* New Beacon Bible Commentary EXODUS A Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition H. Junia Pokrifka Copyright 2018 by Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City PO Box 419527 Kansas City, MO 64141 www.BeaconHillBooks.com ISBN 978-0-8341-3560-4 Printed in the United States of America All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or trans- mitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews. Cover Design: J.R. Caines Interior Design: Sharon Page Unless otherwise indicated all Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version® (NIV®). Copy- right © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.TM Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Emphasis indicated by underlining in boldface quotations and italic in lightface quotations. The following version of Scripture is in the public domain: The King James Version (KJV) The following copyrighted versions of Scripture are used by permission: The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved. The New American Standard Bible® (NASB®), copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Emphasis indicated by italic. The NET Bible® (NET), copyright © 1996-2016 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C., http://netbible.com. Scripture quoted by permission. All rights reserved. The New Jerusalem Bible (NJB), copyright © 1985 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd. and Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc. Reprinted by permission. The New JPS Hebrew-English Tanakh (NJPS), © 2000 by The Jewish Publication Society. All rights reserved. The New King James Version® (NKJV). Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. The New Revised Standard Version Bible (NRSV), copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. All rights reserved. Emphasis indicated by italic. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Pokrifka, H. Junia, 1965- author. Title: Exodus / H. Junia Pokrifka. Description: Kansas City, MO : Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City, 2018. | Series: New Beacon Bible commentary | Includes bibliographical references. Identifiers: LCCN 2017040026 | ISBN 9780834135604 (pbk.) Subjects: LCSH: Bible. Exodus—Commentaries. Classification: LCC BS1245.53 .P64 2018 | DDC 222/.1207—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017040026 The Internet addresses, email addresses, and phone numbers in this book are accurate at the time of publication. They are provided as a resource. Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City does not endorse them or vouch for their content or permanence. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 CONTENTS General Editors’ Preface 13 Acknowledgments 15 Abbreviations 16 Bibliography 19 Table of Sidebars 21 INTRODUCTION 23 A. The Significance of the Book of Exodus 23 B. The Prophet Moses 25 C. Authorship 26 D. Historical Context 27 1. Historical Setting 27 a. Late Date 28 b. Early Date 29 2. Historicity 32 E. Geographical Issues 32 1. The Location of Mount Sinai 33 a. The Biblical Data 33 b. The Proposed Sites 34 2. The Red Sea 35 a. The Biblical Data 35 b. The Proposed Waters 36 F. Literary Features and Structure 37 G. Hermeneutical / Interpretive Issues 38 H. Theological Themes 39 1. The Supreme Ruler and Judge 39 2. The God of Salvation 40 3. The God of Testing 41 4. The God of Covenant Relationship and Partnership 42 5. The God Who Gives Laws 43 6. The God of Mercy and Justice 44 7. The God of Presence and Indwelling 46 COMMENTARY 47 I. IN EGYPT: EXODUS 1:1—15:21 47 A. The Setting (1:1-22) 48 1. Connection with the Past (1:1-7) 48 a. Jacob’s Sons in Egypt (1:1-6) 48 b. Multiplication of the Israelites in Egypt (1:7) 49 2. Oppression of the Israelites (1:8-22) 50 a. Enslavement of the Israelites (1:8-14) 50 (1) The Rise of an Oppressive Egyptian King (1:8-10) 51 (2) The Oppression (1:11-14) 51 b. Pharaoh’s Genocidal Campaign (1:15-22) 53 (1) Pharaoh’s Edict and the Midwives’ Disobedience (1:15-21) 54 (2) Pharaoh’s Genocidal Decree (1:22) 56 B. The Rise of the Leader of Israel (2:1—7:13) 57 1. The Birth of the Leader: Moses (2:1-10) 58 a. The Birth of and Rescue Plan for Moses (2:1-4) 59 b. The Rescue and Naming of Moses (2:5-10) 61 2. The Humiliation and Exile of the Leader (2:11-25) 63 a. Moses in Goshen (2:11-14) 65 b. Moses in Midian (2:15-22) 66 c. The Cries of the Israelites (2:23-25) 67 3. Theophany and the Call of the Leader (3:1—4:17) 69 a. A Theophany and a Commission (3:1-10) 69 (1) Theophany (3:1-6) 69 (2) The Commission of Moses (3:7-10) 71 b. Revelation of the Divine Name (3:11-22) 73 c. Empowerment of the Leader (4:1-17) 78 (1) The Sign of the Rod (4:1-5) 78 (2) The Sign of the Hand (4:6-7) 79 (3) The Sign of the Water (4:8-9) 79 (4) Provision of a Speaker (4:10-17) 80 4. The Testing of the Leader (4:18—5:23) 83 a. Return of the Leader (4:18-31) 84 (1) The Beginning of the Journey (4:18-20) 84 (2) Yahweh’s Plan for Pharaoh (4:21-23) 85 (3) Near Death at a Lodging (4:24-26) 85 (4) Reunion of Leaders (4:27-28) 86 (5) Acceptance of Leaders in Egypt (4:29-31) 87 b. Initial Failure (5:1-23) 88 (1) Moses’ First Audience with Pharaoh (5:1-5) 88 (2) Intensification of Oppression (5:6-18) 90 (3) Discouragements (5:19-23) 92 5. Reaffirmation of the Leader (6:1—7:13) 93 a. Reassurance (6:1-12) 94 (1) Divine Power, Identity, and Character (6:1-5) 94 (2) Reaffirmation of Yahweh’s Promises (6:6-8) 96 (3) The Israelites’ and Moses’ Discouragement (6:9-12) 96 b. Genealogy (6:13-30) 98 (1) Introduction and Aaron’s Tribe (6:13-16) 98 (2) Aaron’s Clan (6:17-19) 99 (3) Aaron’s Families (6:20-25) 99 (4) Summary and Moses’ Discouragement (6:26-30) 101 c. The Recommission (7:1-13) 102 (1) Recommissioning of the Leaders (7:1-7) 102 (a) Yahweh’s Reassurance to Moses (7:1-5) 103 (b) The Leaders’ Obedience and Age (7:6-7) 104 (2) The Leaders’ Authority over Pharaoh (7:8-13) 106 (a) A Sign for Pharaoh (7:8-10) 106 (b) The Counterfeit and the Second Sign (7:11-12) 107 (c) Pharaoh’s Defiance (7:13) 107 C. The Mighty Acts of Judgment and the Exodus (7:14—15:21) 108 1. The Nine Plagues (7:14—10:29) 108 a. The First Plague: Blood (7:14-25) 111 b. The Second Plague: Frogs (8:1-15 [7:26—8:11 HB]) 114 c. The Third Plague: Gnats (8:16-19 [12-15 HB]) 118 d. The Fourth Plague: Flies (8:20-32 [16-28 HB]) 119 e. The Fifth Plague: Livestock (9:1-7) 122 f. The Sixth Plague: Boils (9:8-12) 125 g. The Seventh Plague: Hail and Lightning (9:13-35) 127 h. The Eighth Plague: Locusts (10:1-20) 131 i. The Ninth Plague: Darkness (10:21-29) 134 2. The Tenth Plague, the Passover, and the Exodus (11:1—13:16) 136 a. Warning of the Final (Tenth) Plague (11:1-10) 137 b. The First Passover (12:1-28) 140 (1) The Institution of the First Passover (12:1-13) 140 (a) Israel’s Religious Calendar (12:1-2) 141 (b) The Preparation and Slaughter of the Passover Lamb (12:3-7) 141 (c) The Passover Meal (12:8-11) 143 (d) The Promise of Protection (12:12-13) 143 (2) The Unleavened Bread (12:14-20) 145 (3) The Celebration of the First Passover (12:21-28) 148 c. The Tenth Plague and the Exodus (12:29-42) 151 d. The Passover Exclusions (12:43-51) 155 e. The Festival and Commemorations (13:1-16) 158 (1) Consecration of All Firstborn (13:1-2) 158 (2) The Unleavened Bread (13:3-10) 159 (3) Sacrifice or Redemption of the Firstborn (13:11-16) 160 3. The Final Act at the Red Sea (13:17—15:21) 161 a. The Israelites’ Journey to the Red Sea (13:17-22) 161 b. Pharaoh’s Pursuit of the Israelites (14:1-14) 164 c. Deliverance at the Red Sea (14:15-31) 168 (1) Parting and Crossing the Red Sea (14:15-22) 169 (2) Drowning of the Egyptian Pursuers (14:23-28) 170 (3) Summary of the Final Deliverance (14:29-31) 171 d. The Victory Song of Moses and Miriam (15:1-21) 172 (1) Introduction (15:1a) 173 (2) The Song of the Sea (15:1b-18) 174 (a) Opening Praise and Yahweh’s Victory at the Sea (15:1b-5) 174 (b) Yahweh’s Sovereign Power over the Enemy (15:6-12) 174 (c) Yahweh’s Victory in the Land and Closing Praise (15:13-18) 176 (3) Recapitulation and Miriam’s Singing (15:19-21) 177 II. IN THE WILDERNESS: EXODUS 15:22—18:27 181 A. Bitter to Sweet Water (15:22-27) 182 B.