# Moses — The Age of Reason character guide

> Moses in The Age of Reason by Thomas Paine.

**Role:** supporting

**First appearance:** 0008-part-i-vii-examination-of-the-old-testament

## Snapshot

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.

## Who they are

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.

## Relationships

### [Joshua](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_age_of_reason_se/characters/joshua)

_professional_

Joshua is Moses's loyal assistant and successor, leading the Israelites into the Promised Land.

### [Jesus Christ](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_age_of_reason_se/characters/jesus_christ)

_psychological_

Jesus is often compared to Moses as a new lawgiver, with Moses representing the old covenant Jesus fulfills.

### [Joshua](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_age_of_reason_se/characters/joshua)

_professional_

Joshua is Moses's loyal assistant and successor, leading the Israelites into the Promised Land.

### [Jesus Christ](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_age_of_reason_se/characters/jesus_christ)

_psychological_

Jesus is often compared to Moses as a new lawgiver, with Moses representing the old covenant Jesus fulfills.

### [Joshua](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_age_of_reason_se/characters/joshua)

_professional_

Joshua is Moses's loyal assistant and successor, leading the Israelites into the Promised Land.

## In the story

### [II: Of Missions and Revelations](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_age_of_reason_se/chapters/part-i-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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_age_of_reason_se/chapters/part-i-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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_age_of_reason_se/chapters/part-i-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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_age_of_reason_se/chapters/part-i-xiii-comparison-of-christianism-with-the-religious-ideas-inspired-by-nature)

Referenced in the Mosaic account of creation.

### [III: Conclusion](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_age_of_reason_se/chapters/part-ii-iii-conclusion)

Cited as an example of an impostor and monster associated with the Bible's violent narratives.

### [An Essay on Dreams](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_age_of_reason_se/chapters/part-iii-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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_age_of_reason_se/chapters/endnotes)

Referenced in Paine's comparison of Moses and Joshua; editor notes Bishop Newton's misinterpretation.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_age_of_reason_se/characters/moses
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_age_of_reason_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_age_of_reason_se/characters