Exodus: Not the Only Tradition About Israel’s Past

For more on this, see my essay, “Judaism without Sinai? Discerning the Tension between the Torah and the Prophets” TheTorah (2015)

Note in particular that Abraham’s descent to Egypt is precipitated by a famine in the land, that the king and his household is stricken by a plague and that in the end Abraham and his wife leave with the wealth of Egypt.

This was already noted by the rabbis, see: Shemot Rabbah 29:3.

אֲנִ֞י יְ־הֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶ֗ם אֲשֶׁ֨ר הוֹצֵ֤אתִי אֶתְכֶם֙ מֵאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַ֔יִם לִהְי֥וֹת לָכֶ֖ם לֵאלֹהִ֑ים אֲנִ֖י יְ־הֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶֽם

Isaiah 11:15–16

^11:15 Yhwh will dry up the tongue of the Egyptian sea.—He will raise His hand over the Euphrates with the might of His wind and break it into seven wadis, so that it can be trodden dry-shod. ^11:16 Thus there shall be a highway for the other part of His people out of Assyria, such as there was for Israel when it left the land of Egypt.

Isaiah 43:16–20

^43:16 Thus said Yhwh, Who made a road through the sea and a path through mighty waters, ^43:17 Who destroyed chariots and horses, And all the mighty host— They lay down to rise no more, They were extinguished, quenched like a wick: ^43:18 Do not recall what happened of old, Or ponder what happened of yore! ^43:19 I am about to do something new; Even now it shall come to pass, Suddenly you shall perceive it: I will make a road through the wilderness And rivers in the desert. ^43:20 The wild beasts shall honor Me, Jackals and ostriches, For I provide water in the wilderness, Rivers in the desert, To give drink to My chosen people,

Isaiah 48:20–21

^48:20 Go forth from Babylon, Flee from Chaldea! Declare this with loud shouting, Announce this, Bring out the word to the ends of the earth! Say: “Yhwh has redeemed His servant Jacob!” ^48:21 They have known no thirst, Though He led them through parched places; He made water flow for them from the rock; He cleaved the rock and water gushed forth.

The major collections of Oracles against the Nations are found in Isa 13–23; Jer 46–21; Ezek 25–31.

The fact that this oracle belongs to this genre indicates that it is to be distinguished from the other Balaam oracles. It seems likely that at one time it stood on its own, apart from the narrative framework. Note that there is no reference in this oracle to Balak (contra 23:7, 18) or to YHWH (contra 24:6). Most significant for our concerns here, it also fails to point to the exodus (contra 23:22; 24:8).

In fact, it is likely that the motif of judgments on the gods of Egypt and the plague of darkness were introduced into the Exodus story under the influence of the Ezekiel passages. In other words, this is one of many cases where prophetic literature has influenced Torah literature rather than vice versa.

The formulation, אלה הם האלהים המכים את מצרים בכל מכה במדבר, is odd. Weren’t the plagues in Egypt rather than in the desert? While it is tempting to try to identify an alternative tradition behind this text (cf. my suggestion concerning the Song of the Sea below), it is possible that the text is not in order.

Actually, I believe that both 1 Sam 4:8 and 6:6 are secondary additions. For the secondary addition of the exodus theme in various biblical texts see discussion in my “Integrating the Exodus Story into the Festivals,” TheTorah (2015) .

Unfortunately, the verse is not entirely clear. See the section, “God Finds Israel in the Wilderness,” below for more on this theme of God finding Israel in the wilderness.

Note the emphasis on Joseph, Ephraim, Benjamin and Menasseh in Ps 80:2–3 and “Jehoseph” in Ps 81:6. Psalm 78 is an exception in that it is clearly Davidic while emphasizing the exodus theme. Even here, however, the exodus theme belongs to Ephraim’s history. Verses 9—12 imply that the miracles of the exodus were performed for theirancestors. The Ephramites of Shiloh are the ones that break the covenant and are therefore rejected (vv. 57–64, 67). When David and Zion are chosen in place of Ephraim to lead Israel, the selection is unrelated to the exodus event. It is even unclear to what extent Judah is thought of as an integral, original part of “Israel.” On this last point see J. W. Flanagan, “Judah in All Israel,” in No Famine in the Land: Studies in Honor of J. J. McKenzie (1975), 101–116. For an analysis of Psalm 78 along the lines suggested here see R. P. Carroll, “Psalm 78: Vestiges of a Tribal Polemic,” VT 21 (1971), 133–150.

The late dating of these Psalms cannot be discussed here. Note, however, the reference to captivity and exile in Psalm 106:46–47.

See the discussion in Jon D. Levenson, Sinai and Zion: An Entry into the Jewish Bible, pp. 211–216. Levenson argues that the references to the threats of limited punishment for violation of the law in texts like Ps 89:31–33 show that the Exodus-Sinai covenant is incorporated within the Davidic covenant. This, however, follows the problematic assumption that the law that the king was expected to obey was necessarily Sinaitic. See on this my above-referenced essay, “Judaism Without Sinai? ” TheTorah (2015)

See the stimulating analysis of Y. Hoffman, The Doctrine of the Exodus in the Bible, 177–181 (Hebrew).

Interestingly, 1 Chronicles 2:55 associates the Rechabites with the Kenites, nomads of the Negev affiliated with David (cf. 1 Sam 27:10; 30:29). Also intriguing is the connection between the Rechabites and עיר נחש in 1 Chron. 4:12 (LXX). In Genesis 4:22, Tuval Kayin is referred to as the founder of the guild of iron and copper smiths (לטש כל חרש נחשת וברזל). Is it a leap to somehow associate the Rechabites-Kenites with the fashioning of the נחש הנחשת in the southern desert (Numbers 21:4–9)?

See Z. Weisman, “Reflection of the Transition to Agriculture in Israelite Religion and Cult,” in Studies in Historical Geography and Biblical Historiography (2000), 251–261.

An important implication of this is that at least some of the texts in the Torah about Israel’s life in the desert may originally have had nothing to do with the exodus. A good example is the “Song of the Well” of Numbers 21:17–18. The song reads: “Surge, oh well! Sing unto it! Well that the commanders delved, that the knights of the fighting force dug; along with the magistrates, with their scepters; [producing a gift from the desert?].” Though the narrative context associates this song with Moses who miraculously provided Israel with water from the rock after they complained about the exodus (cf. Exodus 17:1–7), the song itself mentions neither the exodus, nor Moses, nor God. The references to the נדיבי העם and the [מחקקים] are reminiscent of the ancient Song of Deborah of Judges 5, which also refers to בהתנדב עם (v. 2), חוקקי ישראל המתנדבים בעם (v. 9) and מחקקים… בשבט ספר (v. 14). As we have noted, the Song of Deborah also fails to mention the exodus. It thus seems likely that the Song of the Well also had nothing to do with the exodus tradition. It may well have belonged to the independent theme of Israel’s wilderness wanderings.

These are less certain, since a reader may counter that even according to the standard Torah account Israel followed God through the wilderness to the Promised Land. Nevertheless, these verses do not reference the exodus or Egypt and would imply to the reader that the relationship between God and Israel began in the wilderness.

For a presentation and defense of this view, see Richard Elliott Friedman, “The Historical Exodus,” TheTorah (2015).

Mose means ‘is born’ and Penahse is ‘The Dark-skinned One.’ See W. F. Albright, Yahweh and the Gods of Canaan, 165.