The beautiful infant and Israel’s salvation

Abstract

The motif from the Exodus story of Moses as a beautiful infant is considered on several levels. Firstly, the immediate context of Exodus 2 in the Hebrew Bible and in the Septuagint is investigated. Exodus 2 is then related to the reception of the tradition in the New Testament and Jewish sources as well as in a patristic reading and one from the Reformation. The article concludes that the motif of Moses’ beauty is part of a relatively infrequent but nevertheless well-established constellation. It is submitted that this finding contributes to a reappraisal of the idea that the motif of beauty has no place in Israel’s texts of deliverance and an investigation of the contrary hypothesis is called for.

How to cite this article: Loader, J.A., 2011, ‘The beautiful infant and Israel’s salvation’, HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies 67(1), Art. #913, 9 pages. DOI: 10.4102/hts.v67i1.913