God at War: A Study of Power in the Exodus Tradition

239 Pages·1996·15.21 MB·English

by  Thomas B. Dozeman

GOD AT WAR
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GOD AT WAR
Power in the Exodus Tradition
THOMAS B. DO2EMAN
New York Oxford
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
1996
Oxford University Press
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Copyright © 1996 by Thomas B. Dozeman
Published by Oxford University Press, Inc.
198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016
Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
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without the prior permission of Oxford University Press.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Dozeman, Thomas B.
God at war : power in the Exodus tradition / Thomas B. Dozeman.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 0-19-510217-7
1. War—Biblical teaching. 2. Power (Social sciences)—Biblical
teaching. 3. Bible. O.T. Exodus—Criticism, interpretation, etc.
I. Title.
BS1245.6.W2D68 1996
222'.1206—dc20 95-12579
135798642
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
For my parents,
Lucille Mulder Dozeman
and Milton Dozeman
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Preface
Many colleagues, friends, and institutions have influenced and assisted me
in researching and writing this book. The Pentateuch Seminar of the Soci-
ety of Biblical Literature provided an important context for me to listen to
other researchers in the field and to raise new questions about the forma-
tion of pentateuchal literature. I would like to thank the members of the
seminar and, in particular, the chairpersons (Professors John Van Seters,
Rolf Knierim, and George Coats) for their responses to papers and for a
lively exchange of ideas during the years 1986-1991. Papers presented at
the Catholic Biblical Association in 1991 and 1993, at Hebrew Union
College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati in 1992 and at the Soci-
ety of Biblical Literature in 1993 on topics of the exodus, wilderness, and
law have also provided me with important forums of exchange that have
influenced my interpretation of the exodus. I would like to thank these
institutions and individuals for their interest in my research and for their
critical response.
Much of the research for this book was undertaken while 1 was on
sabbatical leave in Miinster, Germany, during the 1992-1993 academic year.
I would like to thank my home institution, United Theological Seminary,
for approving my leave, and Professor Walter Beyerlin of the Evangelische-
Theologische Fakultat of the Westfalische Wilhelms Universitat for spon-
soring my stay in Germany. The sabbatical was made possible, in part, by
a Theological Scholarship and Research Award from the Association of
Theological Schools in the United States and Canada (ATS). I would like to
thank the ATS for its support, as well as Professors John Van Seters and
Rolf Rendtorff for acting as senior mentors in connection with the grant.
Books are slow in coming and their content is influenced by the
everyday exchange with colleagues over long periods of time. Many con-
versations with Professor Kathleen Farmer, my Old Testament colleague
viii Preface
at United Theological Seminary, have certainly found their way into the
pages of this book. The theoretical work on power is a gift from my col-
league in theology, Professor Tyron Inbody, and my wife, Professor Mary
R. Talen, whose research in Family Systems Theory is not as far afield as I
once thought.
My intention in writing this book is to contribute in some small way
to an understanding of divine power in our world at least as it has been
glimpsed and codified in the formation of the Pentateuch. I wish to dedi-
cate this effort to my mother, Lucille Mulder Dozeman, and to the memory
of my father, Milton Dozeman (1917-1994).
Dayton, Ohio T. B. D.
Epiphany 1995
Contents
Abbreviations, xi
1 Divine Power in the Exodus, 3
Divine Power and Character in the Exodus, 5
Divine Power and Plot in the Exodus, 7
2 Exodus and Kingship, 15
Yahweh's Defeat of Pharaoh and Israel's Expulsion from Egypt, 15
The Plague Cycle, 15
The Death of the Egyptian Firstborn, 19
The Exodus from Egypt, 20
Salvation by the Sea, 21
A Celebration of the Day of Yahweh, 24
The Plot Structure of the Exodus as a Night Vigil, 24
The Character of God in the Liturgy, 26
3 Exodus and Conquest, 42
Salvation into the Wilderness and the Promise of Land, 42
The Plague Cycle, 43
The Death of the Egyptian Firstborn, 46
Despoiling the Egyptians, 47
Passover, 48
The Exodus from Egypt, 52
Geography, the Exodus, and the Promise of Land, 51
A Catechism of Salvation History, 54