14a and they 'made their lives 'bitter 14b all their service, wherein they made 15 And the king of Egypt "spake to the Hebrew midwives, of which 21 and it came to pass, because the midwives "feared God, that he made 22And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son "that is born d' 21 And there went a man of the house of Levi, and "took [to wife] a daughter of Levi. 2 And the woman "conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months. 3 And when she could not longer 'hide him, she took for him an ark of 'bulrushes, and 'daubed it with "slime and with pitch; and she put the child therein, and laid it in the "flags by the "river's brink. 4 And his sister stood 'afar off, to know what would be done to him. 5 And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river; and her maidens walked along by the "river side; and she saw the ark among the 'flags, and sent her 'handmaid to fetch it. 6 And she opened it, and saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept. And she had 112 M Or, abhorred. 13 The verb finds its complement in 14b. 14 In this verse, also, mingled elements may be traced. 14 seems a doublet of 13; hard service' undoubtedly stood in JE as well as in P (69) cp Deut 266 (Introd i 174); while the allusion to mortar and brick' recalls the language of Gen 113. The hand of the expander may probably be traced in the awkward grammatical collocation of the words 'wherein' &c. 15 The story of the midwives contrasts with the command in 22: the use of Elohim 17 20. suggests E, who elsewhere seems to love the detail of names (cp Introd XII 3 i 116). 22 M See Gen 411. 1 193 m 80 n 102 o 234 P 139 9 146a r 132 28 3a a 18 b 99 Either be strictly rendered and took the daughter of Levi.' 3a M That is, papyrus.-Cp Is 182 357 Job 811+. For the peculiar form of infinitive cp Gen 463 JE119. 6 The use of the second word 'babe' and the further phrase 'had compassion' has suggested to some critics (Wellhausen, Dillmann, Bacon, among them) that this clause is derived from a parallel narrative by J. j Gen 1916 k Cp Gen 358 I Cp Gen 2443* m Ht o Gen 218 p Cp 23 9 Gen 64 r ill 2449 al v Gen 2816* 20 424 x Gen 166 y Gen 2411.. 292.. E JE J E P 'compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews' children. ... N 11 And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown up, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their "burdens: and he saw an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren. 12 And he H=turned Gen looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he smote the Egyptian, and 'hid him in the sand. 13 And he went out t Gen 354.. the second day, and, behold, two men of the Hebrews strove together: and he said to him that did the wrong, Wherefore smitest thou thy u Cp Gen 138 fellow? 14 And he said, Who made thee "a prince and a judge over us? thinkest thou to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian? And Moses feared, and said, "Surely the thing is known. 15 Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he "sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled "from the face of Pharaoh, and "dwelt in the land of Midian: and he sat down by a "well. 16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters: and they came and "drew water, and filled the "'troughs to water their father's flock. 17 And the shepherds came and drove them away: but Moses stood and "helped them, and watered their flock. 18 And when they came to Reuel their father, he said, "How is it that ye are come so soon to day? 19 And they said, An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and moreover he "drew water for us, and watered the flock. 20 And he said unto his daughters, And "where is he? why is it that ye have left the man? "call him, that he may eat bread. 21 And Moses "was content to dwell with the man: and he gave Moses "Zipporah his daughter. 22 And she bare a son, and he called his name Gershom: for he said, I have been "a "sojourner in a "strange land. 23 And it came to pass in the course of those many days, that the king of Egypt died. [→→419] up b' e' 24 And 23b And the children of Israel "'sighed by reason of the "bondage, and they NL 8' 31 Now Moses was "keeping the flock of "Jethro his father in law, 10b M mashah, to draw out. 11 Many critics assign 11-14 or 11-15 to E. The indications are slight, but the balance seems in favour of J. 15 The words 'dwelt' and 'sat down' are the same H, and this awkward repetition is perhaps to be explained out of the amalgamation of different stories. attempts to mitigate it by rendering and dwelt in the land of Midian, and having come into the land of Midian he sat down on the well.' 18 The priest of Midian who in 21 becomes the father in law of Moses has in 16 no name, but in 18 he is called Reuel cp Num 1029 r. In 31 418b 181.., however, he is designated Jethro (418a Jether) and in Num 1029 Judg 411 Hobab son of Reuel (on the meaning of n see Dillm, and Ges-Brown, Hebr Lex). The name Jethro seems clearly to belong to E, while 'Hobab son of Reuel' may be assigned to J. It is supposed by some critics that R has struck out the name which probably once stood in 16, and that Reuel in 18 is likewise editorial. 22 M Ger. repeats 28a before 419 which was probably its original 23 place. The compiler may have transferred it as a suitable connecting link with the summary of P 23b-25, the continuation of 114. But it is also possible that 234 rightfully follows 22 and that 419. 24-26 stood in immediate sequence with it. The death of the king, in this view, was the immediate cause of Moses' return. The strange incident in 424-26 seems better placed before the great commission in 316.., for why should Yahweh seek to kill the leader to whom he has entrusted the deliverance of Israel? According to this arrangement, adopted by Bacon and Battersby, the revelation in the bush took place on the journey back, or in Goshen. 31 All three documents J E P related the divine commission to Moses to deliver the Israelites. In E and P this is combined with a solemn revelation of God by the name of Yahweh (cp Introd i 112 and 121). P's account is postponed till 62..., but E's narrative has been amalgamated with J's. The main elements of the united product can be separated by the usual criteria. But the importance of this crisis in the career of Moses for the subsequent history of Israel has apparently J E P J E i Gen 2211 j Gen 1613* k Josh 515 ct Deut 71 .1 822 m Cp 1912. P89 n Gen 463 cp o Deut 3117 p Cp roa 8 19 414 t H* Jer 453 15 u 523 1247 188.. JE the priest of Midian: and he 'led the flock to the back of the wilderness, 2 And the angel of Yahweh appeared unto him in a 'flame of fire T 4b And God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, 5and he said, Draw not nigh hither: 'put off thy shoes from off thy 6 "And he said, I am the "God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the "And Yahweh said, I have 'surely seen the "affliction of my people Gen 3211 v Cp Dбgb w Gen 1821 z Deut 267* ct 7 # 2221 239 z Gen 3720 cp 162 a' 12-15 428 Ct 410.. 612 71 e' Cp Gen 2011 H d' H=sign ct 4.17 Up 51 244.. 9b NPMoreover I have seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians "oppress them. 10 Come now therefore, and I will "'send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt. 11 And Moses 'said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? 12 And he said, "Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be the "token unto thee, that I have sent thee: when thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain. 13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, "The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? N 14 And God said unto Moses, "I AM THAT I AM : and he said, 'Thus shalt 15 And God said moreover unto Moses, "Thus shalt thou say unto the begotten a variety of editorial amplifications, designed partly to prepare the way for the great struggle between Moses and Pharaoh, partly to introduce Aaron, and partly to bring conflicting details into harmony. In the process of compilation each document, it would seem, has suffered excision and curtailment, and it is probable that some passages have been dislocated from their original setting and transposed cp 222N. The general justification of the analysis will be found in the margins. 31b Some critics think that according to E the father in law of Moses was not himself priest. If so, these words must be regarded as a harmonistic addition cp 218N le Possibly an editorial explanation; & has 'mount Horeb' as in 336 cp 176. 4a T And when Yahweh saw... God called. runs literally 'And Yahweh saw... and God called . . . and he said.' 48 may thus quite well introduce 5, while 4b opens E's theophany. 4b as in 2 may be rendered 'a' or 'the.' If the latter rendering be preferred, these words must be regarded as R's addition (so Bacon). But both J and E may quite well have preserved the same detail: cp E's reference in Deut 3316. 6 T moreover. But the conjunction is the same as in 4.. The repetition 'and he said' suggests another hand cp Gen 161bx (9-11). 8 Similar enumerations will be found in 17 135 2328 28 332 3411 Deut 71 2017 Josh 310 91 113 128 2411. Opinion is divided as to their character in JE; are they original, or are they editorial amplifications? The longer lists in Gen 1016-18 1519-21 have certainly the air of additions. In the present passage the a duplicate of 7. apparently an editorial connexion, 9b being 11 Each narrative describes the reluctance of Moses to undertake the difficult task of the liberation of Israel, cp J 410.., P 612 71. 14a At this point E discloses for the first time the name Yahweh. But the real answer to the question in 13 is contained in 15. The form employed in 14b is never employed elsewhere, and 14 appears to be a later insertion designed to explain the divine name Yahweh which is here connected with the verb hayah' to be.' The two answers are editorially linked by the particle rendered moreover ( = ' again' Gen 425 359). 14b M Or, I AM, BECAUSE I AM. Or, I AM WHO AM. Or, I WILL 14c M Or, I WILL BE. Ehyeh. 15 Jehovah, from the same root as Ehych. BE THAT I WILL BE. J E JE J E P f' Hos 125 g' Prov 2724 ht cp 1716 h' 429 Num 1116 ¿' 431 Gen 5024 jCp 8 Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto h' 16 Go, and gather the 'elders of Israel together, and say unto them, Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, hath appeared unto me, saying, I have 'surely visited you, and seen] that which is 'done to you in Egypt: 17 and I have said, I will "bring you up out of the "affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite, unto a "land flowing with milk and honey. 18 And they shall "hearken to thy voice: and thou shalt come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye shall say unto him, Yahweh, the 'God of the Hebrews, hath "met with us: and now let us go, we pray thee, 'three days' journey into the wilderness, that A 538 17 88 25 27 We may 'sacrifice to Yahweh our God. 18. 178c 1025 L N 19 And I know that the king of Egypt will not give you leave to go, no, ... a' 21 And I will give this people favour in the sight of the Egyptians : and it shall come to pass, that, when ye go, ye shall not go "empty : 22 but every woman shall ask of her "neighbour, and of her that sojourneth in her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and "'raiment and ye shall put them upon your sons, and upon your daughters; and ye shall "spoil the Egyptians. 41 And Moses answered and said, But, "behold, they will not believe me, nor 'hearken unto my voice: for they will say, Yahweh hath not "appeared unto thee. 2 And Yahweh said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod. 3 And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a "serpent; and Moses 'fled from before it. 4 And Yahweh said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail: (and he put forth his hand, and "laid hold of it, and it became a rod in his hand :) 5 that they may believe that Yahweh, the "God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee. 6 And Yahweh said furthermore unto him, Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom : and when he took it out, behold, his hand was "leprous, as [white as] snow". 7 And he said, Put thine hand into thy bosom again. (And he put his hand into his bosom again; and when he took it out of his bosom, behold, it was turned again as his [other] flesh.) 8 And it shall come to pass, if they will not "believe thee, neither "hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign. 9 And it shall come to pass, if they will not "believe even these two signs, neither 'hearken unto thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land: and the water which thou takest out of the river shall become "blood upon 316 This phrase coinciding with that in 15 13 ср may be due to the harmonizer, but cp 45. 19 These verses do not seem in their present form to belong either to J or to E. Not to J because (1) they interrupt the connexion between 316-18 and 41, and (2) they contain distinct literary marks of E, 'give you leave' JE118, and the peculiar infinitive 'to go' JE119. Yet on the other hand the phrase 'by a mighty hand' does not belong to E, but tends to appear in passages kindred with D cp D80b: for wonders' cp 3410. The passage seems to have been amplified from E by Rje. 21 These instructions must obviously belong to the narrator who regards the Israelites as settled, not apart in the land of Goshen, but among the Egyptians themselves cp 7. 42 The rod was one of the ancient elements of the tradition. Here it is represented as the shepherd's staff which was naturally in Moses' hands, and it becomes the medium of the display of the divine power to him. In E it is apparently given him by God 17, and consequently bears the name 'rod of God' 20b (cp mountain of God'): as such, it is the instrument with which Moses achieves the wonders 7206 923 1013. P transfers the rod to Aaron, and supplies a different occasion for its conversion into a serpent cp 78-13. J's story of the signs seems to be considerably abbreviated. It is not made clear from 1-8 that the signs are to be repeated for the persuasion of the incredulous Israelites; but this becomes plain from 9 cp 30. 8 may have read originally if they will not believe the first sign, neither hearken to thy voice.' 3 M nahash.-Cp 206 and ct 79. 9 A reference to a third sign which has become in E and P the basis of one of the plagues, no longer designed for the assurance of the Israelites, but for the punishment of Pharaoh cp E 715 17b 20b, P 719. j 523 924 Gen 395 * Gen 4628 Ex 1525 2412 al 14.. Luba 7 Cp Gen 139 n Gen 66 o Cp P26 P Cp 2n 731 r Gen 458 H cp 91b s Gen 4417 1 215 11 And the dry land. 10 And Moses said unto Yahweh, 'Oh Lord, I am not 13 And he said, 'Oh Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt ... 17 And thou shalt take in thine hand "this "rod, wherewith thou shalt do the signs. 18 And Moses went and returned to "Jethro his father in law, and said unto him, Let me go, I pray thee, and return unto my brethren which are in Egypt, and see whether they be "yet alive. And Jethro said to Moses, Go "in peace. 19 And Yahweh said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return into Egypt: for all the men are dead which 'sought thy life. 20 And Moses took his wife =made them and his sons, and "set them upon an ass, and he returned to the land u H= to ride Gen 4143 Deut 3213* 73 9 119. ct 320 w Gen 2719 716 103 7 11 24 26 1231 24. L6ma of Egypt. 20b And Moses took the "rod of God in his hand. N 21 And Yahweh said unto Moses, When thou goest back into Egypt, see 24 NL And it came to pass on the way at the 'lodging place, that 410 MA man of words.-This passage is the counterpart in J of 311. E, cp 412 and 312. 13 In 13-16 it is not apparent in what way the anger of Yahweh expresses itself against the reluctance of Moses. It is believed, therefore, that this is really a later insertion to prepare for the introduction of Aaron, for whom a place had to be found in the story. The want of uniformity in his appearances, the curious alternation between plural and singular verbs in the immediate context of his entry into the narrative (cp 88 12a 25 28 927 1016 17b with 89 12b 29 933 107a 18), and the fact that in the earliest extant account of the sanctuary he had no function, Joshua being the servitor of Moses in the Tent of Meeting Ex 3311, render it probable that the passages narrating his activity are all secondary as compared with the original J. The description of Aaron as 'the Levite' (in the sense of priest) on whom devolves the duty of proclaiming to the people the divine teaching, points in the same direction; ct 1820. where Moses is himself the giver of teaching (torah). Cornill ascribes his appearance here, as well as in 27. 29. and the rest of the passages in 5-10 to RP, cp Num 11N. But this seems to overlook the parallel in 612 71. which cannot be regarded as the source of 418... The passage is therefore viewed as secondary in J but older than P. 14 This passage is certainly related to 27. But it can hardly be by the same writer (Bacon), for it implies that Aaron has already started, whereas according to 27 he has not yet received the divine command to join Moses in the wilderness. It seems better, therefore, to regard it as a sign of editorial preparation, introduced by the connecting link and also.' Its removal improves the connexion of 14a and 15. 17 Cp 28 and 20 715b 17b 20b 923 1013 1416 175 9. Dillmann conjectures that the pronoun 'this' is due to R replacing rod of God' as in 20b. But the passage seems rather to indicate p q 1 130 m 186. n 233 0 183 87 68 r 53 a gift on the part of God (like the stone tables). The 'signs' are probably not to be interpreted of those recounted in 2-0 they are those to be hereafter performed against Pharaoh. In that case the passages in E preparing Moses for the resistance of Pharaoh have been set aside in the process of uniting J and E. 18 M & Jether. 19 According to 316 Moses has already received instructions to return, so that in the original narrative of J this passage may have preceded the theophany in 32.. now combined with E. It is suggested, therefore, that it followed 223a. 20 J has only related the birth of one son 222, and 25 implies that there was no second. The plural seems to be an editorial reference to 182-4. 21a The commission to Moses in this passage may be founded upon older elements, but its place here is due to R, who has attached it to 19-20 with the echoing phrase when thou goest to return into Egypt'; the word wonders' recurs later in P cp Deut 434 &c. The message to Pharaoh in 22. is never repeated, and if the passage is not to be assigned to editorial preparation, it must have been transposed from some later scene, such as the beginning of 114 (Dillm 1028). 21b M make strong.-Cp 1020 27, ct 714. 24 The story in 24-26 has many peculiar features. The sudden and unexpected intervention of Yahweh, the perplexing silence concerning its cause and purpose especially after the great task just assigned to Moses, the remedy adopted by Zipporah, her archaic use of the flint knife, and the obscurity of her utterance-these are all marks of great antiquity. The source from which the incident has been drawn, prior to its incorporation in J, cannot be determined; its interpretation belongs to the history of circumcision. |