Moses, Kills Egyptian

Moses and Horus are hidden in thickets on the Nile by their mothers; Sargon is placed in a wicker basket and cast away on the Euphrates by his. Yet each survives to become a ruler of their people. The Akkadian legend tells of Sargon of Akkad, 3rd millennium B.C.E., but it serves as an allegory for Sargon II the 8th-century king of Assyria. Similarly, Exodus narrates the story of Moses, who freed Israel from Egypt, but serves as an allegory for King Hezekiah of Judah 8th century B.C.E., who struggled to navigate between Egypt and Assyria.

Moses’ claim that he is “heavy of mouth and heavy of tongue” has been understood as a speech impediment or language difficulty, but his actual concern is about his quick temper.

When Moses sees an Egyptian striking a Hebrew, he kills the Egyptian. Does Moses get involved because he knows he is a Hebrew or does he act out of a sense of justice?

A struggling ex-slave and single mother labors against all odds to raise her son and shield him from the prejudices of the surrounding community.

Pinchas is portrayed as a hero in the Torah and Second Temple sources for killing Zimri and his Midianite lover, Cozbi. Rabbinic sources struggle with the absence of any juridical process or deliberative body, which contravenes their own judicial norms, and therefore recast or minimize his act in subtle ways.