Image Details

Mordechai Beck

The shepherd Moses protectively clasps a sheep in his arms, in a print by contemporary Israeli artist Mordechai Beck. In the Book of Exodus, Moses begins his adult life caring for the flocks belonging to the family of his wife Zipporah. When his life story ends in Deuteronomy, he is still a shepherd of sorts, but one who cares for a much greater flock—the people of Israel.

In the accompanying article, author J. Daniel Hays suggests that to truly learn who Moses was, we must read his story from Exodus through Deuteronomy as a narrative whole, and we must weigh his public career together with events in his private life.