The Sargon Legend
Sargon of AkkadSargon, strong king, king of Agade, am I. My mother was a high priestess, my father I do not know. My paternal kin inhabit the mountain region. My city of birth is Azupiranu, which lies on the bank of the Euphrates. My mother, a high priestess, conceived me, in secret she bore me. She placed me in a reed basket, with bitumen she caulked my hatch. She abandoned me to the river from which I could not escape. The river carried me along; to Aqqi, the water drawer, it brought me. Aqqi, the water drawer, when immersing his bucket lifted me up. Aqqi, the water drawer, raised me as his adopted son.
Exodus 2:3
1 A man from the household of Levi married a woman who was a descendant of Levi. 2 The woman became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a good child8, she hid him for three months. 3 But when she was no longer able to hide him, she took a papyrus basket for him and sealed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and set it among the reeds along the edge of the Nile. 4 His sister stationed herself at a distance to find out what would happen to him.
Notes and References
"... Traditions connected with the birth of Sargon are reflected in the story of Moses. Sargon was born in secret to a priestess, put into the river in a basket of rushes, and rescued by a water drawer named Akki; later, the goddess Ishtar elevated Sargon to the throne. Similarly, Moses was born in secret and set adrift in a basket on the Nile River, only to be discovered by an Egyptian princess and raised as her own son. Moses eventually left Egypt but was called by Yahweh to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. The parallels are clear, but not unique to these two individuals. There are also similarities to the story of Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, who were also born to a priestess and set adrift, only to be found by a she-wolf and then raised by a shepherd. It is difficult to say whether there is any direct influence among the three versions or simply a common tradition, but the latter does not lessen the fact that the details of Moses’ birth were not unique in the ancient world ..."
McLaughlin, John L. The Ancient Near East: An Essential Guide (pp. 14-15) Abingdon Press, 2012