How God Tested Moses, David, and Amos at the Pasture

Midrash Tanchuma Buber, Shemot 10:2

Curated by Arthur·Translated by Maggid (Beta)·

Another interpretation (of Psalms 11:5): "The Lord tests the righteous." Rabbi Isaac said: With what does He test the righteous? With the pasture. David was tested with the pasture, as it is said, "From following the nursing ewes He brought him" (Psalms 78:70-71). Amos was tested with the pasture, "And the Lord took me from following the flock" (Amos 7:15). Moses too was tested with the pasture, as it is said, "And Moses was shepherding..." (Exodus 3:1).

Themes

MosesHumilityProphecy

Biblical References

Continue Reading

The Exempla of the Rabbis (1924)Why God Spoke to Moses from a Humble ThornbushA heathen once pressed Rabban Gamliel with a question he thought would trip up the Rabbi. Why, he asked, did the God of Israel reveal Himself to Moses out of a Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on ExodusMoses Asks God For the Name to Tell Israel"And Moses said before the Lord, Behold, I will go to the sons of Israel, and say to them, The Lord God of your fathers hath sent me to you: and they will say tTargum Pseudo-Jonathan on ExodusMoses Grasps the Serpent by the Tail and It Becomes a RodAt the burning bush, the Holy One asks Moses to do something that violates every shepherd's instinct. The staff he has carried through decades in Midian has jusTargum Pseudo-Jonathan on ExodusMoses Did Not Know His Own Face Was ShiningAfter forty days on Sinai, Moses came down with the two tablets of testimony in his hand, and something had happened to his face. The Torah's Hebrew says karan,Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on ExodusWhen Moses Removed the Veil to Speak With GodMoses wore a veil over his face after Sinai, because the shining of his skin frightened the people (Exodus 34:30). But there was one moment he always took it ofTargum Pseudo-Jonathan on ExodusThe Israelites Who Could Not Look at Moses' FaceAfter every encounter in the Tent of Meeting, Moses came out with his face alight. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Exodus 34:35) says plainly: the sons of Israel saw