Moshe's Birth and the Legend of Sargon/0

Moshe's Birth and the Legend of Sargon

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Introduction

Many legends from both the ancient and classical periods share the motif of a hero being abandoned at birth, and recall the story of Moshe's infancy in Shemot 2.¹   Elements common to many of these tales include: a baby of noble status, abandonment and explanation thereof, unusual nursing or protection of the infant, discovery and adoption, and finally, a list of exploits of the hero. Of the many such myths, the Mesopotamian legend retelling the birth of Sargon, founder Akkad,² is probably the closest parallel to Moshe's birth story.

Content Parallels and Contrasts

	Parallels	Contrasts
Parents	Moshe's mother is from the Levite tribe and Sargon's mother is a priestess. In both stories, the father does not play an active role.	While Sargon "does not know his father", Moshe's father is identified. Moreover, while Sargon loses contact with his mother, Moshe's mother continues to nurse him.
Baby Left in River	Moshe and Sargon are both placed in a basket covered in bitumen and set in the river.	Sargon's mother "cast" him into the "river", suggesting abandonment.  In contrast, Moshe is "placed" in the "reeds", with his sister standing guard.
Salvation by  "Water Drawer"
Unknown Identity
Rise to Power

Analysis

• Degree of similarity – 
• Distinctive phrases – 

Conclusions

¹ For an extensive comparison of such legends, see D. B. Redford, "The Literary Motif of the Exposed Child," Numen 14 (1967) :209-228 and Brian Lewis, The Sargon Legend: a study of the Akkadian text and the tale of the hero who was exposed at birth (Massachusetts, 1980).

² Sargon ruled over Mesopotamia in the 24th-23rd century BCE, but the earliest surviving fragments of the legend date to the much later Neo-Assyrian period (7th century BCE).   This has led to the proposal that the legend may have actually first been been written by the 8th century Assyrian king, Sargon II, who took the name of and identified himself with the original monarch.