The Age of Reason · Character

Moses

The lawgiver whose five books Paine reads as a forgery in the third person — a man who, if he really wrote that he was the meekest on earth, was the vainest of coxcombs.

supporting

First appearance: VII: Examination of the Old Testament

As a supporting figure in The Age of Reason, Moses is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

Cited as the Jewish prophet who claimed to receive the commandments directly from God; Paine questions the obligation to believe his account.

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Paine treats Moses not as a prophet but as a suspect author, catching him in a trap of his own text: Numbers 12:3 calls Moses the meekest man on the face of the earth, and no meek man boasts of it. The Pentateuch's dramatical style — a narrator introducing Moses speaking, then resuming his own voice — reads to Paine like a later hand staging a scene, and the account of Moses's own death and burial seals the case that someone else held the pen. Moses matters because he is the foundation stone: if the Old Testament collapses, the New Testament's claim to fulfill prophecy collapses with it.

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See Moses in VII: Examination of the Old Testament

Character Web

27 connections

A slice of how Moses sits in the book — open the reader for the full interactive map.

Relationship types

Professional
Psychological
Other

Character groups

Paine's publishers and allies
Protagonist
Gospel figures and revolutionaries

+22 more in the full Character Web

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.

Setup
Escalation
Breaking point
Aftermath
Closing

The emotional and psychological peak occurs as the narrator directly juxtaposes Mark’s doctrine of salvation t…

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Relationships

Joshua
professional · positive
Joshua is Moses's loyal assistant and successor, leading the Israelites into the Promised… How this plays out →
Jesus Christ
psychological · ambivalent
Joshua
professional · positive
Joshua is Moses's loyal assistant and successor, leading the Israelites into the Promised… How this plays out →
Jesus Christ
psychological · ambivalent
Joshua
professional · positive
Joshua is Moses's loyal assistant and successor, leading the Israelites into the Promised… How this plays out →

Joshua
Joshua is Moses's loyal assistant and successor, leading the Israelites into the Promised Land.
Jesus Christ
Jesus is often compared to Moses as a new lawgiver, with Moses representing the old covenant Jesus fulfills.
Joshua
Joshua is Moses's loyal assistant and successor, leading the Israelites into the Promised Land.
Jesus Christ
Jesus is often compared to Moses as a new lawgiver, with Moses representing the old covenant Jesus fulfills.
Joshua
Joshua is Moses's loyal assistant and successor, leading the Israelites into the Promised Land.

Relationship notes

How these ties play out is in the reading companion — open the free preview.

See Moses in VII: Examination of the Old Testament

In the story

Moses appears across 7 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

II: Of Missions and Revelations
Cited as the Jewish prophet who claimed to receive the commandments directly from God; Paine questions the obligation to believe his account.
VII: Examination of the Old Testament
Mentioned as a possible author of Genesis; Paine doubts Moses wrote the creation account.
VIII: Of the New Testament
Mentioned as a founder of a religious system, contrasted with Jesus.
XIII: Comparison of Christianism with the Religious Ideas Inspired by Nature
Referenced in the Mosaic account of creation.
III: Conclusion
Cited as an example of an impostor and monster associated with the Bible's violent narratives.
An Essay on Dreams
Mentioned in the context of the Old Testament portrayal of God as a fighting deity and in the story of the plagues.
Endnotes
Referenced in Paine's comparison of Moses and Joshua; editor notes Bishop Newton's misinterpretation.

Chapter companion notes

Spoil-light check-ins for Moses unlock in the free preview.

See Moses in VII: Examination of the Old Testament

See Moses in II: Of Missions and Revelations