Who Is the Prophet Like Moses?

Deuteronomy 18 speaks of a coming prophet like Moses, but who is he? Some evangelical scholars, who reject any messianic overtones in the passage, believe it refers to a prediction of the continued existence of the tradition of prophets or a succession of prophets.1 Orthodox Jews generally believe it refers to Joshua, the son of Nun.2 Islam teaches it refers to the prophet Muhammed (AD 570–632). The end of Deuteronomy calls the reader to look for a prophet like Moses who is yet to come (Deuteronomy 34:9–12), so who is the prophet like Moses?

The Context of Deuteronomy

The end of Deuteronomy calls the reader to look for a prophet like Moses who is yet to come (Deuteronomy 34:9–12), so who is the prophet like Moses?

In the book of Deuteronomy, Moses gave a restatement of the covenant between God and Israel to the generation of Israelites who were at the plains of Moab before the crossing of the Jordan to enter the promised land (cf. Deuteronomy 4:1–2, 34:1–4). Moses would not enter the land of Canaan because he previously failed to believe God (Numbers 20:12; Deuteronomy 1:37), just as the generation that died in the wilderness during the forty years was punished (Numbers 14:22–23). The wider context of Deuteronomy 18 describes the offices of king (Deuteronomy 17:14–20) and priest (Deuteronomy 18:1–8). Although prophets existed throughout the Torah (Genesis 20:7; Exodus 7:1; Numbers 11:29, 12:6), Deuteronomy 18:15–22 is the first text to discuss the office of the prophet:

The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen—just as you desired of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, “Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die.” And the Lord said to me, “They are right in what they have spoken. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him. (Deuteronomy 18:15–19)

The prophet mentioned here would not be like the false prophets mentioned earlier (Deuteronomy 13:1–5), because he would be like Moses. The reason for the prophetic voice like Moses was that the Lord (YHWH, יהוה) terrified the people of Israel at Mount Sinai (Horeb). The nation of Israel feared to stand in God’s presence at Mount Sinai, and so they asked Moses, as covenant mediator, to go before the Lord and return his words to them (Exodus 19:16–19, 20:19–21). In this way the prophet was to be like Moses.

The prophet was to be God’s mouthpiece to the people of Israel, and it was to him they should “listen” (שָׁמַע, šāmaʿ) (Deuteronomy 18:15). The same phraseology was used earlier by God at Mount Sinai. It was on Mount Sinai that God called Moses to “obey” (šāmaʿ) the voice of the angel/messenger (malʾāk)3 as God’s “name is in him” (Exodus 23:21).4 According to the Torah, this angel (the angel of the Lord)5 is not an ordinary angel, but refers to a divine messenger (Genesis 16:7–13, 48:15–16; Exodus 3:2–4; Numbers 20:16; cf. Judges 2:1). The people of Israel were not to rebel against the angel as “he will not pardon your transgression” (Exodus 23:21), which is something only God can do (Joshua 24:19; cf. Mark 2:7).

Old Testament scholar Jeffery Niehaus shows the importance of the intertextual language (šāmaʿ) between Exodus 23:21 and Deuteronomy 18:15.

A final indicator of the oneness of Yahweh and his “angel” is the way the angel’s authority is commended: “Pay attention to him and listen to what he says [שָׁמַע בְּקֹלוֹ]” (23:21). The Hebrew idiom (שָׁמַע בְּקֹלוֹ) usually translated “listen to” is actually a terminus technicus of covenantal literature. It means in effect “to obey” and is used routinely vis-à-vis Yahweh in his covenant dealings with Israel. In other words, it is normally Yahweh’s “voice” that Israel must “obey”—but now it is the voice of Yahweh’s “angel.” The covenantal background of the phrase thus implies an identity of Yahweh and the angel. The same phraseology is echoed later, when Moses describes the prophet to come: “Yahweh your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him [אֵלָיו תִּשְׁמָעֽוּן]” (Dt 18:15). . . . The Horeb/Sinai theophany shows the need for such a prophet, who must be God himself (and as such, must be obeyed). 6

In the New Testament, both Moses and Elijah7 appeared on a high mountain with Jesus, and a voice from the cloud (God the Father) said to Peter, James, and John, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him” (Matthew 17:5). Jesus is greater than Moses and Elijah because he is the prophet that the disciples must listen to (see below).

Is the Prophet Joshua?

The prophet like Moses cannot be Joshua because Deuteronomy 34, straight after the description of Joshua (Deuteronomy 34:9), says, “And there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face” (Deuteronomy 34:10). This eliminates Joshua as the prophet like Moses. Deuteronomy 34 was most likely written after Moses died (it contains the account of his death) by a later prophet or scribe (perhaps Ezra; see Ezra 7:6, 10), who was divinely inspired (cf. 2 Timothy 3:16).8 If this is the case, then it not only rules out Joshua as the prophet like Moses, but also all the historical prophets of Israel and instead looks to a future fulfilment. Moses was the source of Old Testament prophets, putting him in a different category than all other prophets in Israel’s history—the authenticity of all later Old Testament prophecy was defined by Moses’ prophetic words (cf. Daniel 9:11, 9:13; Malachi 4:4). Moses was unique in his role as a prophet. He had an intimate relationship with God, beholding his form, and speaking with him face to face (Numbers 12:8; Exodus 33:11).9

However, there is a connection between Joshua and the prophet like Moses. In Numbers 13:16, Moses changed Hoshea’s (“he saves”) name to Joshua (“the Lord [YHWH] saves”). Why did Moses do this?10 It may be that Moses had an insight into who the coming Redeemer was. Joshua was a type of Jesus (cf. Hebrews 3–4).11 Just as God used Joshua to save Israel and bring them into the promised land, so Jesus will bring about ultimate redemption by saving his people from their sins (cf. Matthew 1:21) and bringing them to heaven. Joshua was not the prophet like Moses, but he was a type of the one who was to come: Jesus.

Is the Prophet Muhammad?

Because Islam ultimately views the Bible through the lens of the Qur’an, it therefore uses the Qur’an to determine what is and what is not true in the Bible. For example, the claim by the Qur’an is that Muhammad was prophesied in the Torah and the Gospel (see Surah 7:157). Yet, neither the Torah nor the Gospel prophesied this at all. The classic passage Muslims use to identify Muhammad being prophesied in the Torah is Deuteronomy 18. The context makes clear, however, that the prophet would come from among the 12 tribes of Israel (Deuteronomy 18:2, 18:5, 18:15; cf. 17:15; cf. John 1:21),12 he would prophesy “in the name of the Lord” (Deuteronomy 18:22), and he would be like Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15)—someone who spoke with God face to face and did signs, wonders, and miracles (see Deuteronomy 34:10–11). Muhammad is clearly not being described in Deuteronomy 18 as he was not an Israelite, he did not prophesy in the name of the Lord (YHWH), he did not know God “face to face,” and he did not do any signs, wonders, or miracles.13

Is the Prophet a Future Messianic Figure?

Where did Moses write of Jesus? Jesus was almost certainly referring to Deuteronomy 18:15, the prophet like Moses.17

There are several reasons why the prophet mentioned in Deuteronomy 18:15–19 refers to a specific future messianic figure.14 1) The singular use of “prophet” (nāḇî') with singular suffixes points to a specific individual. 2) The prophet is compared to a single exalted individual, Moses. 3) In the Old Testament, no prophet exercised the legislative, executive, priestly authority that Moses did. 4) The prophet like Moses had to be so special an individual that only the Messiah could fulfil the qualifications (Numbers 12:6–8; Deuteronomy 34:10). 5) Other passages in the Torah (Genesis 49:10; Numbers 24:17–19) provide a broader context which allows for Deuteronomy 18:15–19 to be messianic. 6) The New Testament confirms that Deuteronomy 18:15–19 is messianic (Acts 3:20–23, 7:37–38).15

The prophet of Deuteronomy 18 is ultimately fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ (John 1:45; Acts 3:22–23, 7:37–38), the divine Son of God (John 1:1, 1:18). Jesus had an intimate communion with God the Father (Matthew 11:27, 26:36–42; John 10:15), for three years performed signs, wonders, and miracles the likes of which Israel had never seen (Matthew 8:1–4; Mark 4:35–41; John 2:1–11, 11:38–44), and functioned prophetically, warning his disciples of his death and resurrection (Mark 10:32–34) and of the coming destruction of Jerusalem (Matthew 24:2).16

Jesus told the Jewish leaders of his day that, unlike Moses, they had never seen or heard God (John 5:37; cf. Exodus 33:11; Numbers 12:8). Because of their unbelief in him, Jesus presented Moses as the one who would “accuse” the Jewish leaders before God (John 5:45) as it was Moses who wrote of him (John 5:46). Where did Moses write of Jesus? Jesus was almost certainly referring to Deuteronomy 18:15, the prophet like Moses.17