Moses and the ass

Peter J. Leithart, July 06, 2006

Allison notes the frequent ancient association of Moses with asses. According to Diodorus Siculus, "When Antiochus . . . made war against the Jews he entered the sacred shrine of the god, where only the priest is allowed to go. In it he found a stone image of a thick bearded man seated on an ass and holding a book in his hand. He assumed it was a statue of Moses who founded Jerusalem." And Tacitus claims that Moses discovered water by following "a herd of wild asses."

Two thoughts: First, is it thinkable that the MHP would contain a statue of a man? Second, the Tacitus comment suggests some sort of connection with Saul, who comes to a well in the process of searching out his father's donkeys.