DrZoidberg
Contributor
I think I've figured it out. It's simply a question of timeline. The Moses story is based on the story of Sargon of Akkad. His myth is basically the same as Moses' birth. Sargon lived 2200 BC and it's anyone's guess when this popped up in Jewish oral tradition. It still doesn't explain where the exodus story comes from. As I hypothesized earlier, it could simply be a way to transport Moses from Egypt to Canaan.
The reason why they both have the story of Exodus and the Babylonian captivity is because Exodus was already a part of Jewish oral mythical tradition well before the Babylonian captivity.
I'd also misunderstood something about the Babylonian captivity. The Jews were never slaves in Babylon. The Babylonian Captivity was that after king Nebuchadnezzar II had defeated Egypt in Jerusalem, (a region a vassal of Egypt) in order to ensure Judean loyalty the sons of the nobles, (along with all their servants, slaves and rabbis) were taken to Babylon. Their they were treated as the princes and nobles they were. They had a nice life and received a stellar Babylonian education. They were allowed to practice their own religion. The purpose of them being there was to convince them of the greatness and magnitude of the Babylonian king, to keep them loyal to Babylon for generations to come. That's a quite different story than them being forced into degrading manual labour. It's a very important difference. This also explains why, after the Babylonian captivity, so many Zoroastrian theological concepts were blended into Jewish theology. This is when angels (Spentas) and Satan (Angra Mainyu) shows up. Two concepts that make no sense in a theology with a pantheon consisting of only one guy, who is omnipotent and omniscient. I digress. When they got a Babylonian education. This would have been their curriculum.
Bottom line. The Babylonian captivity is too late and is a completely different story than the Egyptian (mythical) captivity.
For the Exodus they would also have good info on Egyptian society since there was revolving doors between Egypt and Canaan. It was popular for Canaanites to go there and work. Egypt was rich and paid well. They'd often come home to Canaan rich.
The reason why they both have the story of Exodus and the Babylonian captivity is because Exodus was already a part of Jewish oral mythical tradition well before the Babylonian captivity.
I'd also misunderstood something about the Babylonian captivity. The Jews were never slaves in Babylon. The Babylonian Captivity was that after king Nebuchadnezzar II had defeated Egypt in Jerusalem, (a region a vassal of Egypt) in order to ensure Judean loyalty the sons of the nobles, (along with all their servants, slaves and rabbis) were taken to Babylon. Their they were treated as the princes and nobles they were. They had a nice life and received a stellar Babylonian education. They were allowed to practice their own religion. The purpose of them being there was to convince them of the greatness and magnitude of the Babylonian king, to keep them loyal to Babylon for generations to come. That's a quite different story than them being forced into degrading manual labour. It's a very important difference. This also explains why, after the Babylonian captivity, so many Zoroastrian theological concepts were blended into Jewish theology. This is when angels (Spentas) and Satan (Angra Mainyu) shows up. Two concepts that make no sense in a theology with a pantheon consisting of only one guy, who is omnipotent and omniscient. I digress. When they got a Babylonian education. This would have been their curriculum.
Bottom line. The Babylonian captivity is too late and is a completely different story than the Egyptian (mythical) captivity.
For the Exodus they would also have good info on Egyptian society since there was revolving doors between Egypt and Canaan. It was popular for Canaanites to go there and work. Egypt was rich and paid well. They'd often come home to Canaan rich.