In Deuteronomy 18:15–22, Moses declares God would raise up a specific prophet in the future. This prophet would stand out for at least three reasons: (1) he would be like Moses, (2) God’s people would listen to this prophet, and (3) God would judge those who refused to listen to him. This prophet, as Deuteronomy 34:10–12 declares, did not physically arise during the OT era. However, while the prophet may not have physically appeared during the OT era, this does not mean his voice was not heard or his influence felt during this same period. Indeed, this paper considers evidence from both the OT and NT leading to the conclusion the prophet like Moses’s voice rings throughout the Psalter, especially in Books One and Two.
After a brief review of the words in Deuteronomy speaking of the prophet like Moses, the paper considers four specific blocks of evidence pointing toward the prophet like Moses’s pervasive presence in the Psalms.
First, the paper considers evidence from the five-book structure of the Psalter itself. While many scholars recognize connections exist between the five books of Moses and the five books in the Psalms, this paper argues a likely connection between these two five-book collections relates to the primary voice associated with each collection. In the same way Moses speaks throughout the OT’s first five-book collection, evidence suggests the prophet like Moses speaks throughout the OT’s second five-book collection.
Second, the paper examines the superscriptions of the psalms, demonstrating these features do, at times, explicitly connect the following poetic text to Moses. Third, the study considers the words and themes of the poetic text within specific psalms. The poetry draws attention to the main character’s connection to Moses while, at the same time, also distancing the speaker in the poetry from Moses. He is like Moses in many ways; however, he clearly surpasses him in others. Fourth, this paper examines NT passages explicitly or implicitly connecting Jesus to the prophet like Moses and the relevance this has for interpretations of the Psalms. The paper concludes with a consideration of the implications this understanding has for the church.