Moses in Rabbinic Literature - in The Tabernacle

In The Tabernacle

When everything was prepared Moses set up the Tabernacle alone (Exodus Rabba lii. 3). He fastened the ceiling of the tent over it, as he was the only one able to do so, being ten ells tall (Talmud tractate Shabbat 92a). During the seven days of the dedication he took the Tabernacle apart every day and set it up again without any help. When all was completed he gave a detailed account of the various expenses (Exodus Rabba 51.4). During the seven days of the dedication, or, according to another account, during the forty years of the wandering in the desert, Moses officiated as high priest. He was also king during this entire period. When he demanded these two offices for his descendants God told him that the office of king was destined for David and his house, while the office of high priest was reserved for Aaron and his descendants (Exodus Rabba 2.13; Leviticus Rabba 11.6; Zeb. 102a).

All the different cycles of legends agree in saying that Moses was very wealthy, probably on the basis of Numbers 16.15 (compare Nedarim 35a, where this interpretation is regarded as uncertain); they differ, however, as to the source of his wealth. According to one, he derived it from the presents and treasures given to him by the Ethiopians when they took the crown away from him ("D. Y." l.c.). According to another, Jethro gave him a large sum of money as dowry when he married Zipporah ("Midrash Wayosha" l.c.). Still another story relates that Moses received a large part of the booty captured from Pharaoh and, later, from Sihon and Og (Leviticus Rabba 28.4). In contrast to these versions, according to which Moses gained his wealth by natural means, there are two other versions according to which Moses became wealthy by a miracle. One of these narratives says that Moses became rich through the breaking of the tablets, which were made of sapphires (Nedarim 35a); and the other that God showed him in his tent a pit filled with these precious stones (Yalk., Ki Tissa, 39b).