The Book of Exodus: A Critical, Theological Commentary

685 Pages·1974·16.004 MB·English

by  Brevard S. Childs

BREVARD S. CHILDS
THE BOOK OF EXODUS
THE OLD TESTAMENT LIBRARY
General Editors
PETER ACKROYD, university of London
JAMES BARR, Oxford university
BERNHARD W. ANDERSON, Princeton Theological Seminary
JAMES L. MAYS, Union Theological Seminary, Richmond, Virginia
Advisory Editor
JOHN BRIGHT, Union Theological Seminary, Richmond, Virginia
BREVARD S. CHILDS
THIE JB300K
OIF
IEXODlUS
A Critical, Theological Commentary
THE WESTMINSTER PRESS
Philadelphia
Copyright© 1974 Brevard S. Childs
Published in Great Britain
under the title Exodus, A Commentary
Third printing, 1976
Published by The Westminster Press
®
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STA TES OF AMERICA
9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Childs, Brevard S.
The book of Exodus.
(The Old Testament library)
Bibliography: p.
1. Bible. 0. T. Exodus-Commentaries.
I. Bible. 0. T. Exodus. English. 1974.
II. Title. III. Series.
BS1245.3.C45 222'.12'07 73-23120
ISBN 0-664-20985-8
This book is gratefully dedicated
to my mother
and to the memory of
my father

CONTENTS
Preface
ix
Introduction xiii
Abbreviations xvii
Bibliography
xx1
I Introductory: 1.1 -7 1
II Israel's Persecution and the Birth of Moses: 1.8-2.10 4
III Moses Slays an Egyptian and Flees to Midian: 2.11-25 27
IV The Call of Moses: 3.1-4.17 47
V The Return to Egypt: 4.18-6.1 go
VI The Renewed Call of Moses: 6.2-7. 7 108
VII The Plagues of Egypt: 7.8-1 1.1 o 121
Excursus I : The Hardening of Pharaoh 1 70
Excursus II: The Despoiling of the Egyptians 75
I
VIII Passover and Exodus: 12.1-13.16 178
IX The Deliverance at the Sea: 13.17-14.31 215
X The Song of the Sea: 15.1-21 240
Introduction to the Wilderness Wanderings Traditions 254
XI The Waters of Marah: 15.22-27 265
XII Manna and Quails: 16. 1-36
XIII Water at Massah and Meribah: 17.1-7
XIV War with the Amalekites: 17.8-16
viii CONTENTS
XV The Visit of Jethro: 18.1-27 318
Introduction to the Sinai Traditions 33 7
XVI The Theophany at Sinai: 19.1-25; 20.18-21 340
XVII The Decalogue: 20.1-17 385
XVIII Statutes and Ordinances oft he Covenant: 20.22-23.33 440
XIX The Sealing of the Covenant: 24.1-18 497
XX Directions for the Tabernacle and its Service:
25. 1-31. 18 512
XXI The Golden Calf: 32.1-35 553
XXII God's Presence Endangered: 33.1-23 582
XXIII The Renewal of the Covenant: 34.1-35 601
XXIV Tabernacle Instructions Executed: 35.1-40.38 625
Index of Subjects 639
Index of Authors 643
Index of Biblical References 652
PREFACE
THE PURPOSE of this commentary is unabashedly theological.
Its concern is to understand Exodus as scripture of the church.
The exegesis arises as a theological discipline within the context
of the canon and is directed toward the community of faith which
lives by its confession of Jesus Christ.
Yet the author is also aware that serious theological understanding
of the text is dependent on a rigorous and careful study of the whole
range of problems within the Bible which includes text and source
criticism, syntax and grammar, history and geography. Nor can the
hearing of the text by the Christian church be divorced from that
other community offa ith which lives from the same Bible, and from the
countless other stances outside ofa ny commitment to faith or tradition.
It will be immediately clear from this perspective that a different
understanding of the role of biblical interpretation is being offered
from that currently held by the majority of scholars within the field.
Even the format of the exegesis offers an implicit criticism of the
usual concept of a commentary. The issue at stake does not lie in the
degree of technicality of the exegesis -whether or not a knowledge of
Hebrew and Greek is assumed - but in the concept of the task. The
rash of recent popularizations offers nothing qualitatively different
from the technical volumes.
I am fully aware of the risks involved when one cuts oneself away
from the safe and well-charted boundaries which the canons of
historical critical scholarship have come to regard as self-evident, and
perhaps even sacrosanct. Nevertheless, it seems to me imperative for
the health of the discipline and certainly of the church that the
generally accepted areas in which the exegete works be greatly
broadened. I have tried to show why an adequate interpretation of
the Bible for the church must involve a continuous wrestling with the
history of interpretation and theology. Yet who can control equally
well the fields of Semitic philology, ancient Near Eastern history,
x PREFACE
text and form criticism, rabbinics, New Testament, patristics,
medieval and Reformation studies, philosophy and dogmatics? Still
the effort has to be made to sketch the true parameters of the discipline
of biblical interpretation, even if there are gaps and deficiencies in
one man's attempt.
Since any commentary must be selective in its choice of material,
I have at least tried to shift the scale of priorities. I have not followed
the usual pattern of the English-language commentary in offering a
long introduction in which one rehearses the traditional problems of
literary criticism and history of Israel. Because the field is well­
supplied in good text-books covering these areas, a repetition seems
unnecessary. Moreover, in my judgment, a false impression of their
importance is created. There are other areas in which I have imposed
restrictions. The philological notes are offered only in those places
where an understanding of the biblical text of Exodu� is directly
affected. The area of textual criticism has also been curtailed and no
attempt has been made to pursue all the problems of the text's
recensional history. Obviously no effort has been made to be exhaus­
tive in the history of exegesis, but hopefully the selection is representa­
tive enough not to distort the complete picture seriously.
My academic interest in the book of Exodus goes back some twenty
years to an unforgettable seminar on Moses which was conducted by
Professor Walter Baumgartner of Basel in the summer semester of
1952. Well-worn copies of Dillmann, Gressmann, Driver, and Noth
indicate their constant use over two decades. Active work on this
commentary extends over ten years. During that period I have gone
through many different stages in my own thinking. Somewhere en
route I discovered that Calvin and Drusius, Rashi and lbn Ezra,
belong among the giants. I have tried to show why these great
expositors - the term 'pre-critical' is both naive and arrogant - need
to be heard in concert with Wellhausen and Gunkel. When I began
my work, there were few commentaries on Exodus available. Since
that time some commentaries, mostly of a popular form, have
appeared, but, in my judgment, the need is still a pressing one.
I would like to express my appreciation for financial support in
preparing this commentary. In 1963 I received a grant for study at
the Hebrew University inJerusalem from the Simon M. Guggenheim
Foundation. In l 970 I was granteµ a fellowship to study at Cambridge
University from the American Council of Learned Societies. To both
of these foundations I am deeply grateful.