Forbidden History - The Staff of Moses: Power, Symbolism, and Legacy

Episode Date: April 24, 2025

In this episode, we explore the legendary Staff of Moses, an unassuming shepherd’s rod turned divine instrument of miracles. From transforming into a serpent, to parting the Red Sea, we're joined by historian Tony McMahon to help us trace its symbolic power and enduring mystery throughout history. Cast List: Tony McMahon: Former BBC news producer, author, print journalist and historian  Eric Meyers: Narrator Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to the Forbidden History Podcast. This program is presented solely for educational and entertainment purposes. It contains mature adult themes. Listener discretion is advised. In a world filled with artifacts, few have the mystique and power of the staff of Moses. But what if this seemingly simple object holds secrets far older than we ever imagined? Moses was more than a magician. He was a prophet. So this staff produces water from a rock, it transforms into a snake, it parts the Red Sea.

You know, this is a stick with supernatural powers. This is the moment when Moses obtains a real purpose to his life and obviously makes him a character known to all of us through the millennia. But then Moses raises his staff and the Red Sea parts, one of the greatest miracles in the Bible. In this episode of the Forbidden History podcast, we explore the ancient legend of Moses's staff, an object that is said to hold the power to split seas, summon plagues, and possibly even defy time itself.

But what if the staff was more than just a tool of divine will? What if it was some sort of key, an artifact filled with ancient forces beyond comprehension? In the shadow of Egypt's towering power, the Israelites' faith wasn't just a source of strength. It was a conduit, channeling something much older, much darker. Some say the staff was never just a symbol of hope, but a bridge between realms, a link to an unseen force that defied the very laws of nature. The Israelites' spiritual practices were rooted in their own traditions, distinct from the Egyptian polytheistic beliefs.

They held a strong worship for their one God, Yahweh, and maintained their customs, despite the pressure to adopt the Egyptian gods and way of life. Their faith provided strength in the face of their oppression, and the idea of a future deliverance, as predicted by Moses, was a powerful source of motivation. The Israelites lived in a world of constant struggle, but their faith and hope for freedom remained firm, even as their lives were shaped by the might and power of Egypt. Despite modern depictions of the staff, the Israelites living in harsh conditions and poverty would have had little access to luxury or fine materials.

Therefore, the staff of Moses would have most likely been a simple, useful object, more like an olive branch than a lavish, expensive symbol. Tony McMahon is an investigative historian, journalist, and author. His work spans biographies and historical mysteries. Tony explains more about the staff of Moses. I guess in terms of visualizing the staff of Moses, everybody has their own idea from statues they've seen, or in my case, a children's illustrated Bible that I read when I was a kid.

So I've always visualized it as kind of a gnarly, not like a Victorian walking stick. This is more like something fashioned from a branch, you know, something that people would have used to walk in the ancient world, but I imagine it as quite a long, stout, gnarly stick, something that would have looked fairly innocuous until it performed its magical powers. Early visual depictions of the staff of Moses are rare, as ancient Egyptian and Jewish art often avoided detailed representations of sacred objects. Instead, they focused on symbolism, leaving the staff largely unseen. However, by the medieval period, artists began to give the staff form, often portraying it

as a simple, gnarled rod, emphasizing its modest nature. During the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, Renaissance art portraying iconic scenes like departing of the Red Sea brought Moses and his staff into sharper focus. However, these depictions were more about narrative power than historical accuracy, showing the staff as a symbol of divine authority and miraculous force. The staff of Moses is something really fascinating because it's just basically a walking stick, but it's more than that. It's a stick that conferred authority on Moses, and it's a stick, I suppose we could say

in some ways it was like a magic wand, but we wouldn't put it like that, of course, because Moses was more than a magician, he was a prophet. So this staff produces water from a rock, it transforms into a snake, it parts the Red Sea. You know, this is a stick with supernatural powers. To unlock the secrets of this mythical artifact, we must first understand the man behind the staff, Moses. According to classical Bible reckoning, he was born in 1393 BC into a world of turmoil. Moses was raised in the Egyptian royal court after being saved from Pharaoh's order to kill all Hebrew male infants. Said to be hidden in a basket, he was set adrift on the Nile by his mother, a desperate act of faith and hope. It was on those waters under the watchful eyes of the Egyptian princess that Moses' fate was sealed.

Raised as an Egyptian prince, he grew up surrounded by luxury. surrounded by luxury. His early life was shaped by a tension between two worlds, the lavish court of Pharaoh and the hidden ancient traditions of his true people. Moses' heritage as a Hebrew would eventually call to him. But what was the ultimate event that led to Moses' divine calling? The vision that Moses experiences at the burning bush is really the inciting incident that sends him on his journey, on his quest to liberate the Jewish people. And the story runs that Moses is tending his sheep on Mount Horeb,

and he sees a bush that's burning. But the bush doesn't burn out. It just keeps burning and burning. And he's intrigued by this. He goes up, he looks at it. And then from the bush, you know, this incredibly unusual incident where God speaks to him from within these flames from within the bush and says, I am who I am, and then tells Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt.

God instructs Moses to take the staff and use it as an instrument of divine authority. The staff became more than just a tool. It was infused with supernatural power, capable of performing miracles such as parting the Red Sea, producing water from a rock, and transforming into a serpent. It was in this moment that Moses' staff became a symbol of God's power, marking the beginning of his extraordinary mission. And it is one of the most visually alluring, unusual episodes in the Bible, but the significance is this is the moment when Moses is sent on his quest.

This is the moment when Moses obtains a real purpose to his life and obviously makes him a character known to all of us through the millennia. But how and when Moses got his hands on this staff is more open to debate. The most widely accepted origin of the staff comes from the Bible, particularly in the book of Exodus. Moses' staff is first introduced when he is tending sheep in the desert. God appears to him in the burning bush and instructs him to use his staff as a sign of divine power. The staff is transformed into a serpent and then back into a rod, marking the beginning of Moses' mission to free the Israelites.

However, there are many experts and legends that contradict this. There are all sorts of stories about the staff of Moses and how old it is. And in Jewish scripture and in legends, Jewish legends, it's said that the staff even goes back to the Garden of Eden, that it may have even been fashioned from the tree of good and evil, that it may have been owned originally by Adam, and that it came down through the prophets via Abraham down to Moses. And this is very common.

When you find an object like this that is incredibly holy, there's a tendency in the Abrahamic religions to, as it were, predate it, right back to the beginning of time. So we have this idea that the staff of Moses, yes, it was owned by Moses, but actually it had been inherited by Moses from the prophets that preceded him and going right back to Adam, and that it was created on the sixth day of creation according to Jewish scripture. So this was a staff that was already incredibly old by the time that Moses came to wield it. Some believe that certain interpretations suggest that Moses' staff was originally a symbol of Egyptian royalty,

as he was raised in Pharaoh's court. The staff might have been a royal sceptre, an object of authority, and it was later transformed into a divine instrument when Moses was chosen by God to lead the Israelites. Could the confusion surrounding the physical description of Moses' staff actually be due to its striking similarity to Aaron's rod, another key object in the biblical story? Moses has his staff, but also Aaron has what's described as the rod of Aaron. To all intents and purposes, these are two identical objects, but one is owned by Moses and the other by Aaron. Sometimes it's a bit confusing to distinguish whether or not we're talking about the staff of Moses or the rod of Aaron.

The stories can sometimes be a little bit opaque. But I think it's clear that Aaron's rod, for example, unleashes the plagues in Egypt and turns into a snake and eats the snakes that are created by Pharaoh's sorcerers. They turn their sticks into snakes as well, but his snake is better than their snakes. So Aaron's rod does specific things, and Moses' staff does other things. So it parts the Red Sea, it produces water from rocks and so on. So what we have of basically these two brothers, Moses and Aaron, who have their own respective sticks that do different things. So I hope that clears up that. Both rods were instruments of divine authority used to perform incredible miracles.

With these two items playing such essential roles in the same events, it's no wonder they became blurred in ancient and later depictions. But what was the ultimate fate of? Moses' staff. Was it used for further divine miracles? Or did it disappear from the narrative altogether? Coming up after the break. The rod of Aaron and Moses' staff might seem similar, but they each played very different roles in the story of the Exodus. Aaron's rod was all about divine authority and judgment. It turned into a serpent in front of Pharaoh's magicians, proving that God's power far outweighed the magic of Egypt. It also unleashed the plagues, from frogs to locusts, punishing Egypt for its defiance. But Aaron's rod didn't require much from him. It was a tool that

acted on its own, a divine weapon of judgment whenever God commanded it. Moses's staff, on the other hand, was active. It needed his faith and obedience to perform miracles. The staff was used to bring water from Iraq, to lead the Israelites into battle, and one of the most notorious miracles in the Bible, the parting of the Red Sea. Investigative historian, author, and journalist Tony McMahon explains more. The staff of Moses seems to wield its maximum power, essentially when Moses holds it up high. So basically, the Jewish people are leaving Egypt, they are leaving their bondage, their slavery in Egypt and they're confronted by this large body of water. And Pharaoh and his armies are pursuing them and it seems as if all is lost.

Nature has got in the way of the Jewish Exodus. But then Moses raises his staff and the Red Sea parts, one of the greatest miracles in the Bible and he's able then to lead the Jewish people through. but he has to keep, and this is a theme that comes up again and again, he has to keep the staff raised. If he lowers it, the power seems to diminish. So keeps his arms up, the Red Sea is parted. The moment he then lowers his arms, and the Jewish people have made their way through the Red Sea and Moses, then, of course, Pharaoh's armies are drowned in the deluge that follows. The need for Moses to keep his staff raised is mentioned again in one of the most dramatic moments in the story. during the battle against the Amalekites.

As long as Moses held his staff up, the Israelites were victorious. But when his hands dropped, the tide turned in favor of the Amalekites. It took two others, Aaron and her, a member of the tribe of Judah, stepping in to help hold Moses' arms up to win the battle. Moses' staff wasn't just a symbol. It was a physical tool for miraculous intervention, demonstrating how God's power was directly tied to Moses' actions. Moses' staff, the very object that parted the Red Sea and saved the Israelites from the

Egyptian army, sparks a fascinating debate. Was it a tool of divine power? Or was it simply a magical relic that performed the miracles on its own? On one hand, some argue that the staff was merely a vessel for God's miraculous power, a divine instrument used to fulfill God's plan. On the other hand, the staff's seemingly autonomous acts, like turning into a snake or bringing water from a rock, make it look a lot like a magical object that could tap into supernatural forces.

Was it Moses' faith that activated these divine miracles? or was the staff a magical tool of ancient power? Something that's very important with regards to the miracles in the Bible and particularly to something like the staff of Moses and we find this disgust even in the Bible is to distinguish between miracles and magic. And Moses is at pains and God is even more at pains to make the point that these are not conjuring tricks.

This is not magic. These are miracles that prove the existence of God and the superiority of Judaism to other pagan religions. But it's important that the Jewish people don't kind of invest an almost idolatrous veneration of the staff. You know, the staff is something disposable, whereas their beliefs are not. So Moses is eventually instructed by God and by Jewish scholars to cast the staff away to show the Jewish people it's not about the object because after all, one of the commandments is not to venerate idols.

So they mustn't venerate the staff. They mustn't venerate statues. They mustn't venerate physical objects. They must venerate God. So they mustn't fixate on the staff. So that is why the staff is, if you want, treated disdainfully at the end, is cast a way to show that it is God

who is in control and not a magic wand. The staff had served its purpose. but it was never meant to be idolized or turned into a symbol of magic. By destroying or discarding it, Moses made a statement. The miracles were God's doing, not the staffs. Perhaps in the end, the staff was too dangerous, a constant reminder of divine power that could easily be mistaken for something more worldly. But that is far from the end of the legend of the staff of Moses,

as there is another revered and far more famous holy relic that ties into this tale. The Ark of the Covenant is one of the most legendary and mysterious objects in biblical history. This ancient chest, made of acacia wood and covered in gold, was the very throne of God on earth, holding the stone tablets with the Ten Commandments. It was crafted according to specifications given to Moses on Mount Sinai. But this wasn't just any sacred relic. It was a supernatural object with powers that could level entire armies, or bring devastation to anyone who dared disrespect it.

The connection between the staff of Moses and the Ark of the Covenant is a tantalizing mystery that has sparked much debate. According to some biblical accounts, after the Exodus, the staff was indeed placed inside the Ark, alongside the Ten Commandments. During the Exodus, Moses and the Jewish people are instructed to create a tabernacle. And this is a temple of sorts that will house the Ark of the Covenant. This object, the Ark of the Covenant, which in of itself has really quite terrifying powers, is where the Ten Commandments are housed and the manor that fell from heaven and the Rod of Aaron and so on.

When the Jewish people get to Jerusalem, the Ark of the Covenant, the Tabernacle as it were, goes on tour. It goes from place to place until eventually Solomon builds the first temple in Jerusalem. And in a room, the Holy of Holies, the Ark of the Covenant is placed. This room is deemed to be literally a room where God lives. This is where God, as it were, connects to the Jewish people. people and this is why only the high priest is allowed to go into that room. Anybody else it's on pain of death if they enter that room. So the temple is literally the house of God and the Holy of Holies, this room where the

Ark of the Covenant is kept. This is literally where God dwells and it's not a figure of speech, it's literally where God is and where he speaks to the Jewish people. If the staff of Moses was indeed stored in the Ark of the Covenant, then the key to finding the staff might lie in uncovering the Ark itself. Consider this, the most coveted artifact in biblical history, hidden away with the very staff that performed miracles, now buried beneath centuries of mystery. The Ark's disappearance has fueled theories for ages, from its secret resting place in Ethiopia

to its possible concealment under the ruins of Jerusalem. But if the staff is truly inside the ark, then locating this sacred chest could unlock not just one of history's greatest treasures, but also the hidden power of Moses' staff. The search for the ark isn't just about a lost relic. It's about discovering the ultimate symbol of divine authority, a key that could lead to uncovering the secrets of the past, and perhaps even unlocking mysteries that have been dormant for millennia. Perhaps the Ark of the Covenant could be the map that leads to the true location of the staff.

So the question is, what happened to the staff of Moses after Moses dies? Well, it continues in the hands of Joshua, for example, and the prophets that come after Moses. It's housed in the Holy of Holies, in the temple that Solomon builds in Jerusalem. Now, the Babylonians come along in the 6th century BC. They destroy Solomon's temple. and it looks like the staff of Moses and the Ark of the Covenant are lost to history. But in other accounts, well, the Ethiopian Christian Church claims that it has the Staff of Moses and the Ark of the Covenant and it's still jealously guarded in a church today in Ethiopia.

But more intriguingly, the Staff of Moses turns up in the Byzantine Empire. Now, this isn't a complete surprise because the Byzantine... The Byzantine Empire, which is basically the Eastern Roman Empire, basically claimed to have every relic you can imagine. I mean, the Byzantine emperors claimed to have the table from the Last Supper. They even said they had breadcrumbs from the last supper. They had the head of John the Baptist, they had the shroud that was wrapped around Jesus and so on. Unsurprisingly, they also claimed to have the staff of Moses. And Eusabius, who is a Christian Roman historian, makes it clear.

that the staff of Moses was in Constantinople. And that was important for the Roman Emperor Constantine, who founded Constantinople, because he was the first Christian emperor, and he wanted to compare himself to Moses. You know, he was the new Moses leading the Roman Empire to the promised land of Christianity. But who claims to own the staff today?

So during the 4th century, C.E., the Rod of Moses, the staff of Moses, was brought to Constantinople in a lot of fanfare and it was basically then housed in the Church of the Theoticus of the Rabdos, which means rod in Greek. And it stays there basically. So the Staff of Moses is there venerated by the Byzantine Empire until it falls. The empire falls in 1453. It's invaded by the Ottoman Turks.

and Constantinople becomes Istanbul, becomes a Muslim city, becomes the capital of the Muslim Ottoman Empire, which lasts until the First World War. And the Ottoman sultans put the staff of Moses into their brand new palace, the Topkapi Palace, and it's there still today, along with a lot of other relics.

That obsession with relics was inherited by the Ottomans from the Byzantines. So if you're looking for the staff of Moses, Moses. Well, one very possible candidate is in Istanbul today in the Top Karpi Palace. Though I have one piece of bad news for any of you who want to visit, and that is they do not let you take photos, selfies, videos or anything like that. It's far too holy to be trivialized in such a way. A second strong contender for the resting place of the Ark is Ethiopia, where legends say

the sacred chest and the staff of Moses have been hidden for centuries. A According to the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, they have long possessed the Ark, which is said to be kept in the Church of St. Mary of Zion in Axum, a city steeped in ancient history and religious significance. The story goes that the Ark was brought to Ethiopia by the son of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, making it a treasure tied to both biblical and royal bloodlines. Ethiopian tradition holds that the Ark has been carefully guarded ever since, hidden away to prevent desecration.

Some believe that the Staff, along with the Ark, was brought here to protect it from invaders, as Ethiopia's long history of independence and devotion to Christianity would make it a safe haven. Could this ancient land really hold the key to unlocking both the Ark's mysteries and the staff of Moses? The possibility has fascinated explorers, scholars, and treasure hunters alike, fueling the idea that the ultimate biblical treasure might be sitting quietly in Ethiopia. Regarding the Ethiopian claim to own the staff of Moses, this may be something that you don't know about Moses because it comes from works that were written outside of the Bible.

we go back to Eusebius, the Christian Roman writer of the 4th century CE, and he wrote about Jewish history based on earlier works that he had access to that are now lost in time and claims that Moses actually conquered Ethiopia. Now, this may be when he was in the service still of the Egyptians, when he was still an Egyptian prince before he became the liberator of the Jewish people. And it says that the Ethiopians were not only conquered by Moses, but then became very fond of him. They decided he was a good chap, even though he'd conquered them. They adopted the custom of circumcision and became priests, effectively rabbis, in the Jewish faith. So this connection between Moses and Ethiopia was established by Eusebius and also another Roman historian called Iranius,

who says that he marched against the Ethiopians, that he even married the daughter of the Ethiopian king. So this connection between Moses and Ethiopia is actually very old and comes from non-ethopian sources, which is intriguing. But it's not a surprise then that the Ethiopians, through their long, long fondness for Moses, claim that they had inherited his staff, that it had somehow come to them and not. to the Byzantines or to the Ottomans, and that it is in a church today, along with the Ark of the Covenant, in Ethiopia. Other strong contenders for where the Ark may be kept

include beneath the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, where priests might have hidden it to protect it from the Babylonians when they sacked the city. Then there's the cave of Zedekiah, a secret hideout beneath Jerusalem, where King Zetekiah supposedly stashed the ark to keep it safe from invaders. And don't forget Mount Nebo,

where Moses might have hidden the Ark in his final act of protection before his death, ensuring it was safe from those who would misuse its power. Could these locations hold the key to finding the lost Ark and the powerful staff of Moses that just might lie within it? All in all, whether you buy into the magical properties of the staff, or believe any of the events of the Bible. The story is still incredibly interesting and mysterious.

Its importance in history cannot be understated. As many scholars believe, it is one of the original influences on legends that include a similar story, such as the Ring of the Nebulung in Norse mythology, or even the sword of Excalibur in old English legend. Some argue the idea of an item holding immense power is still in use, even today, whether in the Vatican for a religious ceremony or at a British royal family coronation. If you think about it, the idea of a holy staff is very similar to the Arthurian legend, you know, where King Arthur is identified as the future King of the Britons because he can take the sword out of the stone. What Moses does is he makes the stone produce water, but it's this idea of the object.

that's held in your hand that has this power. And we even see this, you know, in, think about the coronation, the coronation of King Charles III, that we saw the other year in Westminster Abbey, where a great to do was made about the sword that was carried by Penny Mordant during the coronation, and this sword is invested with power. And then Charles holds a sceptre.

You know, still in our modern royal rituals, the idea of the scepter, the sword. You know, these are the equivalents. if you want, of the sacred staff of Moses. It seems to be something very important in mythology, in religion, in legends, this object, a kind of rod-like vertical object that is held that invests power that has this kind of inherent magic. The importance of Moses' staff cannot be overstated.

This seemingly simple object held the power to part seas, summon plagues, and bring salvation to an entire nation. It was a symbol of divine authority, an instrument through which God's will was carried out, and a reminder that even the most humble things can hold unimaginable power. Its impact is still felt around the world today, not just in religious contexts, but in how we view symbols of authority and belief. The staff of Moses is more than just an artifact. It's a lasting reminder of the extraordinary power that shaped history and continues to resonate in the stories we tell today.

And while its fate remains a mystery, it could still be waiting to be found, hidden in some ancient place, ready to reveal its secrets once again. Unexplored catacombs buried beneath the city, a crumbling castle perched on a mountain peak, a top-secret government bunker, a cursed mansion cloaked.

in legend. I'm Sasha Auerbach. Join me in Tom Ward every Wednesday and Sunday as we reveal the mysteries and histories behind these abandoned places and ask, where did everyone go? We'll hear from Sasha, who knows the history the best. In fact, there's a very famous book by a chap named Marcus Redeker called the Many-Headed Hydra, and he talks about pirate ships as an experiment in radical democracy. And me, who knows nothing, erinautical scientists can't quite explain it. They say, actually know how it gets up there. How it stays up?

You're just not good at a science. No, there are explanations? There are explanations. There are explanations. It's just plain physics. Brought to you by Like a Shot, makers of forbidden history. Search for where did everyone go on your favorite podcast platform.