1. Biographical Conflation:
The text merges the life of Moses with that of his ancestor Jacob. In Genesis, it is Jacob who meets two sisters at a well and enters a multi-year labor contract with their father to marry one of them, whereas the biblical Moses has a much simpler marriage in Midian.
2. Oral Folklore Template:
By superimposing Jacob’s "service-for-marriage" plotline onto Moses, the text demonstrates a reliance on composite, blended oral folk traditions rather than accurate historical records.
The Quran Narrative
Surah 28:23-27:
And when he came unto the water of Midian he found there a whole tribe of men, watering. And he found apart from them two women keeping back (their flocks). He said: What aileth you? The two said: We cannot give (our flocks) to drink till the shepherds return from the water; and our father is a very old man. So he watered (their flock) for them. Then he turned aside into the shade, and said: My Lord! I am needy of whatever good thou sendest down for me. Then there came unto him one of the two women, walking shyly. She said: Lo! my father biddeth thee, that he may reward thee with a payment for that thou didst water (the flock) for us. Then, when he came unto him and told him the (whole) story, he said: Fear not! Thou hast escaped from the wrongdoing folk. One of the two women said: O my father! Hire him! For the best (man) that thou canst hire is the strong, the trustworthy. He said: Lo! I fain would marry thee to one of these two daughters of mine on condition that thou hirest thyself to me for (the term of) eight pilgrimages. Then if thou completest ten it will be of thine own accord, for I would not make it hard for thee. Allah willing, thou wilt find me of the righteous.
In Surah 28, Moses flees to Madyan (Midian) and helps two sisters water their flocks. Their father (often identified in tradition as Jethro/Shuaib) offers Moses one of them in marriage in exchange for eight or ten years of labor.
This narrative bears a striking resemblance to the story of Jacob and Laban in Genesis 29.
In the Bible, it is Jacob who works seven years (twice) for his wives, Rachel and Leah. Moses’ marriage to Zipporah in Exodus is described much more simply. Critics suggest the Quranic account of Moses "merges" the motifs of Jacob’s service-for-marriage with the life of Moses, creating a composite narrative common in oral folklore traditions.