Moises

Moisés is the Spanish and Portuguese form of Moses. There is some uncertainty as to the origin of this old Biblical name. The Hebrew name “Moshe” was probably derived from the Egyptian root “mes” meaning ‘born of’ – more specifically ‘born of a certain god’ which in the case of the Hebrews would be Yahweh. As a baby Moses was retrieved from the Nile by Pharaoh’s daughter (Moses mother had placed him in the river in a reed basket to protect him from Pharaoh’s orders that all male Hebrew babies be killed). In Exodus 2:10, Pharaoh’s daughter named him Moses, “Because”, she said, “I drew him out of the water.” As a result, there is some folk etymology suggesting that Moses means ‘saved (from the water)’ but this is generally accepted as invented. Moses, a grandson of Levi, is the central character in Exodus wherein he led the Children of Israel out of captivity in Egypt and then received the 10 Commandments from God on Mount Sinai. He is considered the most important prophet in Judaism and traditional holds that Moses wrote the Torah or the first five books of the Bible. Moses has long been a popular name among Jews, but Christians eventually adopted the name during the Reformation – mostly Puritans and other Nonconformists. Even though Moses led “his people” (i.e., the Jews) to the Promised Land, he is still considered an important prophet in both Christian and Muslim tradition as well. Moisés is currently not very popular among the Spanish-speaking nations. The countries where there remains a Catholic stronghold tend to favor New Testament names (Jesús, Maria, José).