Word Smith: Holy Moses

Word Smith: Holy Moses

Holy Moses …  interjection in English

1. (mildly blasphemous) expression of surprise, outrage, disgust, etc.

Synonyms

• For semantic relationships of this term, see Wow in the Thesaurus.

Addressing the people of Israel, Moses had prophesied:

“A profit like me will the Lord your God, raise up for you from among your own kinsmen; to him you shall listen.” (Dt 18:15)

The early Christian Evangelists, especially Matthew, were keen to underscore the fact that Jesus was truly “the new Moses” whose coming had been foretold by Moses himself.

Pierre-Marie Dumont [1] echoes those ancient proclamations when he writes today about Jesus as having a life and death full of allusions to Moses. As one can hear from the following recitation, the similarities between Moses and Jesus are striking. Listen as you read them aloud:

• Moses and Jesus were both born during the reign of an iniquitous king; both escaped a massacre of infants; both fasted for forty days in the desert before undertaking their mission.
• As a first sign, Moses transformed water into blood; Jesus changed water into wine, the sign of his blood poured out for us.
• Moses established twelve leaders of Israel and seventy elders; Jesus chose twelve Apostles and seventy disciples.
• Moses received the tablets of the Law on a mountain; Jesus proclaimed the new and eternal Law on a mountain.
• Moses fed his people with doves and manna; Jesus multiplied the loaves and fishes.
• Moses liberated the Hebrews from slavery; Jesus freed humanity from sin.
• Moses victoriously crossed the Red Sea with all of his people; Jesus victoriously crossed through death to new life with all humanity.

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References:

[1] Dumont, Pierre-Marie, “Jesus, the New Moses,” in The Magnificat Vol. 16, No. 13, March 2018.