Moses

As far as I know, there is no direct archaeological evidence for the existence of Moses. However, there are other lines of evidence to support that he was a historical figure.

Extra-Biblical sources have attested to the existence of Moses.

Roman historian Publius Cornelius Tacitus (56 AD – 120 AD):

To establish his influence over this people for all time, Moses introduced new religious practices, quite opposed to those of all other religions. The Jews regard as profane all that we hold sacred; on the other hand, they permit all that we abhor. They dedicated, in a shrine, a statue of that creature whose guidance enabled them to put an end to their wandering and thirst,​9 sacrificing a ram, apparently in derision of Ammon

https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/ … s/5A*.html

Roman historian Gnaeus Pompeius Trogu (first century BC):

Moses was his son: who was in great esteem, not only from the knowledge he inherited from his father, but from the beauty of his countenance also. 13 But as for the Egyptians, when they were afflicted with the scab and leprosy, they were admonished by an oracle to banish him, and those afflicted persons with him; lest that pestilential distemper should spread farther. 14 He therefore became the leader of these exiles; and stole away the Egyptian Gods:*** 15 which when the Egyp­tians went armed to recover, they were forced by tempests to return home again

https://penelope.uchicago.edu/josephus/justin_36.html

Greek historian Diodorus Siculus (90 BC – 30 BC):

“The Leader of this Colony was one Moses, a very wise and valiant Man, who after he had possess’d himself of the Country, amongst other Cities built that now most Famous City Jerusalem; and the Temple there, which is so greatly Reverenc’d among them. He then instituted the manner of GOD’s Worship, and the Holy Rites and Ceremonies: and made Laws for the Government of the Common-wealth, and reduc’d them into a methodical Order.”
https://sarata.com/history/diodorus-sic … e.736.html

Islamic sources attest to the existence of Moses.

In Islam, Mūsā ibn ʿImrān (Arabic: موسی ابن عمران, lit. ’Moses, son of Amram’),[1] is an important prophet and messenger of God (Allah) and is the most frequently mentioned individual in the Quran, with his name being mentioned 136 times and his life being narrated and recounted more than that of any other prophet.[2][3]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moses_in_Islam

“In the Quran he also plays an important role and, again, is the most often cited religious figure who is mentioned 115 times as opposed to Muhammed who is referred to by name only four times in the text.”
https://www.worldhistory.org/Moses/

Moses has had a significant impact on human history.

Moses[note 1] (/ˈmoʊzɪz, -zɪs/)[2] is considered the most important prophet in Judaism[3][4] and one of the most important prophets in Christianity, Islam, the Druze faith,[5][6] the Baháʼí Faith and other Abrahamic religions. According to both the Bible and the Quran,[7] Moses was the leader of the Israelites and lawgiver to whom the authorship, or “acquisition from heaven”, of the Torah (the first five books of the Bible) is attributed.[8]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moses

Moses was a symbol used in the founding of the US.

“On July 4, 1776, immediately after the Declaration of Independence was officially passed, the Continental Congress asked John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin to design a seal that would clearly represent a symbol for the new United States. They chose the symbol of Moses leading the Israelites to freedom.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moses#Leg … cs_and_law

George Washington was compared to Moses.

“After the death of George Washington in 1799, two thirds of his eulogies referred to him as “America’s Moses,” with one orator saying that “Washington has been the same to us as Moses was to the Children of Israel.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moses#Leg … cs_and_law

US law was influenced by Moses.

“John Adams, 2nd President of the United States, stated why he relied on the laws of Moses over Greek philosophy for establishing the United States Constitution: “As much as I love, esteem, and admire the Greeks, I believe the Hebrews have done more to enlighten and civilize the world. Moses did more than all their legislators and philosophers.”[164] Swedish historian Hugo Valentin credited Moses as the “first to proclaim the rights of man.”[174] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moses#Leg … cs_and_law

Abraham Lincoln was compared to Moses by abolitionists.

“Therefore, when Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in 1865 after the passage of the amendment to the Constitution outlawing slavery, Black Americans said they had lost “their Moses”.[177] Lincoln biographer Charles Carleton Coffin writes, “The millions whom Abraham Lincoln delivered from slavery will ever liken him to Moses, the deliverer of Israel.”[178] Similarly, Harriet Tubman, who rescued approximately seventy enslaved family and friends, was also described as the “Moses” of her people.[179]”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moses#Sla … vil_rights

“In the 1960s, a leading figure in the civil rights movement was Martin Luther King Jr., who was called “a modern Moses,” and often referred to Moses in his speeches: “The struggle of Moses, the struggle of his devoted followers as they sought to get out of Egypt. This is something of the story of every people struggling for freedom.”[180] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moses#Sla … vil_rights

In the US Capital, 23 lawgivers are depicted in marble relief, including people such Hammurabi, Thomas Jefferson, Sir William Blackstone, Maimonides, etc. Only Moses is facing straight ahead while all the others are facing towards Moses.

https://www.aoc.gov/explore-capitol-cam … -lawgivers

In the middle of the top of the Supreme Court building is Moses holding the 10 commandments.

Presidents have refered to Moses.

“Among the Presidents of the United States known to have used the symbolism of Moses were Harry S. Truman, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama, who referred to his supporters as “the Moses generation.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moses#Leg … cs_and_law

According to the late Sen. Ted Kennedy’s memoir, President Bill Clinton cited Moses and the Ten Commandments at a meeting with members of the Senate Armed Services Committee in defense of a softened ban on gays in the military. “In a religious and literary sense, Moses is the most important human character in the Jewish scriptures and one of the most important characters in the Bible,” says Michael Coogan, lecturer on the Old Testament at Harvard Divinity School.

https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/20 … ree-faiths

It would be extremely odd for such a vast group of people to refer to a fictional person. We have ancient Roman and Greek historians, Islamic writers, founders of the US, depictions on federal buildings, and presidents all treating Moses to have been an historical person to have led the Hebrews out of Egyptian slavery.

Though this doesn’t show whether Moses was real or not, the rod of Asclepius is an interesting point of trivia. It is used as a medical symbol worldwide, but the earliest usage of the serpent/pole for healing was by Moses.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rod_of_Asclepius

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Health_Organization

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_ … ssociation

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerospace … ssociation

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yale_School_of_Medicine

Biblical scholars look to the Book of Numbers, in which the Nehushtan (Hebrew: נחושתן or נחש הנחושת) was a brass serpent on a pole that God told Moses to erect, saying that anyone bitten [by a snake] would live if they looked at it.[17] This Biblical account is the earliest known record of the pole/serpent combination (though the exact configuration is not known).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rod_of_Asclepius