Moses in prayer during the battle against the Amalakites. Artist: Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld. Engraver: F. Obermann [?], signed lower left. Source: Die Bibel in Bildern, Plate 53. Click on image to enlarge it.
And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. [Exodus 17: 11-12; King James Bible.]
Some biblical commentators, particularly those willing to go far afield for prefigurations of Christ, occasionally took this scene as a type of Christ crucified. Pictures that emphasize this connection depict Moses holding his arms horizontally rather than straight up as here.
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Bibliography
Die Bibel in Bildern [Picture Bible] von Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld. Leipzig: Georg Wigands, 1860. Hathi Digital Trust Library online version of a copy in the Columbia University Library. Web. 25 June 2016. — George P. Landow.
Last modified 28 June 2016