Book review: The God Whom Moses Knew by J. Roger Nelson

 

I enjoyed reading this book. I could not put the book down. Being a mother of 5 young children, I do not say that lightly. The book is a fascinating fictional story of Moses' life based on historical records found in the Bible and other documents which are well documented throughout the book. The book describes relationships between Moses and other characters that are otherwise missed in other stories.

The author begins the book by stating "Believing that there is great drama in the early pages of the Bible that is not available to the vast readership, but that is of considerable value in trying to understand God and His relationship to us, I have taken a portion of the revered text and fleshed it out, all the while being careful not to alter the biblical facts" and then he painstakingly explains that the book is a novel (by definition a novel is a fictitious prose narrative of book length, typically representing character and action with some degree of realism.) and how his imagination developed the fiction that fills the gaps in his book.

As with any fictional story based on history, there are times that the story doesn't completely match. One such conflict I found is how the author describes Moses when he was younger. His speech seems to be with authority when he is living in the palace but then at the burning bush he says that his speech and isn't eloquent which matches Biblical accounts.

With that being said this book would be a great addition to a study on Moses. The author certainly deserves credit for his research which is a resource in itself. J. Roger Nelson successfully brings life to a story told and retold so many times. I would recommend this book to anyone.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”