Exodus (New Cambridge Bible Commentary)

336 Pages·2005·45.69 MB·English

by  Carol Meyers

exodus
ThiscommentaryviewsExodusasaculturaldocument,preservingthecollective
memoriesoftheIsraelitesandrelatingthemtothemajorinstitutionsandbeliefsthat
emergedbytheendoftheperiodoftheHebrewBible.Itisintendedtohelpthereader
followthestorylineofExodus,understanditssocioculturalcontext,appreciateits
literary features, recognize its major themes and values, and note its interpretive
andmoralproblems.Itexplainsimportantconceptsandtermsasexpressedinthe
HebreworiginalsothatbothpeoplewhoknowHebrewandthosewhodonotwill
beabletofollowthediscussion.
CarolMeyersistheMaryGraceWilsonProfessorintheDepartmentofReligionat
DukeUniversity.Meyershasauthored,co-authored,oreditedsuchbooksasHaggai
and Zechariah 1–8 and Zechariah 9–14, The Excavations of the Ancient Synagogue
atGushHalav,DiscoveringEve:AncientIsraeliteWomeninContext,andWomen in
Scripture:ADictionaryoftheNamedandUnnamedWomenintheHebrewBible,the
Apocryphal/DeuterocanonicalBooks,andtheNewTestament.

new cambridge bible commentary
generaleditor: BenWitheringtonIII
hebrewbible/oldtestamenteditor: BillT.Arnold
editorialboard
BillT.Arnold,AsburyTheologicalSeminary
JamesD.G.Dunn,UniversityofDurham
MichaelV.Fox,UniversityofWisconsin–Madison
RobertP.Gordon,UniversityofCambridge
JudithGundry-Volf,YaleUniversity
BenWitheringtonIII,AsburyTheologicalSeminary
TheNewCambridgeBibleCommentary(NCBC)aimstoelucidatetheHebrewand
Christian Scriptures for a wide range of intellectually curious individuals. While
buildingontheworkandreputationoftheCambridgeBibleCommentarypopular
inthe1960sand1970s,theNCBCtakesadvantageofmanyoftherewardsprovided
by scholarly research over the last four decades. Volumes utilize recent gains in
rhetoricalcriticism,socialscientificstudyoftheScriptures,narrativecriticism,and
other developing disciplines to exploit advances in biblical studies. Accessible,
jargon-free commentary, an annotated “Suggested Reading” list, and the entire
NewRevisedStandardVersion(NRSV)textunderdiscussionarethehallmarksof
allvolumesintheseries.
publishedvolumesintheseries
JudgesandRuth,VictorH.Matthews
1–2Corinthians,CraigS.Keener
JamesandJude,WilliamF.BrosendII
Revelation,BenWitheringtonIII
forthcomingvolumes
Genesis,BillT.Arnold
Deuteronomy,BrentStrawn
Joshua,DouglasA.Knight
1–2Chronicles,WilliamM.Schniedewind
Psalms1–72,WalterBrueggemannandPatrickD.Miller
Psalms73–150,WalterBrueggemannandPatrickD.Miller
Isaiah1–39,DavidBaer
Jeremiah,BaruchHalpern
Hosea,Joel,andAmos,J.J.M.Roberts
TheGospelofMatthew,CraigA.Evans
TheGospelofLuke,Amy-JillLevineandBenWitheringtonIII
TheGospelofJohn,JeromeH.Neyrey
TheLettersofJohn,DuaneF.Watson

E
xodus
(cid:1)
Carol Meyers
DukeUniversity
cambridgeuniversitypress
Cambridge,NewYork,Melbourne,Madrid,CapeTown,Singapore,Sa˜oPaulo
CambridgeUniversityPress
40West20thStreet,NewYork,ny10011-4211,usa
www.cambridge.org
Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9780521807814
(cid:1)C CambridgeUniversityPress2005
Thisbookisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexception
andtotheprovisionsofrelevantcollectivelicensingagreements,
noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplacewithout
thewrittenpermissionofCambridgeUniversityPress.
Firstpublished2005
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
AcatalogrecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary.
LibraryofCongressCataloginginPublicationData
Meyers,CarolL.
Exodus/CarolMeyers.
p. cm.–(NewCambridgeBibleCommentary)
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
isbn0-521-80781-6(hardcover)–isbn0-521-00291-5(pbk.)
1.Bible.O.T.Exodus–Commentaries. I.Title II.Series.
bs1245.53.m49 2005
222(cid:2).12077–dc22 2004027721
isbn-13 978-0-521-80781-4hardback
isbn-10 0-521-80781-6hardback
isbn-13 978-0-521-00291-2paperback
isbn-10 0-521-00291-5paperback
CambridgeUniversityPresshasnoresponsibilityfor
thepersistenceoraccuracyofurlsforexternalor
third-partyInternetWebsitesreferredtointhisbook
anddoesnotguaranteethatanycontentonsuch
Websitesis,orwillremain,accurateorappropriate.
T
oBaruchA.LevineandNahumM.Sarna

Contents
(cid:1)
ListofTables page xi
ListofSupplementarySections xiii
Preface xv
AWordaboutCitations xix
ListofAbbreviations xxi
i. introduction 1
Exodus,theExodus,andthePast 2
Moses,God,andMidian 12
FormationandStructure 16
NotetoReaders 18
ii. suggested readings on exodus 21
Commentaries 22
ReferenceWorks 24
NearEasternLiterature 26
SpecialStudies1:Exodus,Moses,Sinai 26
SpecialStudies2:TreatyandCovenant 27
SpecialStudies3:DecalogueandLaw 28
SpecialStudies4:Sanctuaries,Cult,andPriesthood 29
AdditionalResources 30
iii. commentary part i. israel in egypt – exodus
1–15:21 32
TheOppression–Exodus1 32
TheEmergenceofMoses–Exodus2:1–25 38
Moses’CallandMission–Exodus3:1–7:7 46
Signs-and-Wonders(NineCalamities)–Exodus7:8–10:29 71
ix