Amram

According to the Torah and Qur'an, Amram (Hebrew: עַמְרָם, Standard ʿAmram Tiberian ʿAmrām ; Friend of the most high/The people are exalted, Arabic عمران : Imran) was the father of Aaron, Moses, and Miriam^[1]; the Torah additionally describes him as the husband of Jochebed^[2].

In the Bible

In addition to being married to Jochebed, Amram is also described in the Bible as having been related to Jochebed prior to the marriage, although the exact relationship is uncertain; some Greek and Latin manuscripts of the Septuagint state that Jochebed was Amram's father's cousin, and others state that Amram was Jochebed's cousin^[3], but the Masoretic text states that he was Jochebed's nephew^[4]. Textual scholars attribute the biblical genealogy to the Book of Generations, a document originating from a similar religiopolitical group and date to the priestly source^[5]. According to biblical scholars, the Torah's genealogy for Levi's descendants, is actually an aetiological myth reflecting the fact that there were four different groups among the levites - the Gershonites, Kohathites, Merarites, and Aaronids^[6]; Aaron - the eponymous ancestor of the Aaronids - couldn't be portrayed as a brother to Gershon, Kohath, and Merari, as the narrative about the birth of Moses (brother of Aaron), which textual scholars attribute to the earlier Elohist source, mentions only that both his parents were Levites (without identifying their names)^[7]. Biblical scholars suspect that the Elohist account offers both matrilinial and patrilinial descent from Levites in order to magnify the religious credentials of Moses^[8].

Family tree

According to the Septuagint, Amram's family tree would be as follows:

while according to the Masoretic text, Amram's family tree would be as follows:

In the Qur'an

One surah of the Qur'an - Al Imran - is named after Amram, as he is one of the figures mentioned within it. The Qur'an also often refers to the Israelites and Jewish people as Al Imran (of Amram). The Qur'an also appears to refer to the father of Mary (mother of Jesus) as Imran, leading to the question of whether the Qur'an considers this to be the same Imran as the father of Moses, or as a different person. This apparent conflation may have arisen because Miriam and Mary have the same translation into Arabic, or it may simply be the case that the Qur'an was actually arguing that Mary was descended from Amram, rather than being his daughter.

In rabbinical literature and apocryphal literature

In the Apocryphal Testament of Levi, it is stated that Amram was born, as a grandson of Levi, when Levi was 64 years old^[9]. The Exodus Rabbah argues that when the Pharaoh instructed midwives to throw male children into the Nile, Amram divorced Jochebed, who was three months pregnant with Moses at the time, arguing that there was no justification for the Israelite men to father children if they were just to be killed^[10]; however, the text goes on to state that Miriam, his daughter, chided him for his lack of care for his wife's feelings, persuading him to recant and marry Jochebed again^[11]. According to the Talmud, Amram promulgated the laws of marriage and divorce amongst the Jews in Egypt; the Talmud also argues that Amram had extreme longevity, which he used to ensure that doctrines were preserved through several generations^[12]. Despite the legend of his divorce and remarriage, Amram was also held to have been entirely sinless throughout his life, and was rewarded for this by his corpse remaining without any signs of decay^[13]. Prior to his death, according to the Book of Jubilees, Amram was among those who went to Egypt and recovered the bones of the sons of his grandfather and great uncles (excluding those of Joseph which had already been brought to Canaan), so that they could be reburied in the cave of Machpelah^[14]. The text states that this recovery was opportunistically performed when a war broke out between Egypt and Canaan^[15]. One of the Dead Sea Scrolls (4Q535, Manuscript B) is written from Amram's point of view, and hence has been dubbed the Testament of Amram. The document is dated to the 2nd century BC and, in the form of a vision, briefly discusses dualism and the Watchers:

I saw Watchers in my vision, the dream-vision. Two men were fighting over me ... holding a great contest over me. I asked them, 'Who are you, that you are thus empowered over me?' They answered, 'We have been empowered and rule over all mankind.' They said to me, 'Which of us do you choose to rule you?' I raised my eyes and looked. One of them was terrifying in his appearance, like a serpent, his cloak, many-colored yet very dark. ... And I looked again, and in his appearance, his visage like a viper. ... I replied to him, 'This Watcher, who is he?' He answered, 'This Watcher ... his three names are Belial and Prince of Darkness and King of Evil.' I said (to the other Watcher), 'My lord, what dominion (have you?)' He answered, 'You saw (the viper), and he is empowered over all Darkness, while I (am empowered over all Light.) ... My three names are Michael, Prince of Light and King of Righteousness. ^[16]

References