Moisés y la Ley

Biblical narrative asserts itself as an anthology of biographies. Moses accordingly turns out to be the most outstanding figure, as protagonist of four biblical books. In them his function as lawgiver stands out as the most significant. Almost completely ignored in the rest of the biblical books, he comes to the fore during the Exile when “his” Law is compiled, becoming from this moment on the reference source of Judaism. The modern portrait of the biblical character in Th. Mann’s novel Das Gesetz is analyzed here along with three other important literary works by Faulkner, Halter and Wouk. The biography of the Vizier Beja, according to De Moor, could have been the prototype of Moses’ story.