Torah and Science
The First Name of Moses
Question
With the help of Heaven, greetings esteemed Rabbi, is it known if Moses had a name before being named Moses? Or is Moses his first name?
Thank you very much.
Answer
To the questioner,
The Midrash Rabba at the beginning of Parashat Vayikra (Leviticus) on the verse "And He called to Moses" says, 'Ten names were attributed to Moses: Yered, Chever, Yekutiel, Avigdor, Avi Sucot, Avi Zenuch, Tuvia, Shimaya, Levi, and Moses. Hashem said to Moses, 'By your life, of all the names you are called, I will only call you by the name that Batya, daughter of Pharaoh, called you.'
It seems that one of the other names mentioned there was for Moses, peace be upon him, prior to the name Moses, because it is explained in the Torah that at the time the name Moses was called, he was already three months old; and it seems that he had another name given to him by his house before his mother Yocheved, may she be remembered for good, placed him into the river in a basket.
Best regards,
Rabbi Nachum
