#38 Sargon and Moses Compared

The Birth Legend of Sargon (Sargon) has many similarities with Moses’ birth account in Exodus. According to Sargon he was born in secrecy and placed in a basket of reeds to be floated down a river. Moses was also born in secrecy and put in a basket to be floated down a river. Another similarity is the connection between the principal person and the priesthood. In Exodus Moses is established as a Levite “now a man of the tribe of Levi married a Levite woman.” In Sargon, Sargon says “My mother was high priestess.” Furthermore in either story an important person draws them out of the water. Moses was drawn out by “pharaoh’s daughter.” Whereas Sargon was drawn out by “Aqqi the water bearer.” There are many other similarities between these texts. There are also several differences between the texts. In Sargon he is placed in a basket of “reeds” whereas Moses was placed in a “papyrus basket.” While this is a minor detail it could serve as an indicator of the text’s origin. Sargon also has a large section about “Whatever king may arise after me.” This establishes Sargon as more of a legend. Sargon is better remembered then by his connection to the first Sargon and in future generations by blessing the next king. Whereas Moses in exodus doesn’t establish a connection with his successor until multiple chapters later and is not named after some great person.

Sargon II sought to legitimate his role by writing about Sargon the 1st. in the same way Moses birth account may have been written in order to legitimate some person or people. The entire Jewish nation could have used the Exodus account to legitimate their ownership of Israel by the will of God. Furthermore, Moses’ successor Joshua would have had reason to create the birth account and Exodus as it could help legitimate his rule.

If we were to presume that Sargon was written before Moses then this could shed light on how we might understand the story of Moses. The similarities establish that these texts are written in the same form. The similarities outline the purpose of Moses which is to legitimate the early history of the Hebrew People. Furthermore, it reaffirms the priesthood of the Levites and lends authority to Moses’ successor. Where there are differences we see what the author(s) thought was important.

 1 Exodus 2:1

2 Hays, Christopher B.. Hidden Riches : A Sourcebook for the Comparative Study of the Hebrew Bible and Ancient Near East, Presbyterian Publishing Corporation, 2014.

3 Exodus 2:5

4 Hays, Christopher B.. Hidden Riches : A Sourcebook for the Comparative Study of the Hebrew Bible and Ancient Near East, Presbyterian Publishing Corporation, 2014.

5 Hays, Christopher B.. Hidden Riches : A Sourcebook for the Comparative Study of the Hebrew Bible and Ancient Near East, Presbyterian Publishing Corporation, 2014.

6 Exodus 2:3 NIV

7 Hays, Christopher B.. Hidden Riches : A Sourcebook for the Comparative Study of the Hebrew Bible and Ancient Near East, Presbyterian Publishing Corporation, 2014.