 |
Dimensions: 297mmx 420mm
Gallery Serendipity Copyright Eric Morris 2006 |
The image show a number of elements from the story. The
Pharoah is strangling the stranger within the gate, but also represents
Moses brought up as a prince killing an Egyptian servant which led to his
estrangement and death sentence. Perhaps a warning to curb kindness towards
the seemingly helpless and unthreatening. The blood flows from the
head. To the left is the scene of oppression, to the right the killing
of the young males . In the central bottom motif the crying child is picked
up by the Princess watched by the sister in the reeds.
I find this story remarkable in a number of ways. That
the princess finds ' a child' is not strange in the circumstances but that
she adopts it and brings him up as her own is. Despite the biblical text
one wonders if the child was in fact hers, an illegitimate offspring that
could be disguised as a foundling. On the other hand, the mother is paid
to look after the child, which not only delivers the child but produces
a profit at least initially.
Moses is an adopted child. He has clearly problems recociling his real position, ie prince of Egypt, with his actual race and origins. He is used to power and authority and kills the guard but is betrayed by just those he is supposedly protecting; he is not acting as a typical hebrew slave . Is he just a spontaneous killer. He flees for his life from both his families losing his status, his power and authority.There´s no regaining this from the Egyptians, he´s blown his cover. The hebrews regard him as a foreigner, someone they betray easily, or are they willing to betray anyone without thought of racial allegiance. Just to bring down this man is an exercise of their power.
TEXTS
Then there came to power in Egypt, a new king who had never heard of Joseph. Look, he said to his eople, the Israelites are now more numerous and stronger than we are. We must take precautions to stop them from increasing any further, or if war whould break out, they might join the ranks of our enemies.They might take arms against us and then escape from the country.Accordinglly they put taskmasters over the Israelites to wear them down by forced labour.
16. When you attend hebrew women in childbirth, he said,
look at the two stones. If it is a boy, kill him, if it is girl let her
live.
22. Pharaoh then gave all his people this command: Throw
every new born boy into the river bu t let all the girls live.
2. There was a man descended from Levi who had taken
a woman of Levi, as his wife. She conceived and gave birth to a son and
seeing what a fine child he was, she kept him hidden for three months.
When she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him; coating
it with bitumen and pitch, she put the child inside and laid it among the
reeds at the River's edge. His sister took up a position some distance
away to see what would happen to him.
Then Pharaoh's daughter went down to bathe in the river,
while her maids walked along the riverside.. Among the reeds she notice
the basket and she sent her maid to fetch it. She opened it and saw the
child: the baby was crying. Feeling sorry for it, she said, ' This is one
of the littleHebrews
Exodus Ch.1.+ 2
Click on the word "Home" to return
to main page
Constructed .19th NOV 2006
