Representations of the figure of Moses are both central and pervasive in the history of Western political thought. The story of Moses, as depicted in the Books of Exodus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy in the Hebrew Bible, has generated an immensely powerful set of images that have left a lasting mark on both Western and global culture.
Moses and Political Philosophy explores the enduring tropes drawn from this narrative, which continue to shape political discourse up to the present. The book examines why these interpretations retain such a lasting relevance in contemporary debates and explores how an appreciation of them can enrich our engagement with the centuries-long dialogue that has shaped the tradition of Western political theory. Offering a comprehensive analysis of the Moses story, the book investigates various appropriations of the tale, the characterization of the Mosaic regime, the politically charged implications of Moses’s authority, and the most intriguing puzzles and paradoxes within the narrative. In doing so, Moses and Political Philosophy sheds new light on the profound and lasting influence of the Moses story on the evolution of political thought.

Ronald Beiner is a professor emeritus of political science at the University of Toronto.

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Harrison Fluss is an assistant professor of philosophy at St. John’s University.

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