Exodus 15.22-17.7

Miracles in the Wilderness

Bitter Water Made Sweet / Bread From Heaven

Bitter Water Made Sweet: Exodus 15.22-27

Moses orders Israel to set out form the Red Sea, and they travel three days into the wilderness of Shur. In the end, it turns out, Moses actually fulfills part of his promise to Pharaoh. However, no sacrifices are made here. Instead, the congregation complains about the bitter water at a place called Marah (which incidentally means "bitterness").

The people complain to Moses about the undrinkable water. Moses, in turn, cries out to God, who shows Moses a piece of wood he should throw into the water to make it sweet.

The Lord makes a "statute and an ordinance" to "put them to the test":

If you will listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God, and do what is right in his sight, and give heed to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will not bring upon you any of the diseases that I brought upon the Egyptians; for I am the Lord who heals you.
(Ex. 25-26)

God's people must show their respect to God in order to stay in God's good standing and stay plague-free. This is not a covenant, but a commandment.

The people make their way to Elim, which must seem something of a paradise, having 12 springs and 70 palm trees. They camp by the water. The two numbers suggest completeness and perfection. Twelve perhaps represents the  sons of Israel, thereby encompassing the whole of Israel: there is a spring for each tribe. Seventy or any multiple of seven, represents completeness or perfection. These numbers are not to be taken literally, but they serve to demonstrate continuities within the narrative: 12 palms for 12 tribes, 70 springs for the whole (as in having "wholeness") congregation.

Bread From Heaven: Exodus 16.1-36

The whole congregation again sets out and finds itself in Sin, betwen Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they departed from Egypt. As they left on the fifteenth, this means that the Israelites have travelled exactly one month. This will be their seventh stop and their third complaint.

The entire congregation complains that there is no food in the wilderness, whereas in Egypt they had their fill of bread and meat. They go so far as to accuse Moses of plotting to kill them with hunger.

The Lord gives Moses a plan. The Lord will test the Israelites by raining bread from heaven that the Israelites must go and prepare. On the sixth day, they are to collect twice as much, as they cannot do work on the Sabbath and bread will not fall that day. This is an indication that this portion comes from the P-source. The Priestly redactors were very careful to make sure the people written about in the Bible follow the central tenants of religion.

The next verse, however, seems to indicate a different source, with a different command (Ex. 16.6). Moses tells Aaron to tell the Israelites that:

In the evening you shall know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, and in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your complaining against the Lord. For what are we, that you complain against us?
(Ex. 15.6-7)

Moses then tells the congregation that the Lord will provide meat in the evening and bread in the morning. Wait a minute. The Lord said nothing before about meat. Where did that come from? A different source, obviously.

And Moses rebukes the congregation too, saying that their complaint is not directed at Moses and Aaron, but the Lord.

The story then repeats itself, with a twist. Moses tells Aaron to speak to the congregation. Aaron speaks to them facing the wilderness, while behind them the Lord speaks to Moses in a cloud. The Lord then gives moses the commandment of meat and bread that Moses had informed the Israelites about above. The text appears to be out of order - the traditions twisted around one another.

In any case, quails come that evening...and are not mentioned again. Huh.

In the morning there is a layer of dew in the camp, and when it lifts, there is a fine layer of a flaky substance on the ground. It is manna, a substance "like coriander seed, white, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey" (Ex. 16.31). It melts away with the heat of the day. The Israelites are puzzled at first, but Moses commands them to collect it, one omer per person. They do, and everyone somehow every day ends up with a perfect omer. Some leave it to morning, which is forbidden, and find that it is foul and wormy. Others do not collect two servings on the day before the Sabbath, and go hungry for a day. The manna kept over into the Sabbath, by God's doing, does not become foul overnight.

The people learn from disobeying the rules, but that does not mean God is happy about it. Rather, God sees the people as not obeying his instructions.

In spite of this, the Lord commands Moses that an omer should be kept through the generations, so that future generations may see how the people were fed (for forty years) in the wilderness after being led out of Egypt. Aaron puts an omer of manna in a jar and places it before the (anachronistically placed) covenant for safekeeping.

Oh, wondering what an omer? It's one-tenth of an ephah. Duh. And how much is an ephah, you ask? An ephah is 22 liters. So an omer is 1.1 liters. 1.1 liters is about 4.6 cups. 4.6 cups of manna per person, per day.

Tomorrow: Water from the Rock.

Exodus 15.1-21 Redux

I apologize for the lack of analysis last night. Poetry is a pretty hefty topic to introduce and analyze all at once. Today I am going to take a step back and analyze the poetry introduced yesterday. Check out that post if you haven't yet - it has a lot of important information regarding today's post.

Also, if you cannot tell, I am having problems with font and formatting, because I generally type my blog in Microsoft Word or TextEdit, then copy and paste it here. Today's post is all typed in Blogger, for a change. Someday I might go back and reformat all the entries. In any case, it's something always in the back of my mind.

One thing I forgot to mention last night is that the easiest way to remember chiasmus is to think of the famous line from John F. Kennedy's inaugural address:

Ask not what your country can do for you—

ask what you can do for your country.

The "ask" parts provide the topical parallelism necessary for cohesiveness, while the you/you, country/country creates the chiasmus. Chiasmus comes from the Greek letter "chi," represented by an "X." In chiasmus, the equivalent words or phrases form an X:

your country can do for you

X

you can do for your country

Let's get going.

The Song of Moses: Exodus 15.1-19

The song/poem opens with a cast list: Moses and the Israelites. Even if the poem was not originally written by Moses, for biblical authors the attribution is important. The poem refers to events that have not happened yet. This does not indicate that it was written later than the rest of the text - in fact, it has many influences that seem to predate the rest of the narrative. Rather, this poem was inserted because it is an additional telling of the escape from Egypt, just as "true" as the others.

"Stanza" One
Distich one displays the Lord triumphing over the Egyptians. Distich two takes the idea of triumph and personalizes it: "The Lord is my strength, and my might...my salvation." The third distich continues to play on the theme and personalizes it further, going from God's characteristics to God himself: "my God...my father's God." The last distich gives two labels to God. The first, God as warrior, is implied in the narrative. The second, God as YHWH, or Lord, is explicit in the narrative (Ex. 3.13-15; "The Divine Name Revealed").

"Stanza" Two
Distich one demonstrates synonymous parallelism, except it's a little more than synonymous. Really, the second half of the distich gives specific examples of the generalized first half. The second distich parallels the first.

The third distich demonstrates emblematic parallelism. The hand that is "glorious in power," an abstract manifestation, makes a physical gesture: "shattered the enemy." The next distich contains synonymous parallelism. The two following it serve mostly as narrative.

"Stanza" Three
The reference to the earth swallowing the Egyptians may indicate a belief in the underworld. The dead Egyptians are taken under the earth, to the afterlife.

"Stanza" Four
The first distich of "stanza" four is composed with a sort of hybrid chiasmus-synthetic parallelism:

In your steadfast love...you led them

X

you guided them...by your strength

Chiasmus: Highlighted in red and green: [aspect of God]/guidance
Synthetic: "Love" to "strength"

Distich three is a unique three-line distich, arranged by chiasmus alternating the people of various parts of the Promised Land and their fear:

Chiefs of Edom...dismayed

X

tremblimg...leaders of Moab

X

all the inhabitants of Canaan...melted away [with fear?]

That's pretty cool. At least I think so.

Exodus 15.1-21

The Song of Moses / The Song of Miriam

Primer on Biblical Poetry

I am deeply indebted to my college professors for this section, one of whom introduced me to The Bible as Literature, a wonderful resource for reading the bible as literature that I really do not use enough in writing this blog…

Here lies the first extended poem of the Bible. But if you’re expecting Emily Dickinson, you will be sorely disappointed. Like Dickson’s poetry, biblical poetry is at times narrative, at times contemplative. Unlike Dickinson’s poetry, biblical poetry…lingers.

Biblical poetry, if not formatted as it is commonly found in contemporary Christian bibles, can be difficult to identify with the untrained eye. But once you learn to identify the devices, it becomes fairly easy, and you can even identify units of poetry still hiding in the text proper.

Of course, identifying these devices was a problem. Writes John B. Gabel et al. in The Bible as Literature:

The problem came about because Hebrew poetry had no formal device like our rhyme to mark the ends of poetic lines and because its rhythm was too fluid to settle into patterns that unmistakably announced the presence of verse.

(Gabel 35)

But then came Bishop Robert Loweth’s 1753 hit Lectures on the Sacred Poetry of the Hebrews. Whereas the poetry we know poetry is based on form, Loweth proposed that biblical poetry was based on thought. It is poetry balancing units of rhythm or rhyme verses poetry balancing “sense units.” One of my college professors told me that the reason Hebrew poetry is not based on rhyming because it would be way too easy. There may be truth to that – Hebrew is an incredibly lyrical language. Rhymes and rhythms that might delight an English speaking audience are simple units of language.

Hebrew poetry does have a general form, called “parallelism.” One of the simplest types of parallel relations is “synonymous.” Let me give you an example, with text from above, arranged like a distich, a two-line block of biblical poetry.

Poetry we know is based on form / but biblical poetry is based on thought.

Poetry we know balances units of rhyme / but biblical poetry balances sense units.

Here the two left units parallel one another. The two right units parallel one another as well. How do you feel about that? I just sort of said the same thing twice, just in different ways. But the biblical writers didn’t see poetry that way:

Turning it in the hand and viewing it from different angles, as it were, the Hebrew poet could more fully demonstrate its latent significance.

(Gabel 37)

Another type of synonymous relationship is “synthetic,” which indicates a flow in logic or movement. For example:

Poetry we know is based on form / but biblical poetry is based on thought.

Poetry we know balances units of rhyme / but biblical poetry balances sense units.

We might find this / poetry boring.

Biblical poets would not find this / poetry boring.

There is a logical flow between the first distich and the second distich. The second distich moves the ideas in the first distich forward. But notice that both distiches are comprised of synonymous parallelism.

The third type of parallelism mentioned in The Art of Biblical Narrative is “antithetic” in these the second unit in a distich “denies or provides an exception to the preceding one” (Alter 38). Actually, it was used above:

We might find this / poetry boring.

Biblical poets would not find this / poetry boring.

Other terms to consider: “Emblematic parallelism” has one literal and one metaphorical unit. “Climatic parallelism” builds up to a climax. “Chiasmus” is a type of parallelism that lines up the top left unit with the bottom right one, and the top right one with the bottom left one. For example:

Poetry we know is based on form / but biblical poetry is based on thought.

Whereas biblical poetry balances sense units, / poetry we know balances units of rhyme.

The Song of Moses: Exodus 15.1-19

That is about all you need to know for now. Here is the “Song of Moses” in its entirety. Look for parallelism throughout.

Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord:

‘I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;
   horse and rider he has thrown into the sea.
²The Lord is my strength and my might,^*
   and he has become my salvation;

this is my God, and I will praise him,
   my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
³The Lord is a warrior;
   the Lord is his name.

⁴‘Pharaoh’s chariots and his army he cast into the sea;
   his picked officers were sunk in the Red Sea.^*
5The floods covered them;
   they went down into the depths like a stone.
⁶Your right hand, O Lord, glorious in power—
   your right hand, O Lord, shattered the enemy.
⁷In the greatness of your majesty you overthrew your adversaries;
   you sent out your fury, it consumed them like stubble.
⁸At the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up,
   the floods stood up in a heap;
   the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea.
⁹The enemy said, “I will pursue, I will overtake,
   I will divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of them.
   I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.”
¹⁰You blew with your wind, the sea covered them;
   they sank like lead in the mighty waters.

¹¹‘Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods?
   Who is like you, majestic in holiness,
   awesome in splendor, doing wonders?
¹²You stretched out your right hand,
   the earth swallowed them.

¹³‘In your steadfast love you led the people whom you redeemed;
   you guided them by your strength to your holy abode.
¹⁴The peoples heard, they trembled;
   pangs seized the inhabitants of Philistia.
¹⁵Then the chiefs of Edom were dismayed;
   trembling seized the leaders of Moab;
   all the inhabitants of Canaan melted away.
¹⁶Terror and dread fell upon them;
   by the might of your arm, they became still as a stone

until your people, O Lord, passed by,
   until the people whom you acquired passed by.
¹⁷You brought them in and planted them on the mountain of your own possession,
   the place, O Lord, that you made your abode,
   the sanctuary, O Lord, that your hands have established.
¹⁸The Lord will reign for ever and ever.’

19 

When the horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and his chariot drivers went into the sea, the Lord brought back the waters of the sea upon them; but the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground.

The Song of Miriam: Exodus 15.20-21

What follows is the very brief “Song of Miriam.” Notice that Miriam is Aaron’s sister. Even though Moses and Aaron are brothers, Miriam is not listed as Moses’ sister.

Then the prophet Miriam, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand; and all the women went out after her with tambourines and with dancing. And Miriam sang to them:
‘Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;
horse and rider he has thrown into the sea.’

Check it out – it rhymed there. Thanks, translators!

Exodus 13.17-15.21

The Pillars of Cloud and Fire / Crossing the Red Sea / The Pursuers Drowned

The Pillars of Cloud and Fire: Exodus 13.1-22

Through it would be more convenient for the Israelites to travel through the land of the Philistines, God had them go in a roundabout way toward the Red Sea. This way they will not experience war and wish to return to Egypt. Despite this, Exodus 13.18 tells that the Israelites prepared for battle anyway.

Moses brings Joseph’s bones along, because he had required an oath from the Israelites, saying:

“God will surely take notice of you, and then you must carry my bones with you from here.” (Ex. 13.19)

This is fairly accurate. Compare to Genesis 50.24-25:

Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die; but God will surely come to you, and bring you up out of this land to the land that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” So Joseph made the Israelites swear, saying, “When God comes to you, you shall carry up my bones from here.”

(Gen. 50.24-25)

The Israelites set off from Succoth and camp at Etham. The Lord leads them in a pillar of cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night, so that they can travel with light all the time.

Crossing the Red Sea: Exodus 14.1-25

Important Stuff

Red Sea: Also, Reed Sea. We don’t know if it was actually the Red Sea that the Israelites crossed. It might have been one of the bitter lakes, or even a marsh or lagoon off the Mediterranean Sea (a “sea of reeds”). This label may have been given because it was easily recognizable to a vast audience. Few of the other locations in Exodus are known today.

This section gives the first glimpse of one of the many characterizations of God: God as divine warrior. God fights for his people Israel against the forces of evil. The divine warrior motif will feature prominently in later books, so keep your eye out for it. Notice also that at times God acts independently of Moses, and sometimes with Moses as an intermediary. This also occurred throughout the plague narrative. God does not seem to need Moses to work miracles, but it certainly seems to help to have someone on the ground communicating for you.

God orchestrates a wonderful show here: baiting Pharaoh before destroying his entire Army. His intention is to show Egypt his power, and in the process creates a wonderful story for the Israelites, one that is undoubtedly passed down for gener– oh hey, we’re reading it today!

The Story

The Lord tells Moses to tell the Egyptians to double back so that Pharaoh believes the Israelites are lost in the wilderness. God will harden Pharaoh’s heart so that he pursues Israel. As with the plagues, the result is that God proves his greatness to Pharaoh and the Egyptians:

I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them, so that I will gain glory for myself over Pharaoh and all his army; and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord…

(Ex. 14.4)

Pharaoh is told that “the people had fled” and realizing along with his officials that he has made a mistake, Pharaoh sets out to pursue him. [The fact that the Israelites flee, rather than being hurried out, may indicate a separate tradition. Of course, it might also indicate that Pharaoh simply realizes the Israelites have been gone more than three days (as requested) and in fact have no intention of returning]

Pharaoh sets off with his army and 600 “picked” (designated?) chariots as well as... well, the rest of the chariots of Egypt (Ex. 14.7). The Lord hardens Pharaohs heart for the pursuit.

The Israelites see Pharaoh bearing down on them and cry out o the Lord. They also cry to Moses in harsh words:

They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us, bringing us out of Egypt? Is this not the very thing we told you in Egypt, ‘Let us alone and let us serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”

(Ex. 14.11-12)

This sort of complaint will be made often throughout Exodus, but it has the same effect as other repeated motifs, such as the promise of offspring and Moses’ bargaining with God. It helps to establish the mood of the people and the frustration of living with a God that does not act exactly the way you want him to act. This is, of course, how God seems to act: not caring much for you. But God does care, the Bible tells us. It’s just that sometimes it takes a while. In fact, God’s response in Exodus is very quick. The Israelites seem to think that God is not watching out for him, and whenever this is expressed, it is quickly corrected. God, it seems, is now watching his people carefully.

In any case, Moses responds to the people the Lord will deliver them; they need only to stand firm and not be afraid: “The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to keep still” (Ex. 14.14).

Though it was the people that cried out to God, the Lord responds to Moses directly: “Why do you cry out to me? Tell the Israelites to go forward” (Ex. 13.15). The Lord then tells Moses to lift his staff and stretch out his hand over the sea; the same action that was used to invoke many of the plagues. In this way the sea will divide so that the Israelites may gross on dry ground. God will then harden the Egyptians’ hearts so that they will follow and God can make his coup de grace and win glory for himself. The Egyptians will then know of God’s greatness.

The Israelites have prepared for battle, and are then fittingly portrayed as an “army.” This characterization helps to invoke the motif of the divine warrior. God, as divine warrior, will fight for Israel:

The angel of God who was going before the Israelite army moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from in front of them and took its place behind them. It came between the army of Egypt and the army of Israel. And so the cloud was there with the darkness, and it lit up the night; one did not come near the other all night.

(Exodus 14.19)

Exodus 13.21 states that the Lord leads the Israelites in a pillar of cloud and fire. Here, however, it is the angel of God in the pillar. In fact, the first sentence can be read as verse, with parallelism that typified Hebrew poetry. The angel of God and the pillar are the same entity, moving together. The second phrase parallels the first and is synonymous with it.

Moses stretches out his hand and the Lord drives the Red Sea back with an east wind all night. The Israelites cross on dry ground, with walls of water on either side. The Egyptians pursue them, but the Lord sees and throws the army into a panic. Their chariot wheels clog as they try to flee.

The Pursuers Drowned: Exodus 14.26-31

The Lord tells Moses to stretch his arm over the sea again so that the waters may come back in, right on the Egyptians. At dawn the waters collapse back in and the Lord flings the Egyptians into the sea. Not one Egyptian remains.

The chapter ends:

Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Israel saw the great work that the Lord did against the Egyptians. So the people feared the Lord and believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses.

(Ex. 14.30-31)

Tomorrow: Poetry.

Exodus 12.33-13.16

The Exodus: From Rameses to Succoth / Directions for the Passover / The Festival of Unleavened Bread / The Consecration of the Firstborn

The Exodus: From Rameses to Succoth: Exodus 12.33-42

Perhaps fearing there are more plagues to come, the Egyptians hurry the Israelites out of Egypt. The people do not have time to bake bread – they take the kneading bowls and unleavened dough and leave. Well, they do have time to take the jewelry and clothing the Lord promised, thereby plundering the Egyptians. By the way, the unleavened bread part is in fulfillment of God’s word.

In total, 600,000 men travel from Rameses to Succoth. The HarperCollins editorial note reads: “Counting women, children, and the elderly, the total would well exceed 2 million; a large army comprised perhaps 20,000 soldiers” (104). The crowd had not prepared provisions, their egress was so fast. So they bake the dough to make unleavened bread.

The Israelites had been living in Egypt for 430 years to the day. For generations to come a vigil for the Lord is to be kept by the Israelites on this day.

Directions for the Passover: Exodus 12.43-13.2

More Passover instructions as given by God to Moses and Aaron! (See yesterday’s post for the previous instructions)

• Those who cannot eat it
• Foreigners. (Ex. 12.43)
• “Bound or hired” servants. (see above; Ex. 12.45)
• Uncircumcised people. (see above; Ex. 12.48)
• Those who can eat it.
• A slave who has been purchased and circumcised. (Ex. 12.44)
• The whole congregation of Israel must eat it. (Ex. 12.47)
• An alien who wishes to celebrate it and has had all his males circumcised. Bonus! He will be regarded as a native of the land. (Ex. 12.48)
• How to eat it.
• In the house. Don’t take any meat outside. (Ex. 12.46)
• Do not break the bones of the animal. (Ex. 12.46)

There is then an inversion: The Lord tells Moses to consecrate all the firstborns to God: “Whatever is the first to open the womb among the Israelites, of human beings and animals, is mine” (Ex. 13.2). This inverts the tenth plague, in which the Lord killed all the firstborns. Here Moses is to dedicate all the firstborns to God; they are made sacred in God’s name. Rather than having their life taken, firstborns by this command receive a protection of sorts.

The Festival of Unleavened Bread: Exodus 13.3-10

Moses gives instructions regarding the festival of unleavened bread, but with a few key differences.

The Israelites escape bondage in Abib, the first month of the year. As a yearly memorial ritual, no leavened bread should be eaten for a week during this month, beginning when the Lord (not Moses…) brings the Israelites into the land of all those foreigners that flows with milk and honey. On the seventh day there is to be a festival to the Lord. No one can leavened bread or even have leaven in their possession. On the seventh day parents should tell their child:

It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.

(Ex. 13.8).

Furthermore,

It shall serve for you as a sign on your hand and as a reminder on your forehead, so that the teaching of the Lord may be on your lips; for with a strong hand the Lord brought you out of Egypt.

(Ex. 13.9)

In later times this comes to be interpreted as a command to wear Tefillin, or phylacteries. These are small boxes connected by a strap that sit upon the forehead and arms. Each box contains scrolls of parchment with prayer written on them.

Exodus 12.26-27 contains a parallel response to a child that is explained in Exodus 13.8. The earlier on occurs during Passover:

And when your children ask you, “What do you mean by this observance?” you shall say, “It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, for he passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt, when he struck down the Egyptians but spared our houses.”

(Ex. 12.26-27)

This, of course, is how the story is passed down through the generations, an important theme from the account of the plagues.

The Consecration of the Firstborn: Exodus 13.11-16

Here follows a parallel command for consecration of the firstborn, one that elaborates on the previous command above.

Moses tells the people of the Lord’s command, which will apply as soon as the Israelites enter the land of the Canaanites. All the firstborn male livestock belong to (read: sacrificed to) the Lord. However, donkeys should be redeemed with sheep (i.e. sacrificing a lamb for the donkey [because donkeys are unclean and therefore unfit for sacrifice]). Otherwise the donkey’s neck should be broken. The firstborn males should all be redeemed (i.e. a lamb for the kid [heh, get it, “kid.” Okay, “child” is a better term there]). Then appears the third question from a child:

When in the future your child asks you, “What does this mean?” you shall answer, “By strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery. When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from human firstborn to the firstborn of animals. Therefore I sacrifice to the Lord every male that first opens the womb, but every firstborn of my sons I redeem.” It shall serve as a sign on your hand and as an emblem on your forehead that by strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.

(Exodus 13.14-16)

The inverse ceremony is completed with the redemption of the firstborns. Note as well the reference to the Lord’s hand bringing Israel out of Egypt and the repetition of the sign on the hand and forehead. There is an awful lot of repetition going on here…

Tomorrow: Something completely different.

Exodus 11.1-12.32

Warning of the Final Plague /  The First Passover Instituted / The Tenth Plague           

Warning of the Final Plague: Exodus 11.1-9

Text One

The Lord comes to Moses and tells him that the Lord will bring one more plague upon Pharaoh and Egypt. After this, Pharaoh will actually drive the Israelites out. The Israelites (male and female) are to ask their neighbors for silver and gold in fulfillment of the promise in Exodus 3.21-22: “…when you go, you will not go empty handed; each woman shall ask her neighbor and any woman living in a neighbor’s house for jewelry of silver of gold, and clothing, and you shall put them on your sons and daughters; and so you shall plunder the Egyptians.” (Because we’ve already been told this, God does not need to be explicit the second time. However there is the inconsistency of men and women versus women only.)

The Lord ensures the Israelites’ favor among the Egyptians, and Moses becomes “a man of great importance in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh’s officials and in the sight of the people” (Ex.11.3). Moses is the second man to achieve this explicit prominence in Egypt; the first was Joseph. It is only Pharaoh that does not appreciate Moses. But because God makes a distinction between Israel and Egypt rather than those-who-like-Moses and those-who-don’t, the Egyptians will all suffer the last plague. That is not to say that the impending destruction is Pharaoh’s fault. Indeed, it is God who is demonstrating God’s greatness.

In every other plague-story in which Moses speaks, he explicitly speaks to Pharaoh. Here this is not so, perhaps out of the author’s deference to Moses’ exclamation in Exodus 10.29: “Just as you say! I will never see your face again.” In any case, Moses delivers an address to an unknown audience regarding the next plague: death to every firstborn in Egypt, even Pharaoh’s and the firstborn of livestock (which were apparently resurrected after the fifth and seventh plagues). A great cry will go up through the land, “such as has never been or will ever be again” (Ex. 11.6). But not even a dg will growl at the Israelites and their animals because of the distinction the Lord makes. All the officials of Pharaoh will bow before Moses, begging him to leave. Then Moses promises he will. And then Moses’ audience is revealed in Exodus 11.8: “And in hot anger he left Pharaoh.” He has been speaking to Pharaoh this whole time! This is a bit of a surprise ending, for the narrator until now has always specified Moses’ audience at the beginning of his address.

Then appears an anachronistic fragment:

The Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh will not listen to you, in order that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.”

[Text Two] Moses and Aaron performed all these wonders before Pharaoh; but the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the people of Israel go out of his land.

Pharaoh has already not listened to Pharaoh, so why does God tell him this now? Likewise, what are these “wonders” that Moses and Aaron performed before Pharaoh? These are not mentioned. Sure, there are plagues, but a wonder is something more akin to Aaron’s rod becoming a snake (see Ex. 7.8: “Perform a wonder”). I suspect these are fragments from a different tradition that have been placed here to close the narrative. In fact, the narrative unit of plagues closes to make way for a long explanation of Passover. So perhaps the reference to wonders and the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart serves as the closing of an “envelope” that opens with Aaron’s wonder with the rod and the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart that precedes the first nine plagues and description of the tenth.

The First Passover Instituted: Exodus 12.1-28

Text Two

The Lord establishes to Moses and Aaron that henceforth this month shall be the first month of the year. The Lord then gives instructions on how to hold a proper Passover. I have rearranged the instructions below (Exodus 12.3-13) so that you too can carry out your own Passover as it is instructed!

• On the tenth of the month each family should get a lamb. (Ex. 12.3)
• If your household is too small for a whole lamb, join your neighbors. (Ex. 12.4)
• The lamb
• May be a sheep or goat. (Ex. 12.5)
• Must be without blemish. (Ex. 12.5)
• Must be a year-old male. (Ex. 12.5)
• The lamb shall be divided in proportion to the number of people attending. (Ex. 12.4)
• On the fourteenth of the month, each family of Israel should slaughter its lamb at twilight. (Ex. 12.6)
• Take some of the blood of the slaughtered lamb and put it on the doorposts and lintel of the houses the lamb is being eaten in. (Ex. 12.7)
• During the night the Lord will pass through Egypt and kill all the firstborns, humans and animals. (Ex. 12.12)
• The blood will be a sign for God. God will pass over the houses with blood (Ex. 12.13).
• Prepare the lamb
• Roast it over a fire (head, legs, and organs intact). (Ex. 12.8-9)
• Do NOT eat it raw or boiled. (Ex. 12.9)
• Eating the lamb
• Eat the lamb the same night it is slaughtered. (Ex. 12.8)
• Serve with unleavened bread and roasted herbs. (Ex. 12.8)
• Gird your loins and wear your sandals. Have your staff in your hand during the meal. (Ex. 12.11) In other words…
• Eat hurriedly. (Ex. 12.11)
• Do not let any of the lamb remain until morning. Burn anything that remains in the morning. (Ex. 12.10)

Text ?

What follows these instructions is what seems to be a separate text, this one concerning the festival of unleavened bread. The first indication? It opens, “This day shall be a day of remembrance for you” (Ex. 12.14). Later God commands, “You shall observe the festival of unleavened bread, for on this very day I brought your companies out of the land of Egypt” (Ex. 12.17). This very day has not happened yet! It will happen very soon, but the modifier very indicates that God is speaking to Moses on the day that the Israelites escape Egypt.

Here are the instructions for carrying out your own festival of unleavened bread, an annual festival of the Lord to commemorate the Lord bringing Israel out of Egypt:

• Begin the festival on the fourteenth day of the month (Passover) and continue for seven days. (Ex. 12.18)
• Eat only unleavened bread for seven days. Anyone who eats leavened bread during this time will be cut off from Israel. (Ex. 12.15, 19, 20)
• Day One
• Remove all leaven from your house. (Ex. 12.15, 19)
• Hold a solemn assembly. (Ex. 12.16)
• Don’t do any work besides preparing meals. (Ex. 12.16)
• Day seven
• Hold a solemn assembly. (Ex. 12.16)
• Don’t do any work besides preparing meals. (Ex. 12.16)
• Celebrate the festival annually. (Ex. 12.14)

Text ??

Here a new text begins, with Moses giving instructions to the elders of Israel regarding the first Passover:

• Select a lamb for your family. (Ex. 12.21)
• Slaughter said lamb. (Ex. 12.21)
• Using a bunch of hyssop as your brush, touch the lintel and two doorposts of your house with the blood of the slaughtered lamb. (Ex. 12.22) This will be a sign to the Lord to pass over the house.
• Do this yearly, and continue the practice in the land the Lord will give to Israel. (Ex. 12.24)
• When children ask, “What do you mean by this observance?” reply, “It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, for he passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt, when he struck down the Egyptians but spared our houses.” (Ex. 12.26-27)

The Israelites do just as the Lord commands Moses and Aaron.

Note that the second set of instructions for Passover, the instructions that Moses gives, differ slightly from the first set of instructions, the instructions that God gives.

The Tenth Plague: Exodus 12.29-32

The Lord strikes down all the firstborns at midnight: even of the animals and of Pharaoh. Pharaoh awakes during the night, and he and his officials and all of Egypt cry out; “there was not a house without someone dead” (Ex. 12.30).

Pharaoh summons Moses and Aaron during the night and commands them to leave with all of Israel and their flocks and herds. He pleads, “And bring a blessing on me too!” (Ex. 12.32).

Plague Wrap-Up

Why do I believe that this story is a composite text? There are a number of reasons. At times Moses and Aaron act together. Other times Moses acts alone. In Exodus 9.8 God speaks to Moses and Aaron, regarding the plan for the sixth plague. For the rest of the plagues God speaks to Moses only. Likewise, God speaks to the brothers in Exodus 12.1 and 12.28.

Furthermore, the plagues are brought about by three different entities.

For the first plague it is not specified who brings about the plague. It is most likely Aaron, as he is with Aaron, who afterwards delivers plagues 2 and 3. The Lord delivers plagues 4, 5, and 10, using Moses as an intermediary to warn Pharaoh of the impending plague. Moses delivers plagues 6, 7, 8, and 9. If there was one consistent text, it might have been more consistent, more formulaic in its plague-giving.

Speaking of which, there are formulas for the plagues. Plagues 1 through 10 open with: “Then the Lord said to Moses…” The only exception to this rule, as noted above, is plague 6, when God speaks to Moses and Aaron.

Seven of the plagues come with warnings to Pharaoh: 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, and 10. Of these, only 10 does not contain the command, “let my people go.” There are no warnings to be delivered to Pharaoh for plagues 3, 6, and 9.

All of these indicate to me that there are separate interwoven texts that create the overarching story of the plagues.

Additionally, Moses is summoned before Pharaoh following plagues 4, 7, 8, 9, and 10. [This structure helps to demonstrate the intensification of God’s plagues, and perhaps the sentiment of Pharaoh’s officials to let the Israelites go. As the plagues get worse, Pharaoh responds more frequently by allowing the Israelites to leave.