Exodus 2: The Stories and Traditions are Similar

The Stories and Traditions are Similar

The story of Moses’ birth and his recovery from the river is similar to other traditions such as the story of the birth of Sargon of Akkad, who lived in the later part of the 2300’s BC until the earlier parts of the 2200’s BC (he reigned 2334 BC - 2279 BC) in Mesopotamia—present-day Iraq between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.  His birth is captured in legends much later than his time on earth. He is recorded as telling the story of his own birth, in later legends as:

She conceived me, my en-priestess mother, in concealment she gave me birth,

She set me in a wicker basket, with bitumen she made my opening water-tight, (Westenholz, Legends of the Kings of Akkade: The Texts, 1997)

I am not saying that this didn’t happen to Moses, but I am saying that the traditions and stories of ancient Egyptians, ancient Akkadians and Israelites of antiquity are similar and connected and we should not feel ashamed, or put down in any way, that the traditions and stories, in some ways, gave rise to the traditions we see in the Bible.

Exodus 2:6 And when she had opened it, she saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews' children.

Exodus 2:7 Then said his sister to Pharaoh's daughter, Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee?

Exodus 2:8 And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went and called the child's mother.

Exodus 2:9 And Pharaoh's daughter said unto her, Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the women took the child, and nursed it.

Exodus 2:10 And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses: and she said, Because I drew him out of the water.