret the verse.
In the issue of “a prophet like you”, there is a common mistake made when it is asserted that this refers to any prophet. But in our opinion, there is no need for this, as we will cite several examples where the counterclaim is in the same verse as the claim. Some rabbis comment that “a prophet” refers to any prophet who would come after Mosheh, i.e., all future prophets of Israel. This is indeed a valid observation and a hint that corresponds to the matter, for indeed many prophets came out of their midst. But nevertheless, we do not agree with this opinion. In order to read it this way, the word navi, “prophet”, must be translated as if it says “prophets” which is not what it says. For instance, in English, “a man” or “a thing” are interchangeable with “any man” or “anything”, but not so in Hebrew. There is no equivalent Hebrew word to “any”, even though “any” is often used in translations. The closest Hebrew word to “any” is כּוֹל kol, which means the whole; hence all, any or every (in the singular only, but often in a plural sense), altogether, as many as, whatsoever. The word כּוֹל kol comes from the verb כָּלַל kalal, to complete, to make perfect. Hence, the meaning of כּוֹל kol: all, altogether. But this is not the word we find in Deuteronomy 18 either.
Rabbi Shlomo ben Yitzchak (Rashi), an early and influential medieval Torah and Talmud commentator, comments that “a prophet” means “from prophet to prophet throughout all ages”. But this is not sufficient, for it would have been proper for the Torah to make it explicit here, saying, “I shall raise up for them prophets like you”? Because, it would be natural to say “prophets” (plural) to avoid ambiguity, if that was the intention of the Scripture. Therefore, we may fairly conclude that the choice of word, “a prophet” in the singular, could not be accidental or casual.
Others, like the early rabbis Rabbeinu Bahya and Rabbi Chizkiah ben Manoach, offer a different interpretation from these verses. They say that Mosheh referred to Yehoshua the son of Nun, who indeed was a prophet and his disciple. Besides, the Eternal gave Yehoshua the leadership of the nation, and it was he who led them in the Promised Land. But we wonder! If this is what was meant and intended, why was there the necessity to say it the way it was said, since Yehoshua was known as a prophet, and that he had already been appointed to succeed Mosheh? If that were the case, the Torah could have said it plainly, “I shall raise up for them the prophet Yehoshua like you”. It is only with difficulty that we can obtain such a meaning from the passage in Deuteronomy 18. And because the Eternal Himself said “a prophet like you”, i.e., like Mosheh, we need to recall what is to be a prophet like Mosheh, namely, (1) a prophet who would speak the words and commands which the Eternal had already put in his mouth, the words and commands Mosheh spoke and (2) a prophet to whom the Eternal spoke not in dreams or visions, or through the medium of messengers, but directly face to face and mouth to mouth. Thus, the term “any prophet” or “from prophet to prophet” in that matter does not fit the historical narrative that the Eternal spoke to Yehoshua only through the medium of Urim and Tummim (see Numbers 27:18-22) and to all other prophets in visions and dreams. And even after Mosheh’s death, neither Yehoshua, nor the high priest or someone else after them were able to speak directly to the Eternal, as Mosheh. Mosheh was a unique prophet among all prophets.
The correct interpretation therefore appears to us to be that the prophet the Eternal promised to raise up was a prophet who indeed came in their midst. The main argument against this is that the Hebrew text does not say “the prophet” but “a prophet”, i.e., any prophet. But there was need for this argument, since the definite article ha, “the”, in ha-navi, denotes someone who had already been known to the people. And if such a prophet had indeed been known, what was the need for the whole promise in the first place? And since the prophecy has already been closed and sealed with the last prophet Malachi, this prophet must have been already raised up from the midst of Israel, and he must have spoken all the Eternal had told him to speak in fulfilment of what was prophesied through Mosheh. This prophet could not have been Yehoshua son of Nun, because to him the Eternal spoke through the Urim and Tummim, or any prophet after him.
We wonder: Who was that prophet the Eternal told us to await? At this endpoint in the discussion, it is necessary to understand why the rabbis may differ on who that prophet is, but they are in agreement in who that prophet is not. It is evident (based on our earlier sources) why a broad consensus has developed among the rabbis to reject what we have been defending in our endeavor to expose, namely, the secrets the ancient rabbis have kept from us concerning the prophet the Eternal promised to Israel. But even without this revelation from the Middle Ages concerning which we wrote about, the answer in this study could not have been made clearer than that.
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