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Not much is told to us about Moses's childhood. After being rescued by the Pharaoh's daughter, we know nothing until he is a grown man (this parallels the life of Jesus, in which we also know nothing about His childhood). We know that Moses is well versed in the knowledge of the Egyptians (see Acts 7:22), but we are not told at what point he learns that he is Hebrew instead of Egyptian. At some point the injustice placed upon the Hebrews angers Moses and he kills an Egyptian who was killing one of the Hebrews. This is the reason Moses flees Egypt originally. After killing the Egyptian and witnessing the Hebrews fighting amongst themselves, Moses reminds them (and us) that they (we) should not fight each other. Moses raises the very valid point that our efforts should not be in harming our brothers but in standing against common enemies—essentially he originated the "united we stand, divided we fall" concept.

It is during Moses's refuge from the anger of Pharaoh concerning Moses's transgression that Moses meets God. Note that God was not angry at Moses for murdering the Egyptian; Moses's act of murder is not a considered a mark against him because the Egyptian was smiting (or killing) a man which we were told in Genesis 9:6 is punishable by death. Still, Moses is initially very doubtful of God. God shows great patience in dealing with Moses who questions his ability to speak to Pharaoh, to speak for God, and to lead the masses.