{"id":1535,"date":"2018-03-03T14:13:12","date_gmt":"2018-03-03T13:13:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/buch.jehovah-shammah.de\/?p=1535"},"modified":"2018-03-03T14:22:32","modified_gmt":"2018-03-03T13:22:32","slug":"exodus-jps-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/buch.jehovah-shammah.de\/index.php\/2018\/03\/03\/exodus-jps-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Exodus JPS"},"content":{"rendered":"
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chapter 1<\/a>*<\/a><\/p>\n

Reversal of Fortune<\/em> (vv. 1\u201322<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Shemot<\/em><\/p>\n

The closing chapters of the Book of Genesis told of the settlement of the Israelites in Egypt. Joseph, through foresight and administrative skill, ha<\/span>d saved Egypt from starvation during several years of famine, while at the same time shrewdly enhancing the wealth and landed estates of the crown. The Book of Exodus opens with a tale of base ingratitude on the part of a pharaoh and the Egyptian people, which precipitates a radical reversal of fortune for the tribes of Israel.<\/span><\/p>\n

The text rests upon a knowledge of Genesis; it takes for granted that <\/span>the reader knows the identity and experiences of Joseph, is aware of God\u2019s promises to the patriarchs, and is familiar with the account of the migration of Jacob and his family to Egypt.<\/p>\n

\u201cStrangers in<\/span> a land not theirs,\u201d as Genesis 15:13<\/a> puts it, the Israelites are to be enslaved and oppressed for a long period of time. However, the Narrator of Exodus tells only briefly of the slavery and sufferin<\/span>g, compressing it into a few verses. His account, rigorous and austere, offers only the barest of details. Attention is concentrated on the process of liberation. Here, by contrast, the narrative is generously expansive.<\/span><\/p>\n

A singular tone of secularity seems to pervade the introductory saga of the Book of Exodus. There is no explicit mention of God directing events. Nevertheless, these developments <\/span>were foretold in connection with God\u2019s covenant with Abraham in that pivotal passage, Genesis 15:13<\/a>. As in the ostensibly secular story of Joseph, here too there is an unmistakable underlying sense of<\/span> divine purposefulness.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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AN INTRODUCTORY SUMMARY (vv. 1\u20137<\/a>)<\/p>\n

The sons\u2014that is, the tribes of Israel\u2014are listed within a formulaic framework (vv. 1<\/a>, 4<\/a>) that is clearly adapted from Genesis 46:8<\/a>, 26\u201327<\/a>; yet the order does not follow the one given in that chapter. Instead, it is based on Genesis 35:23\u201326<\/a>. There is good reason for this seeming anomaly, for this latter chapter contains the divine blessing to Jacob: \u201cBe fertile and increase;\/A nation, yea an assembly of nations,\/Shall descend from you\u201d [v. 11<\/a>]. Here, in this opening section of Exodus, the text affirms that the promise has been fulfilled.<\/p>\n

1<\/a>. These are (Hebrew ve-\u02beelleh<\/span>) The initial vav<\/span>1<\/a> acts as a connective with Genesis, thereby suggesting continuity with the preceding narrative.<\/p>\n

Israel As in verse 9<\/a>, the use of this name denotes a national entity, not just the patriarch.<\/p>\n

2\u20133<\/a>. Exactly as in Genesis 35:23\u201326<\/a>, the sons\/tribes are listed matrilineally, with those of the two wives mentioned first in order of seniority, followed by those of the two handmaids in reverse order to form a chiasm:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Reuben Reuben is not termed the \u201cfirst-born,\u201d as he was in Genesis 46:8<\/a>. Jacob deprived him of that status in his dying testament.2<\/a><\/p>\n

5<\/a>. Jacob\u2019s issue Literally, \u201cthat came out of Jacob\u2019s loin.\u201d In the Bible, Hebrew yerekh<\/span>, \u201cthigh, loin,\u201d is the seat of procreative power. The singular form may be a euphemism for the reproductive organ, as in Genesis 24:2<\/a>.<\/p>\n

seventy This harks back to Genesis 46:8\u201327<\/a>, which lists all the male descendants of Jacob through his wives and handmaids as follows: Leah 33 + Zilpah 16 + Rachel 14 + Bilhah 7 = 70. However, that total includes Judah\u2019s sons Er and Onan, who died in Canaan, as well as Joseph and his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, who were already in Egypt. The list there specifies that \u201call the persons belonging to Jacob who came to Egypt\u2014his own issue, aside from the wives of Jacob\u2019s sons\u2014all these persons numbered 66.\u2026 Thus the total of Jacob\u2019s household who came to Egypt was 70 persons.\u201d Clearly, seventy here is a round number. Deuteronomy 10:22<\/a> repeats the same figure: \u201cYour ancestors went down to Egypt seventy persons in all.\u201d This context seems to include Jacob and Joseph but would certainly exclude Ephraim and Manasseh. It does not include Jacob\u2019s daughters-in-law and granddaughters.<\/p>\n

The number seventy in the Bible is usually meant to be taken as typological, not literal; that is, it is used for the rhetorical effect of evoking the idea of totality, of comprehensiveness on a large scale. Thus, in Genesis 10<\/a> precisely seventy nations issue from the three sons of Noah, and these constitute the entire human family.3<\/a><\/p>\n

6<\/a>. The immigrant generation had wholly died out by the time the oppression began, but we are not told how long this took.4<\/a><\/p>\n

7<\/a>. This description of the extraordinary fertility of the Israelite population carries strong verbal echoes of the divine blessings of fertility bestowed on humankind at Creation and after the Flood.5<\/a> It suggests a conception of the community of Israel in Egypt as a microcosm, a miniature universe, self-contained and apart from the larger Egyptian society\u2014the nucleus, spiritually speaking, of a new humanity.<\/p>\n

the land Not the whole of Egypt, but the area of Israelite settlement known as Goshen.6<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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THE OPPRESSION (vv. 8\u201314<\/a>)<\/p>\n

The Israelites find themselves undergoing a cataclysmic change. A new regime perceives them to be a potential threat to national security. \u201cA new king\u201d probably means a new d<\/span>ynasty, but the anonymity precludes the possibility of positive identification with a known pharaoh. The most reasonable explanation for the change in fortune lies in the policies adopted by the pharaohs of the Nineteenth Dynasty (<\/span>ca. 1306\u20131200 b.c.e.), and especially by Ramses II (ca. 1290\u20131224 b.c.e.), who shifted Egypt\u2019s administrative and strategic center of gravity to the eastern Delta of the<\/span> Nile, where he undertook vast building projects that required a huge local labor force.<\/p>\n

In fact, intimations of a deterioration in the Israelite situation are already discernible in the closing chapt<\/span>ers of Genesis. Jacob, on his deathbed, feels the need to give his family the reassurance that \u201cGod will be with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers.\u201d7<\/a> Joseph voices his anxiety for th<\/span>e future even more strongly. He tells his brothers, \u201cGod will surely take notice of you and bring you up from this land to the land that He promised on oath to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.\u201d8<\/a> The<\/span> dying statesman knows that his family will not wield the influence necessary to arrange for his burial in his ancestral land as he had been able to do for his father.<\/p>\n

8<\/a>. arose Use of the Hebrew verb<\/span> k-w-m<\/span> rather than the usual m-l-k<\/span>, \u201cto reign,\u201d indicates the inauguration of a new era, not just a change in monarch.9<\/a><\/p>\n

who did not know Joseph He was oblivious of or indifferent to the benefactions<\/span> that Joseph had bestowed on Egypt and the crown.10<\/a><\/p>\n

know This is the first appearance in Exodus of the verb y-d-\u02bf<\/span>. It is a key term in the Exodus narratives, occurring over twenty times in the first<\/span> fourteen chapters.11<\/a> The usual rendering, \u201cto know,\u201d hardly does justice to the richness of its semantic range. In the biblical conception, knowledge is not essentially or even primarily rooted in t<\/span>he intellect and mental activity. Rather, it is more experiential and is embedded in the emotions, so that it may encompass such qualities as contact, intimacy, concern, relatedness, and mutuality. Conversely, not to know is synonymous with dissociation, indifference, alienation, and estrangement; it culminates in callous disregard for another\u2019s humanity.<\/span><\/p>\n

9\u201310<\/a>. The initiative for the oppression c<\/span>omes from the king. The historical situation that prompted his fears may be plausibly reconstructed if it is assumed that the text refers to Ramses II. The eastern Delta of the Nile was vulnerable to penetration from Asia. In the <\/span>middle of the eighteenth century b.c.e. it had been infiltrated by the Hyksos, an Egyptian term meaning \u201crulers of foreign lands.\u201d The Hyksos were a conglomeration of eth<\/span>nic groups among whom Semites predominated. They gradually took over Lower Egypt and ruled it until their expulsion in the second half of the sixteenth century b.c.e. After that, the Delta was neglect<\/span>ed by the central government, although many Semites remained in the region. A revival of interest in that part of Egypt began with the reign of Haremheb (ca. 1330\u20131306 b.c.e.) and accelerated under hi<\/span>s successors. It probably heightened sensitivity to the presence of a large body of foreigners in that strategic area. This population also constituted a sizeable pool of readily available manpower that could easily be drawn u<\/span>pon.<\/p>\n

the Israelite people Hebrew \u02bfam benei yisra \u02beel<\/span> is a unique phrase. The familial term \u02bfam<\/span>, as distinct from the political term goy<\/span>, \u201cnation,\u201d connotes a group bound by b<\/span>lood ties.12<\/a> It is occasionally also used in the sense of a military force.13<\/a> The coining of the present unparalleled combination may be an artful attempt to insinuate the idea of an alien ethnic g<\/span>roup that is also a threat.<\/p>\n

much too numerous The use of Hebrew rav<\/span> coupled with \u02bfatsum<\/span> probably expresses both multitude and power.14<\/a><\/p>\n

10<\/a>. deal shrewdly In order to control the growth of the Israel<\/span>ite population. Pharaoh now unwittingly challenges the will of God, for the divine promise to Abraham had pledged that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars of the heaven and the sands of the seashore.<\/span><\/p>\n

in the event of war15<\/a><\/p>\n

and rise from the ground This Hebrew phrase, which recurs only in Hosea 2:2<\/a>, is obscure. It is not likely to mean \u201cshake off oppression\u201d since the Israelites have<\/span> not yet been oppressed.<\/p>\n

Rashbam understands the phrase \u201cgo up out of the land\u201d as expressing a fear of losing a potentially rich reserve of manpower. A rabbinic tradition has the king superstitiously<\/span> substituting the third person (\u02bfalah<\/span>) for the first person plural (\u02bfalinu<\/span>) to avoid the disagreeable \u201cWe shall [be forced] to go up out of the land.\u201d We may be dealing here with a lost idiom that mea<\/span>ns \u201cto gain ascendancy over.\u201d<\/p>\n

11<\/a>. The Israelites are not pressed into private domestic slavery but are conscripted for compulsory unpaid labor on public works projects for indefinite periods. The two <\/span>Hebrew verbs used to describe the subjugation of the people (vv. 11\u201313<\/a>), \u02bf-n-h<\/span>, \u201cto oppress,\u201d and \u02bf-v-d<\/span>, \u201cto be a slave,\u201d hark back to the prediction of Genesis 15:13<\/a>, \u201cthey shall be enslaved and oppr<\/span>essed.\u201d<\/p>\n

forced labor16<\/a><\/p>\n

they built The Hebrew may connote the founding of new cities as well as the rebuilding of existing ones.17<\/a><\/p>\n

garrison cities This rendering of Hebrew \u02bfarei miskenot<\/span>, the latte<\/span>r word being of uncertain origin, is supported by the Septuagint tradition and by the other biblical usages of the term.18<\/a><\/p>\n

Pharaoh The title is formed by a combination of two Egyptian words, per-aa<\/span>,<\/span> literally, \u201cthe great house.\u201d The phrase originally applied to the royal palace and court; later, during the Nineteenth Dynasty (ca. 1306\u20131200 b.c.e.), it was employed as an honorific title for the r<\/span>eigning monarch. It is thus analogous to the present-day use of \u201cthe Palace\u201d or \u201cthe White House.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pithom and Raamses Both names are well known in Egyptian sources, but their precise location has not <\/span>been fixed. Pithom is never again mentioned in the Bible. The name derives from the Egyptian pr\/pi-\u02betm<\/span>, which means \u201cthe House of Atum,\u201d indicating the presence of a major temple dedicated to the prim<\/span>eval creator god of that name. Obviously, several localities could have borne such a designation, but the site of Tell el-Maskuta in Wadi Tumeilat in the northeastern Delta of the Nile is regarded by many authorities as being the most likely candidate for the city. Raamses can be none other than t<\/span>he famous Delta residence of the pharaoh Ramses II; its beauty and glory were extolled in poems still extant. The city was situated in \u201cthe region of Goshen,\u201d a phrase that is synonymous with \u201cthe region of Rameses,\u201d where the Israelites lived. This is described as being \u201cthe choicest part of the land of Egypt.\u201d<\/span><\/span>19<\/a> It was here that the Israelites assembled in preparation for the Exodus.20<\/a> The precise site has not yet been located, but Egyptologists believe that it is the region of modern el-Kha<\/span><\/span>ta\u02bfna<\/span> and Qantur in the northeastern Delta.21<\/a><\/p>\n

12<\/a>. The tyrant\u2019s efforts are inexplicably foiled. Mysteriously, the Israelite population has expanded even more. The lack of a natural explanation for t<\/span>he phenomenon has engendered a sense of disquiet and frustration that finds an outlet in the intensification of the oppression.<\/p>\n

13\u201314<\/a>. The Israelite labor gangs are now exploited for exhausting toil i<\/span>n construction work and agriculture. This experience indelibly stamped Egypt as the \u201chouse of bondage\u201d in the Israelite consciousness.22<\/a><\/p>\n

14<\/a>. mortar and bricks The prodigious building activity requir<\/span>ed a brickmaking industry of gargantuan proportions. On this subject, see Comment to 5:7\u20138<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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THE MIDWIVES (vv. 15\u201322<\/a>)<\/p>\n

In response to the failure of his scheme, the pharaoh resorts to unrestrained cruelty. In addition to the harsh burdens he imposes on the adult males, he now issues a decree of crushing barbarity: infanticide, in order to reduce the Israelite population.<\/p>\n

15<\/a>. Hebrew The origin of Hebrew \u02bfivri<\/span> is still a puzzle. It was first used in Genesis 14:13<\/a> to designate Abram. Genesis Rabba 42:18 suggests three explanations for the epithet: (i) It is connected with Eber, grandson of Noah;23<\/a> (2) it is derived from Hebrew \u02bfever<\/span>, \u201cbeyond,\u201d that is, the one who came from beyond the river Euphrates; and (3) it indicates Abraham\u2019s religious nonconformism\u2014\u201cAll the world was on one side (\u02bfever<\/span>) and he on the other side.\u201d Each of these interpretations is open to serious objections. Another line of investigation has been opened by the discovery of a class of people known as \u02bfapiru<\/span> in a variety of Near Eastern texts. On this subject see Excursus 1<\/a>.<\/p>\n

midwives Until as late as the sixteenth century of this era, midwifery was everywhere an exclusively female occupation. It was regarded as a violation of the code of modesty for a male, even a doctor, to be present at a birth.24<\/a> Midwifery was thus one of the few occupations open to women; and it seems to have been a prestigious profession in ancient Egypt.<\/p>\n

It is strange that there were only two midwives to service such a large population. Ibn Ezra suggests that these two were the overseers of the practitioners, directly responsible to the authorities for the many women under them. It is also possible that the two names may be those of guilds of midwives.25<\/a><\/p>\n

The Hebrew phrase ha-meyalledot ha-\u02bfivriyot<\/span> can mean either \u201cHebrew midwives\u201d or \u201cmidwives to the Hebrews\u201d; the latter is how it is understood by the Septuagint and by Josephus26<\/a> as well as by Abravanel. Judah he-\u1e24asid<\/span> cites a tradition that they were Egyptians. However, the two names are Semitic.27<\/a><\/p>\n

Shiphrah The Semitic stem means \u201cto be beautiful.\u201d28<\/a> The name appears in a list of slaves attached to an Egyptian estate and is indicated as being Asiatic.<\/p>\n

Puah The daughter of the hero Danel in Ugaritic literature bears this name. Apparently it was originally a term for a fragrant blossom and came to connote \u201ca girl.\u201d29<\/a><\/p>\n

The names of the midwives are recorded but not those of the reigning pharaohs. In the biblical scale of values these lowly champions of morality assume far greater historic importance than do the all-powerful tyrants who ruled Egypt.<\/p>\n

16<\/a>. birtbstool Hebrew \u02beovnayim<\/span>, literally \u201ctwo stones,\u201d probably refers to the two bricks on which women in labor crouched opposite the midwife during parturition.30<\/a> The squatting position made for easier delivery.<\/p>\n

17<\/a>. Faced with a conflict between the laws of God and those of the pharaoh, the midwives followed the dictates of conscience. Their defiance of tyranny constitutes history\u2019s first recorded act of civil disobedience in defense of a moral imperative. It is stated that they were actuated by \u201cfear of God,\u201d a phrase frequently associated with moral and ethical behavior.31<\/a> \u201cFear of God\u201d connotes a conception of God as One who makes moral demands on humankind; it functions as the ultimate restraint on evil and the supreme stimulus for good.<\/p>\n

let \u2026 live The Hebrew verbal form can also denote sustaining life,32<\/a> and a midrash sees the midwives actively providing the indigent mothers with food and shelter in addition to obstetric services.33<\/a><\/p>\n

19<\/a>. The evasiveness of the midwives in response to the charge of disobedience is motivated by a sense of self-preservation and by the desire to be able to continue to save lives. At the same time their excuse has a sardonic twist, for it unfavorably contrasts Egyptian women with their Israelite sisters.<\/p>\n

vigorous Hebrew \u1e25ayot<\/span>, literally \u201clively\u201d. The singular, \u1e25ayyah<\/span>, was used for \u201ca midwife\u201d in later Hebrew.34<\/a> Here, the women appear to be acting as their own midwives.<\/p>\n

20<\/a>. multiplied and increased The narrative closes on the same note with which it began (v. 7<\/a>). The pharaoh\u2019s diabolical measures have not changed the situation because God has willed otherwise.<\/p>\n

21<\/a>. established households The meaning of the Hebrew phrase is uncertain because of the unclarity of the subject of the verb and the masculine form of the dative (lahem<\/span>). Shadal suggests that the midwives were drawn from among the childless women, and God rewarded their virtue by blessing them with families. Saadia and Radak take the phrase to be idiomatic for providing protection, whereas Rashbam, Tur, and Malbim think it means that the pharaoh put them under state control. This last seems the most probable explanation.<\/p>\n

22<\/a>. All else having failed, the pharaoh promulgates one last genocidal decree. He mobilizes \u201call his people,\u201d the entire apparatus of the state, to annihilate the people of Israel. There is subtle irony in his decree, for the chosen instrument of destruction\u2014water\u2014will in the end become the agency of Egypt\u2019s punishment.35<\/a><\/p>\n

the Nile Hebrew ye\u02beor<\/span> is borrowed from Egyptian, where it is used for the Nile and its tributaries.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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chapter 2<\/a>*<\/a><\/p>\n

The Birth and Youth of Moses<\/em> (vv. 1\u201325<\/a>)<\/p>\n

The oppressive acts of the pharaoh have built to a climax. Strangely, his third and most barbarous decree\u2014infanticide\u2014is never again referred to in<\/span> the Bible. We are not told to what extent it was implemented or whether it was later rescinded. The primary function served by its narration is to set the stage for the story of the birth and survival of Moses. His arrival gives new direction to the life of the suffering people. The unseen hand of God is at work so that the king\u2019s crowning evil<\/span> actually initiates a series of events that is to culminate in the humiliation of its perpetrator and the liberation of Israel.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/span><\/span>THE ABANDONMENT AND SALVATION OF MOSES (vv. 1\u201310<\/a>)<\/p>\n

1<\/a>. man \u2026 woman Amram and Jochebed.1<\/a><\/p>\n

married The Hebrew stem l-k-\u1e25<\/span>, literally \u201cto take,\u201d is frequently used of marriage.2<\/a> The text is henceforth si<\/span>lent about the father. The narrative focuses entirely on the role of the mother.<\/p>\n

2<\/a>. she saw how beautiful he was Hebrew tov<\/span>, usually \u201cgood,\u201d might also here connote \u201crobust, healthy.\u201d The entire clau<\/span>se stirs immediate association with a key phrase, seven times repeated in the Genesis Creation narrative, \u201cGod saw that \u2026 was good\u201d (tov<\/span>).3<\/a> This parallel suggests that the birth of Moses is intended <\/span>to be understood as the dawn of a new creative era.<\/p>\n

Based on the use of tov<\/span> here, a rabbinic comment suggests that Tobiah was the original Hebrew name that Moses received from his parents.4<\/a><\/p>\n

3<\/a>. The <\/span>desperate mother must finally comply with the iniquitous decree. But she does so only in a formal way and actually takes every possible precaution to ensure the baby\u2019s safety. On the abandoned hero motif, <\/span>see Excursus 2<\/a>.<\/p>\n

a wicker basket The receptacle is called a tevah<\/span>, a term that, in this sense, appears elsewhere in the Bible only as the ark in which Noah and his family were saved from the water<\/span>s of the Flood.5<\/a> Its use here underscores both the vulnerability of its occupant and its being under divine protection. Evocation of the Flood narrative also suggests, once again, that the birth of M<\/span>oses signals a new era in history.<\/p>\n

wicker Hebrew gome\u02be<\/span> is the papyrus plant, once abundant in the marshlands of the Nile Delta. Its huge stems, often more than ten feet high, were used by the Egyptia<\/span>ns for a variety of purposes, especially for the construction of light boats.6<\/a><\/p>\n

she put \u2026 placed Hebrew s-y-m<\/span> implies gentle, loving action, as opposed to the harsh verb hishlikh<\/span>, \u201cto abandon,\u201d used <\/span>in the decree of the pharaoh.7<\/a><\/p>\n

the reeds Hebrew suf<\/span> is borrowed from Egyptian and means a reed thicket. Placing the basket in the reeds prevented its being carried downstream. This rare word is artf<\/span>ully allusive, prefiguring Israel\u2019s deliverance from the Egyptians at the Sea of Reeds (Heb.<\/a> yam suf<\/span>).<\/p>\n

4<\/a>. his sister Miriam.8<\/a><\/p>\n

at a distance So as to be inconspicuous and not arouse suspicions that<\/span> the child was not really abandoned.<\/p>\n

5<\/a>. to bathe in the Nile An Egyptian princess would not bathe publicly in the mighty, crocodile-infested river itself. One of its innumerable rivulets, where privac<\/span>y and safety could be enjoyed, is certainly intended.9<\/a> This suggests that the mother deliberately selected the spot after observing the character and habits of this particular princess.<\/p>\n

6<\/a>. This is t<\/span>he only biblical report of a baby crying. Otherwise, the verb b-k-h<\/span> always has an adult as its subject.<\/p>\n

7\u201310<\/a>. This fateful development is spiced with irony. The evil designs of the pharaoh are unwitti<\/span>ngly thwarted by his own daughter. Not only does she save the future redeemer of the Israelites persecuted by her father but she actually pays the mother of the \u201cfoundling\u201d to suckle her own baby.<\/p>\n

The<\/span> arrangements she makes follow a pattern found in Mesopotamian legal documents relating to the adoption of foundlings. These \u201cwet nurse contracts\u201d specify payment for the services of nursing and rearing <\/span>the infant for a specified period; they stipulate that, following weaning, the child is returned to the finder, who adopts it.10<\/a><\/p>\n

That the princess can personally execute such a contract accords w<\/span>ith the relatively high social and legal position of women in ancient Egypt. She possessed rights of inheritance and disposal of property, and she enjoyed a fair measure of economic independence.<\/p>\n

9<\/a>. T<\/span>ake Hebrew heilikhi<\/span>, a very unusual form, which may have been selected to intensify the ironic effect, since the play of language allows the word to signify \u201chere, it is yours\u201d (hei likhi<\/span>), an unconsc<\/span>ious acknowledgment of the true mother.11<\/a><\/p>\n

nurse it The wet nurse is termed meineket<\/span> in verse 7<\/a>, a word that corresponds to the Akkadian musheniqtum<\/span>, \u201cthe one who suckles.\u201d She frequently had the add<\/span>itional duties of tarbitum<\/span>, rearing the child and acting as guardian. From Genesis 24:59<\/a> and 35:8<\/a> it is clear that Rebekah\u2019s meineket<\/span> was an esteemed member of the household. Her position is reflected<\/span> in the rendering of meineket<\/span> by Targum Jonathan in those passages as padgogtha<\/span>, from Greek paidagogos<\/span>, \u201ctutor.\u201d In the case of Moses, one can be sure that the mother nurtured his mind and character a<\/span>nd instilled in him the values and traditions cherished by his people.<\/p>\n

10<\/a>. The high infant mortality rate in the ancient world dictated that formal adoption and naming by the adoptive parent be postpo<\/span>ned until after the weaning, which took place at a far later age than it would in modern societies.<\/p>\n

Moses The Hebrew name is of Egyptian origin. Its basic verbal stem msy<\/span> means \u201cto be born,\u201d and the n<\/span>oun ms<\/span> means \u201ca child, son.\u201d It is a frequent element in Egyptian personal names, usually but not always with the addition of a divine element, as illustrated by Ahmose, Ptahmose, Ramose, and Thotmose<\/span>. Two papyri from the time of Ramses II mention officials named Mose.12<\/a><\/p>\n

explaining The Narrator puts a Hebrew origin for the name into the mouth of the Egyptian princess; unbeknown to her, it foresh<\/span>adows the boy\u2019s destiny. By means of word play, the Egyptian Mose is connected with Hebrew m-sh-h<\/span>, \u201cto draw up\/out (of water).\u201d13<\/a> The princess explains the name as though the form is mashui<\/span>, \u201cthe on<\/span>e drawn out,\u201d a passive participle, whereas it is actually an active participle, \u201che who draws out,\u201d and becomes an oblique reference to the future crossing of the Sea of Reeds. Isaiah 63:11<\/a> seems to <\/span>reflect this inner biblical midrash: \u201cThen they remembered the ancient days, Him, who pulled his people out [mosheh<\/span>] [of the water]: Where is He who brought them up from the Sea.\u2026\u201d14<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

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<\/span><\/span>THE CHARACTER OF MOSES (vv. 11\u201315<\/a>)<\/p>\n

How long Moses remained in the royal palace and how his days were spent there are of no interest to the biblical Narrator. Evidence from the period of the Ramesides <\/span>for the presence of foreigners, especially of Semites, in the royal schools suggests that, like other privileged boys in court and bureaucratic circles in Egypt, Moses\u2019 formal education would have commenced at an early age and lasted about twelve years. Concentrating largely on the three R\u2019s, it would have been conducted under a regimen of strict discipline, with<\/span> drill and memorization as the principal pedagogic techniques.<\/span>15<\/a> Be that as it may, the Narrator is concerned with the character of Moses and the nature of his commitments. These are illustrated by three incidents that display his mor<\/span>al passion and his inability to tolerate injustice: 2:11\u201312<\/a>, 13<\/a>, and 16\u201317<\/a>. It is these qualities that mark him as being worthy to lead the struggle for the liberation of Israel.<\/p>\n

11<\/a>. his kinsfolk Lit<\/span>erally, \u201chis brethren.\u201d Repetition of the word emphasizes that the years spent in court circles did not alienate Moses from his people and his origins.<\/p>\n

witnessed their labors Not as a detached observe<\/span>r but with empathy, wholeheartedly identifying with their suffering.16<\/a><\/p>\n

beating In a life-threatening way.17<\/a><\/p>\n

12<\/a>. Outraged, Moses at once goes to the aid of the victim. His initial caution is dictat<\/span>ed by the knowledge that, in the eyes of Egyptian law, he is about to commit a mutinous act. With this act, he will also sever his ties to the aristocratic society in which he was raised.<\/p>\n

be struck do<\/span>wn The Hebrew uses the same verb as employed in verse 11<\/a> for the action of the Egyptian assailant. A midrash actually has God questioning Moses\u2019 act.18<\/a><\/p>\n

13<\/a>. he found Hebrew ve-hinneh<\/span> introduces a tot<\/span>ally unexpected development.<\/p>\n

the offender Hebrew rasha\u02bf<\/span> is often a legal term meaning \u201cthe one in the wrong.\u201d According to a midrash, he is so identified because he resorts to the use of force.19<\/a><\/p>\n

14<\/a><\/span>. Moses discovers that some of his own people can act insidiously as informers to the oppressive authorities.20<\/a><\/p>\n

15<\/a>. Moses is now an outcast fleeing for his life. The \u201cland of Midian,\u201d where he takes<\/span> refuge, refers to an area under the control of one or more of the five seminomadic tribes that, according to biblical sources, made up the Midianite confederation.21<\/a> The eponymous, or namegiving, an<\/span>cestor Midian is said in Genesis to be a son of Abraham by Keturah.22<\/a> This tradition reflects an early history of close and friendly relations between Israel and the Midianites. By the period of the<\/span> judges, however, the two peoples had become thoroughly hostile to one another.23<\/a><\/p>\n

The Midianites ranged over a wide area of the Near East, stretching from the eastern shore of the Gulf of Akaba, up<\/span> through the Syro-Arabian Desert, and into the borders of the Land of Israel, west and northwest of Elath.24<\/a><\/p>\n

a well Wells in the ancient Near East served as meeting places for shepherds, wayfarers, <\/span>and townsfolk. It was the natural thing for a newcomer to gravitate toward them.25<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/span><\/span>MOSES IN MIDIAN26<\/a> (vv. 16\u201322<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Moses displays his instinctive intolerance of injustice a third time. Although himself a fugitive, utterly alone in a strange land, he spontaneously comes to the assist<\/span>ance of the weak and defenseless, this time foreign shepherd girls.<\/p>\n

16<\/a>. the priest The high priest, named in verse 18<\/a>.<\/p>\n

to draw water A common occupation of young women in that part of the world.27<\/a><\/p>\n

1<\/span>8<\/a>. their father Reuel The name means \u201cfriend of God.\u201d28<\/a> It is mentioned once again in Numbers 10:29<\/a>\u2014\u201cHobab son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses\u2019 father-in-law\u201d\u2014where it is uncertain which of the two is<\/span> so designated. From Judges 4:11<\/a> it would appear that Hobab is the father-in-law, but in other texts this latter epithet is given to Jethro, who also bears the title \u201cpriest of Midian.\u201d29<\/a> Rabbinic ex<\/span>egesis reconciles the discrepancies by assuming that Reuel was the grandfather of the girls and that the other names all refer to the same person, who bore several names.30<\/a> Many modern scholars pref<\/span>er to assign the variants to different strands of tradition.31<\/a> However, it is to be noted that the title \u201cpriest of Midian\u201d is only attached to Jethro. This raises the possibility that Hebrew yitro<\/span><\/span> (yeter<\/span>) is not a proper name but an honorific meaning \u201cHis Excellency.\u201d32<\/a> In Akkadian atru<\/span> (watru<\/span>) means \u201cpreeminent, foremost,\u201d and several old Akkadian names begin with that element.33<\/a> In Ugarit<\/span>ic several personal names are prefixed by the element ytr<\/span>.34<\/a><\/p>\n

How is it The question suggests that the girls regularly experienced such maltreatment at the hands of the male shepherds.<\/p>\n

19<\/a>. an Egypti<\/span>an His garb so suggested.<\/p>\n

21<\/a>. he gave The father had the power to make such decisions.35<\/a><\/p>\n

Zipporah The name means \u201ca bird.\u201d<\/p>\n

22<\/a>. Gershom Some intimately personal significance likely attaches to the na<\/span>me, for its stem g-r-sh<\/span>, \u201cto drive off\/out,\u201d is the same used to describe the action of the shepherds in verse 17<\/a>, which was the occasion for Moses to meet his future wife and to be received into Jeth<\/span>ro\u2019s family. But Gershom also carries a wider, national allusiveness, for later in the narrative the stem is used three more times, to underscore the abject humiliation of the stubborn pharaoh as he is forced to reverse his refusal to let Israel go.<\/span>36<\/a> The folk etymology interprets the name as a composite of ger sham<\/span>, \u201ca stranger there\u201d and is taken to signify being \u201ca stranger in a foreign land\u201d<\/span>; this echoes God\u2019s covenant with Abraham, which foretold: \u201cYour offspring shall be strangers in a land not theirs.\u201d37<\/a> The \u201cland\u201d is Egypt, not Midian, and Moses speaks of \u201cthere\u201d not \u201chere,\u201d as well<\/span> as referring to the past. The fulfillment of the predicted slavery evokes the associated promise of liberation, so that the birth of the child may be seen as symbolic of the coming regeneration of downtrodden Israel.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/span><\/span>A TRANSITIONAL POSTSCRIPT (vv. 23\u201325<\/a>)<\/p>\n

These verses redirect attention to the miserable plight of the Israelites back in Egypt and so serve as a transition to the next development. God breaks His silen<\/span>ce and directly intervenes in Israel\u2019s history. Divine causality, hitherto implicit, is now made emphatically explicit by the fivefold reference to God in just three verses.<\/p>\n

23\u201325<\/a>. It was established <\/span>practice in Egypt for a new king to celebrate his accession to the throne by granting amnesty to those guilty of crimes, by releasing prisoners, and by freeing slaves. An extant hymn composed in honor of the accession of<\/span> Ramses IV illustrates the custom. It records \u201ca happy day\u201d for Egypt when \u201cfugitives returned to their towns\u201d and when \u201cthose in hiding emerged\u201d and \u201cthose in prison were freed.\u201d<\/span>38<\/a> This being so, the Israelites had good reason to expect that the change in regime would bring with it some amelioration of their condition. But this was not to be. Hence the stress on the intensifi<\/span>ed misery of the enslaved Israelites. Moses, however, did benefit from the amnesty personally, as 4:19<\/a> confirms.<\/p>\n

Four terms give voice to Israel\u2019s suffering: \u201cgroaning,\u201d \u201ccried out,\u201d \u201ccry for help,\u201d <\/span>\u201cmoaning\u201d; and four verbs express God\u2019s response: \u201cheard,\u201d \u201cremembered,\u201d \u201clooked upon,\u201d \u201ctook notice.\u201d<\/p>\n

24<\/a>. remembered The Hebrew stem z-k-r<\/span> connotes much more than the recall of things past. It means,<\/span> rather, to be mindful, to pay heed, signifying a sharp focusing of attention upon someone or something. It embraces concern and involvement and is active not passive, so that it eventuates in action.<\/span>39<\/a> As Mena\u1e25ot<\/span><\/a> 43b<\/a> has it: \u201cLooking upon leads to remembering, and remembering leads to action.\u201d<\/p>\n

His covenant The oft-repeated dual promises to the patriarchs of nationhood and national territory.4<\/span>0<\/a><\/p>\n

25<\/a>. This concise sentence is fully elaborated in 3:7<\/a>, which shows that the two verbs here mean, respectively, \u201cto empathize\u201d and \u201cto identify with\u201d suffering. On y-d-\u02bf<\/span>, see the Comment to 1:8<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Kap 3<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

chapter 1* Reversal of Fortune (vv. 1\u201322) Shemot The closing chapters of the Book of Genesis told of the settlement of the Israelites in Egypt. Joseph, through foresight and administrative skill, had saved Egypt from starvation during several years of famine, while at the same time shrewdly enhancing the wealth and landed estates of the … <\/p>\n

\u201eExodus JPS\u201c <\/span>weiterlesen<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1535","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-allgemein"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/buch.jehovah-shammah.de\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1535","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/buch.jehovah-shammah.de\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/buch.jehovah-shammah.de\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/buch.jehovah-shammah.de\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/buch.jehovah-shammah.de\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1535"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/buch.jehovah-shammah.de\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1535\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1541,"href":"http:\/\/buch.jehovah-shammah.de\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1535\/revisions\/1541"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/buch.jehovah-shammah.de\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/buch.jehovah-shammah.de\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1535"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/buch.jehovah-shammah.de\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}