The Origins and Evolution of the Moses Nativity Story

Book excerpt: This book traces the development of the Moses nativity story from pre-Biblical sources through its Biblical formulation, and continues to trace its evolution in post-Biblical literature, from the Apocrypha, Pseudepigrapha, and Jewish Hellenistic writings, through Rabbinic literature, and up to Medieval Jewish exegesis. Influence of the Moses nativity story is also detected in Christian writings: hence this book also traces the evolution of the story in the New Testament and early Christian works. This study uses a literary-typological approach, similar to that of the Gunkel-Gressmann school and the method used by Loewenstamm. However, unlike these scholars and their disciples, who focused primarily on the biblical stage, this book gives equal attention to all stages of the evolution of the birth story pattern; and, while providing a detailed analysis of each work, also focuses on continuity, tracing the path along which the literary pattern of the Moses nativity story developed.