An ark on the Nile : beginning of the Book of Exodus

217 Pages·2016·0.96 MB·English

by  Bodner

AN ARK ON THE NILE

An Ark on the Nile:
The Beginning of
the Book of Exodus
KEITH BODNER
1
3
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©KeithBodner2016
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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