Moses

~1391–~1271 BCE (traditional) · Hebrew/Egyptian · Late Bronze Age, Ancient Egypt/Sinai

Known for: Led the Israelites out of slavery, parted the Red Sea, received the Ten Commandments — the ultimate combination of freedom fighter and lawgiver

Moses is the central figure of the Torah — the prophet who liberated the Israelites from Egyptian slavery, led them through the Red Sea and forty years of desert wandering, received the Ten Commandments and the Torah at Mount Sinai, and brought them to the border of the Promised Land (which God wouldn't let him enter). He's the most important figure in Judaism and a major prophet in Christianity and Islam.

Whether Moses was a historical figure is debated — there's no Egyptian record of the Exodus, and archaeological evidence is inconclusive. But his narrative impact is immense: the story of liberation from slavery has inspired every freedom movement from the American Revolution to the Civil Rights Movement. Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'I've Been to the Mountaintop' speech directly evokes Moses on Mount Nebo.

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