Analytical Outline of the Book of Exodus (original) (raw)
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W. Kosek, Pierwotny ryt Paschy w świetle schematu literackiego Księgi Wyjścia 1-18, 2008
The present paper shows subsequent methodological steps to discover the division of the Book of Exodus into basic literary units according to the thought of its final writer-redactor, the one who arranged the text under to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God. In the first step, one ought to make a list of the more essential means of dividing this book, which occurred from the very beginning to our times. It concerns, of course, the version in the Hebrew language, and also its translations into different languages, including the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate. One must take into account also the contribution of the contemporary biblicists done through their translations and scientific discussions and analyses resulting in books or articles in specialized magazines. The comparative material collected in this way will answer the question about the criterion for the division of the text: is there visible an original logic in the contemporary editions of the Bible according to which the last editor-writer finally shaped this holy text? What is this original logic? Can this be discovered with scientific credibility? The second step of the methodological looking for the original division of the Book of Exodus will be a throughout reading of the Hebrew text. For providing the fulfillment of the requirement to read the text profoundly, one will involve the principle of theocentrism as the essential criterion for this task. Namely, to understand the sacred text, one should look especially for those places where יְהוָה, God of Israel, appears as the subject (dynamic center) of acts and simultaneously the grammatical subject of the biblical sentence. As a result of such reading, one will discover the six-element literary structure of Ex 1-18 as the first main part of the Book of Exodus; its second part-Ex 19-40-will not be analyzed in the present publication. This paper is the translation of the first chapter of the doctoral dissertation: W. Kosek, The original rite of the Passover in the light of the literary scheme of the Book of Exodus 1-18, Kraków 2008, p. 53-198.
Exodus: A new translation with commentary
Highland Park, IL: The Middle Coast Press, 2021
This translation of Exodus follows a similar approach to my translations of Deuteronomy, Genesis and Samuel. In this, as in my other translations, my priority was always to express the ideas in the text in the most natural way in English, and at the same time to capture the energy and rhythm of the original Hebrew. In this book, my translation style has evolved further towards a true "functionally equivalent" approach. As a result, compared with my other translations, this translation is "freer" and departs further and more frequently from the literal meaning of the text. One unique aspect of all my translations is that they jettison the traditional chapter divisions and instead organize the material according to the Masoretic parashot. Organizing the text in this way, I believe, gets us closer to the ancient writers, and yields numerous insights into their composition approach. The commentary accompanying the translation focuses primarily on issues of translation and language. After the commentary I provide an essay that summarizes my views on the composition history of Exodus and that assigns each of the parashot to one of the four major compositional stages that I identify, which span a period of approximately 250 years, from the early sixth century to the mid fourth century BCE. In my treatment of the composition history, I make a number of unusual proposals. Specifically, I argue that (1) the earliest version of Exodus was composed in the first decades of the sixth century as part of the original composition of the "Deuteronomistic History" (Exodus plus Numbers though Kings in my proposal), and that (2) the Yahwistic priesthoods in Yehud and Samaria were jointly responsible for all other additions and edits made to the book between the late sixth century and the mid fourth century. For those who prefer physical copies of books, the print edition of this book is available at: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1733441557/
Reviews in religion and theology, 2020
was the basis of its original legitimacy, its raison d'être. Benedict's decision further invites us to reflect that the delay of the Parousia, a delay occasioned by the fact that the power of evil is not yet manifest in its true form and cannot therefore be seen for what and as it truly is, may be found within the Church itself and its absorption in a worldly oikonomia that is forgetful of any eschatological demand. But a Church in which eschatology has been eclipsed by oikonomia in this way exemplifies 'the worst corruption of the best' and is a 'perversion' that offers a false 'societas perfecta' and, in doing so, 'furnished the modern State with the model for completely taking charge of humanity' (p. 11). Paradoxically, however (or perhaps not so paradoxically), the Church itself now typically adapts its own agenda to that of that same profane political order (pp. 37-38). Benedict's message was that we must keep ourselves connected with our own end (p. 16), thus offering a sobering wake-up call that challenges the obscuring of justice by the laissez-faire ideology of the market. As I emphasized in my opening remarks, The Mystery of Evil is a (very) short work and one might have envisaged its two main parts waiting on a larger collection of essays. However, I hope that this review will have indicated that it gives a lot to think about and that Agamben's questions are indeed important and urgent. Of all the secular philosophers today engaging with themes from the theological tradition, Agamben is probably the one who has gone furthest in understanding that tradition in its own terms and what he says deserves to be listened to and taken seriously. It is, of course, not so far from what key figures of modern theology have themselves long been saying.
The Appeal of Exodus. The Characters God, Moses and Israel in the Rhetoric of the Book of Exodus
Exodus is appealing on different levels. First, it is actively challenging its readers to adopt a specific world-view and life-style. Second, it is highly appealing to the aesthetic senses of its readers. Both strings sound together and help to appreciate the theological contribution of the book to the Hebrew canon. The present thesis proposes a way of reading the book of Exodus as a literary artifact, as a whole in terms of its rhetorical aims. Key questions are: Was Exodus ever intended to be read or heard as a book? How can we, as late-modern readers, do justice to an ancient book composed against the background of a different world view, different literary conventions and general culture? This study attempts to grasp Exodus in its entirety. The text is understood to be part of a communicative situation between author and reader. This hermeneutical claim and the nature of Exodus itself entail certain consequences with regard to the method of enquiry. Methodologically, the thesis uses ideas from literary criticism and a modified form of rhetorical criticism, which are understood to provide an interpretive perspective on the text. The particular focus is on the functional aspects of the text which direct the reading process and thus guide the reader in the perception of the ideas, concepts and stories presented. Given the difficulties in determining the circumstances of the origin of Exodus and the paucity of secured knowledge about early Israelite history, the ‘implied reader’ or ‘audience’ is introduced as a key term. It is assumed that this implied reader shaped the inventio and dispositio of the book. This is accomplished through the investigation of its main literary characters Yhwh, Moses and Israel. Exodus is all about the definition of Israel’s identity in relation to Yhwh and presents the implications thereof for their practical behaviour. Thus already at the stage of the inventio of the book the subject of Exodus demands concentration on the characters. The study of these characters should then give insight into the ideational worlds of the author and of the readers for whom he wrote his book. Three characters have been chosen on account of their continuous involvement in the plot. The introduction of each character into the plot receives special attention. The developing portrayal of each character is closely linked to its paradigmatic qualities and to its influence on the reader. First discussed is the portrayal of God, particularly in relation to the contributions of the narrative, poetic and legal parts of Exodus. An initial focus is on the epithets placed at important junctures of the book. The first encounter between reader and character deserves close attention and the levels of interaction between the pharaoh and Israel will be examined. The poem of Exodus (Exod 15,1–18) serves as a hinge between the narrative characterisation and the legal characterisation of Yhwh. This lastly mentioned legal characterisation of Yhwh has been neglected to a large extent, but it is a topic of special interest for this present study. Although the legal collections say much about their recipients, they also reveal deep insights into the law-giver’s nature and concerns. Exodus identifies Yhwh as the king who justly claims obedience and service. A further focus is the possibility and the desirability of a relationship between Israel and their king, Yhwh. Second, with regard to Moses, a significant difference is detected between his first appearance in Exod 2–5 and his later development in the plot. Initially Moses is arguably portrayed as an anti-hero. However, later a much more positive picture unfolds. This remarkable tension in the Mosaic portrayal reveals interesting insights into the implied reader’s preconceptions. Here we trace closely the argumentative strategy of the author in his attempts to convince this reader. The later importance of Moses in Jewish thought makes it essential to discuss the description of Moses’ paradigmatic qualities. In a third part the construction of the collective character Israel reader-identification is at the heart of the enquiry. In the construction of this literary character Exodus bridges the historical gulf between the ancient Israel of the exodus and the Israel as the implied reader experienced it. The complexity of Israel’s portrayal between realism and idealism is a central aspect of Exodus’ rhetoric, urging its readers to comply with the ideal which the author sought to communicate. In the end Exodus creates what Jan Assmann calls ‘cultural memory’, a memory which has shaped Israel’s identity ever since the book was written and maybe also the identity of the church, as it understands itself in continuity to the sons of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. It can be concluded that the text of Exodus keeps an effect-oriented focus. Exodus does not merely satisfy the potential historical interests of its readers; there is more to it than this archival function. I propose that this piece of literature was composed specifically to convince the implied reader to adopt a certain theology, entailing implications for the ideational perception and practical fashioning of the reader’s situation. By concentration on the characters it is possible to put this abstract and general communicational purpose into more concrete terms. The results of this study provide insights into the specific poetics of Exodus and its management of the reading process. Because of the proposed unity of form and content, it is possible to specify the message of the entire book by taking into account its intriguing mixture of different genres, its clever use of literary forms and skillful implementation of humour. Here the beauty and engagingness of the book as literature comes to the fore. It has been shown that this other aspect of the appeal of Exodus necessitates the abstraction from modern reading-conventions to do justice to this ancient Hebrew text.