Filling the Gap:  Jochebed and Amram

Badgerholt inkpotThe paternity of Jochebed (the mother of Aaron and Moses) and her blood relation to Amram her husband was another question needing research, as well as when she might fit into the timeline.

According to the Septuagint, Jochebed was the daughter of Amram’s father’s brother and not the sister of his father. Jochebed was not Amram’s aunt but rather his first cousin.  This blood relationship is consistant with YHWH’s later expressed law.

Jochebed and Amram had a parallel cousin marriage, the most desireable type of marriage in the Ancient Near East. This is the same kind of marriage that Abram and Sarai and Nahor and Milcah had.

This link Filling the Gap: Jochebed and Amram will take you to an essay discussing this issue.  Once again, the tables, even with the plug-in, do not post well on the blog.

Grace and peace to you,

Dori