An ark on the Nile : beginning of the Book of Exodus PDF
Preview An ark on the Nile : beginning of the Book of Exodus
AN ARK ON THE NILE An Ark on the Nile: The Beginning of the Book of Exodus KEITH BODNER 1 3 GreatClarendonStreet,Oxford,OX26DP, UnitedKingdom OxfordUniversityPressisadepartmentoftheUniversityofOxford. ItfurtherstheUniversity’sobjectiveofexcellenceinresearch,scholarship, andeducationbypublishingworldwide.Oxfordisaregisteredtrademarkof OxfordUniversityPressintheUKandincertainothercountries ©KeithBodner2016 Themoralrightsoftheauthorhavebeenasserted FirstEditionpublishedin2016 Impression:1 Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,storedin aretrievalsystem,ortransmitted,inanyformorbyanymeans,withoutthe priorpermissioninwritingofOxfordUniversityPress,orasexpresslypermitted bylaw,bylicenceorundertermsagreedwiththeappropriatereprographics rightsorganization.Enquiriesconcerningreproductionoutsidethescopeofthe aboveshouldbesenttotheRightsDepartment,OxfordUniversityPress,atthe addressabove Youmustnotcirculatethisworkinanyotherform andyoumustimposethissameconditiononanyacquirer PublishedintheUnitedStatesofAmericabyOxfordUniversityPress 198MadisonAvenue,NewYork,NY10016,UnitedStatesofAmerica BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData Dataavailable LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2016933206 ISBN 978–0–19–878407–4 PrintedinGreatBritainby ClaysLtd,StIvesplc Table of Contents Abbreviations vii Introduction 1 1. ImagesofEgyptinGenesis 17 2. OldPromise,NewKing 40 3. Pharaoh’sMidwifeCrisis 64 4. TheWatersofChaos 89 5. CriminalCharges 117 6. TheStrangerinMidian 146 7. Exodus1–2andtheSojournofIsrael 174 Bibliography 187 Index 203 Abbreviations AB AnchorBible ABD AnchorBibleDictionary ACEBT AmsterdamseCahiersvoorExegeseenbijbelse Theologie AnBib Analectabiblica BCBC BelieversChurchBibleCommentary BDB Brown,F.,S.R.Driver,andC.A.Briggs.AHebrewandEnglish LexiconoftheOldTestament,Oxford1907. BibInt BiblicalInterpretation BIS BiblicalInterpretationSeries BKAT BiblischerKommentar,AltesTestament BZAW BeiheftezurZeitschriftfürdiealttestamentlicheWissenschaft CBQ CatholicBiblicalQuarterly CBR CurrentsinBiblicalResearch ECC EerdmansCriticalCommentary ESHM EuropeanSeminarinHistoricalMethodology EQ EvangelicalQuarterly FAT ForschungenzumAltenTestament FCB FeministCompaniontotheBible FOTL FormsoftheOldTestamentLiterature HAR HebrewAnnualReview HBM HebrewBibleMonographs HCOT HistoricalCommentaryontheOldTestament HS HebrewStudies ICC InternationalCriticalCommentary ITC InternationalTheologicalCommentary JAAR JournaloftheAmericanAcademyofReligion JAOS JournaloftheAmericanOrientalSociety JBL JournalofBiblicalLiterature JBQ JewishBibleQuarterly JETS JournaloftheEvangelicalTheologicalSociety JHS JournalofHebrewScriptures JJS JournalofJewishStudies JPS JewishPublicationSociety JQR JewishQuarterlyReview JSJSup JournalfortheStudyofJudaismSupplement JSNT JournalfortheStudyoftheNewTestament JSOT JournalfortheStudyoftheOldTestament viii Abbreviations JSOTSup JournalfortheStudyoftheOldTestament: SupplementSeries JTS JournalofTheologicalStudies KJV KingJamesVersion LHBOTS LibraryofHebrewBible/OldTestamentStudies LXX Septuagint(theGreekOT) MT MasoreticText(oftheHebrewBible) NCB NewCenturyBible NIBC NewInternationalBiblicalCommentary NICOT NewInternationalCommentaryontheOldTestament NIV NewInternationalVersion NIVAC NewInternationalVersionApplicationCommentary NRSV NewRevisedStandardVersion OBO Orbisbiblicusetorientalis OTL OldTestamentLibrary OTM OxfordTheologicalMonographs OTS OldTestamentStudies OTT OldTestamentTheology SBL SocietyofBiblicalLiterature SBT StudiesinBiblicalTheology SBLDS SocietyofBiblicalLiteratureDissertationSeries SBLMS SocietyofBiblicalLiteratureMonographSeries SBLSymS SocietyofBiblicalLiteratureSymposiumSeries SNTSMS SocietyforNewTestamentStudiesMonographSeries VT VetusTestamentum VTSup SupplementstoVetusTestamentum WBC WordBiblicalCommentary WUNT WissenschaftlicheUntersuchungenzumNeuenTestament ZAW ZeitschriftfürdiealttestamentlicheWissenschaft Introduction EarlyinthebookofExodusthepeopleofIsraelareenslavedin thelandofEgypt,brutallycommandeeredasalabor-forcetasked with building supply cities for the king. But in the midst of this hopelessness,astoryistoldaboutamotherwhogivesbirthtoa favored child. Hiding him from the tyrannical king’s edict of destruction,themotherboldlypreparesapapyrusarkandfloats the child on the Nile river—perhaps as a desperate measure, or maybe trusting in the guiding hand of providence for the boy’s future.Whetherthemotherisawareofitornot,therearesome poignant parallels with the earlier story of Noah’s ark that preserves life in the midst of violence, the only other time the word“ark”(הבת)occursintheBible.Induecoursethediminutive arkisdrawnfromtheNile,butwithanunexpectedtwistoffate, thechildisrescuedbynoneotherthanthetyrannicalking’sown daughter,whoadoptstheboyasherown.Asacrowningirony, theboygrowsuptobecomethekeyfigureintheliberationofthe oppressed people of Israel, leading them out of slavery to com- mence a journey where they build a sanctuary and edge closer towardareturntotheirlong-promisedinheritance. The events narrated in the book of Exodus have absorbed the atten- tionofreadersacrosstheages,anditsplotofrescueremainsamong the foundational paradigms of redemption in the Hebrew Bible. Having experienced substantial growth after moving to the land of Egypt, in due course the people of Israel are forced into slavery byacraftypharaohofveiledprovenance.Outmaneuveredinturnby spirited midwives and a Levite woman, there is one particular survivor—the young Moses—who proves highly influential in the story.Forcedtofleethecountryafteranimpetuoushomicide,Moses subsequentlyreturnswithadivinecommissiontoliberatetheenslaved
The list of books you might like
