5. Introduction to Exodus

1
5. Introduction to Exodus

• APTS-BIB509

2
Name

• "The second book of the Torah was given its name
  from the opening words twmv hlaw ("and these are
  the names"), which were sometimes shortened by
  the Jews to twmv ("names"). It was the LXX that
  designated the work according to its principal
  theme, VExodoj (Ex 19.1), and this was followed
  by the Vulgate (Exodus) and the English
  versions." Harrison, Introduction to the OT,
  566

3
Name

• "One other name is ??????????????"the second
  fifth" (of the Pentateuch) (Sota 36b)." Sarna,
  "Exodus, Book of," ABD,

4
Textual Traditions Introduction

• 1. "The book of Exodus . . . provides a clear
  example of two editions of a biblical book. The
  different edition preserved in the Samaritan
  Pentateuch (SP) has been known since the
  seventeenth century, but its significance was
  capable of being dismissed, because the major
  differences were considered the work of the
  marginalized Samaritans, With the discovery of
  4QpaleoExodm, however, we see that the book of
  Exodus circulated in Judaism in two editions. One
  was the form traditionally

5
Textual Traditions

• found in the MT and translated in the LXX, and
  the other an intentionally expanded version with
  most of the features characteristic of the
  Samaritan version except the two specifically
  Samaritan features (namely, the addition of the
  commandment to build an altar on Mt. Gerizim, and
  the systematic use of the past, and not the
  future, of the verb in the formula "the place
  that the Lord has chosen" not "will choose")."
  Eugene Ulrich, The Dead Sea Scrolls and the
  Origins of the Bible, 25

6
Textual Traditions

• 2. LXX
• 2.1 "The Hebrew behind the Greek Exodus seems to
  have differed from MT more than the other books
  of the Pentateuch. It also differs from it in
  arrangement of contents in two main respects (1)
  within the Decalog (chap. 20), the order of the
  commandments in Codex Vaticanus (B) is 7, 8, and
  6 (2) while it closely corresponds to MT in
  chaps. 25-31, there are considerable differences
  in the parallel account in chaps 35-40. The
  section dealing with the ornaments and garments
  of the priesthood (39.2-31MT), which in MT
  follows the

7
Textual Traditions

• description of the structure of the tabernacle
  and its furnishings, is shifted in LXX to head
  the entire section (36.9-40LXX) within the
  subsections of that pericope (Swete 1902
  231-36)." Sarna

8
Textual Traditions

• 2.2 "In the various translation-technical studies
  which describe the translators' way of handling
  typically Hebrew syntactical phenomena, Exodus
  has proved to be one of the most freely
  translated books in the LXX and one of those in
  which the requirements of Greek idiom have been
  best taken into account. This translator was
  capable of using free renderings that are
  perfectly appropriate in their context, but he
  also used literal renderings.

9
Textual Traditions

• He was capable of changing grammatical
  construction in order better to meet the
  requirements of Greek, but he did not always do
  so. He was free enough to change the word-order
  of the original, but, actually, most of the time
  he followed the original word-order. He could add
  and omit word and grammatical items but he
  obviously did not do so out of indifference or
  carelessness. Even in the free renderings he
  mostly proves to be faithful to the original. He
  may be characterized as a competent translator,
  one of

10
Textual Traditions

• the best, but still not perfect. He made his
  mistakes too." Aejmelaeus, A., "Septuagintal
  Translation Techniques - A Solution to the
  Problem of the Tabernacle Account," in
  Septuagint, Scrolls and Cognate Writings, eds.
  Brooke Lindars, p.388-389

11
Textual Traditions

• 2.3 "The text of the Vorlage of the LXX actually
  represented a halfway phase in the development.
  It was incomplete and inconsistent and had
  perhaps also suffered in the hands of scribes.
  Through editorial additions, harmonizations and
  rearrangements the development was brought to an
  end in the MT, but in a way that had changed the
  nature of the second section from a report of the
  work

12
Textual Traditions

• done to a repetition of the instructions in the
  past tense." Aejmelaeus, A., "Septuagintal
  Translation Techniques - A Solution to the
  Problem of the Tabernacle Account," in
  Septuagint, Scrolls and Cognate Writings, eds.
  Brooke Lindars, p.397-398

13
Textual Traditions

• 3. Samaritan Pentateuch
• 3.1 "The Samaritan text is characterized by a
  number of major expansions, conflate readings,
  and interpolations. Thus Exod 18.24 is
  supplemented by Deut 1.9-18, the tenth
  commandment in Exod 20.17 has been augmented by
  citations from Deut 11.29 and 27.2-7, Exod 20.19
  has been enlarged by Deut 5.24-27, and Exod 20.22
  by the excerpts from Deut 5.28-31." Sarna

14
Textual Traditions

• 4. Qumran
• 4.1 "A total of fifteen Hebrew scrolls of Exodus,
  all fragmentary, were uncovered at Qumran.
  Thirteen were found in cave 4 two of them
  written in the Paleo-Hebrew script. Other
  fragments were found in cave 1, which feature
  Exod 16.12-16 19.24-20.1 20.25-21.1 21.4-5,
  and in the 'small caves,' that is, in cave 2 that
  held Exod 1.11-14 7.1-14 9.27-29 11.3-7
  12.32-41 21.18-20(?) 26.11-13 30.21(?)
  32.32-34 and another group containing Exod 4.31
  12.26-27(?) 18.21-22 21.27-22.2 22.15-19
  27.17-19 31.16-17 19.9 and 34.10 and a third
  represented by 5.3-5. In cave 7 were found

15
Textual Traditions

• Exod 28.4-6 and v7 in Greek translation. In
  addition, fragments of Hebrew Exod 4.28-31 5.3
  and 6.5-11 were preserved at Murabba'at." Sarna,
  "Exodus, Book of," ABD, II, 691

16
Canonical Context

• "The links with Genesis are discernible in the
  initial verses. Verse 1 cites Gen 46.1, and v5 is
  dependent on Gen 46.26-27. The list of tribes in
  Exod 1.2-4 is drawn from Gen 35.23-26, because
  that chapter (vv11-12) contains the divine
  promises to Jacob. . . . Exod 1.7 tacitly affirms
  that the blessing of fertility has been realized
  the fulfillment of the promise of national
  territory is about to be set in motion. In
  addition, the references to Joseph in 1.5-6
  presuppose a knowledge of his identity and
  activities (cf. 3.16 and 13.19 with Gen
  50.24-25). Still other instances of dependency on
  the Genesis narrative lie in the repeated
  invocation of the divine promises to the

17
Canonical Context

• three patriarchs (Exod 2.24 6.3-4, 8 32.13
  33.1 cf. Gen 12.1-3 15.5, 7, 18 17.2
  28.13-14 46.3 Fishbane 1979 63-64) . . . . The
  closing chapters of Exodus that recount the
  construction and dedication of the tabernacle in
  the wilderness provide the background and
  rationale for the main theme of the books of
  Leviticus and Numbers, which is the ordering of
  the cultic institutions and religious life of
  Israel." Sarna, "Exodus, Book of," ABD, II, 690

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Literary Analysis

• 1. Ironic reversals
• 1.1 The use of _at_Ws in 2.3, Moses' basket and the
  _at_Ws-y in 13.18 and 15.4.
• 1.2 Moses' mother is actually paid to nurse him.
• 1.3 Moses' name meaning "He who draws out (from
  the water)" becomes significant in light of the
  _at_Ws-y.

19
Literary Analysis

• 2. Literary structure
• 2.1 "Ten Plagues . . . three series of three,
  with two announced and the third not. The first
  of each series is "in the morning", but the next
  two lack time indication. "The instruction given
  to Moses in the first of each series begins with
  "Station yourself . . ." and in the second of
  each it is, "Go to Pharaoh," while the third is
  consistently without any such instruction. The
  entire first series is brought about through the
  agency of Aaron, the entire third series through
  the instrumentality of Moses." Sarna, "Exodus,
  Book of," ABD, II, 695

20
Literary Analysis

• 3. Repetitive Motifs and Leitwort
• 3.1 Between chapters 4-14, Pharaoh's heart is
  mentioned 20 times 10 times it is the king's
  obstinacy (Ex 7.13, 14, 22 8.11, 15, 28 9.7,
  34, 35 13.5) and 10 times it is a product of
  divine intent (Ex 4.21 7.3 9.12 10.1, 20, 27
  11.10 14.4, 8, 17).
• 3.2 Ex 1.15-21 the term midwife 7x. Ex 2.1-10
  "child" 7x. Ex 5.7-19 the stem lbn for building
  bricks etc.

21
Literary Analysis

• 4. Deliberate Chronological Displacement of an
  Episode
• 4.1 Ex 18's Jethro's visit must have occurred
  after the revelation at Sinai not before. Note
  (18.15 verses 19.1-2) (18.16, 20).
• 4.2 The location of Ex 32.1-34.35 is problematic

22
Structure

• 1. "The structure of Exodus is very different
  from that of Genesis. There is no series of
  genealogical formulae to provide clearly marked
  divisions. Although there is an itinerary from
  the priestly source (12.37a 13.20 14.1f
  15.22a 17.1a 19.2), it neither extends the
  whole length of the book nor provides an
  overarching framework. The itinerary is picked up
  again in Numbers." Childs, IOTS, 170

23
Structure

• 2. "The chapters are very unevenly divided in
  terms of the detail by which the passage of
  chronological time is recorded. Exodus 12.41
  fixes the period of the Egyptian captivity at 430
  years, yet the bulk of chs. 1-12 relate to a very
  short period before deliverance. Similarly, the
  last chapters from 19-40 cover a period of less
  than a year (19.1 40.17) . . . . the interest of
  the writer falls on certain specific moments
  within the history." Childs, IOTS, 170

24
Structure

• 3. "There is no obvious way to divide the book
  into its parts. Chapters 1-15 cover the exodus
  from Egypt, 15.22-18.27 the wilderness journey,
  and 19-40 the covenant at Sinai and its
  ordinances. Yet such divisions are based on the
  elements of general content and do not rest on
  formal literary markers. It would seem that the
  general structure of the book reveals little
  conscious canonical shaping." Childs, IOTS,
  170-171

25
Structure

• I. Israel in Egypt 1.1-13.16
• A. The Progeny of Israel, the Persecution and
  Deliverance (1.1-2.25)
• B. The Call of the Deliverer, His Commission, and
  His Obedience (3.1-7.7)
• C. The Ten Mighty Acts and the Exodus The Proof
  of Yahweh's Presence (7.8-13.16)
• II. Israel in the Wilderness 13.17-18.27

26
Structure

• III. Israel at Sinai 19.1-40.38
• A. The Advent of Yahweh's Presence and the Making
  of the Covenant (19.1-24.18)
• B. Yahweh's Instructions for the Media of Worship
  (25.1-31.18)
• C. Israel's First Disobedience and Its Aftermath
  (32.1-34.35)
• D. Israel's Obedience of Yahweh's Instructions
  (35.1-40.38)

27
Theological Significance to the Structure

• 1. "It is theologically significant to observe
  that the events of Sinai are both preceded and
  followed by the stories of the people's
  resistance which is characteristic of the entire
  wilderness wanderings. The narrative material
  testifies to those moments in Israel's history in
  which God made himself known. For Israel to learn
  the will of God necessitated an act of
  self-revelation. Israel could not discover it for
  herself." Childs, IOTS, 174

28
Theological Significance to the Structure

• 2. "The placing of the Decalogue . . . . The
  prologue (20.2) summarizes the previous narrative
  of the first eighteen chapters. The commandments
  are addressed to the people who have been rescued
  from slavery in Egypt. However, the decalogue
  also serves as an interpretive guide to all the
  succeeding legal material." Childs, IOTS, 174

29
Theological Significance to the Structure

• 3. ". . . the Book of the Covenant (21-23) . . .
  . The material is now placed within a narrative
  setting which legitimizes Moses' role as
  interpreter of the law (20.18ff). The canon thus
  recognizes the different form of the divine law
  in the decalogue and the laws which follow, and
  it does not fuse the two . . . . The commands are
  to be understood in closest relation to the God
  of the covenant who laid claim upon a people and
  pointed them to a new life as the people of God."
  Childs, IOTS, 174

30
Theological Significance to the Structure

• 4. "The canonical function of Ex 32-34 is to
  place the institutions of Israel's worship within
  the theological framework of sin and forgiveness
  . . . . The worship inaugurated at Sinai did not
  reflect an ideal period of obedience on Israel's
  part, but he response of a people who were
  portrayed from the outset as the forgiven and
  restored community. If ever there were a danger
  of misunderstanding Sinai as a pact between
  partners, the positioning of Ex 32-34 made clear
  the foundation of the covenant was, above all,
  divine mercy and forgiveness." Childs, IOTS,
  175-176

31
Theological Significance to the Structure

• 5. "One of the most significant examples of
  canonical shaping in the book of Exodus involves
  the use of literary technique which combined the
  account of an original event with the portrayal
  of the continuous celebration of that same event.
  Chp 13 gt 15 12 . . . . The canonical effect of
  this literary device is of profound theological
  significance. The original events are not robbed
  of their historical particularity nevertheless,
  the means for their actualization for future
  Israel is offered in the shape of scripture
  itself." Childs, IOTS, 176

32
Dating the Exodus Period

• 1. First half of 13th Century
• 1.1 "Among Biblical scholars and archaeologist
  it is almost axiomatic that the Israelites
  entered Canaan about 1230-1220 B.C. In terms of
  archaeological periods, this would be towards the
  end of the Late Bronze Age, for which the GAD is
  1550-1200 B.C." Bimson Livingston, "Redating
  the Exodus," BAR, (Sept/Oct, 1987), 40
• 1.2 "But while the exact dates can be set for
  neither events exodus/conquest, we may be
  fairly certain that the exodus took place no
  earlier than the thirteenth century. . . . If

33
Dating the Exodus Period

• Hebrews labored at Avaris, then they must have
  been in Egypt at least in the reign of Sethos I
  (ca. 1305-1290), and probably of Ramesses II (ca
  1290-1224), under whom the rebuilding of that
  city was accomplished. On the other hand, if the
  destruction of various Palestinian cities late in
  the thirteenth century is to be connected with
  the Israelites conquest, as many have believed,
  the exodus from Egypt must have taken place
  perhaps a generation before that." Bright, A
  History of Israel, 3rd ed., 123

34
Dating the Exodus Period

• 2. Arguments for 13th Century
• 2.1 The Israel stele of Merneptah indicates that
  Merneptah encountered Israel in Palestine in his
  fifth year, ca. 1220. La Sor Hubbard Bush,
  Old Testament Survey, 125-126
• 2.2 Ex 1.11s store cities of Pithom and Raamses
  fit into Rameses IIs building program, therefore
  ca. 1300.
• 2.3 Edom and Moab (Num 3-2014-21) did not exist
  until ca. 1300. Also the sites of Lachish,
  Bethel, Hazor, Tell Beit Mirsim and Tell
  el-Hesis destruction seems to call for a 1300
  date.

35
Dating the Exodus Period

• 2.4 Egyptian documents of Merneptah and Rameses
  II period provide historical parallels, like
  Apiru as slave.
• 2.5 Josephs setting then becomes the Hyksos
  period.

36
Dating the Exodus Period

• 3. The Bimson/Livingston Redating
• 3.1 "Move the date of the conquest back about 200
  years, to shortly before 1400 B.C. Although this
  conflicts with the GAD for Israel's emergence in
  Canaan, it is in fact the date implied by the
  Bible itself. In 1 Kgs 6.1, we are told that
  Solomon began building the Temple in the fourth
  year of his reign and that this was 480 years
  after the Exodus. Solomon's reign can be dated
  with considerable confidence to

37
Dating the Exodus Period

• about 971-931 B.C., so the fourth year of his
  reign would be 967 B.C. According to the Biblical
  chronology, this would place the Exodus 480 years
  earlier - about 1447 B.C., or say 1450 B.C. for
  convenience. If we allow 40 years for the desert
  wanderings before the Israelite conquest of
  Canaan, we arrive at a date of about 1410-1400
  B.C. for the Israelite entry into Canaan. This is
  almost 200 years earlier than the GAD of
  1230-1220 B.C." Bimson Livingston, "Redating
  the Exodus," BAR, (Sept/Oct, 1987), 42

38
Dating the Exodus Period

• 3.2 "...the reference to "Pithom and Raamses" in
  Ex 1.11 cannot be used to date the Exodus to the
  13th century B.C. Rather, the archaeological
  evidence makes best sense if Exodus 1.11 refers
  to the beginning of the Israelites' enslavement
  (in about the 18th century B.C.), and not to the
  time of the Exodus." Bimson Livingston, 34

39
Dating the Exodus Period

• 3.3 "We would suggest a change in the date for
  the end of the period archaeologists designate
  Middle Bronze II (MBII). We would move the end of
  MBII down by over a century from 1550 B.C. to
  around 1420 B.C." Bimson Livingston, 45

40
Dating the Exodus Period

• 4. K. A. Kitchen's Objection to Bimson
  Livingston's Redating
• 4.1 However, this too simple solution is ruled
  out by the combined weight of all the other
  biblical data plus additional information from
  external data. So the interval from Exodus comes
  out not at 480 years but as over 553 years (by
  three unknown amounts), if we trouble to go
  carefully through all the known biblical figures
  for this period. It is evident that the 480 years
  cannot cover fully the 553 X years. At best, it
  could be a selection from them, or else it is a
  schematic figure (12 X 40 years, or

41
Dating the Exodus Period

• similar). But again, on other evidence to be
  considered, a date of ca. 1519 BC (966553) and
  earlier is even less realistic for the Exodus.
  Kitchen, Exodus, The, ABD, II, 702
• 4.2 From Egyptian data, a bottom date for the
  Exodus can also be set. In his 5th year, 1209 BC,
  Merneptah (Rameses IIs successor) mentions four
  entities recently subdued in Canaan Ascalon,
  Gexer, Yenoam, and Israel by the hieroglyphic
  determinatives, clearly three territorial
  city-states and a people, respectively. The
  disposition of related reliefs at Karnak would
  confirm (in conjunction with the Israel Stela)
  the location of earliest Israel in that

42
Dating the Exodus Period

• area later known as Ephraim and (W) Manasseh,
  Hence, the Exodus, the sojourn in the wilderness,
  and the entry into Canaan can reasonably be
  limited to within ca. 1279-1209 BC, a maximum of
  70 years or if within about 1260-1220 BC, very
  nearly 300 years before the 4th years of Solomon
  (966 BC). Kitchen, Exodus, The, ABD, II, 702
  

43
Egyptian Coloration of Exodus

• Sarna, "Exodus, Book of," ABD, II, 697-8
• 1. "The descent of the Israelite shepherds into
  Egypt in the days of Joseph in order to escape
  famine finds an analogy in Papyrus Anastasi VI,
  in which a frontier official reports on the
  passage of Edomite Bedouin tribes from Asia into
  the delta of Egypt 'to keep them and their cattle
  alive.'(ANET, 259)"

44
Egyptian Coloration of Exodus

• 2. "The title 'pharaoh,' uniformly used for the
  king of Egypt, points to the development that
  took place during the late 18th Dynasty when the
  term, meaning 'The Great House' and originally
  applied to the royal palace, came to be employed
  as a metonymy for the reigning monarch."

45
Egyptian Coloration of Exodus

• 3. "The conscription of Israelites for work on
  state projects (Ex 1.1-10 correlates with the
  tradition preserved by Diodorus Siculus (1.56)
  that Rameses II preferred to conscript foreigners
  rather than Egyptians for his vast building
  program."
• 4. "The Israelites are said to have built the
  cities of Pithom and Raamses (Ex 1.11). The first
  is the Egyptian P(r)'ltm, 'House of (the god)
  Atum,' and the second is P(r)R'mss, 'House of
  Rameses, built Rameses II in the eastern delta of
  the Nile. Egyptian texts extol the beauty and
  glory of this city (ANET, 470-471 cf. Gen
  47.5-6, 11)."

46
(No Transcript)
47
Egyptian Coloration of Exodus

• 5. "The Israelites were also subjected to hard
  work in the fields (Ex 1.14). The Egyptian texts
  known as the 'Satire on the Trades' emphasizes
  the harsh conditions under which agricultural
  laborers worked (ANET, 433 AEL 1187-88
  2170)."
• 6. "The making of bricks proved to be an
  especially onerous imposition on the Israelites
  (Ex 1.14 5.7-8, 13-14). Alluvial mud supplied by
  the river Nile and shaped into bricks was the
  common building material in Egypt, other than for
  monumental architecture. Ordinary private
  dwellings as well as administrative building were
  mainly constructed of bricks and often reached a
  height of about 60 feet. it is estimated that the
  pyramids

48
Egyptian Coloration of Exodus

• of Sesostris III at Dahshur required about 24.5
  million bricks. The massive building program of
  Rameses II would have necessitated the
  manufacture of enormous quantities of bricks
  (Spencer 1979). Surviving records from the time
  of this pharaoh describe how a quota of 2000
  bricks was assigned to each of a gang of forty
  men and how that target was rarely reached
  (Kitchen 1976). The aforementioned 'Satire on the
  Trade' describes the hardship endured by the
  brickmakers (ANET, 433)."

49
Egyptian Coloration of Exodus

• "The small building contractor carries mud... He
  is dirtier than vines or pigs, from treading
  under his mud. His clothes are stiff with clay
  his leather belt is going to ruin. Entering into
  the wind, he is miserable. His lamp goes out,
  though (still) in good condition. He pounds with
  his feet he crushes with his own self, muddying
  the court of every house, when the water of the
  streets has flooded." ANET, 433

50
Brick Making
51
Brick Making
52
Egyptian Coloration of Exodus

• 7. "The midwives play a prominent role in the
  early phase of the oppression (Ex 1.15-21). The
  craft was evidently held in high esteem in Egypt,
  for in one Egyptian tale it was practiced by
  three goddesses (AEL 1220). The name Shiphrah
  held by one of the Hebrew midwives has turned up
  as belonging to an Asiatic woman in a list of
  slaves attached to an Egyptian household
  (Albright 195229, no. 233)."

53
Egyptian Coloration of Exodus

• 8. "Mention of the birth stool (Ex 1.16) appears
  to be connected with the Egyptian custom of women
  experiencing parturition in a crouching or
  sitting position. The Egyptian hieroglyph for
  birth is a kneeling woman, and one text
  explicitly refers to 'sitting on bricks like a
  woman in labor' (ANET, 381)."

54
Egyptian Coloration of Exodus

• 9. "The story of the birth of Moses and his
  exposure in the Nile (Ex 2.1-10) reflects the
  widespread motif of the abandoned hero, known
  from the ANE and the classical world. A local
  Egyptian analogy exists in the story of the
  concealment of Horus from Seth."
• 10. "The name of Moses (Ex 2.10) is of Egyptian
  origin and appears as a frequent element in
  proper name, usually with the addition of a
  divine element (cf. Ahmose, Ramose, Ptahmose,
  Thutmose), and sometimes without it (EHI, 329)."

55
Egyptian Coloration of Exodus

• 11. "Although not explicitly stated, it may be
  inferred from Ex 2.10 that Moses grew up and was
  educated in Egyptian court circles. Evidence
  exists for the presence of foreign students,
  especially Semites, in the royal schools in the
  Ramesside period."
• 12. "The promised land is described for the first
  time as 'a land flowing with milk and honey' (Ex
  3.8). This matches the description of the land
  found in the Egyptian tale of Sinuhe (ANET,
  18-23, and the Annals of Thutmoses III (ANET,
  237-38 Fensham 1966)

56
Egyptian Coloration of Exodus

• 13. "The request of Moses to allow the Israelites
  a three-day release from their corvee labors in
  order to celebrate a religious festival (Ex 3.18
  5.1-3 8.22-25) follows established precedent as
  attested by extant records kept by the
  supervisors of labor gangs (Erman 1971124
  Kitchen 1975156-57)."
• 14. "The exceptional role of wonder-working in
  the early Exodus narrative (Ex 4.2-5, 6-9
  7.8-12, 22 8.3, 14-15) must be viewed in the
  light of the extraordinary place of magic as an
  essential part of daily life at all levels of
  Egyptian society. The feat of turning rod into a
  snake finds analogy in the popular tale 'King
  Cheops (Khufu) and the

57
Egyptian Coloration of Exodus

• Magicians' (Erman 196636-38). As a matter of
  fact, the snake as stiff as a rod is still
  practiced in Egypt and has been well documented
  in modern times (Mannix 196032). The specific
  selection of this trick in order to impress both
  the Israelites and the pharaoh and his court may
  have been conditioned by the ceremonial insignia
  of Egyptian monarchs. The rod, or scepter, was
  emblematic of royalty, power, and authority, and
  the uraeus, or stylized representation of the
  sacred cobra, was worn on the forehead by the
  pharaohs as a symbol of imperial authority."

58
Egyptian Coloration of Exodus

• 15. "The turning of water into blood (Ex 4.9
  7.17-22) is mentioned in Egyptian compositions.
  'The admonitions of an Egyptian Sage' (ANET,
  441), and the story of 'Setne Khamwas and
  Si-osire' (AEL 3148) both refer to it."
• 16. "The ninth plague, darkness (Ex 10.21-23),
  may be compared with mention of a similar
  phenomenon in the 'Prophecies of Neferti' (ANET,
  445)
• 17. "Finally, the ten plagues are described as
  'judgments on the gods of Egypt' (Ex 12.12 cf.
  Num 33.4 Jer 46.25), a verdict early interpreted
  to mean that they were a mockery of Egyptian

59
Egyptian Coloration of Exodus

• paganism (12.23-27 16.1-14 cf. Ex 10.2 Jud.
  48.5). Some of the plagues can be so explained if
  taken in a context of Egyptian religious beliefs.
  The Nile, the vital artery of the land, was
  personified as the god Hapi, and its annual
  inundation was regarded as a manifestation of
  Osiris. The first two plagues centered on the
  river and could certainly have been understood by
  the Egyptians as nullifying the powers of these
  two deities. The plague of frogs could well have
  been taken as mocking the frog goddess Heqt, who
  was fancied as assisting women in labor and who
  was the consort of Khnum, the one who fashioned
  human beings out of clay. The plague of darkness

60
Egyptian Coloration of Exodus

• represented the defeat of the sun god Re, symbol
  of cosmic order. To the Egyptian mind, it would
  have evoked the powerful cosmogonic myth in which
  the monster Apophis, symbolic of darkness and the
  embodiment of all that is terrible, daily vied
  for victory over Re."

61
Theology of Exodus

• 1. "The exodus from Egypt provides a focus for
  the OT, and has influenced its understanding of
  God. He had brought Israel, his people, "out of
  Egypt." Thus the recollection of this event
  established a basic understanding of the nature
  and purpose of Israel's God, which could be used
  to interpret other events and situations. The use
  of this "exodus pattern" is very marked in the
  prophecies of Isaiah 40-55 relating to the
  forthcoming release of exiles from Babylon in the
  sixth century B.C." Clements, "The Book of
  Exodus," IDBSupp, 310

62
Theology of Exodus

• "Since the Exodus is perceived in the Bible as a
  divine event, it serves as one of the most
  significant symbols of the biblical faith. One of
  the axioms of this faith is that Yahweh, and not
  any other deity, brought Israel out from
  Egypt...(Ex 20.2 Deut 5.6). The significance of
  these words is that the deity who brought Israel
  out of Egypt was the one who now spoke to them
  and laid on them obligations and commandments."
  Haran, "The Exodus," IDBSupp, 304

63
Theology of Exodus

• "The memory of the Exodus is embedded in the
  injunction to celebrate the festivals and in many
  day-by-day commandments, not only in the
  particular phraseology of D (Deut 10.19 15.15
  16.3, 12 24.22, etc.), but also in the language
  of the other sources (Ex 13.8, 14 22.21 H 20
  23.15 Lev 23.43)." Haran, "The Exodus,"
  IDBSupp, 304

64
Theology of Exodus

• 2. "The centerpiece of this unity is the theology
  of Yahweh present with and in the midst of his
  people Israel. Throughout the Book of Exodus in
  its canonical form, this theme is constantly in
  evidence, serving as a theological anchor and
  also as a kind of compass indicating the
  directions in which the book is to go. Indeed,
  the Book of Exodus may be seen as a series of
  interlocking concentric circles spreading
  outwards from the narratives of the coming of
  Yahweh to Moses in chaps 3 and 4, to all Israel
  in chaps. 19, 20 and 24, and to Moses
  representing Israel in chaps 32, 33 and 34."
  Durham, WBCExodus, xxi

65
Important Reads

• Hoffmeier, James, Israel in Egypt The Evidence
  for the Authenticity of the Exodus Tradition.
  Oxford OUP, 1997.
• Hoffmeier, James. Ancient Israel in Sinai The
  Evidence for the Authenticity of the Wilderness
  Tradition. Oxford OUP, 2005.

66
Commentaries

• Childs, Brevard S. The Book of Exodus A Critical
  Theological Commentary. OTL. Westminster, 1974.
• Durham, John I. Exodus. WBC. Word, 1987.
• Propp, William H. Exodus 1-18 A New Translation
  with Introduction and Commentary. Anchor Bible.
  Doubleday, 1999.
• Sarna, Nahum M. Exodus. JPS Torah Commentary.
  JPS, 1991.