What Language Did Moses Speak? (Answered!)

Moses would have spoken Hebrew and the Egyptian that would have become Coptic. Egyptian would have been his first language, and he would have learned Hebrew later on. He would have originally learned to read and write in Egyptian. Whether Hebrew was the language Moses used to speak to God is a key theological question.

Moses is generally seen as a legendary figure, and there is very little evidence of a historical Moses.

With that in mind, we can talk primarily of what the Scriptures say about Moses, as if the Biblical figure was based on a historical figure, we can know little to nothing about that person.

Let’s find out more.

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What was Moses’ native language?

There is some scholarly debate about this, but it is generally agreed that the first language Moses spoke and wrote in was Egyptian.

He was, according to the Bible, born in the Land of Goshen, which is a place in Egypt which was inhabited by the Hebrews, gifted to them by the Pharaoh.

So, early on his life, before Exodus, he would have spoken the Egyptian language.

There are, however, varieties of Egyptian.

The Egyptian in question here would have been what’s called Middle or Classical Egyptian.

This was the language that became Coptic, the Afro-Asiatic language that was spoken by the Copts in Egypt.

It became the standard liturgical language in many areas and is distinct from modern Arabic Egyptian.

There can be little doubt, based on the story of Moses as we know it, that any such person would have been raised speaking Egyptian.

However, of course, Hebrew was also vitally important to his life.

Many claim that Moses was in fact raised on Hebrew, which had developed out of the Semitic languages of the region at that time.

Hebrew of course is the modern liturgical language of most sects of Judaism, and is the language modern Torahs are usually in.

Linguistic evidence suggests Hebrew became distinct from Canaanite around the 10^th Century BC, however, whereas Moses is thought to have lived in the 13^th, 14^th, or 15^th Centuries BC. So, he may have spoken Canaanite.

In any case, the best guess is that his native language was Egyptian, but given his legendary status, it’s quite difficult to say with any historical certainty.

Another important question is which language he spoke to God in.

What language did Moses talk to God in?

This is a central theological question of the Old Testament, as the same question can be asked of any figure who spoke to God directly, including Abraham, and Adam and Eve.

There are a couple of primary schools of thought on this.

One is that there is a divine language, distinct from any human language, which God would use to talk to Moses.

Moses, miraculously, would understand and speak the language himself.

This language would predate all human language, and would not be understood except by those ordained by God to be spoken to.

So, it’s possible that Moses also knew this divine language and this is how he spoke to God.

On the other hand, many believe that this divine language is Hebrew, and that God and Moses were able to converse with one another in Hebrew.

Hebrew is certainly a sacred language in Jewish tradition, and so this is one prevailing mode of thought on how God and Moses talked to each other.

Of course, we can see with some level of accuracy when Hebrew arose as a language, so it would be somewhat counter-intuitive if God had spoken to Adam and later Moses in this language, only for it then to be adopted as the Jewish spoken language.

But we are talking about religious scripture, and in any case, Moses definitely knew Hebrew at the time he is supposed to have talked to God.

What language did Moses write the Torah in?

Moses wrote the Torah in what is called Tiberian Hebrew.

This is the canonical pronunciation of the Hebrew Bible, though Modern Hebrew grammar books do not teach Tiberian Hebrew.

Moses is credited with having first written down the Torah based on God’s commandments, and to have done so in Hebrew as this would be the language of the Jews and his people.

The Torah of course has always been written in Hebrew and no other languages, as far as those used in Jewish tradition go.

What race was Moses?

Moses was part of the Semitic race of peoples, as an Israelite.

This family included many who spoke Semitic languages, including Hebrew and Arabic. In modern historical scholarship and archaeology, though, the term Semitic is not really used and is considered obsolete.

In any case, the Israelites branched from the Canaanites who lived in the Ancient Near East during the end of the 2^nd millennium BC.

But Canaanite still covered a variety of different tribes and indigenous populations, though it is still by far the most frequently used racial or ethnic term in the Bible.

Moses was part of this race of people.

Moses and the language he spoke are very important in Biblical tradition.

Hebrew became the language of the Jewish people and indeed the language of the Torah, if not of God himself.

So, though we cannot say that Moses was a historical figure with any certainty, we can nonetheless say that which languages he spoke and wrote in are key theological questions.

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Founder - @PollyWebster

Polly Webster is the founder of Foreign Lingo and a seasoned traveler with a decade of exploration under her belt.

Over the past 10 years, she has journeyed to numerous countries around the globe, immersing herself in diverse cultures, traditions, and languages.

Drawing from her rich experiences, Polly now writes insightful articles about travel, languages, traditions, and cultures, sharing her unique perspectives and invaluable tips with her readers.

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