Moses (, Modern ''Moshe'' Tiberian ''Mōšéh'' ISO 259-3 ''Moše''; Greek: ''Mōüsēs''; Arabic: '''') was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed. Also called ''Moshe Rabbenu'' in Hebrew (, Lit. "Moses our Teacher/Rabbi"), he is the most important prophet in Judaism, and is also considered an important prophet in Christianity and Islam, as well as a number of other faiths. The existence of Moses as well as the veracity of the Exodus story is disputed amongst archaeologists and Egyptologists, with experts in the field of biblical criticism citing logical inconsistencies, new archaeological evidence, historical evidence, and related origin myths in Canaanite culture. Other historians maintain that the biographical details, and Egyptian background, attributed to Moses imply the existence of a historical political and religious leader who was involved in the consolidation of the Hebrew tribes in Canaan towards the end of the Bronze Age.

According to the Book of Exodus, Moses was born in a time when his people, the Children of Israel, were increasing in number and the Egyptian Pharaoh was worried that they might help Egypt's enemies. Moses' Hebrew mother, Jochebed, hides him when the Pharaoh ordered all newborn Hebrew boys to be killed, and the child is adopted as a foundling by the Egyptian royal family. After killing an Egyptian slave-master, Moses flees across the Red Sea to Midian where he has his encounter with the God of Israel in the form of the "burning bush". God sends Moses to request the release of the Israelites. After the Ten Plagues, Moses leads the Exodus of the Israelites out of Egypt and across the Red Sea, after which they base themselves at Mount Sinai, where Moses receives the Ten Commandments. After 40 years of wandering in the desert, Moses dies aged 120, within sight of the Promised Land.

Rabbinical Judaism calculated a lifespan of Moses corresponding to 1391–1271 BCE; Christian tradition has tended to assume an earlier date. The Deuteronomist source of the Hebrew Bible purports that the Book of Deuteronomy is the record of Moses' parting address to his people. The "law of Moses", which was discovered in the Temple during the reign of King Josiah (r. 641–609 BCE), probably corresponds to an early version of the Book of Deuteronomy.

Name

The biblical text explains the name Mošeh משה as a derivation of the root ''mšh'' משה "to draw", in : :"[...] she called his name Moses (משה): and she said, Because I drew him (משיתהו) out of the water." (KJV).

The name is thus suggested to relate to ''drawing out'' in a passive sense, "the one who was drawn out". Those who depart from this tradition derive the name from the same root but in an active sense, "he who draws out", in the sense of "saviour, deliverer". The form of the name as recorded in the Masoretic text is indeed the expected form of the Biblical Hebrew active participle. Josephus argued for an Egyptian etymology, and some scholarly suggestions have followed this in deriving the name from Coptic terms ''mo'' "water" and ''`uses'' "save, deliver", suggesting a meaning "saved from the water".

Another suggestion has connected the name with the Egyptian ''ms'', as found in Tuth-mose and Ra-messes, meaning "born" or "child".

Biblical narrative

In the Hebrew Bible, the narratives of Moses are in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. According to the Book of Exodus, Moses was a son of Amram, a member of the Levite tribe of Israel descended from Jacob, and his wife, Jochebed. Jochebed (also Yocheved) was kin to Amram's father Kehath (Exodus 6:20). Moses had one older (by seven years) sister, Miriam, and one older (by three years) brother, Aaron. According to Genesis 46:11, Amram's father Kehath immigrated to Egypt with 70 of Jacob's household, making Moses part of the second generation of Israelites born during their time in Egypt.

In the Exodus account, the birth of Moses occurred at a time when an unnamed Egyptian Pharaoh had commanded that all male Hebrew children born be killed by drowning in the river Nile. Jochebed, the wife of the Levite Amram, bore a son and kept him concealed for three months. When she could keep him hidden no longer, rather than deliver him to be killed, she set him adrift on the Nile River in a small craft of bulrushes coated in pitch. Moses' sister Miriam observed the progress of the tiny boat until it reached a place where Pharaoh's daughter (Bithiah, Thermuthis ) was bathing with her handmaidens. It is said that she spotted the baby in the basket and had her handmaiden fetch it for her. Miriam came forward and asked Pharaoh's daughter if she would like a Hebrew woman to nurse the baby. Thereafter, Jochebed was employed as the child's nurse. He grew up and was brought to Pharaoh's daughter and became her son and a younger brother to the future Pharaoh of Egypt. Moses would not be able to become Pharaoh because he was not the 'blood' son of Bithiah, and he was the youngest.

Shepherd in Midian

After Moses had reached adulthood, he went to see how his brethren were faring. Seeing an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, he killed the Egyptian and buried the body in the sand, supposing that no one who knew about the incident would be disposed to talk about it. The next day, seeing two Hebrews quarreling, he endeavored to separate them, whereupon the Hebrew who was wronging the other taunted Moses for slaying the Egyptian. Moses soon discovered from a higher source that the affair was known, and that Pharaoh was likely to put him to death for it; he therefore made his escape over the Sinai Peninsula. In Midian he stopped at a well, where he protected seven shepherdesses from a band of rude shepherds. The shepherdesses' father Hobab adopted him as his son, gave his daughter Zipporah to him in marriage, and made him the superintendent of his herds. There he sojourned forty years, following the occupation of a shepherd, during which time his son Gershom was born. One day, Moses led his flock to Mount Horeb (), usually identified with Mount Sinai — a mountain that was thought in the Middle Ages to be located on the Sinai Peninsula. While tending the flocks of Jethro at Mount Horeb, he saw a burning bush. The bush was not consumed and when Moses turned aside to look more closely at the marvel, God spoke to him from the bush, revealing his name to Moses.

Egypt: the Plagues and the Exodus

God commanded Moses to go to Egypt and deliver his fellow Hebrews from bondage. On the way Moses was nearly killed by God because his son was not circumcised. He was met on the way by his elder brother, Aaron, and gained a hearing with his oppressed kindred after they returned to Egypt, who believed Moses and Aaron after they saw the signs that were performed in the midst of the Israelite assembly. Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and told him that the Lord God of Israel wanted Pharaoh to permit the Israelites to celebrate a feast in the wilderness. Pharaoh replied that he did not know their God and would not permit them to go. They gained a second hearing with Pharaoh and changed Moses' rod into a serpent, but Pharaoh's magicians did the same with their rods. Moses and Aaron met Pharaoh at the Nile riverbank, and Moses had Aaron turn the river to blood, but Pharaoh's magicians could do the same. Moses obtained a fourth meeting, and had Aaron bring frogs from the Nile to overrun Egypt, but Pharaoh's magicians were able to do the same thing. Pharaoh asked Moses to remove the frogs and promised to let the Israelites go observe their feast in the wilderness in return. Pharaoh decided against letting the Israelites leave to observe the feast. Eventually Pharaoh let the Hebrews depart after Moses' God sent ten plagues upon the Egyptians. The third and fourth were the plague of gnats and flies. The fifth was diseases on the Egyptians' cattle, oxen, goats, sheep, camels, and horses. The sixth was boils on the skins of Egyptians. Seventh, fiery hail and thunder. The eighth plague was locusts. The ninth plague was total darkness. The tenth plague was the slaying of the Egyptian male first-born children, whereupon such terror seized the Egyptians that they ordered the Hebrews to leave. The events are commemorated as Passover, referring to how the plague "passed over" the houses of the Israelites while smiting the Egyptians.

The crossing of the Red Sea

Moses then led his people eastward, beginning the long journey to Canaan. The procession moved slowly, and found it necessary to encamp three times before passing the Egyptian frontier — some believe at the Great Bitter Lake, while others propose sites as far south as the northern tip of the Red Sea. Meanwhile, Pharaoh had a change of heart, and was in pursuit of them with a large army. Shut in between this army and the sea, the Israelites despaired, but Exodus records that God divided the waters so that they passed safely across on dry ground. There is some contention about this passage, since an earlier incorrect translation of ''Yam Suph'' to Red Sea was later found to have meant Reed Sea. When the Egyptian army attempted to follow, God permitted the waters to return upon them and drown them.

The people then continued to Marsa marching for three days along the wilderness of the Shur without finding water. Then they came to Elim where twelve water springs and 70 Palm trees greeted them. From Elim they set out again and after 45 days they reached the wilderness of Sin between Elim and Sinai.

From there they reached the plain of Rephidim, completing the crossing of the Red Sea.

Mount Sinai and the Ten Commandments

According to the Bible, after crossing the Red Sea and leading the Israelites towards the desert, Moses was summoned by God to Mount Sinai, also referred to as Mount Horeb, the same place where Moses had first talked to the Burning Bush, tended the flocks of Jethro his father-in-law, and later produced water by striking the rock with his staff and directed the battle with the Amalekites.

Moses stayed on the mountain for 40 days and nights, a period in which he received the Ten Commandments directly from God. Moses then descended from the mountain with intent to deliver the commandments to the people, but upon his arrival he saw that the people were involved in the sin of the Golden Calf. In terrible anger, Moses broke the commandment tablets and ordered his own tribe (the Levites) to go through the camp and kill everyone, including family and friends, upon which the Levites killed about 3,000 people. God later commanded Moses to inscribe two other tablets, to replace the ones Moses smashed, so Moses went to the mountain again, for another period of 40 days and nights, and when he returned, the commandments were finally given.

In Jewish tradition, Moses is referred to as "The Lawgiver" for this singular achievement of delivering the Ten Commandments.

The years in the wilderness

When the people arrived at Marah, the water was bitter, causing the people to murmur against Moses. Moses cast a tree into the water, and the water became sweet. Later in the journey the people began running low on supplies and again murmured against Moses and Aaron and said they would have preferred to die in Egypt, but God's provision of manna from the sky in the morning and quail in the evening took care of the situation. When the people camped in Rephidim, there was no water, so the people complained again and said, "Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?" Moses struck a rock with his staff, and water came forth.

Amalekites arrived and attacked the Israelites. In response, Moses bade Joshua lead the men to fight while he stood on a hill with the rod of God in his hand. As long as Moses held the rod up, Israel dominated the fighting, but if Moses let down his hands, the tide of the battle turned in favor of the Amalekites. Because Moses was getting tired, Aaron and Hur had Moses sit on a rock. Aaron held up one arm, Hur held up the other arm, and the Israelites routed the Amalekites.

Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, came to see Moses and brought Moses' wife and two sons with him. After Moses had told Jethro how the Israelites had escaped Egypt, Jethro went to offer sacrifices to the Lord, and then ate bread with the elders. The next day Jethro observed how Moses sat from morning to night giving judgement for the people. Jethro suggested that Moses appoint judges for lesser matters, a suggestion Moses heeded.

When the Israelites came to Sinai, they pitched camp near the mountain. Moses commanded the people not to touch the mountain. Moses received the Ten Commandments orally (but not yet in tablet form) and other moral laws. He then went up with Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of the elders to see the God of Israel. Before Moses went up the mountain to receive the tablets, he told the elders to direct any questions that arose to Aaron or Hur. While Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving instruction on the laws for the Israelite community, the Israelites went to Aaron and asked him to make gods for them. After Aaron had received golden earrings from the people, he made a golden calf and said, "These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt." A "solemnity of the Lord" was proclaimed for the following day, which began in the morning with sacrifices and was followed by revelry.

After Moses had persuaded the Lord not to destroy the people of Israel, he went down from the mountain and was met by Joshua. Moses destroyed the calf and rebuked Aaron for the sin he had brought upon the people. Seeing that the people were uncontrollable, Moses went to the entry of the camp and said, "Who is on the Lord's side? Let him come unto me." All the sons of Levi rallied around Moses, who ordered them to go from gate to gate slaying the idolators.

Following this, according to the last chapters of ''Exodus'', the Tabernacle was constructed, the priestly law ordained, the plan of encampment arranged both for the Levites and the non-priestly tribes, and the Tabernacle consecrated. Moses was given eight prayer laws that were to be carried out in regards to the Tabernacle. These laws included light, incense and sacrifice.

Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses on account of his marriage to an Ethiopian, Josephus explains the marriage of Moses to this Ethiopian in the ''Antiquities of the Jews'' and about him being the only one through whom the Lord spoke. Miriam was punished with leprosy for seven days.

The people left Hazeroth and pitched camp in the wilderness of Paran. (Paran is a vaguely defined region in the northern part of the Sinai peninsula, just south of Canaan) Moses sent twelve spies into Canaan as scouts, including most famously Caleb and Joshua. After forty days, they returned to the Israelite camp, bringing back grapes and other produce as samples of the regions fertility. Although all the spies agreed that the land's resources were spectacular, only two of the twelve spies (Joshua and Caleb) were willing to try to conquer it, and are nearly stoned for their unpopular opinion. The people began weeping and wanted to return to Egypt. Moses turned down the opportunity to have the Israelites completely destroyed and a great nation made from his own offspring, and instead he told the people that they would wander the wilderness for forty years until all those twenty years or older who had refused to enter Canaan had died, and that their children would then enter and possess Canaan. Early the next morning, the Israelites said they had sinned and now wanted to take possession of Canaan. Moses told them not to attempt it, but the Israelites chose to disobey Moses and invade Canaan, but were repulsed by the Amalekites and Canaanites.

The Tribe of Reuben, led by Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and two hundred fifty Israelite princes accused Moses and Aaron of raising themselves over the rest of the people. Moses told them to come the next morning with a censer for every man. Dathan and Abiram refused to come when summoned by Moses. Moses went to the place of Dathan and Abiram's tents. After Moses spoke the ground opened up and engulfed Dathan and Abiram's tents, after which it closed again. Fire consumed the two hundred fifty men with the censers. Moses had the censers taken and made into plates to cover the altar. The following day, the Israelites came and accused Moses and Aaron of having killed his fellow Israelites. The people were struck with a plague that killed fourteen thousand seven hundred persons, and was only ended when Aaron went with his censer into the midst of the people. To prevent further murmurings and settle the matter permanently, Moses had each of the chief princes of the non-Levitic tribes write his name on his staff and had them lay them in the sanctuary. He also had Aaron write his name on his staff and had it placed in the tabernacle. The next day, when Moses went into the tabernacle, Aaron's staff had budded, blossomed, and yielded almonds.

After leaving Sinai, the Israelites camped in Kadesh. After more complaints from the Israelites, Moses struck the stone twice, and water gushed forth. However, because Moses and Aaron had not shown the Lord's holiness, they were not permitted to enter the land to be given to the Israelites. This was the second occasion Moses struck a rock to bring forth water; however, it appears that both sites were named Meribah after these two incidents.

Now ready to enter Canaan, the Israelites abandon the idea of attacking the Canaanites head-on in Hebron, a city in the southern part of Canaan. Having been informed by spies that they were too strong, it is decided that they will flank Hebron by going further East, around the Dead Sea. This required that they pass through Edom, Moab, and Ammon. These three tribes are considered Hebrews by the Israelites as descendants of Lot, and therefore cannot be attacked. However they are also rivals, and are therefore not permissive in allowing the Israelites to openly pass through their territory. So Moses leads his people carefully along the eastern border of Edom, the southernmost of these territories. While the Israelites were making their journey around Edom, they complained about the ''manna''. After many of the people had been bitten by serpents and died, Moses made the brass serpent and mounted it on a pole, and if those who were bitten looked at it, they did not die. According to the Biblical Book of Kings this brass serpent remained in existence until the days of King Hezekiah, who destroyed it after persons began treating it as an idol. When they reach Moab, it is revealed that Moab has been attacked and defeated by the Amorites led by a king named Sihon. The Amorites were a non-Hebrew Canaanic people who once held power in the Fertile Crescent. When Moses asks the Amorites for passage and it is refused, Moses attacks the Amorites (as non-Hebrews, the Israelites have no reservations in attacking them), presumably weakened by conflict with the Moabites, and defeats them. The Israelites, now holding the territory of the Amorites just north of Moab, desire to expand their holdings by acquiring Bashan, a fertile territory north of Ammon famous for its oak trees and cattle. It is led by a king named Og. Later rabbinical legends made Og a survivor of the flood, suggesting the he had sat on the ark and was fed by Noah. The Israelites fight with Og's forces at Edrei, on the southern border of Bashan, where the Israelites are victorious and slay every man, woman, and child of his cities and take the spoil for their bounty.

Balak, king of Moab, having heard of the Israelites' conquests, fears that his territory might be next. Therefore he sends elders of Moab, and of Midian, to Balaam (apparently a powerful and respected prophet), son of Beor (Bible), to induce him to come and curse the Israelites. Balaam's location is unclear. Balaam sends back word that he can only do what God commands, and God has, ''via'' a dream, told him not to go. Moab consequently sends higher ranking priests and offers Balaam honours, and so God tells Balaam to go with them. Balaam thus sets out with two servants to go to Balak, but an Angel tries to prevent him. At first the Angel is seen only by the ass Balaam is riding. After Balaam starts punishing the ass for refusing to move, it is miraculously given the power to speak to Balaam, and it complains about Balaam's treatment. At this point, Balaam is allowed to see the angel, who informs him that the ass is the only reason the Angel did not kill Balaam. Balaam immediately repents, but is told to go on.

Balak meets with Balaam at Kirjath-huzoth, and they go to the high places of Baal, and offer sacrifices at seven altars, leading to Balaam being given a prophecy by God, which Balaam relates to Balak. However, the prophecy blesses Israel; Balak remonstrates, but Balaam reminds him that he can only speak the words put in his mouth, so Balak takes him to another high place at Pisgah, to try again. Building another seven altars here, and making sacrifices on each, Balaam provides another prophecy blessing Israel. Balaam finally gets taken by a now very frustrated Balak to Peor, and, after the seven sacrifices there, decides not to seek enchantments but instead looks on the Israelites from the peak. The spirit of God comes upon Balaam and he delivers a third positive prophecy concerning Israel. Balak's anger rises to the point where he threatens Balaam, but Balaam merely offers a prediction of fate. Balaam then looks on the Kenites, and Amalekites and offers two more predictions of fate. Balak and Balaam then simply go to their respective homes. Later, Balaam informed Balak and the Midianites that, if they wished to overcome the Israelites for a short interval, they needed to seduce the Israelites to engage in idolatry. The Midianites sent beautiful women to the Israelite camp to seduce the young men to partake in idolatry, and the attempt proved successful.

God then commanded Moses to kill and hang the heads of everyone that had engaged in idolatry, and Moses ordered the judges to carry out the mass execution. At the same time, one of the Israelites brought home a Midianitish woman in the sight of the congregation. Upon seeing this, Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron, took a javelin in his hand and thrust through both the Israelite and the Midianitish woman, which turned away the wrath of God. By that time, however, the plague inflicted on the Israelites had already killed about twenty-four thousand persons. Moses was then told that because Phinehas had averted the wrath of God from the Israelites, Phinehas and his descendents were given the pledge of an everlasting priesthood. After Moses had taken a census of the people, he sent an army to avenge the perceived evil brought on the Israelites by the Midianites. Numbers 31 says Moses instructed the Israelite soldiers to kill every Midianite woman, boy, and non-virgin girl, although virgin girls were shared amongst the soldiers. The Israelites killed Balaam, and the five kings of Midian: Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba.

Moses appointed Joshua, son of Nun, to succeed him as the leader of the Israelites. Moses then died at the age of 120.

Death

Moses was warned that he would not be permitted to lead the Israelites across the Jordan river, because of his trespass at the waters of Meribah (Deut. 32:51) but would die on its eastern shores (Num. 20:12). He therefore assembled the tribes, and delivered to them a parting address, which is taken to form the Book of Deuteronomy.

When Moses finished, he sang a song and pronounced a blessing on the people. He then went up Mount Nebo to the top of Pisgah, looked over the promised land of Israel spread out before him, and died, at the age of one hundred and twenty, according to Talmudic legend on 7 Adar, his 120th birthday exactly. God himself buried him in an unknown grave in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Bethpeor (Deut. 34:6).

Moses was thus the human instrument in the creation of the nation of Israel by communicating to it the Torah. More humble than any other man (Num. 12:3), he enjoyed unique privileges, for "there hath not arisen a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the HaShem knew face to face" (Deut. 34:10). See also and .

Mosaic law

The Book of Kings relates how a "law of Moses" was discovered in the Temple during the reign of king Josiah (r. 641–609 BC). This book is mostly identified as an early version of the Book of Deuteronomy, perhaps chapters 5-26 and chapter 28 of the extant text. This text contains a number of laws, dated to the 8th century BC kingdom of Judah, a time when a minority Yahwist faction was actively attacking mainstream polytheism, succeeding in establishing official monolatry of the God of Israel under Josiah by the late 7th century BC.

The law attributed to Moses, specifically the laws set out in Deuteronomy, as a consequence came to be considered supreme over all other sources of authority (the king and his officials), and the Levite priests were the guardians and interpreters of the law.

The Book of Deuteronomy ( and ) describes how Moses writes "torah" (instruction) on a scroll and lays it beside the ark of the Covenant. Similar passages include, for example, Exodus 17:14, "And YHWH said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven;" Exodus 24:4, "And Moses wrote all the words of YHWH, and rose up early in the morning, and built an altar under the mount, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel;" Exodus 34:27, "And Yahweh said unto Moses, Write thou these words, for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel;" and "These are the decrees, the laws and the regulations that the LORD established on Mount Sinai between himself and the Israelites through Moses."

Based on this tradition, "Mosaic law" came to refer to the entire legal content of the Pentateuch, not just the Ten Commandments explicitly connected to Moses in the biblical narrative. The content of this law was excerpted and codified in Rabbinical Judaism as the 613 Mitzvot. By Late Antiquity, the tradition of Moses being the source of the law in the Pentateuch also gave rise to the tradition of Mosaic authorship, the interpretation of the entire Torah as the work of Moses.

Moses in Hellenistic literature

Non-biblical writings about Jews, with references to the role of Moses, first appear at the beginning of the Hellenistic period, the zenith of Greek influence in the ancient world, from 323 BCE to about 146 BCE. Shmuel notes that "a characteristic of this literature is the high honour in which it holds the peoples of the East in general and some specific groups among these peoples." In addition to the Judeo-Roman or Judeo-Hellenic historians Artapanus, Eupolemus, Josephus, and Philo, a few non-Jewish historians including Hecataeus of Abdera (quoted by Diodorus Siculus), Alexander Polyhistor, Manetho, Apion, Chaeremon of Alexandria, Tacitus and Porphyry also make reference to him. The extent to which any of these accounts rely on earlier sources is unknown. Moses also appears in other religious texts such as the Mishnah (c. 200 AD), Midrash (AD 200 - 1200), and the Qur'an (c. 610—653).

The figure of Osarseph in Hellenistic historiography is a renegade Egyptian priest who leads an army of lepers against the pharaoh and is finally expelled from Egypt, changing his name to Moses.

;In Hecataeus The earliest existing reference to Moses in Greek literature occurs in the Egyptian history of Hecataeus of Abdera (4th century BC). All that remains of his description of Moses are two references made by Diodorus Siculus, wherein, writes historian Arthur Droge, "he describes Moses as a wise and courageous leader who left Egypt and colonized Judaea." Among the many accomplishments described by Hecataeus, Moses had founded cities, established a temple and religious cult, and issued laws: :''After the establishment of settled life in Egypt in early times, which took place, according to the mythical account, in the period of the gods and heroes, the first . . . to persuade the multitudes to use written laws was Mneves [Moses], a man not only great of soul but also in his life the most public-spirited of all lawgivers whose names are recorded.''

Droge also points out that this statement by Hecataeus was similar to statements made subsequently by Eupolemus

;In Artapanus The Jewish historian Artapanus of Alexandria (2nd century BCE), portrayed Moses as a cultural hero, alien to the Pharaonic court. According to theologian John Barclay, the Moses of Artapanus "clearly bears the destiny of the Jews, and in his personal, cultural and military splendor, brings credit to the whole Jewish people."

:''Jealousy of Moses' excellent qualities induced Chenephres to send him with unskilled troops on a military expedition to Ethiopia, where he won great victories. After having built the city of Hermopolis, he taught the people the value of the ibis as a protection against the serpents, making the bird the sacred guardian spirit of the city; then he introduced circumcision. After his return to Memphis, Moses taught the people the value of oxen for agriculture, and the consecration of the same by Moses gave rise to the cult of Apis. Finally, after having escaped another plot by killing the assailant sent by the king, Moses fled to Arabia, where he married the daughter of Raguel [Jethro], the ruler of the district."

Artapanus goes on to relate how Moses returns to Egypt with Aaron, and is imprisoned, but miraculously escapes through the name of YHWH in order to lead the Exodus. This account further testifies that all Egyptian temples of Isis thereafter contained a rod, in remembrance of that used for Moses' miracles. He describes Moses as 80 years old, "tall and ruddy, with long white hair, and dignified."

Some historians, however, point out the "apologetic nature of much of Artapanus' work," with his addition extra-biblical details, as with references to Jethro: The non-Jewish Jethro expresses admiration for Moses' gallantry in helping his daughters, and chooses to adopt Moses as his son.

;In Strabo Strabo, a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher, in his ''Geography'' (c. AD 24), wrote in detail about Moses, whom he considered to be an Egyptian who deplored the situation in his homeland, and thereby attracted many followers who respected the deity. He writes, for example, that Moses opposed the picturing of the deity in the form of man or animal, and was convinced that the deity was an entity which encompassed everything – land and sea:

:''35. An Egyptian priest named Moses, who possessed a portion of the country called the Lower Egypt, being dissatisfied with the established institutions there, left it and came to Judaea with a large body of people who worshipped the Divinity. He declared and taught that the Egyptians and Africans entertained erroneous sentiments, in representing the Divinity under the likeness of wild beasts and cattle of the field; that the Greeks also were in error in making images of their gods after the human form. For God [said he] may be this one thing which encompasses us all, land and sea, which we call heaven, or the universe, or the nature of things. . . . ''

:''36. By such doctrine Moses persuaded a large body of right-minded persons to accompany him to the place where Jerusalem now stands. . . . ''''

In Strabo’s writings of the history of Judaism as he understood it, he describes various stages in its development: from the first stage, including Moses and his direct heirs; to the final stage where "the Temple of Jerusalem continued to be surrounded by an aura of sanctity." Strabo’s "positive and unequivocal appreciation of Moses’ personality is among the most sympathetic in all ancient literature." His portrayal of Moses is said to be similar to the writing of Hecataeus who "described Moses as a man who excelled in wisdom and courage."

Egyptologist Jan Assmann concludes that Strabo was the historian "who came closest to a construction of Moses' religion as monotheism and as a pronounced counter-religion." It recognized "only one divine being whom no image can represent. . . [and] the only way to approach this god is to live in virtue and in justice."

;In Tacitus The Roman historian Tacitus (ca. 56—120 AD) refers to Moses by noting that the Jewish religion was monotheistic and without a clear image. His primary work, wherein he describes Jewish philosophy, is his ''Histories'' (ca. 100), where, according to Murphy, as a result of the Jewish worship of one God, "pagan mythology fell into contempt." Tacitus states that, despite various opinions current in his day regarding the Jews' ethnicity, most of his sources are in agreement that there was an Exodus from Egypt. By his account, the Pharaoh ''Bocchoris'', suffering from a plague, banished the Jews in response to an oracle of the god Hammon.

:''A motley crowd was thus collected and abandoned in the desert. While all the other outcasts lay idly lamenting, one of them, named Moses, advised them not to look for help to gods or men, since both had deserted them, but to trust rather in themselves, and accept as divine the guidance of the first being, by whose aid they should get out of their present plight.''

In this version, Moses and the Jews wander through the desert for only six days, capturing the Holy Land on the seventh.

;In Longinus The Septuagint, the Greek version of the Hebrew Bible, influenced Longinus, who may have been the author of the great book of literary criticism, ''On the Sublime'', although the true author is still unknown for certain. However, most scholars agree that the author lived in the time of Augustus or Tiberius, the first and second Roman Emperors.

The writer quotes Genesis in a "style which presents the nature of the deity in a manner suitable to his pure and great being," however he does not mention Moses by name, but instead calls him "the Lawgiver of the Jews." Besides its mention of Cicero, Moses is the only non-Greek writer quoted in the work, and he is described "with far more admiration than even Greek writers who treated Moses with respect, such as Hecataeus and Strabo.

;In Josephus In Josephus' (37 – c. 100 AD) ''Antiquities of the Jews'', Moses is mentioned throughout. For example Book VIII Ch. IV, describes Solomon's Temple, also known as the First Temple, at the time the Ark of the Covenant was first moved into the newly built temple:

According to Feldman, Josephus also attaches particular significance to Moses' possession of the "cardinal virtues of wisdom, courage, temperance, and justice." He also includes piety as an added fifth virtue. In addition, he "stresses Moses' willingness to undergo toil and his careful avoidance of bribery. Like Plato's philosopher-king, Moses excels as an educator."

;In Numenius Numenius, a Greek philosopher who was a native of Apamea, in Syria, wrote during the latter half of the 2nd century AD. Historian Kennieth Guthrie writes that "Numenius is perhaps the only recognized Greek philosopher who explicitly studied Moses, the prophets, and the life of Jesus . . . " He describes his background:

}}

;In Justin Martyr The Christian saint and religious philosopher Justin Martyr (103–165 AD) drew the same conclusion as Numenius, according to other experts. Theologian Paul Blackham notes that Justin considered Moses to be "more trustworthy, profound and truthful because he is ''older'' than the Greek philosophers." He quotes him:

Historicity

The tradition of Moses as a lawgiver and culture hero of the Israelites can be traced to 8th or 7th century BCE in the kingdom of Judah. Moses is a central figure in the Deuteronomist account of the origins of the Israelites, cast in a literary style of elegant flashbacks told by Moses. The Deuteronomist relies on earlier material that may date to the United Monarchy, so that the biblical narrative would be based on traditions that can be traced to about four centuries after the supposed lifetime of Moses.

The question of the historicity of the Exodus (specifically, the Pharaoh of the Exodus, identification of which would connect the biblical narrative to Egyptological chronology) has long been debated, without conclusive result. Many biblical scholars are prepared to admit that there may be a historical core beneath the Exodus and Sinai traditions, even if the biblical narrative dramatizes by portraying as a single event what was more likely a gradual process of migration and conquest. Thus, the motif of "slavery in Egypt" reflects the historical situation of imperialist control of the Egyptian Empire over Canaan after the conquests of Ramesses II, which declined gradually during the 12th century under the pressure from the Sea Peoples and the general Bronze Age collapse. Israel Finkelstein points to the appearance of settlements in the central hill country around 1200 as the earliest of the known settlements of the Israelites. A cyclical pattern to these highland settlements, corresponding to the state of the surrounding cultures, suggests that the local Canaanites combined an agricultural and nomadic lifestyles. When Egyptian rule collapsed after the invasion of the Sea Peoples, the central hill country could no longer sustain a large nomadic population, so they went from nomadism to sedentism.

While the general narrative of the Exodus and the conquest of the Promised Land may be remotely rooted in historical events, the figure of Moses as a leader of the Israelites in these events cannot be substantiated. William Dever agrees with the Canaanite origin of the Israelites but allows for the possibility of some immigrants from Egypt among the early hilltop settlers, leaving open the possibility of a Moses-like figure in Transjordan ca 1250-1200.

Martin Noth holds that two different groups experienced the Exodus and Sinai events, and each group transmitted its own stories independently of the other one, writing that "The biblical story tracing the Hebrews from Egypt to Canaan resulted from an editor's weaving separate themes and traditions around a main character Moses, actually an obscure person from Moab."

William Albright held a more favorable view towards the traditional views regarding Moses, and accept the essence of the biblical story, as narrated between Exodus 1:8 and Deuteronomy 34:12, but recognize the impact that centuries of oral and written transmission have had on the account, causing it to acquire layers of accretions.

Biblical minimalists such as Philip Davies and Niels Peter Lemche regard the Exodus as a fiction composed in the Persian period or even later, without even the memory of a historical Moses. Others, such as Hector Avalos, in "The End of Biblical Studies," states that the Exodus, as depicted in the Bible, is an idea that most biblical historians no longer support. He argues that "biblical studies as we know it must end," and writes of the "irrelevance of the Bible for modern times."

Moses in religious traditions

Judaism

There is a wealth of stories and additional information about Moses in the Jewish apocrypha and in the genre of rabbinical exegesis known as Midrash, as well as in the primary works of the Jewish oral law, the Mishnah and the Talmud. Moses is also given a number of bynames in Jewish tradition. The Midrash identifies Moses as one of seven biblical personalities who were called by various names. Moses' other names were: Jekuthiel (by his mother), Heber (by his father), Jered (by Miriam), Avi Zanoah (by Aaron), Avi Gedor (by Kohath), Avi Soco (by his wet-nurse), Shemaiah ben Nethanel (by people of Israel). Moses is also attributed the names Toviah (as a first name), and Levi (as a family name) (Vayikra Rabbah 1:3), Heman, Mechoqeiq (lawgiver) and Ehl Gav Ish (Numbers 12:3)

Jewish historians who lived at Alexandria, such as Eupolemus, attributed to Moses the feat of having taught the Phoenicians their alphabet, similar to legends of Thoth. Artapanus of Alexandria explicitly identified Moses not only with Thoth / Hermes, but also with the Greek figure Musaeus (whom he calls "the teacher of Orpheus"), and ascribed to him the division of Egypt into 36 districts, each with its own liturgy. He names the princess who adopted Moses as Merris, wife of Pharaoh Chenephres.

Ancient sources mention an Assumption of Moses and a Testimony of Moses. A Latin text was found in Milan in the 19th century by Antonio Ceriani who called it the Assumption of Moses, even though it does not refer to an assumption of Moses or contain portions of the Assumption which are cited by ancient authors, and it is apparently actually the Testimony. The incident which the ancient authors cite is also mentioned in the Epistle of Jude.

To Orthodox Jews, Moses is called ''Moshe Rabbenu, `Eved HaShem, Avi haNeviim zya"a''. He is defined "Our Leader Moshe", "Servant of God", and "Father of all the Prophets". In their view, Moses not only received the Torah, but also the revealed (written and oral) and the hidden (the ''`hokhmat nistar'' teachings, which gave Judaism the Zohar of the Rashbi, the Torah of the Ari haQadosh and all that is discussed in the Heavenly Yeshiva between the Ramhal and his masters). He is also considered the greatest prophet.

Arising in part from his age, but also because 120 is elsewhere stated as the maximum age for Noah's descendants (one interpretation of ), "may you live to 120" has become a common blessing among Jews.

Christianity

Name	Prophet Moses
Feast day	Catholic Church: Sept 4
Venerated in	JudaismIslamChristianity
Birth place	Goshen, Lower Egypt
Death place	Mount Nebo, Moab
Titles	Prophet, Saint, Seer, Lawgiver, Apostle to Pharoah, Reformer, 'One to Whom God Spoke', 'Our Leader Moses', Leader of the Exodus, Holy Forefather
Attributes	Tablets of the Law}}

For Christians, Moses — mentioned more often in the New Testament than any other Old Testament figure — is often a symbol of God's law, as reinforced and expounded on in the teachings of Jesus. New Testament writers often compared Jesus' words and deeds with Moses' to explain Jesus' mission. In Acts 7:39–43, 51–53, for example, the rejection of Moses by the Jews that worshiped the golden calf is likened to the rejection of Jesus by the Jews that continued in traditional Judaism.

Moses also figures in several of Jesus' messages. When he met the Pharisees Nicodemus at night in the third chapter of the Gospel of John, he compares Moses' lifting up of the bronze serpent in the wilderness, which any Israelite could look at and be healed, to his own lifting up (by his death and resurrection) for the people to look at and be healed. In the sixth chapter, Jesus responds to the people's claim that Moses provided them ''manna'' in the wilderness by saying that it was not Moses, but God, who provided. Calling himself the "bread of life", Jesus states that he is now provided to feed God's people.

He, along with Elijah, is presented as meeting with Jesus in all three Gospel accounts of the Transfiguration of Jesus in Matthew 17, Mark 9, and Luke 9, respectively. Later Christians found numerous other parallels between the life of Moses and Jesus to the extent that Jesus was likened to a "second Moses." For instance, Jesus' escape from the slaughter by Herod in Bethlehem is compared to Moses' escape from Pharaoh's designs to kill Hebrew infants. Such parallels, unlike those mentioned above, are not pointed out in Scripture. See the article on typology.

His relevance to modern Christianity has not diminished. He is considered to be a saint by several churches; and is commemorated as a prophet in the respective Calendars of Saints of the Lutheran and Eastern Orthodox Churches on September 4. He is commemorated as one of the Holy Forefathers in the Calendar of Saints of the Armenian Apostolic Church on July 30.

;Mormonism Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (colloquially called Mormons) generally view Moses in the same way that other Christians do. However, in addition to accepting the Biblical account of Moses, Mormons include Selections from the Book of Moses as part of their scriptural canon. This book is believed to be the translated writings of Moses, and is included in the Pearl of Great Price. Latter-day Saints are also unique in believing that Moses was taken to heaven without having tasted death (translated). In addition, Joseph Smith, Jr. and Oliver Cowdery stated that on April 3, 1836, Moses appeared to them in the Kirtland Temple in a glorified, immortal, physical form and bestowed upon them the "keys of the gathering of Israel from the four parts of the earth, and the leading of the ten tribes from the land of the north."

Islam

Moses is mentioned more in the Quran than any other individual and his life is narrated and recounted more than that of any other prophet. In general, Moses is described in ways which parallel the prophet Muhammad, and "his character exhibits some of the main themes of Islamic theology," including the "moral injunction that we are to submit ourselves to God."

Moses is defined in the Qur'an as both prophet (''nabi'') and messenger (''rasul''), the latter term indicating that he was one of those prophets who brought a scripture and law to his people.

Huston Smith (1991) describes an account in the Qur'an of meetings in heaven between Moses and Muhammad, which Huston states were "one of the crucial events in Muhammad's life," and resulted in Muslims observing 5 daily prayers.

Moses is mentioned 502 times in the Qur'an; passages mentioning Moses include 2.49-61, 7.103-160, 10.75-93, 17.101-104, 20.9-97, 26.10-66, 27.7-14, 28.3-46, 40.23-30, 43.46-55, 44.17-31, and 79.15-25. and many others. Most of the key events in Moses' life which are narrated in the Bible are to be found dispersed through the different Surahs of Qur'an, with a story about meeting Khidr which is not found in the Bible.

In the Moses story related by the Qur'an, Jochebed is commanded by God to place Moses in an ark and cast him on the waters of the Nile, thus abandoning him completely to God's protection. Pharaoh's wife Asiya, not his daughter, found Moses floating in the waters of the Nile. She convinced Pharaoh to keep him as their son because they were not blessed with any children.

The Qur'an's account has emphasized Moses' mission to invite the Pharaoh to accept God's divine message as well as give salvation to the Israelites. According to the Qur'an, Moses encourages the Israelites to enter Canaan, but they are unwilling to fight the Canaanites, fearing certain defeat. Moses responds by pleading to Allah that he and his brother Aaron be separated from the rebellious Israelites.

According to Islamic tradition, Moses is buried at Maqam El-Nabi Musa, Jericho.

Modern reception

Literature

Thomas Mann's novella ''The Tables of the Law'' is a retelling of the story of the exodus from Egypt, with Moses as its main character.

;In Freudian psychoanalysis Freud, in his last book, ''Moses and Monotheism'' in 1939, postulated that Moses was an Egyptian nobleman who adhered to the monotheism of Akhenaten. Following a theory proposed by a contemporary biblical critic, Freud believed that Moses was murdered in the wilderness, producing a collective sense of patricidal guilt that has been at the heart of Judaism ever since. "Judaism had been a religion of the father, Christianity became a religion of the son", he wrote. The possible Egyptian origin of Moses and of his message has received significant scholarly attention.

Opponents of this view observe that the religion of the Torah seems different to Atenism in everything except the central feature of devotion to a single god, although this has been countered by a variety of arguments, e.g. pointing out the similarities between the Hymn to Aten and Psalm 104. Freud's interpretation of the historical Moses is not well accepted among historians, and is considered pseudohistory by most.

;Criticism

In the late 18th century the deist Thomas Paine commented at length on Moses' Laws in ''The Age of Reason'', and gave his view that "the character of Moses, as stated in the Bible, is the most horrid that can be imagined", giving the story at as an example. In the 19th century the agnostic Robert G. Ingersoll wrote "...that all the ignorant, infamous, heartless, hideous things recorded in the 'inspired' Pentateuch are not the words of God, but simply 'Some Mistakes of Moses'". In the 2000s, the atheist Richard Dawkins referring, like Paine, to the incident at , concluded, "No, Moses was not a great role model for modern moralists."

Figurative art

Moses is depicted in several U.S. government buildings because of his legacy as a lawgiver. In the Library of Congress stands a large statue of Moses alongside a statue of the Apostle Paul. Moses is one of the 23 lawgivers depicted in marble bas-reliefs in the chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives in the United States Capitol. The other twenty-two figures have their profiles turned to Moses, which is the only forward-facing bas-relief. Moses appears eight times in carvings that ring the Supreme Court Great Hall ceiling. His face is presented along with other ancient figures such as Solomon, the Greek god Zeus and the Roman goddess of wisdom, Minerva. The Supreme Court building's east pediment depicts Moses holding two tablets. Tablets representing the Ten Commandments can be found carved in the oak courtroom doors, on the support frame of the courtroom's bronze gates and in the library woodwork. A controversial image is one that sits directly above the chief justice's head. In the center of the 40-foot-long Spanish marble carving is a tablet displaying Roman numerals I through X, with some numbers partially hidden.

Michelangelo's statue

Michelangelo's statue of Moses in the Church of San Pietro in Vincoli, Rome, is one of the most familiar masterpieces in the world. Horns the sculptor included on Moses' head are the result of a mistranslation of the Hebrew Bible into the Latin Vulgate Bible with which he was familiar. The Hebrew word taken from ''Exodus'' means either a "horn" or an "irradiation." Experts at the Archaeological Institute of America show that the term was used when Moses "returned to his people after seeing as much of the Glory of the Lord as human eye could stand," and his face "reflected radiance." In early Jewish art, moreover, Moses is often "shown with rays coming out of his head."

Another author explains, "When Saint Jerome translated the Old Testament into Latin, he thought no one but Christ should glow with rays of light — so he advanced the secondary translation. However, writer J. Stephen Lang points out that Jerome's version actually described Moses as "giving off hornlike rays," and he "rather clumsily translated it to mean 'having horns.'" It has also been noted that he had Moses seated on a throne, yet Moses was neither a King nor ever sat on such thrones.

Film and television

Moses was portrayed by Theodore Roberts in DeMille's 1923 silent film ''The Ten Commandments''. Moses appears as the central character in the 1956 Cecil B. DeMille movie, also called ''The Ten Commandments''. He is portrayed by Charlton Heston. A television remake was produced in 2006.

Burt Lancaster played ''Moses'' in the 1975 television miniseries ''Moses the Lawgiver'' In the 1981 film ''History of the World, Part I'', Moses is portrayed by Mel Brooks. Sir Ben Kingsley portrayed ''Moses'' in the movie of the same name.

Moses appears as the central character in the 1998 DreamWorks Pictures animated movie, ''The Prince of Egypt''. He is voiced by Val Kilmer.

See also

Mosaic authorship

Osarseph

Passage of the Red Sea

Table of prophets of Abrahamic religions

Notes

Further reading

Asch, Sholem. ''Moses''. New York: Putnam, 1958. ISBN 0742691373.

Assmann, Jan. ''Moses the Egyptian: The Memory of Egypt in Western Monotheism''. Harvard University Press, 1997. ISBN 0-674-58738-3.

Barenboim, Peter. ''Biblical Roots of Separation of Power'', Moscow : Letny Sad, 2005, ISBN 5943811230, http://lccn.loc.gov/2006400578

Barzel, Hillel. "Moses: Tragedy and Sublimity." In ''Literary Interpretations of Biblical Narratives''. Edited by Kenneth R.R. Gros Louis, with James S. Ackerman & Thayer S. Warshaw, 120–40. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1974. ISBN 0-687-22131-5.

Buber, Martin. ''Moses: The Revelation and the Covenant.'' New York: Harper, 1958.

Card, Orson Scott. ''Stone Tables''. Deseret Book Co., 1998. ISBN 1-57345-115-0.

Chasidah, Yishai. "Moses." In ''Encyclopedia of Biblical Personalities: Anthologized from the Talmud, Midrash and Rabbinic Writings'', 340–99. Brooklyn: Shaar Press, 1994.

Cohen, Joel. ''Moses: A Memoir''. Mahwah, N.J.: Paulist Press, 2003. ISBN 0-8091-0558-6.

Daiches, David. ''Moses: The Man and his Vision.'' New York: Praeger, 1975. ISBN 0-275-33740-5.

Fast, Howard. ''Moses, Prince of Egypt''. New York: Crown Pubs., 1958.

Freud, Sigmund. ''Moses and Monotheism.'' New York: Vintage, 1967. ISBN 0-394-70014-7.

Gjerman, Corey. ''Moses: The Father I Never Knew''. Portland: Biblical Fantasticals, 2007. ISBN 978-1424171132.

Halter, Marek. ''Zipporah, Wife of Moses''. New York: Crown, 2005. ISBN 1400052793.

Hoffmeier, James K. 'Moses and the ''Exodus''.' In: ''Israel in Egypt: The Evidence for the Authenticity of the Exodus Tradition'', pp. 135–63. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996.

Ingraham, J. H.. ''The Pillar of Fire: Or Israel in Bondage''. New York: A.L. Burt, 1859. Reprinted Ann Arbor, Mich.: Scholarly Publishing Office, University of Michigan Library, 2006. ISBN 1425564917.

Kirsch, Jonathan. ''Moses: A Life.'' New York: Ballantine, 1998. ISBN 0-345-41269-9.

Kohn, Rebecca. ''Seven Days to the Sea: An Epic Novel of the Exodus''. New York: Rugged Land, 2006. ISBN 1-59071-049-5.

Lehman, S.M. (translator), Freedman, H. (ed.), ''Midrash Rabbah'', 10 volumes, The Soncino Press, London, 1983.

Mann, Thomas. "Thou Shalt Have No Other Gods Before Me." In ''The Ten Commandments'', 3–70. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1943.

Salibi, Kamal. ''The Bible Came from Arabia''. London: Jonathan Cape, 1985.

Sandmel, Samuel. ''Alone Atop the Mountain''. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1973. ISBN 0-385-03877-1.

Southon, Arthur E. ''On Eagles' Wings''. London: Cassell and Co., 1937. Reprinted New York: McGraw-Hill, 1954.

Wiesel, Elie. “Moses: Portrait of a Leader.” In ''Messengers of God: Biblical Portraits & Legends'', 174–210. New York: Random House, 1976. ISBN 0-394-49740-6.

Wildavsky, Aaron. ''Moses as Political Leader''. Jerusalem: Shalem Press, 2005. ISBN 965-7052-31-9.

Wilson, Dorothy Clarke. ''Prince of Egypt''. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1949.

Van Seters, John: Life of Moses

K. van der Toorn, Bob Becking, Pieter Willem van der Horst: Dictionary of deities and demons in the Bible

External links

''The Geography'', Book XVI, Chapter II The entire context of the cited chapter of Strabo's work

Category:Torah people Category:Book of Exodus Category:Old Testament saints Category:People celebrated in the Lutheran liturgical calendar Category:Prophets of Islam Category:15th-century BC biblical rulers Category:Biblical murderers

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name	Mel Brooks
birth name	Melvin Kaminsky
birth date	June 28, 1926
birth place	Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
medium	FilmTelevisionMusical theatre
nationality	American
influences	George M. CohanJack BennyBob HopeHarry RitzFred AstaireGene Kelly
influenced	Robin Williams, Jim Carrey, Andy Samberg
active	1949–present
genre	Farce, parody
subject	Comedy
spouse	Florence Baum (1953-62, divorced), 3 childrenAnne Bancroft (1964-2005, her death), 1 child (Max Brooks)
Notable work	''The Producers''''Blazing Saddles''''Young Frankenstein'',''Spaceballs''
Emmyawards	Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program1967 ''The Sid Caesar, Imogene Coca, Carl Reiner and Howard Morris Special''Outstanding Guest Actor - Comedy Series 1997, 1998, 1999 ''Mad About You'' |olivierawards Best New Musical 2005 ''The Producers'' |tonyawards Best Musical 2001 ''The Producers'' Best Book of a Musical 2001 ''The Producers'' Best Original Score 2001 ''The Producers'' |grammyawards Best Spoken Comedy Album 1999 ''2000 Year Old Man'' Best Long Form Music Video 2002 ''Recording 'The Producers': A Musical Romp with Mel Brooks'' Best Musical Show Album 2002 ''The Producers'' |awardtitle1 Saturn Award |award1 Saturn Award for Best Direction1975 ''Young Frankenstein'' Mel Brooks has won an Oscar, three Emmys, three grammys, three tonys, and has received four Golden Globe nominations. }}

}} Mel Brooks (born Melvin Kaminsky; June 28, 1926) is an American film director, screenwriter, composer, lyricist, comedian, actor and producer. He is best known as a creator of broad film farces and comic parodies. Brooks is a member of the short list of entertainers with the distinction of having won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony award. Three of his films ranked in the American Film Institute's list of the top 100 comedy films of all-time: ''Blazing Saddles'' at number 6, ''The Producers'' at number 11, and ''Young Frankenstein'' at number 13.

Early life

Brooks was born Melvin Kaminsky in Brooklyn, New York, a son of Maximilian Kaminsky and his wife Kate (née Brookman). His father's family were German Jews from the Baltic Sea port of Danzig (the modern Polish port of Gdansk); his mother's family were Ukrainian Jews from Kiev. His father died of kidney disease when Brooks was only two years old.

Brooks was a small, sickly boy who was often bullied and picked on by his classmates. Taking on the comically aggressive job of Tummler (master entertainer) in various Catskills resorts, he gradually gained in confidence. Following high school, he attended the Army Specialized Training Program conducted at the Virginia Military Institute (although not actually as a VMI cadet) and served in the United States Army as a corporal during World War II, taking part in the Battle of the Bulge.

Career

Early career

Brooks started as a stand-up comic performing in summers at the Catskill Mountains, telling jokes and doing movie-star impressions. He found more rewarding work behind the scenes, becoming a comedy writer for television. He joined the hit comedy series ''Your Show of Shows'' with Sid Caesar and Carl Reiner. Reiner, as creator of ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'', based Morey Amsterdam's character Buddy Sorell on Brooks.

Starting in 1960, Brooks teamed with Reiner as a comedy duo on the Steve Allen Show. Their performances led to release a series of comedy albums that included a routine that eventually expanded into the 2000 Year Old Man series that yielded five albums and a 1975 animated TV special.

Brooks adapted the 2000 Year Old Man character to create the 2500 Year Old Brewmaster for Ballantine Beer in the 1960s. Interviewed by Dick Cavett in a series of ads, the Brewmaster (in a German accent, as opposed to the 2000 Year Old Man's Jewish voice) said he was inside the original Trojan horse and "could've used a six-pack of fresh air."

Brooks later moved into film, working as an actor, director, writer, and producer. Brooks's first film was ''The Critic'' (1963), an animated satire of arty, esoteric cinema, conceived by Brooks and directed by Ernest Pintoff. Brooks supplied running commentary as the baffled moviegoer trying to make sense of the obscure visuals. The short film won an Academy Award. With Buck Henry, Brooks created the successful TV series ''Get Smart'', starring Don Adams as a bumbling secret agent. This series added to Brooks's reputation as a clever satirist.

Brooks's first feature film, ''The Producers'', was a dark comedy about two theatrical partners who deliberately contrive the worst possible Broadway show. The film was so brazen in its satire (its big production number was "Springtime for Hitler") that the major studios would not touch it, nor would many exhibitors. Brooks finally found an independent distributor, which released it like an art film, as a specialized attraction. The film received an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. The film became a smash underground hit, first on the nationwide college circuit, then in revivals and on home video. Brooks later turned it into a musical, which became hugely successful on Broadway, receiving an unprecedented twelve Tony awards.

His two most financially successful films were released in 1974: ''Blazing Saddles'' (co-written with Richard Pryor, Andrew Bergman, Norman Steinberg and Alan Uger), and ''Young Frankenstein'' (co-written with Gene Wilder). He followed these up with an audacious idea: the first feature-length silent comedy in four decades. ''Silent Movie'' (co-written with Ron Clark, 1976) featured Brooks in his first leading role, with Dom DeLuise and Marty Feldman as his sidekicks; it also featured, ironically, Marcel Marceau, in a cameo appearance as himself, who uttered the film's single word of audible dialogue. The following year he released his Hitchcock parody ''High Anxiety'' (also written with Clark), which was the first movie produced by Brooks himself.

Brooks developed a repertory company of sorts for his film work: performers with three or more of Brooks' films (''The Producers, The Twelve Chairs, Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, Silent Movie, High Anxiety, History of the World: Part I, Spaceballs, Life Stinks, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, and Dracula: Dead and Loving It'') to their credit include Gene Wilder, Dom DeLuise, Madeline Kahn, Harvey Korman, Cloris Leachman, Ron Carey, Dick Van Patten and Andréas Voutsinas. Dom DeLuise appeared in six of Brooks's 11 original films, the only person with more appearances being Brooks himself.

In 1975, at the height of his movie career, Brooks tried TV again with ''When Things Were Rotten'', a Robin Hood parody that lasted only 13 episodes. Nearly twenty years later, in response to the 1991 hit film ''Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves'', Brooks mounted another Robin Hood parody with ''Robin Hood: Men in Tights''. Brooks's film resurrected several pieces of dialog from his TV series, as well as from earlier Brooks films.

Later career

By 1980, Siskel and Ebert called Brooks and Woody Allen "the two most successful comedy directors in the world today ... America's two funniest filmmakers." That year, Brooks produced the dramatic film ''The Elephant Man'' (directed by David Lynch). Knowing that anyone seeing a poster reading "Mel Brooks presents ''The Elephant Man''" would expect a comedy, he set up the company Brooksfilms. Brooksfilms has since produced a number of non-comedy films, including David Cronenberg's ''The Fly'', ''Frances'', and ''84 Charing Cross Road'', starring Anthony Hopkins and Anne Bancroft, as well as comedies, including Richard Benjamin's ''My Favorite Year'', which was partially based on his real life. Brooks sought to purchase the rights to ''84 Charing Cross Road'' for his wife, Anne Bancroft, for many years. He successfully obtained the rights to the movie and presented them to her as an anniversary gift.

The 1980s saw Brooks produce and direct only two films, the first being ''History of the World Part I'' in 1981, a tongue-in-cheek look at human culture from the Dawn of Man to the French Revolution. As part of the film's soundtrack, Brooks, then aged 55, recorded a rap entitled ''"It's Good to Be the King"'', a parody of Louis XVI and the French Revolution; it was released as a single, and became a surprise US dance hit. His second movie release of the decade came in 1987 in the form of ''Spaceballs'', a parody of science fiction, mainly ''Star Wars''. Both films featured him in multiple roles. He also starred in the 1983 remake of ''To Be or Not to Be'', which spawned a highly controversial single that featured as part of the film's soundtrack album (although not in the film itself) - ''"To Be Or Not To Be (The Hitler Rap)"''. The song - satirising German society in the 1940s with Brooks playing Hitler - was an unlikely hit, peaking at #12 on the UK Singles Chart in February 1984 and #3 on the Australian Singles Chart (Kent Music Report) that same year.

One of his most recent successes has been a transfer of his film ''The Producers'' to the Broadway stage. Brooks also had a vocal role in the 2005 animated film ''Robots''. He then worked on an animated series sequel to ''Spaceballs'' called ''Spaceballs: The TV Series'', which premiered on September 21, 2008 on G4 TV.

Brooks is one of the few artists who have received an Oscar, Emmy, Tony, and Grammy. He was awarded his first Grammy award for Best Spoken Comedy Album in 1999 for his recording of ''The 2000 Year Old Man in the Year 2000'' with Carl Reiner. His two other Grammys came in 2002 for Best Musical Show Album, for the soundtrack to ''The Producers'', and for Best Long Form Music Video for the DVD "Recording the Producers - A Musical Romp with Mel Brooks". He won his first of four Emmy awards in 1967 for Outstanding Writing Achievement in Variety for a Sid Caesar special. He went on to win three consecutive Emmys in 1997, 1998, and 1999 for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his role of Uncle Phil on ''Mad About You''. He won his three Tony awards in 2001 for his work on the musical, ''The Producers''. He won Tonys for Best Musical, Best Original Musical Score, and Best Book of a Musical. Additionally, he won a Hugo Award and a Nebula Award for ''Young Frankenstein''. In a 2005 poll to find ''The Comedian's Comedian'', he was voted #50 of the top 50 comedy acts ever by fellow comedians and comedy insiders. Three of Brooks's films are on the American Film Institute's list of funniest American films: ''Blazing Saddles'' (#6), ''The Producers'' (#11), and ''Young Frankenstein'' (#13).

Brooks and his wife Anne Bancroft acted together in ''Silent Movie'' and ''To Be or Not to Be'', and Bancroft also had a bit part in the 1995 film ''Dracula: Dead and Loving It''. Years later, the Brookses appeared as themselves in the fourth season finale of ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'', spoofing the finale of ''The Producers''. It is reported that Bancroft encouraged Brooks (after an idea suggested by David Geffen) to take ''The Producers'' to Broadway where it became an enormous success, as the show broke the Tony record with 12 wins, a record that had previously been held for 37 years by ''Hello, Dolly!'' at 10 wins. Such success has translated to a big-screen version of the Broadway adaptation/remake with actors Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane reprising their stage roles, in addition to new cast members Uma Thurman and Will Ferrell. As of early April 2006, Brooks had begun composing the score to a Broadway musical adaptation of ''Young Frankenstein'', which he says is "perhaps the best movie [he] ever made." The world premiere was performed at Seattle's most historic theatre (originally built as a movie palace), The Paramount Theatre, between August 7, 2007, and September 1, 2007 after which it opened on Broadway at the former Foxwoods Theatre (then the Hilton Theatre), New York, on October 11, 2007. It has since earned mixed reviews from the critics.

In interviews broadcast on WABC radio, Brooks has discussed with NYC radio personality Mark Simone the possibilities of turning other works from his creative oeuvre (such as the movie ''Blazing Saddles'') into future musical productions. Specifically, in a conversation airing March 1, 2008, he and Simone speculated on what show tunes might be incorporated into a theatrical adaptation of the ''Get Smart'' property.

On December 5, 2009 Brooks was one of five recipients of 2009 Kennedy Center Honors at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

On April 23, 2010 Brooks was awarded the 2,406th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Personal life

Brooks was married to Florence Baum from 1953 to 1962. Their marriage ended in divorce. Mel and Florence had three children, Stephanie, Nicky, and Eddie.

Brooks was married to the actress Anne Bancroft from 1964 until her death from uterine cancer on June 6, 2005. They met on rehearsal for the Perry Como Variety Show in 1961 and married three years later, August 5, at the Manhattan Marriage Bureau. Their son, Max Brooks, was born in 1972. In 2010, Brooks credited Bancroft as being the guiding force behind his involvement in developing ''The Producers'' and ''Young Frankenstein'' for the musical theater, citing an early meeting as "From that day, until her death on June 5, 2005, we were glued together."

Work

Writer/director

''The Producers'' (1968) (Academy Award, best original screenplay)

''The Twelve Chairs'' (1970) (also actor)

''Blazing Saddles'' (1974) (also actor)

''Young Frankenstein'' (1974)

''Silent Movie'' (1976) (also actor)

''High Anxiety'' (1977) (also actor/producer)

''History of the World, Part I'' (1981) (also actor/producer)

''Spaceballs'' (1987) (also actor/producer)

''Life Stinks'' (1991) (also actor/producer)

''Robin Hood: Men in Tights'' (1993) (also actor/producer)

''Dracula: Dead and Loving It'' (1995) (also actor/producer)

Theatre

''Leonard Sillman's New Faces of 1952'' (1952) (sketches for a revue)

''Shinbone Alley'' (1957) (co-book-writer)

''All-American'' (1962) (book-writer)

''The Producers'' (2001) (composer, lyricist, co-book-writer, producer; Tony Award for Best Musical, Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical, Tony Award for Best Original Score, Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics, Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical)

''Young Frankenstein'' (2007) (composer, lyricist, co-book-writer, producer)

Other credits

''Your Show of Shows'' (TV) (1950–1954) (writer)

''New Faces of 1952'' (Broadway) (1952) (writer) and "New Faces", the 1954 film version (writer)

''The Critic'' (created and narrated, won Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film) (1963)

''Get Smart'' (TV) (1965–1970) (co-creator, writer)

''The Electric Company'' (TV) (1971–1977) (voice of recurring little cartoon man who asks: "Who's the dummy writing this show?!")

''Hollywood Squares'' (1972) (Guest star)

''When Things Were Rotten'' (1975) (co-created, writer)

''The Muppet Movie'' (1979) (Special Guest Star-Mad Scientist Professor Max Krassman)

''The Elephant Man'' (1980) (uncredited executive producer)

''To Be or Not to Be'' (1983) (actor, producer)

''The Fly'' (1986) (uncredited producer)

''The Fly II'' (1989) (uncredited producer)

''The Nutt House'' (1989) (co-creator)

''The Tracey Ullman Show (1990) (actor-Buzz Schlanger)

''Look Who's Talking Too'' (1990) (voice of Mr. Toilet Man)

''Frasier'' (1993) (voice of Tom)

''The Little Rascals'' (1994) (actor-Mr. Welling)

''Silence of the Hams'' (1994) (actor-Checkout Guest)

''The Simpsons'' (1995, "Homer vs. Patty and Selma") (voice-himself)

''Mad About You'' (TV) (1996–1999) (actor-Uncle Phil)

''The Prince of Egypt'' (1998) (uncredited, additional voices)

''Svitati'' (AKA ''Screw Loose'') (1999) (actor-Jake Gordon)

''It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie'' (2002) (voice of Joe Snow)

''The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius: Season 2'' (2003) (voice of Santa Claus)

''Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks'' (2003–2007) (voice of Wiley the Sheep)

''Curb Your Enthusiasm: Season 4'' (2004) (actor)

''Robots'' (2005) (voice of Bigweld)

''The Producers'' (2005) (writer, producer, cameo as himself)

''Spaceballs: The Animated Series'' (2008) (writer, producer, voice)

''Get Smart'' (2008) (Consultant)

''The 2000 Year Old Man: The Complete History'' (2009) DVD

''The Wizard of Oz'' (2012) (actor-The Wizard of Oz)

Rotten Tomatoes ratings

92% 89% 94% 89% 74% 62% 20% 48%

Film !! All Critics !! Top Critics !! Audience
''The Producers (1968 film)	The Producers''	93%	90%
''The Twelve Chairs (1970 film)	The Twelve Chairs''	|	N/A	62%
''Blazing Saddles''	|	80%	89%
''Young Frankenstein''	|	N/A	91%
''Silent Movie''	|	N/A	65%
''High Anxiety''	|	N/A	66%
''History of the World, Part I''	|	N/A	33%	80%
''Life Stinks''	|	N/A	44%
''Robin Hood: Men in Tights''	|	N/A	20%	52%
! Average !! 66% !! 56% !! 72%

Collaborations

!	The Producers (1968 film)>The Producers''	The Twelve Chairs (1970 film)>Twelve Chairs''	! ''Blazing Saddles''	! ''Young Frankenstein''	! ''Silent Movie''	! ''High Anxiety''	! ''History of the World, Part I''	! ''Spaceballs''	! ''Life Stinks''	! ''Robin Hood: Men in Tights''	! ''Dracula: Dead and Loving It''
Carol Arthur
Anne Bancroft
Mark Blankfield
Sid Caesar
Charlie Callas
Megan Cavanagh
Dom DeLuise
Liam Dunn
Marty Feldman
Sandy Helberg
John Hurt
Madeline Kahn
Harvey Korman
Cloris Leachman
Barry Levinson
Rudy De Luca
Kenneth Mars
Howard Morris
Dick Van Patten
Robert Ridgely
Andréas_Voutsinas
Albert Whitlock
Gene Wilder
Amy Yasbeck

See also

List of persons who have won Academy, Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Awards

References

Further reading

Jeff Rovin. ''Cat Angels'', Harper Paperbacks, ISBN 0-06-100972-5

Parish, James Robert. ''It's Good to Be the King: The Seriously Funny Life of Mel Brooks'' (2007) Wiley ISBN 0-471-75267-3

External links

Mel Brooks - Box Office Data Movie Director at The Numbers

Mel Brooks - Box Office Data Movie Star at The Numbers

"The Films of Mel Brooks", video compilation of film clips, 5 minutes

Interview with Brooks on NPR's ''Fresh Air'' (March 16, 2005)

TonyAwards.com Interview with Mel Brooks at Tony Awards site

Interview with Mel Brooks biographer James Robert Parish

Photographs and literature

Category:1926 births Category:Abraham Lincoln High School (Brooklyn, New York) alumni Category:American comedians Category:American military personnel of World War II Category:American musical theatre composers Category:American satirists Category:American theatre managers and producers Category:American voice actors Category:Best Original Screenplay Academy Award winners Category:Emmy Award winners Category:English-language film directors Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Jewish actors Category:American people of Russian-Jewish descent Category:American people of German-Jewish descent Category:Jewish American writers Category:Jewish comedians Category:Jewish American composers and songwriters Category:Kennedy Center honorees Category:Living people Category:People from Brooklyn Category:People from Fire Island, New York Category:Saturn Award winners Category:Tony Award winners Category:United States Army soldiers

ar:ميل بروكس an:Mel Brooks bs:Mel Brooks bg:Мел Брукс ca:Mel Brooks da:Mel Brooks de:Mel Brooks es:Mel Brooks eu:Mel Brooks fa:مل بروکس fr:Mel Brooks gl:Mel Brooks hr:Mel Brooks id:Mel Brooks it:Mel Brooks he:מל ברוקס lv:Mels Brukss hu:Mel Brooks nl:Mel Brooks ja:メル・ブルックス no:Mel Brooks nds:Mel Brooks pl:Mel Brooks pt:Mel Brooks ru:Брукс, Мел simple:Mel Brooks sk:Mel Brooks sr:Мел Брукс sh:Mel Brooks fi:Mel Brooks sv:Mel Brooks tl:Mel Brooks tr:Mel Brooks

Name	Elizabeth Fraser
background	solo_singer
Birth name	Elizabeth Davidson Fraser
Born	August 29, 1963Grangemouth, Scotland, UK
Genre	Gothic rock, Ambient, Dreampop, Ethereal wave
Occupation	Singer
Years active	1982–present
Associated acts	Cocteau TwinsThis Mortal CoilMassive Attack
Website	Official website}}

Elizabeth Davidson Fraser (born 29 August 1963, Grangemouth) is a Scottish singer best known as the vocalist for the pioneer dreampop group Cocteau Twins. Described by critic Jason Ankeny as "an utterly unique performer whose swooping, operatic vocals relied less on any recognizable language than on the subjective sounds and textures of verbalized emotions," Fraser's distinctive singing earned much critical praise. She was once described as "the voice of God." Fraser's singing veers between semi-comprehensible lyrics and abstract mouth music; fans have oft-debated the inspiration and meaning of her lyrics, but over the years Fraser has been reluctant to discuss such topics. Fraser has a soprano vocal range.

Fraser and Cocteau Twins

Fraser was the vocalist and lyricist in Cocteau Twins, a group founded in 1981 by Robin Guthrie and Will Heggie. At the time, she was 17 years old, and had never thought of herself as a singer. Guthrie and Heggie noticed her dancing at a club one night, and asked her to join their band. After an on-off phase, the band recorded some tracks which were sent as demos to John Peel and Ivo Watts-Russell of 4AD which led to their being signed by the London-based label and a successful career in music. Fraser and Guthrie formed a relationship, and had a daughter, Lucy Belle, in 1989. Guthrie liberally used drugs and alcohol through the years, and Fraser suffered a nervous breakdown during the recording of ''Four-Calendar Café''. The couple broke up in 1992, still opting to continue a musical relationship until 1998, when Cocteau Twins were disbanded.

Fraser had an intense personal relationship with singer Jeff Buckley and recorded a duet with him, "All Flowers In Time Bend Towards The Sun", written by Buckley but never released commercially. She speaks candidly about their relationship in the BBC documentary, ''Jeff Buckley: Everybody Here Wants You''.

Cocteau Twins were due to perform for the North American Coachella Festival on 30 April 2005, but cancelled on 16 March 2005.

During the years of working as part of Cocteau Twins, Fraser also collaborated with numerous artists, appearing on 4AD house band This Mortal Coil's first release along with her bandmates where her notable contributions included a cover version of Tim Buckley's "Song to the Siren", and providing one-off vocals for acts such as Felt (''Primitive Painters''), Dif Juz (''Extractions'' LP), the Future Sound of London (''Lifeforms'' EP), the Wolfgang Press, Ian McCulloch and others.

Post-Cocteau Twins

After the breakup of Cocteau Twins in 1998, Fraser continued to collaborate with a range of performers, including The Future Sound of London, Elliot Goldenthal, Craig Armstrong, Massive Attack (including extensive tours performing with the band in 2006), and Peter Gabriel's millennium project ''OVO''.

She has subsequently contributed to the soundtracks of several films, such as, ''In Dreams'', ''Cruel Intentions'', ''The Winter Guest'' and ''The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers'' (also uncredited in the soundtrack of the ''Fellowship of the Ring'' Extended Edition DVD), and has occasionally appeared as a guest artist on other musicians' projects. In 2005, she also participated in Yann Tiersen's album ''Les Retrouvailles''. She sings in two pieces: "Kala" and "Mary".

Solo career

Aside from the work with other artists, Fraser's solo career has been quiet. In 2000, a white label recording, ''Underwater'', was released in a limited edition of only 200 copies. She contributed a cover version of "At Last I am Free" (originally by '70s band Chic, covered by Robert Wyatt) on the 2003 album ''Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before'', a celebration of 25 year of Rough Trade Records. In 2004, Fraser was invited to participate in a unique audio exhibit, "Shhh...", at London's Victoria and Albert Museum for which she produced a piece called "Expectant Mood", which has not been made commercially available. Fraser has reportedly signed to Blanco y Negro Records, but little is known about the progress of an officially released solo album. In December 2006 ''New Music Express'' magazine reported that her solo album was due for release in early 2007. The album would have contained eight tracks, one of which is to be a cover version. No titles were announced and the album was never released. Its current status is unknown.

In November 2009 Fraser released a solo single, '"Moses", available on 12" and download through Rough Trade. The single was recorded some time ago with her partner of more than a decade – Massive Attack's drummer Damon Reece, and close friend Jake Drake-Brockman - and was a memorial to Jake Drake-Brockman.

Website

The official website Elizabethfraser.com was initially created by a fan, but was taken over by Fraser's management company on 22 March 2007. , the new site content is updated with news on the release for the new single "Moses".

Family

Elizabeth Fraser lives with her partner, musician Damon Reece (from the band Lupine Howl), in Bristol. She has two daughters, Lucy Belle Guthrie, her daughter with Robin Guthrie and Lily, her daughter with Damon Reece.

Collaboration and guest appearances with others: (1982 - present)

! Artist	! Album	! Track(s)	! Date	! Label	! Catalogue
Massive Attack		"Silent Spring"	2006	EMI
Yann Tiersen	''Les Retrouvailles''	"Mary", "Kala"	14 June 2005	EMI	B000852GIQ
Various artists (compilation)	''Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before...''	"At Last I Am Free"	7 October 2003	Rough Trade
Howard Shore	''The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers''	"Isengard Unleashed"	10 December 2002	Warner Brothers
Howard Shore	''The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring''	"Lothlórien: The Lament for Gandalf"	20 November 2001	Warner Brothers
Peter Gabriel	''OVO''	"Downside Up", "Make Tomorrow"	8 August 2000	EMI
Elliot Goldenthal; Elizabeth Fraser	''In Dreams (soundtrack)''	"Dream Baby"	12 January 1999	EMI
Simon Raymonde	''Blame Someone Else''	"Worship Me"	1998	Bella Union	Bella CD1
Massive Attack			1998	Virgin
Michael Kamen	''The Winter Guest''	"Take Me With You"	13 January 1998	Universal
	''The Space Between Us''	"This Love"	24 February 1998	Melankolic
	''Sunpowder''	"Danger in Love", "The Dutch Venus", "Angel on Ruskin", "The Night is Young"	1995	Marina
	''Live A Little, Love A Lot''	"Play God"	1995	Play It Again Sam Records	BIAS 320 CD
The Future Sound of London	''Lifeforms'' [Remixes] EP		29 July 1994	Astralwerks	ASW 6114-2
	''Sounds of Medicine''	"Time Baby 3"	1994	Beggars Banquet	ARBCDM 8
	''Mysterio''	"Heaven's Gate"	1992	Sire Records	9 26684-2
Ian McCulloch	''Candleland''	"Candleland"	1989	Sire Records	9 26012-2
Dif Juz	''Extractions''	"Love Insane"	1985	4AD	CAD 505
	''Primitive Painters/Cathedral''	"Primitive Painters"	1985	Cherry Red	12 CHERRY 89
The Wolfgang Press	''Scarecrow''	"Respect"	1984	4AD	BAD 409

References

External links

Official website

2009 Interview with Fraser, her first in a decade. ''The Guardian'' 26 November 2009

Category:1963 births Category:Living people Category:Female rock singers Category:Scottish singers Category:People from Grangemouth Category:4AD Category:Scottish female singers Category:Scottish sopranos

de:Elizabeth Fraser fr:Elizabeth Fraser it:Elizabeth Fraser pl:Elizabeth Fraser pt:Elizabeth Fraser fi:Elizabeth Fraser sv:Elizabeth Fraser

name	Teedra Moses
background	solo_singer
birth name	Teedra Moses
alias	Young Lioness
born	December 17, 1972New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
genre	R&B;, soul
occupation	Singer-songwriter
years active	2003–present
label	TVT Records, Arista Records, Maybach Music Group
associated acts	Ras Kass, Jadakiss, Mary J. Blige, Nivea, Christina Milan, Trina, Macy Gray, Rick Ross
website	www.teedra-moses.com }}

Teedra Moses (born December 17, 1976) is an American R&B; and soul singer-songwriter.

Biography

Teedra Moses was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, to a gospel singing mother, Shirley Moses. She later moved to California with her mother and three siblings after her parents' separation. Moses brought a little bit of that fervor to her own vocal style when she began singing professionally. The final song on her debut album, "I Think of You (Shirley's Song)", is dedicated to her late mother.

Career

Prior to becoming a recording artist, Moses worked with her best friend Nonja McKenzie as an assistant wardrobe stylist for artists such as Will Smith, Kelis, R. Kelly, and No Doubt. It was after breaking her leg on a video set that Moses decided to follow her heart and begin making music.

Following this epiphany, Moses teamed up with producer, Paul Poli and signed with the Indie Record Label, TVT Records to release her debut album Complex Simplicity in August 2004. Complex Simplicity included fourteen tracks all self-penned by Moses with dominant production by Poli; which led to the well-deserved executive production credit by both Moses & Poli. The album underperformed on the U.S. chart, debuting and peaking at number one hundred and sixty-eight on the Billboard 200. However, the album was Critically Acclaimed and otherwise found success on the Top R&B;/Hip-Hop Albums, the Top Independent Albums, and the Top Heatseekers, reaching number twenty, number eleven, and number ten, respectively.

In addition to executive producing and penning all the lyrics on her own project, Moses has written songs for other artists including Nivea, Christina Milian, Mary J. Blige and others. She was featured on and co-wrote two songs from Raphael Saadiq's 2004 album Ray Ray, "Chic" and "I Want You Back". Her songs have been showcased in the Logo series Noah's Arc as well as in the HBO hit show Entourage, movies such as Never Die Alone, Beauty Shop, and Be Cool.

Though Moses has not released a studio album in 6 years she can be found touring and doing live shows on a regular basis. From March to November 2010 Moses has been a spokes model on the Lady Hennessy Tour. In addition, Moses continues to release underground all original mixtapes for her fans to enjoy while she awaits a new label deal caused by the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filed in 2008 by the now defunct TVT Records.

On March 25, 2011, it was announced that Moses had signed to rapper Rick Ross' Maybach Music Group via Warner Bros. Records as its first female artist. Her second studio album entitled ''The Lioness'' is scheduled to be released there sometime in 2012. In anticipation of ''The Lioness'' Moses released the ''Luxurious Undergrind'' mixtape.

Songwriting credits

2003: "Still in Love" — from Nivea's album ''Nivea''

2004: "Dip It Low" — from Christina Milian's album ''It's About Time''

2004: ''Complex Simplicity'' - debut album entirely written by Teedra Moses

2004: "Chic" and "I Want You Back" - from Raphael Saadiq's album ''Raphael Saadiq As Ray Ray''

2005: "Get Up on Ya Gangsta" — from Teairra Marí's album ''Roc-A-Fella Presents: Teairra Marí''

2006: "Here We Go" — from Trina's album ''Glamorest Life''

2006: "So Lady" — from the Japanese and international edition of Mary J. Blige's album ''The Breakthrough''

2007: "Finally Made Me Happy", "Ghetto Love", and "AEIOU" — from Macy Gray's album ''Big''

Discography

Albums

''Complex Simplicity'' (2004)

''The Lioness'' (2012)

Singles

Year	Single	Chart positions		Album
		!width="50"	!width="50"

Mixtapes

''The Young Hustla Compilation (2004)

''Young Hustla Compilation Vol II: Live from the Jungle'' (2007)

''Lionhearted - Young Hustla Vol III'' (2009)

''Royal Patience... A Love Journey'' (2010)

''Luxurious Undergrind'' (2011)

Collaborations

2003: "Hot 1" and "I'm That Gangsta" — Ras Kass

2003: "Realize" — Bravehearts

2004: "Chic" and "I Want You Back" — Raphael Saadiq

2005: "Put That Thang Down" — Ying Yang Twins

2005: "Here We Go" — from Trina's album ''Glamorest Life'' (the album features the version with Kelly Rowland)

2008: "Get Yours" — Raheem DeVaughn

2011: "Face The Music" — Trackademicks

2011: "Self Made", "Rise" and "Running Rebels" — from Maybach Music Group's ''Self Made Vol. 1''

Tours

2004: Seagram’s Gin Live

2004: Live In London

2005: Raphael Saadiq As Ray Ray

2007: Heineken Red Star Soul

2008: Turn It Up

2010: Lady Hennessy

References

External links

Official website

Category:1976 births Category:African American female singer-songwriters Category:American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters Category:American soul singers Category:English-language singers Category:Living people Category:Musicians from New Orleans, Louisiana Category:Neo soul singers Category:TVT Records artists

es:Teedra Moses pl:Teedra Moses tr:Teedra Moses