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Pseudo-Philo is the earliest text describing Moses born already circumcised. Rabbinic tradition in tractate Sotah echoes this tradition, reading the word “good” in his birth account as a sign he was born circumcised.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Pseudo Philo Biblical Antiquities 9:13
Classical
12 But Jochabeth conceived of Amram and hid the child in her womb 3 months, for she could not hide it longer: because the king of Egypt had appointed overseers of the region, that when the Hebrew women brought forth they should cast the males into the river straightway. And she took her child and made him an ark of the bark of a pine-tree and set the ark on the edge of the river. 13 Now the boy was born in the covenant of God and in the covenant of his flesh. 14 And it came to pass, when they cast him out, all the elders gathered together and chode with Amram saying: Are not these the words which we spake saying: "It is better for us to die childless than that our fruit should be cast into the water?" And when they said so, Amram hearkened not to them.
Date: 50-120 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Sotah 12a
Babylonian Talmud
Rabbinic
The verse states with regard to the birth of Moses: “And the woman conceived, and bore a son; and when she saw him that he was a goodly [tov] child, she hid him three months” (Exodus 2:2). It is taught in a baraita that Rabbi Meir says: “Tov” is his, Moses’, real name, as it was given to him by his parents when he was born. Rabbi Yehuda says: His name was Toviya. Rabbi Neḥemya says: They said he was good because they saw that he was fit for prophecy. Others say: They said he was good because he was born when he was already circumcised. And the Rabbis say: At the time when Moses was born, the entire house was filled with light, as it is written here: “And when she saw him that he was a goodly [tov] child,” and it is written there: “And God saw the light, that it was good [tov]” (Genesis 1:4).
Date: 450-550 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
... Circumcision as a sign of bodily perfection is ascribed to the patriarchs in some rabbinic literature. Pseudo-Philo portrays Moses as being born circumcised (LAB 9.13). In Midrash Tanchuma (Yelammedenu, 4-6th CE) on Genesis 6:9 (Noach 5.3) the rabbis understand the phrase נח אישׁ צדיק תמים היה בדורותיו ('Noah a righteous man, perfect in his generations') as an indication that he was born circumcised (נח נולד מחול, 'Noah was born circumcised'). In the Babylonian Talmud Soṭah 12a, the rabbis explain that the description in Exodus 2:2 that Moses is 'good' indicates that he was born circumcised (אחרים אומרים נולד כשהוא מהול). ...
Soon, Isaac T.
The Liminality of the Uncircumcised and Uncircumcisable Jew
(p. 8) Journal of the Jesus Movement in its Jewish Setting, 2023
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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