The Wings of Moses the Prophet

It is widely known that Moses stood before the pharaoh as a prophet and presented two evidences. Why did he go to the pharaoh and other notables with these two evidences? What is the significance of these evidences?

The first evidence is the staff of Moses turning into a snake.

The second evidence is a snow white hand, though not merely a “snow white hand.” Ayahs regarding this evidence also mention the wing of Moses. This topic has been ignored for years likely due to insufficient knowledge of previous translators.  Since the word wing did not fit into the translation before, it is mostly translated as arm. On the other hand; the word “yedeke,” meaning arm in Arabic, is already used in the ayahs. This is why the word “cenah” cannot mean arm in these ayahs. Some claim that “cenah” means side, yet it reads “pull your ‘cenah’ to yourself.” Because one cannot pull their side to themself, this word means “wing.”

In Exodus part 4 it reads: “Moses pulled his hand from his chest; it was like leprosy, snow white.” No leper, however, has white hands but deformed ones. The word snow does not fit this sentence. This translation, therefore, is inaccurate.

The word leper corresponds to the word “masara” in Torah while the word mark corresponds to “sara.” Ma- being a prefix that indicates absence, “masara” also means without mark. “Masara” corresponds to the Acadian word “asare” which means immaculate.

In Exodus 7:1 God addresses Moses: “I made you like the god of pharaohs.”

Given below are ayahs from Kasas and Taha regarding this topic.

Kasas 31: “’Trow your staff.’ When Moses saw his staff moving like a snake he turned and ran without looking back. Such was said: ‘O moses! Turn, come back; do not be afraid, you are absolutely among the safe ones.’ ”

Kasas 32: “Put your hand in from your collar, shall it come out stainless and snow white, and stick the wing of fear to yourself. These two are two evidences from your God to the pharaoh and its society. No doubt, they became a miscreant community.

Taha 22: And put your hand under your wing, shall it come out as another miracle, shamelessly white.

If Moses stood before the pharaoh and the notables with the evidences we interpreted until now, he would be killed. He was not killed, however, but considered worthy to a test.

The two things Moses showed to pharaoh as evidences are, in fact, no ordinary magic. They are highly meaningful and capable of proving Moses a prophet, therefore undermining the pharaohs reign. In order to understand the full meaning behind these evidences one has to know about some important concepts of Ancient Egyptian religion.

The pharaoh was considered the representative and the son of Ra, the creator god. Ra had two proxies, Wadjet and Nekhbet, that were both respected and feared.

The holy cobra and the holy vulture, representing the reign of the pharaoh.

Wadjet: Represented as an attacking cobra. It was the protector god of the Lower Egypt as well as the protector of other gods and Egyptian land. Being the proxy of Ra, Wadjet is one of the oldest gods. It was the boss and governor of the pharaoh. It was also the god of prophecy. The pharaohs of the Lower Egypt wore a red hat that had a figure of an attacking cobra in order to indicate their reign. 21th of April was dedicated to Wadjet as a holiday.

Nekhbet: Represented as a white vulture, one of its wings facing up and the other down. It carries Ankh or Shen in its paw or on its chest. Both ways it represents the afterlife and infinite power. Nekhbet is the oldest protector god of the Upper Egypt. Proxy of Ra, it is, with Wadjet, the boss and the governor of the pharaoh; also the god of prophecy. The pharaohs of the Upper Egypt wore hats that had a figure of a white vulture in order to indicate their reign.

Nekhbet on the left, the Eye of Ra in the middle and Wadjet on the left. Nekbeth in the rightmost illustration.

Nekbeth is illustrated with its right wing facing down, its left wing facing up, and carrying Shen or Ankh.

Kasas 32: “Put your hand under your wing (arm), shall it come out stainless, snow white. Pull to yourself your wing that spreads majestically! These two are your Gods two evidences against the pharaoh and his notables. They are in fact an off base nation.”

The sentence “put your hand in from your collar…” in Taha 22 strongly suggests the sentence “Put your hand under your wing…” in Kasas 32, implying these two ayahs recount each other.

Ankh

The symbol of infinite life. Gods are commonly drawn holding Ankh to someone’s lips, symbolizing the breath of life, the breath that is needed in the afterlife.

Shen

A circle with neither a beginning point nor an ending point. It symbolizes omnipotency. The Disc of Sun resides within it. It is also the sign of protection. It is present above the heads of some gods. Pharaohs kept it on their hats to protect themselves. The word Shen comes from the word siege (conquering in the name of the king).

This hand symbol from Hieroglyph means activity or activity with hand. Moreover, the color white indicates power and purity. This is why the pharaohs and the gods were drawn dressed in white.

Someone with a staff in one hand represents deity.

When the Upper Egypt and the Lower Egypt united in ancient times, pharaohs started wearing hats that contained both red and white and had both the cobra and the vulture on the same hat. Both symbols, therefore, began to represent the pharaohs’ divinity and reign. They also remained the governor of pharaohs.

Although they both have feminine naming, both of them are the father of fathers as well as the mother of mothers, having no gender. They were significant custodians of the pharaoh.

Moses, with his staff on his hand, stood before the pharaoh as a prophet of God and first throws his staff on the ground, showing the evidence of Wadjet. Then he showed the evidence of Nekhbet as he miraculously shows snow white wings of his possession. These miracles proved that he truly is a prophet of God. The pharaoh and the notables, however, claim that he was a magician. They, then, summoned all magicians and made them compete in order to test Moses and Harun, leaving the date for the competition up to Moses. He answers as it reads in Taha 59: “Our meeting time shall be on the holiday, at mid-morning when the feast will be done and the people will gather.”

The date he gives corresponds to the Day of Wadjet, april 21th.

These two evidences are proved to be real miracles on the Day of Wadjet after the snake of Moses swallows all other snakes. All the magicians and some men of the pharaoh surrendered to the God of Moses, converting to his religion. The pharaoh, on the other hand, did not give up on his contumacy until he drowns in the spring of sea.

After all this findings one should understand that the translation of Qur’an should not be left only to the theologians. Theologians should collaborate with scientists of every branch as they translate holy scripts. Old translations should be examined yet they should not be treated as actual holy scripts.