Righteous Gentile and Divine Daughter: An Analysis of Bat Pharaoh's Character and Identity in Ancient, Medieval, and Modern Times

Abstract

RELIGION RIGHTEOUS GENTILE AND DIVINE DAUGHTER: AN ANALYSIS OF BAT PHARAOH’S CHARACTER AND IDENTITY IN ANCIENT, MEDIEVAL, AND MODERN TIMES DANIELLA PRESSNER Thesis under the direction of Professor Annalisa Azzoni This thesis explores the character of Bat Pharaoh in the Exodus 2:1-10 narrative and the interpretations of this story in traditional Jewish scholarship. By analyzing myths as dynamic and changing depending on the societies that create and promulgate their variations, it investigates how earlier traditions shape and perpetuate the social and cultural expectations of their time and how foundational myths function to create identity, meaning, and purpose for the societies in which they are imagined. The extent to which the commentators are willing to address the conflicts presented in the biblical narrative is, in many ways, reflective of the societies and cultures for which they write and the anxieties and aspirations of their times. While the rabbis of the Talmud and Midrash present an ongoing struggle between Bat Pharaoh, Pharaoh, Moses, God, and Israel, the commentators in the medieval time period are more interested in viewing the textual ambiguities as part of the divine plan or inner logic of the story. Feminist scholarship focuses on finding ways to make the stories of old relevant and purposeful for the communities for which the myth is being retold today. By focusing on the nuances contributed by each commentary to the myth, this work offers a new perspective regarding the characteristics that are considered less crucial, as well as those that are vital in creating the boundary lines of our existence and our self-identification as a nation. Approved _________________________________________________ Date _______________