how to say “Moses” in Hebrew

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/משה-#.m4a” /]מֹשֶׁה

The name of the great prophet Moses, in Hebrew, is משה[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/משה-#.m4a” /]. It’s also the name of my father, who taught me the Hebrew language.

The Torah speaks about Moses’ name:

[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/משה-#.m4a” /]וַתִּקְרָא שְׁמוֹ מֹשֶׁה וַתֹּאמֶר כִּי מִן הַמַּיִם מְשִׁיתִהוּ. (שמות ב’, י’)

And she (Pharaoh’s daughter) called his name Moshe, and she said, For I have drawn him forth from the water. (Exodus 2:10)

Now, משיתיהו[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/משה-#.m4a” /] is a form of the simple verb למשות[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/משה-#.m4a” /] – to take out of the water. But it turns out that the name משה itself probably comes from Ancient Egyptian or Sumerian. What about Pharaoh’s daughter’s baby naming? Considering that she most likely spoke Egyptian rather than Hebrew, she probably didn’t utter Hebrew the words כי מן המים משיתיהו[audioclip url=”https://archive.ulpan.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/משה-#.m4a” /]. Rather, the Torah makes the connection for us, the Hebrew-speaking readers, between the name משה and the word משיתיהו.