Exodus 14–15 As an Anti-Baal Polemic and Its Implications for Interpreting Exodus 15:17 and Dating These Chapters

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Exodus 14–15 As an Anti-Baal Polemic and Its Implications for Interpreting Exodus 15:17 and Dating These Chapters Concordia Seminary - Saint Louis Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation Concordia Seminary Scholarship Spring 5-21-2021 Exodus 14–15 as an Anti-Baal Polemic and Its Implications for Interpreting Exodus 15:17 and Dating These Chapters Brent Olson [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.csl.edu/phd Part of the Biblical Studies Commons Recommended Citation Olson, Brent, "Exodus 14–15 as an Anti-Baal Polemic and Its Implications for Interpreting Exodus 15:17 and Dating These Chapters" (2021). Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation. 93. https://scholar.csl.edu/phd/93 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Concordia Seminary Scholarship at Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation by an authorized administrator of Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary. For more information, please contact [email protected]. EXODUS 14–15 AS AN ANTI-BAAL POLEMIC AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR INTERPRETING EXODUS 15:17 AND DATING THESE CHAPTERS A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Department of Exegetical Theology in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Brent Olson May, 2021 Approved by: Dr. Andrew Bartelt Dissertation Advisor Dr. Thomas Egger Reader Dr. Tremper Longman Reader © by Brent Michael Olson. All rights reserved. ii Dedicated to my mom and dad, Helene and Rodger Olson, who have made obeying the Fourth Commandment very easy. iii CONTENTS PREFACE ...................................................................................................................................... x ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ........................................................................................................... xii ABBREVIATIONS .................................................................................................................... xiii CHRONOLOGY........................................................................................................................ xvii ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................................. xviii CHAPTER ONE ............................................................................................................................ 1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................ 1 THE METHODOLOGICAL PROCEDURE TO BE EMPLOYED .................................... 5 CHAPTER TWO ........................................................................................................................... 9 HISTORY OF RESEARCH ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE BAAL MYTH AND EXODUS 14–15.......................................................................................................... 9 THE ISSUES COMPLICATING ASSESSMENT OF THE BAAL MYTH’S RELATIONSHIP TO EXODUS 14–15 ............................................................................... 9 HISTORICAL SURVEY OF SCHOLARSHIP ON THE EXISTENCE AND NATURE OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE BAAL MYTH AND EXODUS 14–15............ 14 Joseph Frederick Berg (1838) .................................................................................... 14 Otto Eissfeldt (1932).................................................................................................. 15 Umberto Cassuto (1951) ............................................................................................ 16 William Foxwell Albright (1944, 1968) .................................................................... 17 John Gray (1953) ....................................................................................................... 17 Norman Habel (1964) ................................................................................................ 19 Frank Eakin (1967) .................................................................................................... 21 Frank Moore Cross (1968, 1973)............................................................................... 22 Richard Clifford (1972) ............................................................................................. 23 iv Patrick D. Miller (1973) ............................................................................................ 24 Foster McCurley (1983) ............................................................................................ 25 Carola Kloos (1986) .................................................................................................. 26 Martin Brenner (1991) ............................................................................................... 29 Bernard Batto (1992) ................................................................................................. 30 Mark S. Smith (1994, 1997, 2004, 2007, 2008) ........................................................ 32 John Day (2000) ........................................................................................................ 35 Alberto Green (2003) ................................................................................................. 36 Thomas Dozeman (2009) .......................................................................................... 39 Utzschneider and Oswald (2014) .............................................................................. 42 Shawn Flynn (2014) .................................................................................................. 44 James Anderson (2015) ............................................................................................. 45 Debra Scoggins Ballentine (2015) ............................................................................. 47 Brian Russell (2017) .................................................................................................. 51 Aaron Tugendhaft (2018) .......................................................................................... 53 Paul K. K. Cho (2019) ............................................................................................... 55 CHAPTER THREE ..................................................................................................................... 61 THE SONG OF THE SEA’S DELIBERATE PARALLELING OF THE BAAL MYTH 61 TESTING THE SONG’S RELATIONSHIP TO THE BAAL MYTH WITH RICHARD HAYS’S METHODOLOGY .............................................................................................. 61 EVALUATING THE SONG’S RELATIONSHIP TO THE BAAL MYTH WITH WILLIAM HALLO’S CONTEXTUAL METHODOLOGY............................................. 69 CHAPTER FOUR ........................................................................................................................ 74 THE ANTI-BAAL POLEMICAL INTENT OF EXODUS 14–15, PART 1: UNDERSTANDING THE BAAL-ZEPHON REFERENCES IN EXODUS 14 WITHIN v THEIR CANONICAL LITERARY CONTEXT ................................................................ 74 THE BAAL-ZEPHON CULTIC SITE REFERENCES IN EXODUS 14:2 AND 9B ....... 75 EXODUS 14’S ACCOUNT OF THE SEA EVENT AS THE CULMINATION OF YAHWEH’S WAR AGAINST ALL THE GODS OF EGYPT ......................................... 77 EXODUS’S PROSE ACCOUNT OF THE SEA EVENT AS THE CONTINUATION OF THE LITERARY UNIT DEPICTING YAHWEH’S CONFLICT WITH EGYPT’S GODS ............................................................................................................................................ 83 EXODUS 15’S ACCOUNT OF THE SEA EVENT AS THE CULMINATION OF YAHWEH’S WAR AGAINST ALL THE GODS OF EGYPT ......................................... 92 THE “PLAGUES” AS YAHWEH’S APPROPRIATION OF SPECIFIC EGYPTIAN GODS’ DOMAINS AND THE HERMENEUTICAL IMPLICATIONS OF THIS APPROPRIATION ............................................................................................................. 95 CHAPTER FIVE ......................................................................................................................... 99 THE ANTI-BAAL POLEMICAL INTENT OF EXODUS 14–15, PART 2: UNDERSTANDING THE BAAL-ZEPHON REFERENCES IN EXODUS 14 WITHIN THEIR CANONICALLY PRESENTED HISTORICAL CONTEXT ............................... 99 SETH/BAAL-ZEPHON WORSHIP IN EGYPT DURING THE PRE-HYKSOS PERIOD .......................................................................................................................................... 100 SETH/BAAL-ZEPHON WORSHIP IN EGYPT DURING THE HYKSOS PERIOD ... 104 SETH/BAAL-ZEPHON WORSHIP IN EGYPT DURING THE EIGHTEENTH DYNASTY ....................................................................................................................... 106 SETH/BAAL-ZEPHON WORSHIP IN EGYPT DURING THE NINETEENTH DYNASTY ....................................................................................................................... 115 EGYPTIAN WORSHIP OF SETH/BAAL-ZEPHON AS THE GOD WHO CONTROLS HISTORICO-GEOGRAPHICAL WATERWAYS .......................................................... 118 PROBABLE ISRAELITE, PARTICULARLY MOSAIC, KNOWLEDGE OF THE BAAL MYTH DURING THE EGYPTIAN SOJOURN ............................................................. 121 THE BAAL-ZEPHON REFERENCES IN EXODUS 14 WITHIN THEIR CANONICALLY PRESENTED LITERARY AND HISTORICAL CONTEXTS: CONCLUSIONS .............................................................................................................. 127 CHAPTER SIX .........................................................................................................................
Recommended publications
  • 1 Universidade Federal De Minas Gerais Alexandra Lauren Corrêa
    1 Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais Alexandra Lauren Corrêa Gabbard The Demonization of the Jew in Chaucer's “The Prioress's Tale,” Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice and Scott's Ivanhoe Belo Horizonte 2011 2 Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais Alexandra Lauren Corrêa Gabbard The Demonization of the Jew in Chaucer's “The Prioress's Tale,” Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice and Scott's Ivanhoe Dissertação de Mestrado apresentada à Faculdade de Letras da Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, como requisito para a obtenção do título de Mestre em Letras: Estudos Literários. Orientador: Thomas LaBorie Burns Belo Horizonte 2011 3 ABSTRACT This thesis examines the issue of anti-Semitism throughout three different eras in chosen classics of the English literature- “The Prioress’s Tale” from the Canterbury Tales, The Merchant of Venice and Ivanhoe- comparing and contrasting the demonization of the Jewish characters present in the texts. By examining the three texts, I intend to show the evolution of the demonization of Jews in literature throughout different periods in history. The historical and cultural aspects of the works will be taken into consideration, for anti- Semitism can be clearly traced as an ideology built throughout Western culture as a form of domination and exclusion of minorities. The Lateran Council of 1215 resurrected the spectrum of anti-Semitism by imposing laws such as the prohibition of intermarriage between Jews and Christians or the obligation of different dress for Jews. This is especially visible in the chosen works, for Jews are stigmatized as demonic, pagan, heretic and unclean. A particular trope present in two of the texts in the Christian aversion to usury- a task that was conveniently attributed to the Jews.
    [Show full text]
  • Michael Defeats the Dragon
    THE REVELATION OF JOHN Bible Study 31 Study by Lorin L Cranford Text: Rev. 12:7-12 All rights reserved © QUICK LINKS 1. What the text meant. Exegesis of the Text: Historical Aspects: A. War between Michael and Satan, vv. 7-9 External History B. Declaration of victory, vv. 10-12 Internal History Literary Aspects: Genre 2. What the text means. Literary Setting Literary Structure Michael Defeats the Dragon Greek NT Gute Nachricht Bibel NRSV NLT 7 Καὶ ἐγένετο πόλεμος ἐν 7 Dann brach im Himmel 7 And war broke out in 7 Then there was war τῷ οὐρανῷ, ὁ Μιχαὴλ καὶ οἱ ein Krieg aus. Michael mit heaven; Michael and his an- in heaven. Michael and the ἄγγελοι αὐτοῦ τοῦ πολεμῆσαι seinen Engeln kämpfte gegen gels fought against the drag- angels under his command μετὰ τοῦ δράκοντος. καὶ ὁ den Drachen. Der Drache mit on. The dragon and his angels fought the dragon and his δράκων ἐπολέμησεν καὶ οἱ seinen Engeln wehrte sich; 8 fought back, 8 but they were angels. 8 And the dragon ἄγγελοι αὐτοῦ, 8 καὶ οὐκ aber er konnte nicht stand- defeated, and there was no lost the battle and was forced ἴσχυσεν οὐδὲ τόπος εὑρέθη halten. Samt seinen Engeln longer any place for them in out of heaven. 9 This great αὐτῶν ἔτι ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ. musste er seinen Platz im heaven. 9 The great dragon dragon -- the ancient serpent 9 καὶ ἐβλήθη ὁ δράκων ὁ Himmel räumen. 9 Der große was thrown down, that ancient called the Devil, or Satan, μέγας, ὁ ὄφις ὁ ἀρχαῖος, ὁ Drache wurde hinunterg- serpent, who is called the the one deceiving the whole καλούμενος Διάβολος καὶ estürzt! Er ist die alte Sch- Devil and Satan, the deceiver world -- was thrown down to ὁ Σατανᾶς, ὁ πλανῶν τὴν lange, die auch Teufel oder of the whole world—he was the earth with all his angels.
    [Show full text]
  • From Indo-European Dragon Slaying to Isa 27.1 a Study in the Longue Durée Wikander, Ola
    From Indo-European Dragon Slaying to Isa 27.1 A Study in the Longue Durée Wikander, Ola Published in: Studies in Isaiah 2017 Document Version: Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Link to publication Citation for published version (APA): Wikander, O. (2017). From Indo-European Dragon Slaying to Isa 27.1: A Study in the Longue Durée. In T. Wasserman, G. Andersson, & D. Willgren (Eds.), Studies in Isaiah: History, Theology and Reception (pp. 116- 135). (Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament studies, 654 ; Vol. 654). Bloomsbury T&T Clark. Total number of authors: 1 General rights Unless other specific re-use rights are stated the following general rights apply: Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal Read more about Creative commons licenses: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/ Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. LUND UNIVERSITY PO Box 117 221 00 Lund +46 46-222 00 00 LIBRARY OF HEBREW BIBLE/ OLD TESTAMENT STUDIES 654 Formerly Journal of the Study of the Old Testament Supplement Series Editors Claudia V.
    [Show full text]
  • Lesson 11 ELIJAH DEFEATS 450 PROPHETS of BAAL with 1 PRAYER Memory Verse: Psalm 54:1-2 God, Save Me Because of Who You Are
    Q7 – God is Good at Victory! Parent Teaching Guide God wins the victory! We are studying Old Testament battle stories. These stories show us over and over again that God has the power and God wins the victory for His people when they follow His commandments (have faith in Him). We will study Jesus’ triumph over death, which brings us the victory of salvation. We can be victorious if we remain faithful to God and to the sacrifice of His son. God never promises that our lives will be easy. He does promise us victory through Christ if we trust Him. Date: Dec 13-19, 2020 Lesson 11 ELIJAH DEFEATS 450 PROPHETS OF BAAL WITH 1 PRAYER Memory Verse: Psalm 54:1-2 God, save me because of who You are. By Your strength show that I am innocent. Hear my prayer, God. Listen to what I say. Text: 1 Kings 18 King Ahab and Queen Jezebel were very wicked. They did not worship God, they worshiped Baal. When the prophet Elijah went to them and told them of their sin, they thought the prophets of Baal could defeat God’s prophet. God was able to light the alter even after it had been soaked with water. Baal could not. Isn’t God powerful! Talk to your child about God’s power. He can defeat any false god is we only let him. If we pray and let Him have control, He will defeat our enemies and keep us safe. Facts to Know PRAISE & PRAYER Show pictures of people praying.
    [Show full text]
  • Idolatry in the Ancient Near East1
    Idolatry in the Ancient Near East1 Ancient Near Eastern Pantheons Ammonite Pantheon The chief god was Moloch/Molech/Milcom. Assyrian Pantheon The chief god was Asshur. Babylonian Pantheon At Lagash - Anu, the god of heaven and his wife Antu. At Eridu - Enlil, god of earth who was later succeeded by Marduk, and his wife Damkina. Marduk was their son. Other gods included: Sin, the moon god; Ningal, wife of Sin; Ishtar, the fertility goddess and her husband Tammuz; Allatu, goddess of the underworld ocean; Nabu, the patron of science/learning and Nusku, god of fire. Canaanite Pantheon The Canaanites borrowed heavily from the Assyrians. According to Ugaritic literature, the Canaanite pantheon was headed by El, the creator god, whose wife was Asherah. Their offspring were Baal, Anath (The OT indicates that Ashtoreth, a.k.a. Ishtar, was Baal’s wife), Mot & Ashtoreth. Dagon, Resheph, Shulman and Koshar were other gods of this pantheon. The cultic practices included animal sacrifices at high places; sacred groves, trees or carved wooden images of Asherah. Divination, snake worship and ritual prostitution were practiced. Sexual rites were supposed to ensure fertility of people, animals and lands. Edomite Pantheon The primary Edomite deity was Qos (a.k.a. Quas). Many Edomite personal names included Qos in the suffix much like YHWH is used in Hebrew names. Egyptian Pantheon2 Egyptian religion was never unified. Typically deities were prominent by locale. Only priests worshipped in the temples of the great gods and only when the gods were on parade did the populace get to worship them. These 'great gods' were treated like human kings by the priesthood: awakened in the morning with song; washed and dressed the image; served breakfast, lunch and dinner.
    [Show full text]
  • The Relationship of Yahweh and El: a Study of Two Cults and Their Related Mythology
    Wyatt, Nicolas (1976) The relationship of Yahweh and El: a study of two cults and their related mythology. PhD thesis. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/2160/ Copyright and moral rights for this thesis are retained by the author A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the Author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the Author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Glasgow Theses Service http://theses.gla.ac.uk/ [email protected] .. ýýý,. The relationship of Yahweh and Ell. a study of two cults and their related mythology. Nicolas Wyatt ý; ý. A thesis submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy rin the " ®artänont of Ssbrwr and Semitic languages in the University of Glasgow. October 1976. ý ý . u.: ý. _, ý 1 I 'Preface .. tee.. This thesis is the result of work done in the Department of Hebrew and ': eraitia Langusgee, under the supervision of Professor John rdacdonald, during the period 1970-1976. No and part of It was done in collaboration, the views expressed are entirely my own. r. .e I should like to express my thanks to the followings Professor John Macdonald, for his assistance and encouragement; Dr. John Frye of the Univeritty`of the"Witwatersrandy who read parts of the thesis and offered comments and criticism; in and to my wife, whose task was hardest of all, that she typed the thesis, coping with the peculiarities of both my style and my handwriting.
    [Show full text]
  • Parshat Matot/Masei
    Parshat Matot/Masei A free excerpt from the Kehot Publication Society's Chumash Bemidbar/Book of Numbers with commentary based on the works of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, produced by Chabad of California. The full volume is available for purchase at www.kehot.com. For personal use only. All rights reserved. The right to reproduce this book or portions thereof, in any form, requires permission in writing from Chabad of California, Inc. THE TORAH - CHUMASH BEMIDBAR WITH AN INTERPOLATED ENGLISH TRANSLATION AND COMMENTARY BASED ON THE WORKS OF THE LUBAVITCHER REBBE Copyright © 2006-2009 by Chabad of California THE TORAHSecond,- revisedCHUMASH printingB 2009EMIDBAR WITH AN INTERPOLATED ENGLISH TRANSLATION AND COMMENTARYA BprojectASED ON of THE WORKS OF ChabadTHE LUBAVITCH of CaliforniaREBBE 741 Gayley Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90024 310-208-7511Copyright / Fax © 310-208-58112004 by ChabadPublished of California, by Inc. Kehot Publication Society 770 Eastern Parkway,Published Brooklyn, by New York 11213 Kehot718-774-4000 Publication / Fax 718-774-2718 Society 770 Eastern Parkway,[email protected] Brooklyn, New York 11213 718-774-4000 / Fax 718-774-2718 Order Department: 291 KingstonOrder Avenue, Department: Brooklyn, New York 11213 291 Kingston718-778-0226 Avenue / /Brooklyn, Fax 718-778-4148 New York 11213 718-778-0226www.kehot.com / Fax 718-778-4148 www.kehotonline.com All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book All rightsor portions reserved, thereof, including in any the form, right without to reproduce permission, this book or portionsin writing, thereof, from in anyChabad form, of without California, permission, Inc. in writing, from Chabad of California, Inc. The Kehot logo is a trademark ofThe Merkos Kehot L’Inyonei logo is a Chinuch,trademark Inc.
    [Show full text]
  • Iam YAM As Hayah Part2
    YaHshua servant's Home Page // About Us IAM or YAM (haYaH) I AM or YAM? Part 2 of 3 (Part 3) (Part 1) By Your servant, Dan Baxley www.servantsofyahshua.com www.yahshuaservant.com Special Note from the author of this article: I would like to make it plain that this article is covering a new look at the "IAM that IAM" and the Greek influence upon the Hebrew Scriptures and no one, that is, NO ONE, is making this observation. This is not a point of "salvation", and it is not an absolute and I admit to this being my own speculation and even guessing in some places to make my point. Scripture is always first and it is the scriptures you should be most attune to not the ranting of someone like me with a new "theory" to push. But I do find this observation concerning IAM that IAM interesting and worth a look. First you need to know that there is a Hebrew Bible avoiding the use of our Creator's Name but put some kind of "holy" value on their substitution, replacing His Holy Name just as those have replace His Name, YHWH, with the term, LORD, so these Jews have replace His Name with this term -- HASHEM. What does HaSHEM mean, it means and is to say, THE NAME. I hope you can understand the following example. This is not speculation, that comes later in seen the IAM or YAM as another form of revelation concerning our Creator, and Savior. HaShem = The Name IAM = HaYaH = The YaH Knowing and understanding that our God and Savior has a personal Name and that the God of Israel also has a Personal Name we can look at the Hebrew Scriptures and the correct wording, without the Greek, and we come up with the Hebrew "ha" for the Greek "I" and the Hebrew YaH in place of the Greek for "AM".
    [Show full text]
  • Confronting Antisemitism in Modern Media, the Legal and Political Worlds an End to Antisemitism!
    Confronting Antisemitism in Modern Media, the Legal and Political Worlds An End to Antisemitism! Edited by Armin Lange, Kerstin Mayerhofer, Dina Porat, and Lawrence H. Schiffman Volume 5 Confronting Antisemitism in Modern Media, the Legal and Political Worlds Edited by Armin Lange, Kerstin Mayerhofer, Dina Porat, and Lawrence H. Schiffman ISBN 978-3-11-058243-7 e-ISBN (PDF) 978-3-11-067196-4 e-ISBN (EPUB) 978-3-11-067203-9 DOI https://10.1515/9783110671964 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. For details go to https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ Library of Congress Control Number: 2021931477 Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available on the Internet at http://dnb.dnb.de. © 2021 Armin Lange, Kerstin Mayerhofer, Dina Porat, Lawrence H. Schiffman, published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston The book is published with open access at www.degruyter.com Cover image: Illustration by Tayler Culligan (https://dribbble.com/taylerculligan). With friendly permission of Chicago Booth Review. Printing and binding: CPI books GmbH, Leck www.degruyter.com TableofContents Preface and Acknowledgements IX LisaJacobs, Armin Lange, and Kerstin Mayerhofer Confronting Antisemitism in Modern Media, the Legal and Political Worlds: Introduction 1 Confronting Antisemitism through Critical Reflection/Approaches
    [Show full text]
  • PDF Download Dagon Kindle
    DAGON PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Fred Chappell | 140 pages | 01 Jan 2009 | BOSON BOOKS | 9780917990946 | English | Raleigh, United States Dagon PDF Book They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons. Thule Prof. Ancient Slavery of Women. Israel's Topography. A temple in his honor stood in this ancient place. New Bible Maps A growing database of maps for study and teaching. Two textual sources that mention Dagon, and rulers and towns bearing his name merit note. The Ancient Obelisk. Head of Alexander the Great. As the moon climbed higher in the sky, I began to see that the slopes of the valley were not quite so perpendicular as I had imagined. He could also make the rain he creates into an acid liquid. So great was the extent of the new land which had risen beneath me, that I could not detect the faintest noise of the surging ocean, strain my ears as I might. They infested the dreams of those who swam in the Sea of Fallen Stars with nightmares. The Code of Hammurabi BCE names him as the protector of the people of Tuttul, and many of the individuals known from this area have names involving the element Dagan Crowell : External Websites. Royal Lion Hunt. The great war was then at its very beginning, and the ocean forces of the Hun had not completely sunk to their later degradation; so that our vessel was made a legitimate prize, whilst we of her crew were treated with all the fairness and consideration due us as naval prisoners. By using Learn Religions, you accept our.
    [Show full text]
  • Devarim 5780
    סב ׳ ׳ ד רבד י ם שת ״ ף Devarim 5780 Followership ** KEY IDEA OF THE WEEK ** Judaism encourages followers and leaders to form a partnership of mutual respect. PARSHAT DEVARIM IN A NUTSHELL The book of Devarim is, in essence, Moses’ renewal of the Israel about the story of the spies and the people’s lack of same covenant that God made with Israel at Mount Sinai. faith that led to forty year wandering in the desert. This time Moses joins the covenant to the next generation, Then he moves on to more recent events, retelling the because they will soon enter the Promised Land and create a stories of their battles and victories over Moab and Ammon society based on the Torah there. And because a covenant and the settlement of their land (on the other side of the often begins with a preamble and an historical outline, this is River Jordan) by the tribes of Reuben and Gad and part of also how parshat Devarim begins. Moses explains the Menashe. The parsha ends with the appointment of Joshua background to the covenant, and then discusses the events as his successor. He will lead the people into the Land. that led to the covenant and its renewal. First we have an introduction which describes the time and QUESTION TO PONDER: place: we are in the last weeks of Moses’ life and the people Why do you think Joshua was chosen to lead after Moses? are camped by the banks of the River Jordan. Moses reminds THE CORE IDEA In the last month of his life, Moses gathered the people and ‘Send men …” In our parsha, it was the people who taught them the laws they were to keep and reminded them requested it: “Then all of you came to me and said, ‘Let us of their history since the Exodus.
    [Show full text]
  • Three Conquests of Canaan
    ÅA Wars in the Middle East are almost an every day part of Eero Junkkaala:of Three Canaan Conquests our lives, and undeniably the history of war in this area is very long indeed. This study examines three such wars, all of which were directed against the Land of Canaan. Two campaigns were conducted by Egyptian Pharaohs and one by the Israelites. The question considered being Eero Junkkaala whether or not these wars really took place. This study gives one methodological viewpoint to answer this ques- tion. The author studies the archaeology of all the geo- Three Conquests of Canaan graphical sites mentioned in the lists of Thutmosis III and A Comparative Study of Two Egyptian Military Campaigns and Shishak and compares them with the cities mentioned in Joshua 10-12 in the Light of Recent Archaeological Evidence the Conquest stories in the Book of Joshua. Altogether 116 sites were studied, and the com- parison between the texts and the archaeological results offered a possibility of establishing whether the cities mentioned, in the sources in question, were inhabited, and, furthermore, might have been destroyed during the time of the Pharaohs and the biblical settlement pe- riod. Despite the nature of the two written sources being so very different it was possible to make a comparative study. This study gives a fresh view on the fierce discus- sion concerning the emergence of the Israelites. It also challenges both Egyptological and biblical studies to use the written texts and the archaeological material togeth- er so that they are not so separated from each other, as is often the case.
    [Show full text]