Julian Ungar-Sargon

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Daf Ditty

A wide-ranging commentary on the daily page of Talmud.

The child Moses given up by his mother (who has been acting as wet nurse) to the daughter of Pharaoh (Exodus, ii.10; after the painting in the Foundling Museum); to right, the mother/nurse is being paid by a steward; to left, two female attendants, one black and one white, the former evidently revealing the child's identity to her colleague; the scene is identified as being in Egypt by a small crocodile and an Egyptian figure beneath the throne, and in the background pyramids and a sphinx; proof before letters. 1752 Etching and engraving, touches of grey wash on the face of Pharaoh's daughter.

Sotah 12: בַּת פַּרְעֹה

jyungar April 10, 2023

For the source text click/tap here: Sotah 12

To download, click/tap here: PDF

Pharaoh’s daughter recognized that Moses was an Israelite, perhaps because he was abandoned (Shadal, Hakham), or circumcised (Exodus Rabbah 1:24; Rashbam). This is the only place in Tanakh where a baby is said to be crying (since compassion is relevant to the plot). The Torah highlights Pharaoh’s daughter’s compassion with a crying baby, even though she knew of her father’s decree to drown Israelite baby boys!

We explore the identity of this rebellious daughter of the king of Egypt, Bittě-Yâ, daughter of Pharaoh (1 Chr 4,18), and possibly Bint(i)-ʿAnat, daughter of Ramesses II

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Julian Ungar-Sargon

This is Julian Ungar-Sargon's personal website. It contains poems, essays, and podcasts for the spiritual seeker and interdisciplinary aficionado.​