person · P0001

Moshe משה רבנו

The head of the mesorah. Received the Torah at Sinai and transmitted it to Yehoshua, beginning the chain of transmission this atlas traces. Prophet, lawgiver, and leader of the Exodus generation for forty years in the wilderness.

I. Who

Hebrew: משה רבנו
Also known as: Moshe Rabbenu, Moses
Era: bible

Transmitted the mesorah to: Yehoshua

II. When

Traditional: 2368–2488 AM (1393–1273 BCE by traditional reckoning)
Lifespan (traditional): ≈120 years
Precision: approximate

V. How do we know

Claim	Evidence	Confidence	Sources
Moshe received the Torah from Sinai and transmitted it to Yehoshua — the opening link of the chain of transmission. Confidence is for the chain as stated by the Mishnah.	rabbinic	★★★★★	Pirkei Avot 1:1
Died at 120 years old, "his eye undimmed and his vigor unabated"; buried in the land of Moav, his burial place unknown. Confidence is for what the biblical text states.	biblical	★★★★★	Devarim 34:5–7
Amram and Yocheved were his parents; Aharon and Miriam were his siblings.	biblical	★★★★★	Bemidbar 26:59
Tzipporah was his wife, and Gershom and Eliezer were their two named sons.	biblical	★★★★★	Shemot 18:2–4
After fleeing Pharaoh, he lived in Midian and married Tzipporah, a daughter of the priest of Midian.	biblical	★★★★★	Shemot 2:15–22
Devarim states that Moshe wrote down "this Torah" and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, and to Israel's elders. The verse explicitly attributes writing "this Torah" to Moshe; it does not by itself define the precise literary extent meant by that phrase.	biblical	★★★★★	Devarim 31:9
Traditional lifespan 2368–2488 AM per Seder Olam reckoning. Schematic traditional dating.	tradition reconstruction	★★☆☆☆	Seder Olam Rabbah (chronological framework)
There is no scholarly consensus dating Moshe, and no direct archaeological or contemporary external attestation of him; academic discussion centers on the literary and cultural context of the Exodus narratives. Stated as the scholarly situation, mirroring the atlas's treatment of other pre-monarchic figures. The map positions him by traditional chronology only.	reconstruction	★★★★★	Modern historical scholarship (survey literature on the Exodus tradition)
Moshe stands at the head of the semicha chain as its first ordainer, not as an ordinee: "Moshe Rabbenu ordained Yehoshua by hand... and likewise Moshe Rabbenu ordained the seventy elders and the Shechinah rested on them," all later ordination running "ish mipi ish" — person from person — back to his court. His own authority is direct from Sinai, so the atlas flags him traditional and draws no semicha_from edge into him.	rabbinic tradition	★★★★★	Rambam, Sanhedrin 4:1

Referenced by: Torah SheBaal Peh