The Skeleton in the Closet

The first time the Bible shows us that Moses is told of his ancestry is when God speaks to him at the burning bush. "I am the God of your fathers..." Adonai intones, and then specifies exactly which fathers.

But if Moses' instruction on this subject actually came prior to this, and if he was not told of his ancestry by his birth mother (or had forgotten it), when did he learn the truth--and from whom? Was it indeed Miriam, as The Prince of Egypt suggests? [00:21; twenty-one minutes in to the film]

In 1952 The Interpreter's Bible was published. Though its commentary is clearly sifted through a filter of Christian theology, it also attempted to present some of the more scientific" rationale to which many today still cling.

It appears that this reference may have inspired not only DreamWorks' recent film, but also its predecessor, The Ten Commandments, for there, it is the pattern of Moses' swaddling cloth which gives away his ancestry.