DSD_f4_Duke_34-48 11/15/06 2:11 PM Page 34 MOSES’ HEBREW NAME: THE EVIDENCE OF THE VISION OF AMRAM ROBERT DUKE University of California, Los Angeles/ Albright Institute of Archaeological Research Moses is one of the most recognizable figures in the entire Bible, for his name is synonymous with the giving of the law. With such a famous figure in Judeo-Christian history, a Hebrew name seems appro- priate. The forced etymology in Exodus 2:10 regarding the name, Moses, is known; however, in the course of this discussion the biblical writer’s etymological explanation of a perfectly common Egyptian name will be seen as unnecessary, since the author of the Vision of Amram knew Moses’ Hebrew name. The Vision of Amram (4Q543–547) is a testimony-like work, writ- ten in Aramaic, in which Amram, Moses’ father, is giving his final words. In the first column of this work Amram is assembling those who need to hear this final charge, and after he summons Aaron, Aaron is then instructed to call hykalm. No scholar has yet suggested that this word refers to Moses and is his supposed Hebrew birth name.1 This paper will argue, first, that Moses was given a Hebrew birth name by the author of the Vision of Amram, which made him like many other biblical figures who found themselves in foreign courts. Moses spent his early years with his Hebrew family, which made it even more necessary to provide him a Hebrew name. Second, a criti- cal evaluation of 4Q545, line 9 will demonstrate that the word hykalm should be read as a proper noun referring to Moses, which is a better reading within the context than those presented by previous scholars. 1 After completing my research for this paper, I found Klaus Beyer’s reconstruction of this text in his latest edition of Die aramäischen Texte vom Toten Meer (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2004) 118–19. We both see this name referring to Moses. Beyer, however, does not give any discussion for his reading. © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2007 Dead Sea Discoveries 14, 1 Also available online – www.brill.nl DSD_f4_Duke_34-48 11/15/06 2:11 PM Page 35 THE EVIDENCE OF THE VISION OF AMRAM 35 Third, the plausibility and the purpose for this being an appropriate name for Moses will be discussed. Finally, a survey of subsequent writers who preserved the memory of this name will show how this tradition, first witnessed by the Vision of Amram, was preserved and changed. The Necessity for Two Names According to Exodus 2:1–3, Moses was with his parents three months before they finally had to hide him on the Nile. Now a man from the house of Levi went and married a Levite woman. The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was a fine baby, she hid him three months. When she could hide him no longer she got a papyrus basket for him, and plastered it with bitumen and pitch; she put the child in it and placed it among the reeds on the bank of the river.2 Three months is a lengthy time for a baby not to have a name. There is no hint in this text that his name had already been called Moses, for it is not until Exodus 2:10 that his name is given. “When the child grew up, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and she took him as her son. She [Pharaoh’s daughter] named him Moses, ‘because,’ she said, ‘I drew him out of the water.’” This text makes clear that Pharaoh’s daughter gave him the name, Moses, after he had been weaned. Did Moses’ parents have nothing to call him? This seems to go way beyond any acceptable practice for loving parents, and there- fore was corrected by the author of the Vision of Amram.3 Moses having a Hebrew name makes him similar to many other bib- lical figures in cross-cultural settings. Consider Joseph, or is it Zaphenath- paneah? Daniel, or Belteshazzar? Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, or Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? The use of double names for bib- lical characters is very common; so why was Moses’ Hebrew name not given? The biblical text does not preserve any hint that he had such a name; however, a tradition that he possessed a fitting name for his calling is found in the Vision of Amram. 2 All Scripture quotations are taken from the New Revised Standard Version. 3 Jubilees 47:9 mentions that Moses was brought into the royal court after 21 years (3 weeks). Does this mean that Moses was with his parents for that length of time? If so it is surprising that the author of Jubilees did not try to supply Moses with a Hebrew name since Moses was with his family for such a long time. .