TheTorah.com has just published an article titled Pre-Biblical Aaron, Miriam, and Moses speculating that the sibling relationship is a late one. So, for example, ...
I find this to be particularly interesting when viewed through the lens of Richard Elliott Friedman's views as discussed in Who Wrote the Bible? (1987) and The Exodus (2018).
Please note that this thread is not intended as fodder for theological debate. The question here is what bits of history can we reasonably infer from texts burdened with the label "Scripture."
Critical scholars suggest that the passages that describe Moses as the brother of Aaron and Miriam, and the passages that do not make this assumption, derive from different sources. The texts that describe Aaron and Moses as siblings all come from the later, Priestly source,[7] while the earlier, non-Priestly sources connect Aaron with Miriam but not Moses.
The Bible thus contains three different traditions about the relationship between Moses, Aaron, and Miriam:
The Bible thus contains three different traditions about the relationship between Moses, Aaron, and Miriam:
- Micah describes Aaron, Moses, and Miriam as partners (not siblings).
- A passage in the non-Priestly text of the Pentateuch thinks of Aaron and Miriam as siblings, but not Moses.
- Priestly genealogical texts describe all three as siblings.
I find this to be particularly interesting when viewed through the lens of Richard Elliott Friedman's views as discussed in Who Wrote the Bible? (1987) and The Exodus (2018).
Please note that this thread is not intended as fodder for theological debate. The question here is what bits of history can we reasonably infer from texts burdened with the label "Scripture."