Monday, September 25, 2023

On Moses' and Pharaoh's horns

BIBLE HISTORY DAILY: Moses as Pharaoh’s Equal—Horns and All (Gary A. Rendsburg).
In these two passages, Moses, the prophet par excellence, is elevated to the level of deity, while Aaron, the first high priest, is elevated to the level of prophet. The exigencies of the moment, namely the impending summit with Pharaoh (Exodus 7:10‒12), require that Moses meet with his opposite as equal. And since the pharaoh in Egypt was considered divine, God promotes Moses to the level of deity, for this singular occasion. Indeed, these passages are remarkable, for they indicate the extent to which the biblical author was willing to reflect the Egyptian background of the story. Thus, literary flavor overrides biblical theology.
There are lots of proposals for how to interpret the biblical reference to Moses' horns. For many PaleoJudaica posts, start here and follow the links.

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