The Child's Book About Moses

In Short

This anonymous nineteenth-century children's book recounts the biblical life and leadership of Moses. From his miraculous survival in infancy to his upbringing in the Egyptian court, his flight to Midian, and his divine call at the burning bush, the narrative traces the deliverance of the Hebrews from bondage. It describes the parting of the Red Sea, the provision of water from a rock, the establishment of the wilderness tabernacle, and the final view from Mount Nebo. The text has endured as a simple, didactic vehicle for early religious instruction.

The Story

The narrative opens in Egypt, where Pharaoh commands that every newborn Hebrew male be put to death. To save her child, Jochebed hides him for three months before placing him in a waterproofed ark of bulrushes among the reeds of the Nile. Discovered by Pharaoh's daughter, the weeping infant is adopted as a royal child, with his own mother hired as his nurse through the quick thinking of his sister, Miriam. Named Moses, he receives an Egyptian education. Years later, seeing an Egyptian taskmaster smite a Hebrew, Moses kills the oppressor in a fit of indignation and flees to Midian to work as a shepherd.

While tending flocks near Mount Sinai, Moses encounters a burning bush that is not consumed. God speaks from the flame, identifying Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and appoints Moses to lead the enslaved Hebrews out of Egypt into Canaan. Returning to Egypt, Moses guides his people toward the south-east in great haste. Pharaoh regrets releasing them and pursues the fleeing crowd with an army, cornering them at the Red Sea. Commanded by God, Moses stretches his rod over the water, parting it to allow the Hebrews safe passage. When the Egyptian army follows into the seabed, Moses stretches his rod again, and the returning waters drown them all.

Guided by a pillar of a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, the people travel through the wilderness for forty years. They sing songs of praise on the eastern shore, but soon begin to murmur when trials arise. At Kadesh, when the people complain of thirst, Moses strikes a rock with his rod at God's command, bringing forth water for the people and their cattle. Meanwhile, a sacred tabernacle is constructed for worship, and Aaron and his sons are consecrated as priests. Rebellion soon flares when Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and other chiefs challenge the authority of Moses and Aaron. When these men stand trial with censers of incense, the earth opens to swallow them and their families alive.

In the eleventh month of the fortieth year, Moses delivers a long exhortation urging the people to remain faithful to God. At the beginning of the twelfth month, he ascends Mount Nebo to look out over Canaan. There the servant of the Lord dies, and the Israelites mourn him in the plains of Moab for thirty days.

How It Unfolds

• The voyage begins: Jochebed hides her infant son in a pitch-lined basket among the reeds of the Nile after Pharaoh orders all Hebrew boys killed. Found by the royal princess, the child is adopted and named Moses, meaning one taken out of the water.
• The burning bush: After fleeing Egypt for killing an Egyptian taskmaster, Moses works as a shepherd in Midian until God calls to him from a miraculously unconsumed bush on Mount Sinai. Instructed to remove his shoes on holy ground, he accepts his divine mission to free his people.
• Through the sea: The Hebrews escape Egypt only to find Pharaoh's army pursuing them to the shores of the Red Sea. At God's command, Moses parts the waters with his rod for the Israelites, then closes them back over the pursuing Egyptian soldiers.
• The desert trial: A miraculous pillar of cloud and fire guides the wanderers through forty years in the wilderness. When thirst provokes complaints at Kadesh, water bursts from a struck rock, and later, rebels led by Korah are swallowed by the earth.
• The final view: After addressing the congregation in the final year of their journey, Moses climbs Mount Nebo to view the promised land. He dies there on the mountain, leaving the Israelites to mourn him for thirty days in the plain of Moab.

The People

• Moses wants to see his people delivered from cruel oppression and guided into faithful obedience to God. Standing in his way are the entrenched power of Pharaoh, the hostile wilderness, and the repeated murmurings and rebellions of the Hebrews themselves. He ends his life as a faithful servant of God, viewing Canaan from Mount Nebo before dying on the mountain.
• Jochebed wants to protect her newborn son from a violent death at the hands of Egyptian authorities. Her protective instincts are threatened by the decree of Pharaoh, leaving her to hide her child and eventually set him adrift in the Nile. Through Miriam's intervention, she is rewarded by being appointed as the child's nurse.
• Pharaoh wants to suppress the growing Hebrew population and maintain absolute control over his laborers. His power is challenged by the resistance of Moses and the direct intervention of God. He ends up drowned in the Red Sea alongside his army while pursuing the fleeing Israelites.
• Korah, Dathan, and Abiram want to challenge the leadership and authority of Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. Standing in their way is divine ordination, which they confront with arrogance and upbraiding. They end up swallowed alive when the earth opens beneath them by divine judgment.

In Its Own Voice

Moses was born in the year of the world 2433.

This opening sentence establishes the precise, traditional chronology that frames the historical account of the patriarch's life.

As Moses led his flocks one day near to the north or west side of Mount Sinai, the Lord Eappeared to him in a bush, burning but not consumed.

This description introduces the central turning point where the shepherd receives his divine commission.

At Kadesh, the Hebrews murmured because there was no water for them and their cattle.

This line highlights the recurring friction and doubt that characterize the Israelites' long journey through the desert.

What It's Really About

The book explores themes of divine providence, obedience, and the consequences of rebellion against established spiritual authority. It presents human history as a moral theater governed strictly by divine intervention, where deliverance from physical bondage requires steadfast faith rather than panic. The narrative uses the trials of the wilderness to argue that moral failures, arrogance, and murmuring invite immediate judgment, while faithfulness to God brings protection and ultimate peace. It also emphasizes the burden of leadership, showing how a single designated leader must mediate between an impatient population and divine law.

Why Read It Today

Readers interested in the history of children's literature, nineteenth-century educational publishing, or early Sunday school materials will find this a fascinating artifact. Reading it feels like stepping directly into a mid-nineteenth-century schoolroom or parlor, offering a glimpse into how moral lessons were packaged for young minds through simple, direct prose. Modern readers must contend with period attitudes that view dissent and rebellion through a lens of harsh, unsparing divine punishment, as well as a didactic tone that openly instructs the reader on proper religious behavior. Despite these dated elements, the concise storytelling captures the enduring mythic power of the Exodus narrative, leaving behind a stark impression of endurance, leadership, and a lifetime's journey coming to its close on the heights of Mount Nebo.