Episode Description: In this third episode of The Scholar’s Bible series on Exodus, we turn to one of the most evocative and symbolically rich stories in the Hebrew Bible — the birth and rescue of Moses (Exodus 2:1–10). Moving on from the defiance of Shiphrah and Puah, this episode explores how five women — each in their own way — act against Pharaoh’s decree to preserve life, and how this narrative intertwines ancient Hebrew and Egyptian worlds. Drawing from historical, linguistic, and literary criticism, the discussion traces the Elohist’s hand in the text, uncovers the Egyptian roots of the Levites, and situates Moses’ story within the broader ancient Near Eastern tradition of “threatened infant saviours.” From the papyrus basket and the sacred Nile to the temple rites of Pharaoh’s daughter, we uncover the cosmic and creation motifs embedded in this remarkable story of deliverance.

In this episode:

• The Elohist (E) source and how it differs from the Priestly (P) and Yahwist (J) traditions

• The composite structure of Exodus and the role of 1:15–2:10 as a single narrative unit

• The Nile as the setting — Egypt’s “Black Land” and “Red Land” — and its religious symbolism

• Moses’ Levite heritage and the Egyptian connections of Levite names

• The meaning of “Levite” as “one who is attached,” and what that suggests about cultic origins

• The folktale form of the Moses birth story and its oral-traditional character

• The significance of the papyrus tēvāh — the “ark” — and its parallels with Noah’s flood narrative

• Egyptian ritual washing, priestly purification, and the identity of Pharaoh’s daughter as a royal priestess

• Adoption, nursing, and social inversion in Egyptian culture — how Moses’ mother subverts Pharaoh’s decree

• The name “Moses” as a truncated Egyptian theophoric name, likely related to Rameses

• Parallels with the ancient legends of Sargon of Akkad and Cyrus the Great

• How this passage functions as a creation story — the birth of Moses as the mythic-historical creation of Israel