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September 19, 2025

Moses as a Tyrant?

Key Points

Moses’s response to Zambrias avoids direct confrontation, which contrasts with typical behaviors of tyrants.
Josephus employs ancient stereotypes of tyrants to depict Moses as a despotic ruler while highlighting his restraint.
By comparing similar historical accusations, Moses is presented in a light that diminishes the validity of tyranny claims.
The study illustrates how control over emotions and response strategy may combat accusations of despotism.

Abstract

Abstract This paper examines Zambrias’s accusation of tyranny against Moses in Flavius Josephus’s Jewish Antiquities ( Ant . 4.145–149) and Moses’s distinctive response. Unlike his handling of Korah’s rebellion, Moses addresses Zambrias’s charge with notable restraint and a lack of direct confrontation. This study explores how Zambrias’s speech activates ancient stereotypes about tyrants – deception, lawlessness, and the metaphor of slavery – and how these are used to depict Moses as a despotic ruler. By analyzing the broader context of sole rulership in the ancient world and comparing Moses’s response to similar cases, such as Josephus’s handling of accusations in Vita 260 and Fabius Maximus’s strategy as recounted in Livy, Ab urbe condita 22.14.1–15.1, this paper argues that Josephus intentionally crafts an anti-tyrannical image of Moses. Instead of exhibiting the anger and harshness typical of a tyrant, Moses passes over the accusation and maintains control over his affections, thereby letting the charge come to nothing.

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