# Moses — The City of God character guide > Moses in The City of God by Augustine of Hippo. **Role:** supporting **Also known as:** the Israelites, the Israelites Moses, Israelites, Moses carnally **First appearance:** 0002-part-i-book-i ## Snapshot The lawgiver who received the tables on Sinai, yet who by God's design did not lead the people into the promised land — Joshua did. ## Who they are Moses dominates the giving of the law, the passover, and the fifty days to Pentecost, but Augustine makes his exclusion from Canaan theologically pointed: the law cannot bring the promise to fulfillment. The tension is that Israel's greatest leader is also the sign that the old covenant is not the end. His death and Joshua's succession mark the transition from the age of the law to the age of the promise, which the book's middle books trace toward Christ. ## In the story ### [Concerning the kingdom of the Jews, which was founded by the one and true God, and preserved by Him as long as they remained in the true religion.](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_city_of_god_se/chapters/part-i-xxxiv) Implied as leader of the Israelites delivered from Egypt. ### [How Plato has been able to approach so nearly to Christian knowledge](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_city_of_god_se/chapters/part-i-xi) Recipient of the divine name 'I Am Who I Am,' which Plato's philosophy echoes. ### [Chapter VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_city_of_god_se/chapters/part-i-viii) Led God's people out of Egypt, performed miracles through God's power, including the ten plagues and the parting of the Red Sea. ### [Of the invisible God, who has often made Himself visible, not as He really is, but as the beholders could bear the sight](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_city_of_god_se/chapters/part-i-xiii) Moses conversed with God and asked to see His glory; he mediated the law to Israel. ### [That there is no entity contrary to the divine](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_city_of_god_se/chapters/part-ii-ii) Referenced as the recipient of God's message 'I am that I am'. ### [Of Paradise, that it can be understood in a spiritual sense without sacrificing the historic truth of the narrative regarding the real place.](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_city_of_god_se/chapters/part-ii-xxi) Struck the rock to bring forth water, which is a figure of Christ. ### [XXII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_city_of_god_se/chapters/part-ii-xxii) Mentioned as permitting divorce due to the hardness of hearts of the Israelites. ### [Of the Ark and the Deluge](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_city_of_god_se/chapters/part-ii-xxvii) Cited as the man of God learned in Egyptian wisdom, possibly using geometrical cubits for the ark's dimensions. ### [Of the diversity of languages, and of the founding of Babylon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_city_of_god_se/chapters/part-ii-iv) Referenced as the prophet through whom God smote the Egyptians with plagues, used as an analogy for the multitude of towers. ### [Of the times of Moses and Joshua the son of Nun, of the judges, and thereafter of the kings, of whom Saul was the first, but David is to be regarded as the chief, both by the oath and by merit.](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_city_of_god_se/chapters/part-ii-xliii) Led the Israelites out of Egypt, overcame Pharaoh's magi, and received the law on Mount Sinai. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_city_of_god_se/chapters/part-ii-i) Earlier patriarch styled a prophet. ### [The Fulfillment of God's Promise Concerning the Land of Canaan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_city_of_god_se/chapters/part-ii-ii) Led the people from Egypt and revealed God's promises in his time. ### [Chapter VIII: Who Were Kings When Moses Was Born, and What Gods Began to Be Worshipped Then](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_city_of_god_se/chapters/part-ii-viii) Born in Egypt during the reign of Saphrus, Orthopolis, and Criasus; he liberated the people of God from Egyptian slavery. ### [Chapter XI: The Exodus and the Law Given at Sinai](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_city_of_god_se/chapters/part-ii-xi) Led the people out of Egypt, received the law from God at Mount Sinai, and ruled for forty years in the wilderness. ### [Chapter XXV: Philosophers During the Reigns of Tarquinius Priscus and Zedekiah](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_city_of_god_se/chapters/part-ii-xxv) Referenced indirectly as part of the Hebrew tradition; the chapter focuses on the period of the Jewish captivity. ### [Of the prophecy that is contained in the prayer and song of Habakkuk](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_city_of_god_se/chapters/part-ii-xxxii) Mentioned as one of the two living creatures (with Elijah) talking with Christ on the mount. ### [XXXVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_city_of_god_se/chapters/part-ii-xxxvii) Described as the first authoritative prophet, earlier than Greek poets and sages. ### [Chapter XXXIX: About the Hebrew Written Characters Which That Language Always Possessed](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_city_of_god_se/chapters/part-ii-xxxix) Moses is associated with the giving of the law, but Augustine argues that Hebrew letters existed long before his time. ### [LIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_city_of_god_se/chapters/part-ii-liv) Given the old law from Mount Sinai, contrasted with the new law from Jerusalem. ### [Chapter XXVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_city_of_god_se/chapters/part-ii-xxviii) The lawgiver whose law must be spiritually understood to find Christ. ### [Of the coming of Elijah before the judgment, that the Jews may be converted to Christ by his preaching and explanation of Scripture](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_city_of_god_se/chapters/part-ii-xxix) The lawgiver whose law the Jews misunderstand carnally, but will be explained spiritually by Elijah. ### [Chapter X: The Greater Honor of Martyrs Compared to Demons](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_city_of_god_se/chapters/part-ii-x) Referenced as a figure whose miracles surpassed those of Pharaoh's magicians, analogous to martyrs surpassing demons. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_city_of_god_se/characters/moses - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_city_of_god_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_city_of_god_se/characters