Full text of "The book of Exodus"

See other formats

CnL: CM:

n o-ccJv.

lijii

'■ .

Digitized by tine Internet Arciiive

in 2008 with funding from

IVIicrosoft Corporation

littp://www.archive.org/details/bool<ofexodusOOmcneuoft

Westminster Commentaries
Edited by Walter Lock D.D.

IKKIiAND PROFBSSOK OF THB BXEGBBIS
OF HOLY 8CBIPTUKK

THE BOOK OF EXODUS

WITH INTRODUCTION AND NOTES

A. H. M^NEILE, B.D.

FELLOW, DEAN AND THEOLOGICAL LECTCRKE

OF SIDNEY SUSSEX COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE,

EXAMINING CHAPLAIN TO THE LORD BISHOP OP BIRMINGHAM

METHUEN & CO.

36 ESSEX STREET W.C.

LONDON

WAR 3 11969

First Published in igo8

PREFATOEY NOTE BY THE GENERAL EDITOR.

THE primary object of these Commentaries is to be exegetical,
to interpret the meaning of each book of the Bible in the
light of modern knowledge to English readers. The Editors
will not deal, except subordinately, with questions of textual
criticism or philology ; but taking the English text in the Revised
Version as their basis, they will aim at combining a hearty
acceptance of critical principles with loyalty to the Catholic
Faith.

The series will be less elementary than the Cambridge Bible
for Schools, less critical than the International Critical Com-
mentary, less didactic than the Expositor's Bible ; and it is
hoped that it may be of use both to theological students and to
the clergy, as well as to the growing number of educated laymen
and laywomen who wish to read the Bible intelligently and
reverently.

Each commentary will therefore have

(i) An Introduction stating the bearing of modern
criticism and research upon the historical character of the
book, and drawing out the contribution which the book, as a
whole, makes to the body of religious truth.

(ii) A careful paraphrase of the text with notes on the
more difficult passages and, if need be, excursuses on any points
of special importance either for doctrine, or ecclesiastical
organization, or spiritual life.

VI NOTE

But the books of the Bible are so varied in character that
considerable latitude is needed, as to the proportion which the
various parts should hold to each other. The General Editor
will therefore only endeavour to secure a general uniformity in
scope and character : but the exact method adopted in each
case and the final responsibility for the statements made will
rest with the individual contributors.

By permission of the Delegates of the Oxford University
Press and of the Syndics of the Cambridge University Press
the Text used in this Series of Commentaries is the Revised
Version of the Holy Scriptures.

PREFACE.

IT is some years since an English commentary on the book of
Exodus was written. During that time there have been
busy workers in many fields of study, who have contributed
much that has thrown light upon the book. There seems,
therefore, to be room for a volume which should make use of
some of the more important of the results which they have
reached

There is no book of the Old Testament which cannot claim
an interest peculiarly its own. But of the book of Exodus it
may be said that an outstanding feature of it is the extraordinary
multiplicity of its interest. The student is brought into contact
with matters of archaeology and folk-lore, the history and
customs of nations, the geography of countries, the social
enactments of Israel at successive stages of their development,
the ceremonial of worship in different ages, and the moral
standards and religious ideals of the prophets — the highest
minds in a nation whose genius was religion. Further, the
critical investigation of the book, as literature, provides complex
problems. And finally Exodus possesses a deep and abiding
spiritual value, and it is only by meditating on this that its
readers can realise the primary object for which it has been
allowed to come down to us. The following pages, if they
effect nothing else, may perhaps succeed in dissipating for some
the idea, which I have heard seriously expressed, that Exodus is
* one of the dullest books in the Bible.'

VIII PREFACE

As much a8 possible has been thrown into the Introduction,
in order to avoid over- weighting the Commentary, the first duty
of which is to explain the text. It was felt to be specially
necessary to free the notes from the details of critical analysis.
Exodus more than most of the Old Testament writings demands
analysis if it is to be intelligible. As regards the separation of
the prophetic from the priestly strata, critical students may be
said to have reached something approaching to unanimity : but
this is far from being the case with those passages which are
derived from the composite narrative JE. No doubt some
portions of this latter material could, without much loss, be
treated as the work of a single writer. But there is hardly a
chapter which, if so treated, does not raise serious difficulties ;
and I have therefore ventured on the analysis of the whole.
There must for a long time, perhaps always, be difierences of
opinion with respect to some details, but each student who
makes his own suggestions may help to bring unity of opinion
a step nearer.

The time has gone by when an apology would have been
needed for shewing that the origin of laws, customs and religious
ceremonies can often be detected in primitive ideas of a remote
past. The principle recognised by Aristotle holds good that
the true nature of a thing is that which it will become when it
is complete. And a heathen or barbarous origin of a custom
does not invalidate it as a real expression of true religion at a
later stage in the nation's growth. I have, therefore, not hesi-
tated to record some of the more probable suggestions which
have been made by students of archaeology and anthropology.
Nor does it any longer require boldness to admit the possibility
that a given narrative or tradition lacks, or contravenes, his-
torical evidence. Its value, in many cases, lies not in the
statement of fact but in the picture which it afibrds of the
ideas or circumstances of the narrator. The permanent value

PREFACE IX

of the book of Exodus as a whole is, of course, to be found in
the religious beliefs and convictions of the writers. Much more
might have been done in the commentary by way of suggestion,
had not the nature and aims of this series forbidden any purely
devotional or homiletic treatment. But I have tried to indicate,
both in the notes and in the last section of the Introduction,
something of what the book appears to have been intended to
teach.

The same considerations which lengthened the Introduction
also led me to avoid the multiplication of references in the notes.
The Bibliography, indeed, might be greatly enlarged ; but it is
perhaps full enough to be a guide to the more important works
bearing upon the different aspects of the book.

There are personal debts which I would gratefully acknow-
ledge. The Rev. C. H. W. Johns, the Reader in Assyriology in
this University, allowed me to consult him on points connected
with the subject on which he is an authority. The Rev. Canon
Kennett, Regius Professor of Hebrew, very kindly read the book
in proof, and made several valuable suggestions. And the
Warden of Keble College, Oxford, the General Editor of the
series, read both MS and proofs ; his advice and suggestions
have been of the utmost help throughout.

Since Exodus follows Genesis, this volume is destined to
stand next on the shelf to Prof. Driver's work ; so near — and
yet so far from the strong balance of judgement and wide
learning which have always been to me both curb and spur.

A. H. M^NEILE.

Cambridge.
Lent 1908.

a 5

CONTENTS.

PAGK

Addenda XIII

Principal abbreviations employed XV

Books useful for study XVII

Introduction i — cxxxvii

§ 1, The component parts of the Book of Exodus . . . i

§ 2. Analysis xi

§ 3. The Laws in Exodus xxxviii

§ 4. The Priesthood Ixiv

§ 5. The Tabernacle (with Illustrations) Ixxiii

§ 6. The Geography of Exodus (with Map) .... xcii

§ 7. The Historical Value of the Book of Exodus . . . cvi

§ 8. The Religious Value of the Book of Exodus . . . cxix

List of Scriptural Passages cxxxiv

Text and Commentary 1—242

Additional and Longer Notes

Sketch of contemporary Egyptian history 12

On the name Yahweh 21

On Circumcision 29

On the names Eloah, Elohim, El, Shaddai .... 38

The Plagues 42

The Passover .62

The Song of Praise 88

The Sabbath 121

On Altars 125

The three Annual Festivals 140

The word 'Covenant' and the Sinai-Horeb covenant . .150
The composition of the chapters on the Tabernacle and its

Ministry 155

The Ark 161

The Ephod, and the Urim and Tummim 181

The Tent of Meeting 211

On the Septuagint recension of chapters xxxv. — xl. . . 223

Index 243

Sketch of the Tabernacle between Ixxiv — v

Map. Country of the Exodus to face xciii

ADDENDA.

p. 4, on i. 11. Prof. Flinders Petrie claims to have discovered the site of
Raamses at Tell er Retabeh 'in the middle of the length of the Wady Tumilat,
about 20 miles from Ismaihyeh on the East.' 'We found here a temple of
Ramessu II with sculptures in red granite and limestone ; part of a tomb
of an oflficial who was over the store-houses of Syrian produce ; and the gi-eat
works of Ramessu III. All of these discoveries exactly accord with the
requirements of the city of Raamses, where both the second and third kings
of that name are stated to have worked, and where a store city was built by
the Israelites along with that of Pithom, which is only eight miles distant.
The absence of any other Egyptian site suitable to these conditions, which are
all fulfilled here, makes it practically certain that this was the city of Raamses
named in Exodus ' {Hyksos and Israelite cities, Brit. School of Archaeol. in
Egypt, and Eg. research account, 12th year, 1906).

If this is correct, Raamses must be placed a little nearer to Pithom than it
is marked upon the map.

P. 143, on xxiii. 19 6. Mr J. G. Frazer's contribution to the volume of
Anthropological Essays presented to Prof Tylor contains a suggestion with
regard to this obscure prohibition. He shews (pp. 154 — 157) that pastoral
tribes in Africa believe that to boil milk will prevent the cow from which
it has been drawn from yielding any more, and may even cause its death.
The special mention of the mother's milk in Israelite law ' may have been
either because as a matter of convenience the mother's milk was more likely
to be used than any other for that purpose, or because the injury to the
she-goat in such a case was deemed to be even more certain than in any other.
For being linked to the contents of the boiling pot by a double bond of
sympathy, since the kid, as well as the milk, had come from her bowels, the
mother goat was twice as likely as any other goat to lose her milk or to be
killed outright by the heat and ebullition.' And he further suggests that,
as among the Baganda, unprincipled persons in Israel might surreptitiously
enjoy the luxury of flesh boiled in milk, regardless of the fact that the boiling
of milk, like the poisoning of wells, threatened the existence of the whole
tribe by cutting oflF its principal source of nourishment.

P. 152, paragr. 2 (c). Dr Westermarck {Anthropol. Essays, p. 373 f )
rejects the idea that the blood is shared as a bond of friendly union. He
explains the covenant sacrifice by reference to the ''dhad (' covenant ') of the
Moors. The two parties to the covenant transfer, through some material

XIV ADDENDA

medium, conditional curses to one another, and the curse will take efiFect on
him who violates the compact. Of these media blood is the most powerful.
In the Horeb ceremony, according to this explanation, the curse is transferred
to the deity and the people respectively by the sprinkling of the blood. And
the same result is reached if the two parties join in a feast.

The curse, moreover, is not always mutual Dr Westermarck gives several
instances of the Moorish practice of imposing a conditional curse {l-''dr) upon
a person or a deity in order to force him to give help or protection. And,
as before, sacrificial blood is the most powerful conductor of the curse. It is
not impossible that this primitive idea underlies the Passover sacrifice and
the ceremony of smearing the door-posts with blood. The blood binds the
deity to shew favour to the house and persons thus guarded.

P. 175, on xxvii. 10. tlieir fillets. Understood by some to mean rods
connecting the pillars and supporting the hangings. But this leaves the
expression 'filleted with silver' (». 17) unexplained. Moreover no mention
of such rods is made in the directions for transport (Num. iv.) ; and the
veil (xxvi. 32) and the entrance screen of the Tent {v. 37) are clearly intended
to hang by hooks from their pillars and not from rods. Kennedy is probably
right in adopting the explanation of Dillmann and others, that the word
signifies ' a band or necking of silver at the base of the capital.'

P. 182, paragr. (c). A method of divination by means of an image,
employed by natives of Sierra Leone, is described in Folklore xviii. 425.
To obtain information from the fetish, the Ya-manna, the official of the
Yassi society, anoints the figure with fetish medicine, brings it out from
the Yassi house with certain ceremonial, and holds it out by both hands fi"om
the waist so that it can swing, the figure being made of light wood. Should
the answer to the question put be favourable, the figure gradually inclines
towards the Ya-manna.

LIST OF PRINCIPAL ABBREVIATIONS EMPLOYED.

AJSL. American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures (edited

by R. F. Harper). Chicago.
Aq. Aquila's Version.
BDB. A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament hased on the

Lexicon of William Geseniics. By Francis Brown, D.D., with the

co-operation of S. R. Driver, D.D., and C. A. Briggs, D.D. (Clarendon

Press, Oxford).
Bibl. HWB. Handw'&rterbuch des Biblischen [Altertums, edited by

E. C. A. Riehm.
BB. Edw. Robinson, Biblical Researches in Bible Lands and the adjacent

regions.

COT. Eb. Schrader, 77ie Cuneiform Inscriptions and the O.T. (English
translation).

DB. A Dictionary of the Bible, edited by J. Hastings, D.D. (4 vols. 1898 —
1902. Extra vol. 1904).

DCG. A Dictionary qf Christ and the Gospels, edited by J. Hastings, D.D.

(2 vols. 1906, 8).
E. See Index.

EEFM. Egyptian Exploration Fund Memoirs.
Enc. B. or EB. Encyclopaedia Biblica, edited by the Rev. T. K. Cheyne,

D.D., and J. Sutherland Black, LL.D. (4 vols. 1899—1903).
Exp. T. Expository Times (a monthly periodical edited by J. Hastings, D.D.).
Ges.-K. or G.-K. Geseniu^ Hebrew Grammar, as edited and enlarged by

E. Kautzsch. Translated from the 26th German edition by the Rev.

G. W. Collins, M.A., and A. E. Cowley, M.A. (Oxford, 1898).
J. See Index.
JBL. Journal oj Biblical Literature.

JQR. Jewish Quarterly Review (edited by I. Abrahams, M.A., and C. G.

Montefiore, M.A.). London.
JThS. Journal of Theological Studies (edited by J. F. Bethune-Baker, B.D.,

and P. E. Brightman, M.A.). Oxford.

KAT^ and KAT\ Eb. Schrader, Die Keilinschriften und das Alte Testa-
ment. 2nd and 3rd edition.

XVI PRINCIPAL ABBREVIATIONS

L. and B. W. M. Thomson, The Land and the Book.

OTJC^. W. Robertson Smith, The Old Testament in the Jewish Church.

2nd edition.
P. See Index.

PEFM. Palestine Exploration Fund Memoirs.
Pesh. Peshitta (the Syriac Version of the O.T.).

PRE^ and PRE^. Realencyclopddie fiir protestantische Theologie und

Kirche. 2nd ed. by J, J. Herzog and G. L, Plitt, 18 vols. 1877—1888.

3rd ed. by A. Hauck, 19 vols, at present (1908) published, 1896—1907.
PSBA or SB A. Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archaeology.
Rev. Arch. Revue Archeologique (edited by G. Perrot and S. Reinach). Paris.
RS^ or Rel. Sem.^ W. Robertson Smith, Lectures on the Religion of the

Semites, 2nd ed.
Sam. Samaritan Version of the Pentateuch.
Sym. Symmachus' Version.
S. Hex. Syro-Hexaplar Version, i.e. the Syriac Version in the fifth column of

Origen's Hexapla.
Theod. Theodotion's Version.

ZATW. Zeitschrift fiir die alttestam^ntliche Wissenschaft (edited by

B. Stade). Giessen.
ZDMG. Zeitschrift der Deutschen morgenlandischen Gesellschaft (edited

by A. Fischer). Leipzig.

BOOKS USEFUL FOR THE STUDY OF EXODUS.

Commentaries on the Pentateuch.

Kalisch, M, M. Genesis. 1858. Exodus. 1855.

Knobel, A. Die Genesis erklart. 2nd ed. 1860.

Keil, K. F. (In Keil and Delitzsch's Bihl. Comm. vher das A.T.) 1861, 2.

Lange, J. P. Engl. Transl. Edinburgh, 1868.

Spurrell, G. J. Notes on the Heb. text of the Book of Genesis. 1887.

2nd ed. Notes on the Book of Genesis, with appendix. 1896.
The Speaker's Commentary : Genesis, Bp Harold Browne. Exodus, F. C. Cook

and S. Clark, Leviticus, S. Clark. Numbers, T. E. Espin and

J. F. Thrupp. Deuteronomy, T. E. Espin.
The Expositor's Bible : Genesis, Marcus Dods. Exodus, Dean (now Bishop)

Chadwick. Levitictis, S. H. Kellogg.
Kurzgefasster Kommentar z. A. T. : Genesis — Numbers, H. L. Strack.

Deuteronomy, S. Oettli.
Kurzgefasstes Exeget. Handbuch z. A,T, A. Dillmann (3rd ed. of Exod.y

Levit. by Ryssel).

Engl, transl. of Genesis. Edinburgh, 1897.
Kurzer Handkommentar z. A.T. : Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, H. Holzinger.

Leviticus, Deuteronomy, A. Bertolet.
Handkommentar z. A.T. : Genesis, H, Gunkel. Exodus — Numbers, B. Baentsch.

Deuteronomy, C. SteuemageL
Sacred books of the O.T. : Genesis, J. C. Ball. Leviticus, S. R. Driver and

H. A. White. Numbers, J. A. Paterson.
Westminster Commentaries : Genesis, S. R. Driver.
International Critical Commentary: Numbers, G. B. Gray. DetUeronomyy

S. R. Driver. (Not yet published : Genesis, J. Skinner. Exodus,

A. R. S. Kennedy. Leviticus, J. F. Stenning.)

Religion and Theology of Israel.

Kuenen, A. The Religion of Israel to the fall of the Jewish state. London,

1874.
Koenig, P. E. Die Hauptprobleme der altisraelitischen Religionsgeschichte.

Leipzig, 1884.
Green, W. H. The Hebrew Feasts, in their i-elation to recent critical

hypotheses concerning the Pentateuch. London, 1886.
Kayser, A. Die Theologie des A.T. Strassburg, 1886.
Baethgen, F. Beitrage zur semitischen Religionsgeschichte. Berlin, 1888.
Robertson, J. The early religion of Israel. 2nd ed. Edinburgh, 1892.

XVIII BOOKS USEFUL FOR STUDY

Schultz, H, O.T. Theology (transl. from 4th German ed.). Edinburgh, 1892.
Smend, R. Lehrbuch der alttestamentlichen Religionsgeschichte. Freiburg

and Leipzig, 1893.
Dillmann, A. Handbuch zur alttestamentlichen Theologie (ed. Kittel).

Leipzig, 1895.
Kraetzschmar, R. Die Bundesvorstellung im A.T. Marburg, 1896.
Davidson, A. B. The Theology of the O.T. Edinburgh, 1904.
Marti, K. Die Religion des A.T. (based on Kayser). Tiibingen, 1906.
Baentsch, B. Altorientalischer und Israelitischer Monotheismus. Tiibingen,

1906.

O.T. History, &c.

Josephus. Antiq. n. ix. — xvi., iii. i — vii. contra Apionem 1. 14—16, 25 — 34,

II. 1—3, 16—18 (ed. Niese ; transl. by Whiston).
Eusebius. Praepar. Evang. ii. 1, vii. 6, 7, viii. 1, 6 — 9, ix. 8, 26 — 29 (ed. and

transl. by Gilford. Oxford, 1903).
Stade, B. Geschichte des Volkes Israel. Berlin, 1887.
Kittel, R. Geschichte der Hebraer. Gotha, 1888.

(Engl, transl. A History of the Hebrevrs. London, 1895.)
Kent, C. F. A History of the Hebrew people. London, 1896, 7.

The Growth of Israelitish Law (in Historical and Critical Contributions to

Biblical Science). N. York, 1901.
Israel's laws and legal precedents. London, 1907.
Schiirer, E. Geschichte des jiidischen Volkes im Zeitalter Jesu Christi.
3rd ed. Leipzig, 1898.

(Engl, transl. A History of the Jewish people in the time of Jesus
Christ. Edinburgh, 1885.)
Wade, G. W. O.T. History. London, 1901.
Smith, H. P. O.T. History. Edinburgh, 1903.

Wellhausen, J. Prolegomena zur Geschichte Israels. 6th ed. Berlin, 1905.
Engl, transl. of 3rd ed. Edinburgh, 1885.

Literary Criticism.

Kuenen, A. The Hexateuch, An historico-critical enquiry into the origin and

composition of. Engl, transl. of the 2nd ed. London, 1886.
Wellhausen, J. Die Composition des Hexateuchs und der historischen Biicher

des A.T. 2nd ed. Berlin, 1889.
Addis, W. E. The documents of the Hexateuch. London, 1892.
Baentsch, B. Das Bundesbuch. Halle a. S., 1892.
Briggs, C. A. The Higher Criticism of the Hexateuch. N. York, 1893.

General Introduction to the study of Holy Scripture. Edinburgh, 1899.
Holzinger, H. Binleitmig in den Hexateuch. Freiburg, 1893.
Bacon, B. W. The Triple Tradition of the Exodus. Hartford, Conn., 1894.
Driver, S. R. Introduction to the literature of the O.T. Edinburgh, 1891.

7th ed. 1898.
Carpenter, J. E. and Battersby, G. H. The Hexateuch. London, 1900.

2nd ed. of Vol. i. The Composition of the Hexateuch. 1902.
Kent, C. F. Narratives of the beginnings of Hebrew history. London, 1904.

BOOKS USEFUL FOR STUDY XIX

Comill, C. H. Einleitung in die kanonischen Biicher des A.T. Tiibingen,

1891. 5th ed. 1905.

Engl, transl. London, 1907.
Klostermann, A. Der Pentateuch. Leipzig, 1892. 2nd ed. 1907.

Archaeology, &c.

Keil, K. P. Handbuch zur biblischen Archaologie. Frankfurt, 1858.

Engl, transl. Edinburgh, 1887.
Brown, Wm. The Tabernacle, and its priests and services. Edinburgh, 1871.
Ewald, H. The Antiquities of Israel (transl. Solly). London, 1876.
Nestle, E. Die israelitischen Eigennamen, nach ihrer religionsgeschichtlichen

Bedeutung. Haarlem, 1876.
Trumbull, W. C. The Blood Covenant. London, 1887.

The Threshold Covenant. Edinburgh, 1896.
Baudissin, W. W. Die Geschichte des alttestamentlichen Priesterthums.

Leipzig, 1889.
Benzinger, I. Hebi-aische Archaologie. Freiburg, 1894.

Bilderatlas zm- Bibelkunde [a useful collection of photographs and

sketches illustrating Biblical history and antiquities]. Stuttgart,

1905.
Nowack, W. Hebraische Archaologie. Freiburg, 1894.
Smith, W. Robertson. Lectures on the Religion of the Semites. 2nd ed.

London, 1894.
Kinship and marriage in early] Arabia. 2nd ed. (S. A. Cook).

London, 1903.
Gray, G. B. Studies in Hebrew proper names. London, 1896.
Wellhausen, J. Reste Arabischeu Heidentums. Berlin, 1897.
Driver, S. R. Part i. of (Hogarth's Authority and Archaeology, sacred and

profane. London, 1899.
Meinhold, J. Die Lade Jahves. Tiibingen, 1900.
Edersheim, A. The Temple, its ministry and services as they were at the

time of Jesus Christ. London, 1901.
Schwally, F. Semitische Kriegsaltertiimer. Leipzig, 1901.
Caldecott, W. Shaw. The Tabernacle ; its history and structure. London, 1904.
The Temple of Solomon ; its history and structure. London, 1907.

Travel.

Burckhardt, J. L. Travels in Syria and the Holy Land. London, 1822.
Travels in Arabia. London, 1829.

Thomson, W. M. The Land and the Book; or Biblical illustrations drawn
from the manners and customs, the scenes and scenery of the
Holy Land. In 2 vols. N. York, 1859. 3 vols. 1881, 3, 6.
1 vol. 1898, 1901, &c.

Robinson, B. Biblical Researches in Bible Lands. 3rd ed. London, 1867.

Palmer, E. H. The Desert of the Exodus. Cambridge, 1871.

Beke, C. T. Discoveries of Sinai in Arabia, and of Midian. London, 1878.

Ebers, G. Durch Gosen zum Sinai. 2nd ed. Leipzig, 1881.

XX BOOKS USEFUL FOR STUDY

Trumbull, H. Clay. Kadesh Bamea; its importance and probable site.

London, 1884.
Naville, E. The store-city of Pithom and the route of the Exodus. London.

2nd ed. 1885.
The shrine of Saft el Henneh and the land of Goshen. London, 1887.
Doughty, C. M. Travels in Arabia Deserta. Cambridge, 1888.

Abridged edition, arranged with an Introduction by E. Garnett.

London, 1907.
Palmer, H. S. Sinai, from the fourth Egyptian dynasty to the present day

(revised by Sayce). London. 2nd ed. 1892. 3rd ed. 1906.
Diimichen, J. Zur Geographie des Alton Aegypten. Leipzig, 1894.
Tristram, H. B. The Natural History of the Bible. 9th ed. London, 1898.
Brown, R. H. The Land of Goshen and the Exodus. London, 1899.
Petrie, W. M. Flinders. Researches in Sinai (chapters by C. T. Currelly).

London, 1906.

Egypt and Babylon.
Schrader, Eb. Die Keilinschriften und das A.T. Berlin. 2nd ed. 1882.

EngL transl. The Cuneiform Inscriptions and the O.T. London,

1885, 8.
Zimmem, H. and Winckler, H. Die Keilinschriften und das A.T. 3rd ed. of

Schrader (enlarged and mostly re-written, but not preserving all

his material). Berlin, 1903.
Erman, A. Aegypten imd agyptisches Leben im Alterthum. Tiibingen,

1885—7.

Engl. transL Life in Ancient Egypt. London, 1894.
Wiedemann, A. Herodots zweites Buch. Leipzig, 1890.
Brugsch, H. Die Aegyptologie. Leipzig, 1891.

Engl, transl. Egypt imder the Pharaohs. London, 1891.
Max Miiller, W. Asien und Europa nach altagyptischen Denkmalem.

Leipzig, 1893.
Ma«pero, G. The Dawn of Civilization. Egypt and Chaldea. London, 1894.

4th ed. 1901.
The Struggle of the Nations. London, 1896.
The Passing of the Empires 850—330 b.c. London, 1900.
McCurdy, J. F. History, Prophecy and the Monuments. London, 1894, 6, 1901.
Hommel, F. The ancient Hebrew tradition as illustrated by the monumenta

London, 1897.
Zimmem, H. Beitrage zur Kenntnis der Babylonischen Religion. Leipzig, 1901.
Cook, S. A. The Laws of Moses and the Code of Hammurabi. London, 1903.
Johns, C. H. W. The oldest code of laws in the world. Edinburgh, 1903.
Jastrow, M. Die Religion Babyloniens imd Assyriens. 2nd ed. Giessen, 1906.

EngL transl. of Ist ed. The Religion of Babylon and Assyria.

Boston, U.S. A., 1898.
Jeremias, A. Das A.T. im Lichte des Alton Orients. 2nd ed. Leipzig, 1906.

A large amount of information can also be derived from articles in the
Encyclopaedia JSiblica, the Jewish Encyclopaedia, Hauck's Realencyclopadie,
Smith's Dictionary of the Bible (2 vols, of the 2nd edition), and especially
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible.

INTRODUCTION.

§ 1. The component pwrts oj the Book of Exodus.

The book Exodus appears to have received its name irom the lxx
rendering of xix. 1 (* In the third month of the exodus of the children
of Israel from the land of Egypt...'). In the Hebrew Bible its title
consists of the opening words, We'eleh shemoth ('and these are the
names'), or more shortly Shemoth. It is the second volume of the
'Hexateuch,' the literary whole comprising the Pentateuch and the
book of Joshua, the general object of which ' is to describe in their
origin the fundamental institutions of the Israelite theocracy (i.e. the
civil and the ceremonial law), and to trace from the earliest past the
course of events which issued ultimately in the establishment of Israel
in Canaan ' (Driver). Genesis forms the opening volume of this work ;
Exodus carries on the narrative from after the death of Joseph to the
arrival of Israel at the mountain of God, and describes the events
which occurred there, and the laws delivered to the nation through
Mosefe.

The literary history of the book is similar to that of the other
books of the Hexateuch. There are the same two prophetical com-
pilations of earlier traditions, usually known as J and E, because they
respectively prefer the use of the divine titles Jehovah (Yahweh) and
Elohim. The former apparently emanated from the Southern, the
latter from the Northern, kingdom. There is the same expansion,
mostly of a hortatory or paraenetic type, characteristic of the Deutero-
nomic (D) school of thought. And there is the large mass of
specifically priestly, post-exilic work (P), with its exact chronology
and measurements, its genealogies and statistics, its somewhat
mechanical use of formulas, and its insistence on the minutiae of
worship and ceremonies by which the ecclesiastical order which
obtained in the period of the second temple is reflected back into
the Mosaic age\

^ See Ottley, Aspects of the Old Testament, pp, 120 — 5.
M. a

ii INTRODUCTION [§ 1

The composite origin of the books of the Hexateuch has been so
abundantly proved by a long succession of students that no apology
can be needed for accepting it as an established fact. But it cannot
be insisted upon too often or too strongly that the object of Biblical
criticism is not to destroy. One branch of the study concerns itself
with the actual text of the writings, and seeks to determine as nearly
as possible what were the original words as they went forth from the
pen of the writer. That this is an important aim no one will deny.
But, as Arnold says^ 'history contains no mean treasures' — 'the
treasures indeed are ample ; but we may more reasonably fear whether
we may have strength and skill to win them.' And it is clear that to
attempt to win the treasures of history is a higher aim than that of
determining the exact text of the original documents. In the case of
the history of an ancient nation, the aim involves the placing of facts
and institutions, persons and actions, in their true perspective — the
tracing of moral standards, of social customs and civil laws, of religious
beliefs and ritual observances, throughout their gradual development.

And when the biography of a nation is found not to be written in
one book at one time, but to be a record which grew with the nation's
growth, and was enshrined in fragments of writing whose dates ranged
over many centuries, its treasures cannot possibly be won without a
careful study of the dates of the successive fragments, the characters
of the writers, the aims and purposes of each. Further, owing to the
literary methods of ancient times, fragments may have been woven
together, and must be disentangled — and that not for the purpose of
shewing that writings formerly thought to be homogeneous are really
composite, not, that is, for the mere purpose of criticising, but with
the ultimate object of arriving at historical truth.

To begin with the latest of the sources, the portions of the
book of Exodus which are written from a priestly point of view
can, for the most part, be readily distinguished. They prove,
on examination, to be the work, not of a single writer, but
of a 'school' — a succession of men steeped in the atmosphere of
ceremony and ritual and ecclesiastical organization, who lived between
the time of the exile and the 2nd century b.c. And when those
portions whose subject-matter proclaims them as priestly are further
examined from a linguistic point of view, they are found to contain
marked characteristics of style and vocabulary which help to corro-
borate the results of the subjective analysis, and also to distinguish
other portions in which the post-exilic narrative runs side by side, or

1 Modem History, pp. 21 1

§ 1] CHARACTERISTICS OF P iii

is interwoven, with those of earlier writers. The following is a
select list of words and expressions occurring in Exodus which are
characteristic of P.

The dagger (t), both here and elsewhere, indicates that all passages of the
Old Testament, in which the word or phrase quoted occurs, are cited or
referred to ; and the asterisk (*) indicates that all passages of the Hexateuch,
in which the w^ord or phrase quoted occurs, are cited or referred to.

1. Anoint xxviii. 41, xxix. 2, 7, 36, xxx. 26, 30, xL 9, 11, 13, 15, and 15
times in Lev., Num. Once only in B, Gen. xxxi. 13. Anointing (subst. nriK'P)
xxix. 29, xl. 15, Num. xviii. 8f.

2. Atonement (CISS) xxix. 36, xxx. 10, 16, Lev. xxiii. 27 f., xxv. 9, Num.
T. 8, xxix. 11 1-

3. Between the two evenings (so M.T.; see on xii. 6) xii. 6, xvi. 12, xxix. 39,
41, xxx. 8, Lev. xxiii. 5, Num. ix. 3, 5, 11, xxviii. 4, 8 f-

4. Burn, cause a sweet savour (sacrificially), xxix. 13, 18, 25, xxx. 7, 8, 20,
xl. 27, and 37 times in Lev., Num. *

5. Close by (ri©yp) xxv. 27, xxviii. 27, xxxvii. 14, xxxviii. 18 {corresponding
to), xxxix. 20, Lev. iii. 9 *, 15 times in Ezekiel.

6. Congregation (ilTK). In its technical use to describe the Israel of
the Exodus it is confined to H and P, and occurs 115 times. Special
phrases are

Tihe Congregation of Israel xii. 3, 6, 19, 47, Lev. iv. 13, Num. xvi 9,
xxxii. 4, Josh. xxii. 18, 20 f.

The C. of the sons of Israel xvi. 1, 2, 9, 10, xvii. 1, xxxv. 1, 4, 20, and
19 times in Lev., Num., Josh, f

The princes of (or in) the C. xvi. 22, xxxiv. 31, Num. iv. 34, xvi. 2,
xxxi. 13, xxxii. 2, Josh. ix. 15, 18, xxii. 30 1.

7. To dwell (pB>), used of Yahweh, the cloud, or the glory. The
Dwelling (]2V}ip). The words occur passim in P throughout the Hexateuch,
with a special connotation.

8. Everlasting ordinance, or an ordinance for ever, xii. 14, 17, 24, xxvii. 21,
xxviii. 43, xxix. 9, 28, xxx. 21, Lev. 17 times. Num. 8 times *.

9. Families, after your (their) (ninS^O with ?) vi. 17, 25, xii. 21, Gen.
viii. 19, X. 5, 20, 31, Num. i. (13 times), ii. 34, iii. — iv. (15 times), xxvi. (16 times),
xxxiii. 54, Josh. (28 times). Also 1 Chr. v. 7, vi. 62, 63 (Heb. 47, 48 ; from Josh,
xxi. 33, 40), Num. xi. 10 (J), 1 S. x. 21 1.

10. Fillings, a technical term for 'consecration,' xxix. 22, 26, 31, 34,
Lev. vii. 37, viii. 22, 28, 31, 33. The word also occurs with the meaning
settings of stones xxv. 7, xxviii. 17, 20, xxxv. 9, 27, xxxix. 13, 1 Chr. xxix. 2 f.

11. Generations, throughout (?) your {their) xii 14, 17, 42, xvi. 32, 33,
xxvii 21, xxix. 42, xxx. 8, 10, 21, 31, xxxi 13, 16, xl. 15, Gen. ix. 12, xvii.
7, 9, 12, Lev. (14 times). Num. (9 times) f.

12. Glory of Yahweh, in the special sense of His visible presence in the
midst of His people, xvi. 7, 10, xxiv. 16, 17, xxix. 43, xl. 34, 35, Lev. ix. 6, 23,
Nmn. xiv. 10, xvi. 19, 42, xx. 6. Also 10 times in Bz., 2 Chr. v. 14 (= 1 K.
viii 11), vii 1, 2, 3.

iv INTRODUCTION [§ 1

13. Head, or poll, i.e. a person, xvi. 16, xxxviii. 26, Num. i. 2, 18, 20, 22,
iii. 47. So in the priestly passages 1 Chr. xxiii. 3, 24. The original meaning
'skull' is found in Jud. ix. 53, 1 Chr. x. 10 1.

14. Heave, i.e. lift oflF and present as a contribution (D""")!!), xxix. 27,
XXXV. 24 ; freq. in Lev. and Num. Elsewhere only in Ez., 2 Chr., Ezr.

15. Holy. The adjective and the cognate verb are occasionally met with
in JED, but their occurrence is rare. In H and P they are more frequent
and characteristic than any other class of words. The following are entirely
confined to priestly writings, in the Hexateuch :

In a holy place xxix. 31, Lev. vi. 16, 26, vii. 6, x. 13, xvi. 24, xxiv. 9*.

To minister in the holy place xxviii. 43, xxix. 30, xxxv. 19, xxxix. 1, 41,
Nimi. iv. 12. Also Ez. xliv. 27 t.

Holiness (with the article in the sense of the ' sanctuary ' or ' holy things '
after a noun), e.g. contribution of xxxvi. 6, Num. xviii. 19*; shelcd of xxx.
13, 24, xxxviii. 24, 25, 26, Lev. v. 15, xxvii. 3, 25, Num. iii. 47, 50, vii. (14 times),
xviii. 16*; work ©/(the service of) xxxvi. 1, 3, 4, xxxviii. 24, Num. vii. 9*.

16. Hosts, used of the Israelites as an organized community in the desert,
vi. 26, vii. 4, xii. 17, 41, 51, Num. i. 3, 52, ii. 3, 9, 16, 18, 24, 32, x. 14, 18, 22,
25, 28, xxxiii. 1. Contrast Dt. xx. 9 *, where preparations are described for
wars after the settlement in Canaan.

17. Hundred, a peculiar use of the construct state m^ath instead of
the absolute me' ah, vi. 16, 18, 20, xxxviii. 25, 27 ter. Gen. (15 times). Num. ii.
9, 16, 24, 31, xxxiii. 39. Elsewhere only in late writings. Est. i. 4, Neh. v. 11,
2 Chr. XXV. 9 {K^ri), Ecc. viii. 12, but only in the first of these is the reading
without suspicion. P uses me' ah in such cases only in Gen. xvii. 17,
xxiii. 1.

18. Incense (a word cognate to no. 4), or incense of spices, xxv. 6, xxx. 1,
7, 8, 9, 27, 35, 37, xxxi. 8, 11, xxxv. 8, 15, 28, xxxvii. 25, 29, xxxix. 38,
xl. 5, 27, Lev. iv. 7, x. 1, xvi. 12, 13, Num. iv. 16, vii. (13 times), xvi. 7, 17, 35,
40, 46, 47 *. In all other passages the word appears to denote the savoury
smell of sacrificial smoke.

19. Be little (Hiph. diminish or do little) xii 4, xvi 17, 18, xxx. 15,
Lev. xxv. 16 his, xxvi. 22, Num. xxvi 64, xxxiii. 54, xxxv. 8. Once in J,
Num. xi 32*.

20. Offer {bring near, present ^''Ipn). As a technical tenn it occurs nearly
160 times, chiefly in H, P, and Ez. Of the dedication of Aaron or his sons
xxviii. 1, xxix. 4, 8, xL 12, 14 ; of an offering xxix. 3, 10. Contrast the non-
technical use in Dt. i 17, Josh, vii 16, 17, 18, viii. 23, and the intransitive use
('draw near') in J, Gen. xii 11, Ex. xiv. 10.

21. Peoples, Father's kin (D'»Dr). See on xxx. 33.

{a) that soul (or man) shall be cut off from its (or his) father's kin
xxx. 33, 38, xxxi. 14, Gen. xvii 14, Lev. vii. 20, 21, 25, 27, xvii. 9, xix. 8,
xxiii 29, Num. ix. 13t.

(6) to be gathered to on^s father's kin Gen. xxv. 8, 17, xxxv. 29, xlix, 33,
Num. XX. 24, xxvii. 13, xxxi. 2, Dt. xxxii. 50 bis f.

§ 1] CHARACTERISTICS OF P v

22. Plague, striking (^133) xii. 13, xxx. 12, Num. viii. 19, xri. 46, 47,
Josh. xxii. 17. In Is. viii. 14 it means ' stumbling ' t.

23. Act as a priest (Piel fn3) xxviii. 1, 3, 4, 41, xxix. 1, 44, xxx. 30,
xxxi. 10, XXXV. 19, xxxix. 41, xl. 13, 15, Lev, vii. 35, xvi. 32, Num. iii. 3, 4.
Also Dt. X. 6 (perhaps E) *.

24. Prince (^''^^\, R.V. Ruler in Ex. and Lev.) xvi. 22, xxxiv. 31, xxxv.
27, Gen. xvii. 20, xxiii. 6, xxv. 16, xxxiv. 2, Lev. iv. 22, Num. (59 times),
Josh. ix. 15, 18, 21, xiii. 21, xvii. 4, xxii. 14, 30, 32. Also Ex. xxii. 28 (27)
which may be E, but is probably a late addition*. Outside the Hex. it is
confined to Ez. and Chr.-Ezr., except 1 K. viii. 1 (lxx om.) and xi. 34.

25. Remain over, or (Hiph.) have over, as surplus xvi. 18, 23, xxvi. 12 his,
13, Lev. xxv. 27, Num. iii. 46, 48, 49 1.

26. Sabbatic observance (finaK' Shabbdthon) xvi. 23, xxxi. 15, xxxv. 2,
Lev. xvi. 31, xxiii. 3, 24, 32, 39 bis, xxv. 4, 5t.

27. This selfsame day (n^r\ Di»n DV^) xii. 17, 41, 51, Gen. viL 13, xvii.
23, 26, Lev. xxiii. 14, 21, 28, 29, 30, Dt. xxxii. 48, Josh. v. 11, x. 27.
Elsewhere only Ez. ii. 3, xxiv. 2 bis, xl. 1 1.

28. Soul=person, any person i. 5, xii. 4, 15, 19, xvi. 16, and elsewhere in
H and P nearly 100 times. It is not found earlier than the later portions
of D.

29. Strange (IT) either as adj. or subst. ; chiefly of one who belongs to
another tribe or family than that of the priests xxix. 33, xxx. 33, Lev. xxii.
10, 12, 13, Num. i. 51, xvi. 40 (xvii. 5), xviii. 4, 7. Also of things that are
strange to the law — not ritually correct xxx. 9, Lev. x. 1, Num. iii. 4, xxvi. 61.
The more ordinary meaning 'stranger,' 'foreigner' is frequent outside the
Hexateuch; but in the Hex. only in Dt xxv. 5, xxxii. 16 (foreign gods)*.

30. To swarm (p^) viii. 3 (vii, 28) [hence Ps. cv. 30], Gen. i. 20, 21,
vii. 21, viii. 17, Lev, xi, 29, 41, 42, 43, 46, Ez. xlvii. 9. Figuratively of men
i. 7, Gen. ix. 7t.

31. The Testimony, i.e. the Ten Words, xvi. 34, xxv. 16, 21, 22, xxvi. 33,
xxvii. 21, xxx. 6 bis, 26, 36, xxxi. 7, 18, xxxii. 15, xxxiv. 29, xxxviii. 21,
xxxix. 35, xl. 3, 5, 20, 21, Lev. xvi. 13, xxiv. 3, Num. i. 50, 53, iv. 5, vii. 89,
ix. 15, X. 11, xvii. 4, 7, 10 (19, 22, 25), xviii. 2, Josh. iv. 16* 2 Chr. xxiv. 6.

32. Tribe, lit. staff (<^W), xxxi. 2, 6, xxxv. 30, 34, xxxviii. 22, 23, and
150 times in the other books of the Hex.*, 1 K. vii. 14, viii. 1=2 Chr. v. 2,
23 times in 1 Chr. Perhaps Mic. vi. 9. P employs the synonym shebhet,
but JED never have matteh.

33. Upward, or (from) above (n7l?p?p), xxv. 21, xxvi. 14, xxxvi. 19, xxxix.
31, xl. 19, 20, Gen. vi. 16, vii. 20, Num.'iv. 6, 25, Josh. iii. 13, 16 *.

The list might easily be enlarged, but these are among the most distinctive
expressions ; and they serve to shew how markedly the style and vocabulary
of P differ from those of the other writings in the Hexateuch.

The portions of Exodus which can be pronounced * Deuteronomic '
are comparatively few. They belong to a period before, and perhaps
during, the exile, and emanate from a reforming, prophetical atmo-
sphere in which history was regarded from a moral and spiritual

vi INTRODUCTION [§ 1

point of view ; and in their editing of early documents the writers
followed the same line of thought, and employed the same kind of
language, as the writer or writers of the book of Deuteronomy — of
which it has been said that 'it formulates the law indeed, but by
dwelling on Jehovah's goodness as the chief motive of obedience
to the law, it seeks to change the law into a gospeP.' The Deutero-
nomic redactors (RP) express the anxiety that future generations shall
be taught of Yahweh's loving care (xii. 26 f., xiii. 8, 14 — 16); they
insist on the obedient hearkening to His commandments and statutes
(xii. 25, xiii. 5, xv. 26, xx. 5, 6, xxiii. 13) ; they dwell upon the past
kindness of Yahweh as shewn in the deliverance from Egypt, and in
the choice of Israel for His service (xii. 27, xiii. 3, 8, 9, 16, xv. 26,
xix, 3 b — 6, XX. 2, xxiii. 15 b); they inculcate kindness to inferiors
and to animals (xx. 10 ; cf. Dt. v. 14 f.) ; and they frequently refer to
the land which Yahweh is about to give to Israel, and the nations
whom He will drive out before them (iii. 8 b, 17 b, xii. 25, xiii. 5,
XX. 12 b, xxiii. 23, 28, xxxiii. 2, xxxiv. 11).

Still travelling backwards we reach the composite work produced
by an editor who blended J and E (usually known as JE), con-
taining the bulk of the narratives and the early collections of laws.
In J and E we have to deal with two writings containing approximately
the same subject-matter, and originating in about the same period.
But, as in the case of D and P, these symbols must not be understood
to denote two individuals, but rather two schools of thought ; they
were in close connexion with the prophetic teaching of the 8th century.
The earliest portions of J and E were probably earlier than the written
prophecies of Hosea and Amos, Isaiah and Micah, but the later portions
must be regarded as a direct product of the new religious feeling
created by these prophets. It is less easy to distinguish J from E
than to distinguish P from either of them. But the analysis (pp. xii. —
xxxviii.) shews that there is abundant justification for the belief that
they are distinct. And stylistic peculiarities are not wanting. Of their
character in general Prof. Driver (Genesis, pp. xiv. f.) says — ' Of all
the Hebrew historians whose writings have been preserved to us, J is
the most gifted and the most brilliant. He excels in the power of
delineating life and character. His touch is singularly light : with a
few strokes he paints a scene, which impresses itself indelibly upon his
reader's memory. In ease and grace his narratives are unsurpassed ;
everything is told with precisely the amount of detail that is required ;
the narrative never lingers, and the reader's interest is sustained to

'^ Prof. Eennett, Journal of Theol. Studies, Jan. 1905.

§ 1] CHARACTERISTICS OF J vii

the end. He writes without effort and without conscious art E in

general character does not differ widely from J. But he does not as a
writer exhibit the same rare literary power, he does not display the
same command of language, the same delicacy of touch, the same
unequalled felicity of representation and expression. His descriptions
are less poetical ; and his narratives do not generally leave the same
vivid impression. As compared with P, both J and E exhibit far
greater freshness and brightness of style ; their diction is more varied ;
they are not bound to the same stereotyped forms of thought and
expression ; their narratives are more dramatic, more life-like, more
instinct with feeling and character.' J and E, in fact, present the
history in a popular, P in a systematic form.

The following are some of the words or expressions in Exodus
which characterise J as distinct from E :

1. He is consistent in his use of the name Yahweh in preference to
Elohim.

2. Before, not yet (pl^) ix. 30, x. 7, xii. 34, Gen. ii. 5 his, xix. 4, xxiv. 15,
45, Num. xi. 33, Josh. ii. 8, iii. 1 *. On the other hand D^^? is used three
times each by J and E in the Hex. (i. 19 E).

3. Both. ..and (D|.. D5 ; with negative neither... nor) iv. 10, v. 14, xiL 31,
32, xxxiv. 3, Gen. (9 times). E xviiL 18, Gen. xxi. 26, Nmn. xxiii. 25.
Elsewhere Dt. xxxii. 25, Num. xviii. 3 (P)*.

4. They {he, I) bowed and made obeisance iv. 31, xii. 27, xxxiv. 8, Gen.
xxiv. 26, 48, xhii. 28 ; of. Num. xxii. 31 *.

5. Canaanite, the term employed by J for the native inhabitants of
Palestine (E prefers 'Amorites'), iii- 8 a, 17 a, Gen. x. 18, 19, xii. 6, xiii. 7,
xxiv. 3, 37, xxxiv. 30, 1. 11, Num. xiv. 43, 45. (See note on Ex. iii. 8.)

6. Come down. J relates that Yahweh came down in person iii. 8, xix. 11,
18, 20, xxxiv. 5, Gen. xi. 5, 7, xviii. 21. In E the representation is always that
of a descent in the pillar of cloud at the entrance of the Tent xxxiii. 9, Num.
xi. 17, 25, xii. 5.

7. Find grace or favour (}n NVD) xxxiii. 12, 13 his, 16, xxxiv. 9, Num. xi.
11, 15, Gen. (13 times). Once in D (Dt. xxiv. 1) and in P (Num. xxxii. 5)*.

8. Flowing with milk and honey iii. 8, 17, xiii. 6, xxxiii. 3, Num. xiii. 27,
xiv. 8, xvi. 13, 14. Seven times in D. Elsewhere Lev. xx. 24 (H), Jer. xi. 6,
xxxii. 22, Ez. xx. 6, 15 f.

9. From the time that, since (TSp a curious idiom) iv. 10, v. 23, ix. 24,
Gen. xxxix. 5. Once in a Deuteronomic passage Josh. xiv. 10 *. Elsewhere
with this meaning only in Is. xiv. 8, Jer. xliv. 18, Ruth ii. 7.

10. Harden, lit. 'make heavy' (some form of n33) ; used exclusively by J
for the hardening of Pharaoh's heart vii. 14, viii. 15, 32, ix. 7, 34, x. 1. E and
Puse 'strong' (prn).

11. Hasten, or do quicMy ii. 18, x. 16, xii. 33, xxxiv. 8, Gen. xviii. 6 bis, 7,

viU INTRODUCTION [§ 1

xix. 22, xxiv. 18, 20, 46, xxvii. 20, xliii. 30, xliv. 11, [xlv. 9, 13 doubtful,]
Josh. iv. 10, viii. 14, 19. Once in E, Gen. xli. 32, but perhaps also xlv. 9, 13.

12. Intreat (iny) viii. 8, 9, 28, 29, 30 [Heb. viii. 4, 5, 24, 25, 26], ix. 28,
x. 17, Gen. xxv. 21 6w*.

13. / pray thee my Lord (*31t« '•3 or *31fc? ^3) iv. 10, 13, Gen. xliii. 20,
xliv. 18, Num. xii. 11, Josh. vii. 8*.

14. Maidservant (nnpLJ') xi. 5, Gen. (16 times). B uses the word in
Gen. XX. 14, xxx. 18, but prefers ^dmdh to sMphhdh. See below.

15. Mercy and truth, or kindly and truly (ri)?N"! npn) xxxiv. 6, Gen.
xxiv, 27, 49, xxxii. 10, xlvii. 29, Josh. ii. 14*.

16. Now, or this once, this time (Drgn) ix. 27, x. 17, Gen. ii. 23, xviii. 32,
xxix. 34, 35, xlvi. 30 *.

17. Thy servantis), as a polite periphrasis for the personal pronoun, iv.
10, V. 15, 16, Gen. (27 times, 14 in oh. xliv.), Num. xi. 11, Josh. ix. 9, x. 6.
In E it is rare ; Gen. xlii. 10, 11 is perhaps the only instance.

18. Sinai is the name given to the sacred mountain by J and P ; B and
D use ' Horeb.'

19. Spread abroad, or break forth (pS) i. 12, xix. 22, 24, Gen. xxviii. 14,
xxx. 30, 43, xxxviii. 29 *.

20. Three day^ journey iii. 18, v. 3, viii. 27, Gen. xxx. 36, Num. x. 33.
Once in P, Num. xxxiii. 8 t.

21. Yahweh, God of the Hebrews iiL 18, v. 3, vii. 16, ix. 1, 13, x. 3+.

E has also a few distinctive expressions :

1. Prior to the revelation of the divine name in iii. 14, E consistently
writes Elohim ; but afterwards he uses both Elohim and Yahweh. His use
of the former, however, in Exodus is not indiscriminate. He preserves the
three quasi-technical terms 'Angel of Elohim' (xiv. 19), 'staff of Elohim'
(xvii. 9), ' mountain of Elohim ' (iii. 1, iv. 27, xviii. 5, xxiv. 13). Otherwise the
name is confined to particular narratives ; although himself using the name
'Yahweh' after iii. 14, the writer probably derived these narratives from an
earlier Blohistic source. These are (1) the account of the Exodus xiii. 17 — 19 ;
(2) the story of Jethro's visit and advice xviii. la, 5, 6, 12 — 27; (3) the
description of the Theophany, see xix. 3 a, 17, 19, xx. 18—21. And besides
these passages, ' Elohim ' is used in a later stratum of B in connexion with the
Decalogue xx. 1, xxxii. 16.

2. Bondwoman (nON) ii. 5, xx. 10, 17, xxi. 7, 20, 26, 27, 32, xxiii. 12,
Gen. XX. 17, xxi. 10 bis, 12, 13, xxx. 3, xxxi. 33. Also six times in Dt. and
thrice in P, Lev. xxv. 6, 44 bis. See no. 14 above.

3. Horeb iii. 1, xvii. 6, xxxiii. 6. See no. 18 above.

4. Jethro iii. 1, iv. 18 bis, xviii. 1, 2, 5, 6, 9, 10, 12 f. The name of Moses'
father-in-law in J appears to be 5obab.

5. Master, or owner r?i}2, in various idioms, e.g. ' he that hath a cause ' ;
also with reference to marriage and property) xxi. 3, 22, 28, 29 bis, 34 bis, 36,
xxii. 8, 11, 12, 14, 15, xxiv. 14, Gen. xx. 3, xxxvii. 19, Num. xxi. 28, xxv. 3, 5,
Josh. xxiv. 11. Also in an early poem Gen. xlix. 23, and in a late passage

§ 1] CHARACTERISTICS OF E ix

of unknown origin Gen. xiv. 13, and three times in Dt. But the word is nerer
found in J or P (Lev. xxi. 4 is corrupt) *.

6. Matter, came, svi^ect of dispute ("i?"^) xviii. 16, 19, 22 Us, 26 Us,
xxii. 9 Us, xxiii. 7, xxiv. 14. Also in D, Dt. i. 17, xvii. 8 Us, xix. 15, xxii. 26*.

7. Prove, test (nD3 of God testing man) xv. 25, xvi. 4, xx. 20, Gen. xxii. 1,
Dt. xxxiii. 8. Also in D, Dt. iv. 34, viii. 2, 16, xiii. 3.

8. Speak vyith (Dr IS'I) xix. 9, xx. 19 Us, 22, xxxiii. 9, Gen. xxxi. 24, 29,
Num. xi. 17, xxii. 19, Josh. xxiv. 27. Once in J, Gen. xxix. 9, and twice
in Dt.— V. 4, ix. 10*.

9. It has been noticed that B not infrequently employs infinitives of
peculiar formation : ii. 4 (nrnV), xviii. 18 (-"inbl?), Gen. xxxi. 28, 1. 20 (HK^),
xlvi. 3 (nniO), xlviii. 11 (nX"))^ Num. xx. 21 ()hJ), xxii. 13 (l^q^), so 14, 16.

This is not the place for an exhaustive study of the various
writings which make up the book of Exodus ; an exhaustive study
must comprise an examination of the whole of the Hexateuch. And
the same is true of any attempt to decide upon their exact dates. The
latter question is touched upon in the analysis (p. xii.) ; but the
reader is referred to Driver's Introduction to the Literature of the O.T.
(now in its seventh edition), or the very full study of the subject in
the Oxford Hexateuch, vol. i., by J. E. Carpenter (ed. 2, under the
title The Composition of the Hexateuch, 1902). See also art. Hexateuch
in BB ii.

It is not difficult to see the reason for the extraordinary com-
plexity of the book. Since in all ages of Israelite history every civil
and religious institution (except the ideal scheme of Ez. xl. — xlviii.)
was referred to the authority of Moses, every successive age found it
necessary to manipulate the records. They ascribed the origins of
their social and ceremonial law to some period in the life of their great
founder — either on the eve of the Exodus (Ex. xii., xiii.), or during the
wanderings (Num. xv. and onwards), or when the Israelites were on
the borders of Canaan (Dt.), or, above aU, the days when they were
encamped at the sacred mountain (Ex. xx. and onwards. Lev., Num.
i. — X.). The literary problems of Exodus are perhaps more difficult
than those of any other part of the Hexateuch. But though differences
of opinion still remain with regard to a large number of details — and,
with our limited knowledge of ancient times, some must always remain
— yet in respect of the main outlines there exists a remarkable con-
sensus of critical opinion.

Before entering further upon the study of the book, a problem of
a wholly different kind claims our attention. It was the opinion
universally held among Jews and Christians in Apostolic times that
Moses was the author of the Pentateuch. And not only so, but our

X INTRODUCTION [§ 1

Lord Himself frequently spoke in such a way as to indicate that He
held the same opinion: see Mat. viii. 4 (=Mk. i. 44, Lk. v. 14),
xix. 8 (=Mk. X. 3, 5), xxiii. 2, Mk. vii. 10, xii. 26 ( = Lk. xx. 37),
Lk. xvi. 29, 31, Jn. v. 45—47, vii. 19, 22, 23. This fact is thought
by some to cut away the ground from the critical arguments which go
to prove that Moses was not the author of the Pentateuch as it stands,
and, indeed, that the greater part of it — both law and narrative — is in
its present form considerably later than the age of Moses. But if
there is overwhelming evidence that the Pentateuch, and the laws
contained in it, are the result of a long growth, which was not
completed until a period after the return of the Jews from exile, it is
impossible for us to shut our eyes to this evidence which God's Holy
Spirit has recently taught His children to appreciate, because of the
assumption (for it is only an assumption) that our Lord's use of the
name of Moses precludes further argument. An explanation some-
times given is that Jesus must have known the exact truth about the
authorship of the Pentateuch, but that He accommodated His teaching
to the capabilities of His hearers; He made a concession to the
ignorance of the Jews in His day. But to many theologians this
solution seems untenable, because it detracts from the complete
humanity of our Lord. If, as man, He had a full knowledge of the
results which modem study has reached with regard to the literary
problems of the Old Testament, He must also, as man, have had a full
knowledge of all future results, in every branch of human thought,
which will be reached by the study of generations to come. The exact
truth about the authorship of the Pentateuch was not a spiritual
verity, the revealing of which would bear upon the salvation of men's
souls or upon their moral life and conduct ; it was merely an item of
literary interest — one of many which have not been investigated till
modem times. And if, as man, our Lord was acquainted with the
modem critical theories, we cannot hesitate to conclude that, as man,
He was omniscient. But this conflicts alike with our conception of
complete manhood, and with the explicit declaration that He 'advanced
in wisdom ' (Lk. ii. 52) ; moreover He could manifest surprise
(Mat. viii. 10, Mk. vi. 6) ; and on one occasion He is reported to
have spoken of something which ' no one knoweth, nor the angels of
heaven, nm' the Son, but the Father only ' (Mat. xxiv. 36, Mk. xiii. 32).
He was subject, therefore, to the ordinary limitations of manhood, and
although the perfection of His manhood gave Him, in a measure
beyond all other men, a power of communion with the Father and
insight into the Father's truth and purposes, yet it seems unnecessary

§ 2] ANALYSIS xi

to extend this to mere critical questions which ordinary human
methods can solve. The problem is part of a larger one, that of
determining to what extent, or in what sense, His divine powers and
prerogatives were in abeyance during His earthly life, — how much is
involved in S. Paul's eavrbv cKcVtocrev (' He emptied Himself Phil. ii. 7).
Although fully and completely Man, He did not cease to be God, and
He did not cease to be conscious of His divinity. * It is this con-
tinuous self-consciousness of the Son of God that gives the true
measure of His transcendent humility \' With respect to His know-
ledge we can venture the statement that though, as God, He never
ceased to be omniscient, yet He refused to know, as Man, anything
which could not be learnt by human means. But when we have said
that, we have only enunciated and not solved the problem. This is
not the place to pursue the matter further. But there can be no
doubt that it is along this line of thought that we must move to justify
modem criticism in den)ang to Moses the authorship of the Pentateuch
which our Lord and His apostles ascribed to him.

§ 2. Analysis.

By a study of the linguistic features of the several documents, such
as are indicated on pp. iii. — ix., and of discrepancies and distinctive
elements in the narratives, much may be done towards analysing the
book into its component parts. The nature of the present commentary
forbids an elaborate justification for each detail in the process. Such
writers as Driver, Addis, Briggs, Bacon, Carpenter and Battersby, in
English, and Wellhausen, Kuenen, Budde, Holzinger, Baentsch, in
German — and many others — have contributed towards the building up
of the conclusions which are here arrived at. And it would require a
volume to discuss in full all the minute criteria upon which the con-
clusions depend. It is impossible to do more than briefly to point out
the main features of each chapter and section which necessitate the
assignment of passages to this or that source ; but it is hoped that
enough wiU be said to justify the division even of verses and parts of
verses. The separation of the several pieces of which the books of the
Hexateuch have been formed, cannot, in some cases, be otherwise than
tentative. In many passages more than one explanation can be given
which appear to account for the phenomena. But that should not
prevent each successive student of the books from making provisional

1 Gifford, The Incarnation, p. 90.

xii INTRODUCTION [| 2

attempts at analysis, which may contribute towards the better under-
standing of them.

There are several redactional passages in Exodus — ^glosses, edi-
torial formulas and the like — which cannot be assigned to any of the
three main sources J, E or P, and which appear to belong to many
different dates. These are here grouped under three symbols :
(1) R^ denotes those which are distinctively 'priestly' in tone or
language, or which appear on other grounds to be very late ; (2) BP,
those which are * deuteronomic ' in tone or language ; (3) R"^^, those
which fall under neither of these heads, and which amplify, or are
embedded in, J, E or Ej.

A discussion of the dates of these various sources belongs to
a critical Introduction to the Hexateuch rather than to a commentary;
but it may be of advantage to indicate approxiTnately the chronological
relations between them :

850—750

B.C.

500—450

800—750

P2)

750—700

Pal

450—300

J^JE

750—650

600—550

Chapters i. — xviii. Events in Egypt, and the jov/rney to Sinai.
i.— ii. 22. The early life of Moses.

Ch. i. combines the accounts from J and E of Pharaoh's tyranny.
6 is J's statement of Joseph's death, which E has related in Gen.
1. 26. 8 — 12, 14a, 206, 22 describe a state of things in which the
Israelites were numerous enough to call forth public measures of
oppression. But in 15 — 20 a, 21 Pharaoh deals secretly, and the
Israelites are so few in number that their midwives can be mentioned
by name. The former passages have linguistic marks of J ('mighty'
(9, 10), 'it shall come to pass when' (10), 'spread abroad ' (12)) ; and
the latter of E (' Elohim ' (17, 20, 21), ' feared Elohim ' (17)). ii. 1—10
have characteristics of E (e.g. 'dmdh ' maidservant ' for which J uses
shiphhdh ; and see note on v. 1), and 11 — 22 of J (e.g. ' come so soon '
[lit. ' hastened to come '] (18), ' where is he ?,' ' why is it ? ' (20)).

The remaining verses in the section are the work of P. i. 1 — 5 is
a genealogical list, dear to the heart of the priestly school, bridging the
gap between the patriarchal narratives in Genesis and the tribal history
which begins in Exodus. ' Souls ' = ' persons ' (5) occurs nearly 100
times in P. 7, 'were fruitful and multiplied,' 'increased' [Heb.

§2] ANALYSIS . xiii

'swarmed'], and 'exceeding' pXP ^^^P?] are almost confined to P
and Ezekiel. 13, 14 J, 'rigour' is found elsewhere only in Lev. and
Ezek., and 13 appears to be a doublet of 14 a.

Analysis of i. — ii. 22.

J 6 8—12 14a 20& 22

ii 11—22

E 15— 20a 21 ii. 1-

-10

P i. 1—5 7 13

EP 14 &

ii. 23— vii. 13. The call of Moses.

ii. 23 a stands in a curiously isolated position, lxx repeats it
before iv. 19 ; and there are reasons for believing that iv. 19, 20 a
and 24 — 26 originally stood here — 1st, Moses has already been told to
go to Egypt and deliver Israel, and it is strange after that to find the
command ' Go, return into Egypt,' followed by the simple reason ' for
all the men are dead which sought thy life ' ; 2nd, it is scarcely con-
ceivable that the writer could relate that Yahweh ' sought to kill him ' V
after giving him his great commission. 236 — 25 anticipate iii. 7 (J),
and must be assigned to P ; * remembered His covenant ' is charac-
teristic of P, and the words for 'sighed' (not earlier than Ezek.),
'cried,' ' their cry,' 'their groaning,' do not occur in JE. iii. 1. The
names ' Jethro,' * Elohim,' * Horeb,' assign the verse to E. 2 — 4 a.
The name ' Yahweh ' suddenly takes the place of ' Elohim ' ; the
verses must be from J. [In 4a Heb. has ' and Yahweh saw,' and in
Ah, 'and Elohim called' ; there is nothing to prevent 46 from being
the sequel of 1.] 46. 'Elohim' is characteristic of E; and the
incident is referred to in Dt. xxxiii. 16, which appears to be of
Ephraimite origin. With the repeated name 'Moses, Moses' cf.
Gen. xxii. 11, xlvi. 2 (both E). [E has not yet mentioned the
bush ; but the Heb. idiom allows of the rendering ' out of the midst of
a bush.'] 5 is uncertain ; but the command ' draw not nigh hither '
seems to be connected with ' turned aside to see ' (4 a) ; and the
repetition ' and He said ' [not as R. V. ' moreover '] appears to separate
5 from 6 ; 5 is therefore assigned to J. 6. 'Elohim' marks it as E.
7, 8a contain features of J ('Yahweh,' 'taskmasters,' 'come down' as
used of Yahweh), and are duplicated in 9, 10. 86 is probably a Deut.
expansion ; see note. 9 — 14 are from E ; ' Elohim ' is used five times.
15. In 13 Moses already knows the message that he must give to the
people; and the command in 15, with its connecting link 'moreover,'
looks like the work of a redactor who made use of 16. 16 — 18 J.

xiv INTRODUCTION [§ 2

The verses are similar to 7, 8 ; and the expression ' Yahweh the God of
the Hebrews ' occurs eight times, and ' three days' journey ' six times,
in J, but never in E. VI b probably contains a Deut. expansion,
similar to 8. 19, 20 contain marks both of J and E. This fact and
the very early reference to the long series of plagues make it probable
that the verses are a later expansion. In vi. 1, on which 19 appears
to be based, the expression ' now thou shalt see ' implies that Yahweh
has as yet told Moses nothing about the plagues. 21, 22 are in
accordance with E's tradition which placed the Israelites among the
Egyptians and not separate in Goshen.

iv. 1 — 12. The name Yahweh assigns the vy. to J ; and in 1
Moses refers to Yah web's words in iii. 18. 13 — 16 are clearly intended
to be the sequel of 10 — 12, and cannot be assigned to E. But the
view is being more and more widely adopted that in the original
narrative of J, Aaron played no leading part in the deliverance from
Egypt (see p. 28 and the notes on the present passage). The vv.
appear to be a later addition, influenced by 27, 28.

17, 18 E. The staff, as elsewhere in E, is a divine and wonder-
working gift which he usually calls 'the staff of Elohim,' as in 206.
19, 20 a J. To be placed, together with 24 — 26, after ii. 23 a (see
above). 21 — 23 R. The w. are premature even more certainly than
iii. 19 f Nothing has yet been said of any wonders to be performed
before Pharaoh. 21 anticipates the whole story of the first nine
plagues, and 22, 23 the story of the last plague ; and the message
to be given to Pharaoh (22) is never delivered. 24 — 26 J ; see above.
27, 28. The prominent position of Aaron in the narrative, and the
expression 'the mountain of Elohim,' assign the w. to E. (Notice
that after the revelation of the divine name in iii. 14 E frequently uses
the name 'Yahweh' ; but J never employs the title Elohim.) 29 — 31
J ; the fulfilment of the commands in iii. 16, iv. 2 — 9. The insertion
of Aaron's name is redactional.

V. 1, 2 may be assigned to E, since 3, which is certainly from J
(cf. iii. 18), is a doublet of 1. Similarly 4 is probably from E, because
it is duplicated in 5 ; and 5 — 23 appear to be all of one piece, with
linguistic marks of J; notice also that 86 ('sacrifice to our God')
refers to the demand in 3.

vi. 1 has no distinctive characteristics of language. But it is
simplest to take it as Yahweh's answer to Moses' complaint in the
two preceding w., and to assign it to J.

2 — 12 P. The w. cover the same ground as iii. — vi. 1, and are
full of priestly phraseology. [The expression ' I am Yahweh ' is very
frequent in the * Holiness ' laws, and Driver assigns 6 — 8 to the same

§ 2] ANALYSIS XV

source. But the words may only be an impressive repetition of the
revelation in 2 ; the vv. contain no other marks which are clearly
distinctive of H.]

13, 28 — 30 appear to be a redactional summing up of the preceding
narrative of P, — 13 covering the ground of 2 — 6, and 28 — 30 of
10 — 12. 14 — 27 are inserted very awkwardly by a still later priestly
hand. vii. 1 — 13 are full of the characteristics of P. In iv. 3 (J)
the staff became a serpent (ndkdsh), and the sign was for the per-
suasion of the Israelites ; here it becomes a reptile (tanmn), and the
sign is performed before Pharaoh.

Analysis of ii. 23— vii. 13.

J ii.23a[iv. 19,20a,24— 26] 2— 4a 5 7, 8 « 16—18 iv. 1— 12

B iii. 1 45 6 9—14 21, 22 17, 18

P 23&— 25

R R» 86 R-'^ 15 W> 176 R" 19, 20 13—16

J 19, 20a 24—26 29—31 3 5— vi. 1

E 206 27, 28 V. 1, 2 4

P 2—12 vii. 1—13

R R"f» 21—23 RP 13—30

vii. 14 — xi. The first nine signs.

The division of the documents in the narratives of the plagues
depends mainly upon differences in the historical representation.
These are indicated on pp. 44 — 46, and need not be detailed here.
? has some distinctive phrases — e.g. 'say unto Aaron,' vii. 9, 19,
viii. 5, 16 ; ' land of Egypt,' vii. 19, 216, viii. 5 — 7, 16 f., ix. 9 a, xii. 1,
12, 17, 41, 51; Pharaoh's heart was 'strong,' vii. 13, 22, viii. 19, ix. 12
[so also in E ix. 35, x. 20, 27] ; 'he hearkened not as Yahweh had
spoken,' vii. 13, 22, viii. 15, 19, ix. 12. And there are many other
characteristic words and expressions. Among the distinctive features
of J are to be noticed : Pharaoh ' refuses to let the people go,' vii. 14
viii. 2, ix. 2, x. 4 ; * Yahweh the God of the Hebrews,' vii. 16, ix. 1, 13
X. 3 ; 'let my people go that they may serve me,' vii. 16, viii. 1, 20.
ix. 1, 13, X. 3; 'thus saith Yahweh... [Behold] I will...,' vii. IT
viii. 1 f., 20 f., ix. 13 I, 18, x. 3 f ; ' intreat Yahweh,' viii. 8, 28, ix. 28
X. 17; marks of time — 'to-morrow,' viii. 10, 23, 29, ix. 5, x. 4
unheard-of character of the infliction, ix. 18, 246, x. 6 6, 14, xi. 6;
Pharaoh's heart was ' stubborn,' vii. 14, viii. 15, 32, ix. 7, 34 (see
Oxf. Hex. ii. p. 89).

xvi INTRODUCTION [§ 2

First sign. vii. 14 — 25. Moses' use of the staff assigns vii. 15,
17 6, 206 to E (in 176 'I will smite' are the words of Moses, for it
cannot be supposed that the writer represented Yahweh as Himself
wielding the rod), and 23 is a doublet of 22 6, and may be assigned to
E because it attaches itself to 20 6 better than to 21 a. In 19, 20 a,
21 6, 22, the heightening of the miracle and the distinctive expressions
point to P. In the remaining vv., 14, 16, 17 a, 18, 21 a, 24, 25, there
is J's conception of the sign, which is different from either of the
others.

Second sign. viii. 1 — 15. The magicians, the action of Aaron at
Moses' bidding, and the closing formula, shew that 5 — 7, 15 6 are from
P. The remainder, 1 — 4, 8 — 15 a, has clear marks of J.

Third sign. viii. 16 — 19 are complete from the hand of P with the
same characteristics as in the preceding sign.

Fourth sign. viii. 20 — 32. ' Goshen,' Pharaoh's heart ' stubborn,'
the plague sent by Yahweh without the action of Moses or Aaron,
point to J.

Fifth sign. ix. 1 — 7 J. The characteristic features are the same as
in the preceding sign.

Sixth sign. ix. 8 — 12 P. Similar to the third sign.

Seventh sign. ix. 13 — 35 are composite. 22, 23 a, 24 a, 25 a, 35
belong to E, for Moses stretches out his hand with the staff (22, 23 a) ;
and the beasts are smitten (25 a), whereas in J ' all the cattle of Egypt
died ' in a previous plague {v. 6) ; 23 a and 6 are doublets, the former
mentioning hail and fire, the latter only hail ; 24 a ' hail and fire '
continues 23 a, while 24 6 mentions the unheard-of character of the
plague which is a feature of J ; 34 and 35 are doublets — in the former
Pharaoh's heart is 'stubborn,' in the latter 'strong.' 19 — 21 are
probably late ; the mention of cattle shews that they are not from J ;
and if they are from E, a previous passage introducing the plague in E
must have been lost ; but in no other case does E relate that Pharaoh
received warning of the plague. The m. are from the hand of one who
took the opportunity to press the moral lesson of obedience to Yahweh.
The remaining m., 13 — 18, 23 6, 24 6, 25 6 — 34, are from J, with many
of his characteristics.

Eighth sign. x. 1 — 20. 16, 2 are in the hortatory style of Dt.,
with its care for the teaching of posterity; and their insertion has
disturbed the original narrative ; for Yahweh's message which Moses is
to give to Pharaoh is lost. Notice also that though Moses and Aaron
go in (3), only Moses goes out from Pharaoh's presence (6). la, 3 — 11
are from J (except the mention of Aaron) ; E never relates the

§ 2] ANALYSIS xvii

previous warning of Pharaoh. In 12, 13 a Moses' staff is mentioned,
14a is based on 12 (R.V. has 'went up,' but the verb is the same as
in 12, ' came up '), and also 15 b which is itself a doublet of 15 c ; in 20
Pharaoh's heart is made 'strong.' These w. therefore contain E's
account. The remaining m., 136, 146, 15a, 15c — 19, are from J ;
Yahweh brings the plague by an East wind ; 14 6 is based on 6, and
15aon5j 15c is a doublet of 15 6, and has 'herb of the field' (cf.
Gen. ii. 5, iii. 18, Ex. ix. 25 6) instead of E's 'herb of the land';
16 — 19 relate, as usual in J, that the plague was removed at Moses'
intercession.

Ninth sign. x. 21 — 27. 21 — 23, 27 are from E, for Moses stretches
out his hand {sc. with the staff; cf. 12, 13a, ix. 22, 23a); 'one
another' (23, lit. 'each man his brother') is more frequent in E
than in J ; and Yahweh made Pharaoh's heart ' strong ' (27). J's
account of the plague was lost when it was amalgamated with E ;
but the sequel, in 24 — 26, 28, 29, is his, for he alone gives the
colloquies between Moses and Pharaoh, and the words rendered 'be
stayed ' and ' little ones ' are frequent in J but absent from E, and
'cattle' (i^Ji^P) occurs 33 times in J and once only in E.

Immediate sequel of the ninth sign. xi. 1 — 3, which represent the
Israelite women as being ' neighbours ' of the Egyptians, are from E.
They interrupt J's account of Moses' interview with Pharaoh. In 4 — 8
the opening words, 'And Moses said,' shew that he is still in the
king's presence, otherwise he breaks his promise of not seeing Pharaoh's
face again. 'Maidservant,' shiphkdh (5) and 'cry,' ze'dkdh (6), are
characteristic of J. 9, 10 read like an editorial summary of the
stories of the plagues.

Analysis of vii. 14 — xi.

J vii. 14 16, 17a 18 21a 24,25 viii. 1—4 8— loa

E 15 176 206 23

P 19, 20a 216, 22 5—7

J 20—32 ix. 1— 7 13—18 236 246 256—34

E 22, 23a 24a 25a 35

P 156—19 8—12

R RJ« 19—21

J X. la 3—11 136 146, 15a 15c— 19 24—26 28, 29 4—8

E 12, 13a 14a 156 20—23 27 xi. 1—3

R R" 16,2 RJ^ 9, 10

M. h

xviii INTRODUCTION [§ 2

xii. — xiii. 16. Passover. Mazzotk {Unleavened Cakes). Dedication
of firstborn. The departure.

Each of the four subjects in this section is duplicated. (1) "When
Moses dehvers the injunctions for the Passover, in xii. 21 — 27, they
differ materially from those which are given to him by Yahweh in
1 — 13. (2) Moses omits, in xiii. 3 — 10, some of the details for the
Festival of Mazzoth which he is given in xii. 14 — 20. (3) In xiii. 1
the command is given to sacrifice all the firstborn ; but in xiii. 11 — 16
Moses makes very important exceptions. (4) In xii. 29 — 34, 37 — 39
the departure from Egypt is made in such haste that the people have
no time to leaven their dough. But in 35, 36 (see, however, note
in loc.) they have such warning of their departure that the women can
get silver and gold from their neighbours. Moreover 34, 39 clearly
imply that the people would have leavened their dough if time had
permitted, while in 14 ff. they had just received special injunctions not
to do so.

xii. 1 — 13, 14 — 20. These sections, on Passover and Mazzoth
respectively, are full of words and expressions characteristic of P, as
are also 24, 28. The regulations in 21 — 23 are much more primitive
than those of P ; and (since 21a, 27 6 are similar to iii. 16, iv. 29, 31,
and the wording of 276 is peculiar to J) these w. may be considered
as J's account of the Passover. 25 — 27 a are an exhortation in the
style of Dt., and are probably a later expansion. 29 — 34, 37 — 39 contain
linguistic features of J ('cry,' 'flocks and herds,' 'in haste,' 'before
(Dnn) it was leavened'). 35, 36 E are connected with iii. 21, 22, and
conflict with the hasty departure described in J's narrative. 40 — 42
with their exactness of date, and linguistic peculiarities of P, read like
a late editorial note by a priestly hand ; and 51 is of a similar
character. 43 — 50 are full of characteristics of P. xiii. 1, 2 contain
P's regulation relative to the firstborn. Sanctification, i.e. conse-
cration, is a leading note in P ; and the idiom ' both of man and of
beasts' (5...?) is confined to priestly writings. 3 — 10 are largely
marked by Deuteronomic thought and expression ; notice the perfect
tenses in 3, 'ye came,' 'Yahweh brought you,' which shew that the v.
is a later addition. It is probable that J originally had ' And Moses
said unto the people,' followed by 4, 6, 7, 10, containing the bare
commands for the Festival of Mazzoth. (In 10 Heb. has simply ' and
thou shalt keep...') Similarly 11 — 13 contain J's ordinances with
regard to firstlings (which must be studied in connexion with xxxiv.
18 — 20), and 14 — 16 are a Deuteronomic addition of the same
character as xii. 25 — 27 a.

2] ANALYSIS xix

Analysis of xii. — xiii. 16.

J 21—23 27 & 29—34 37—39

E 35, 36

P xii. 1—13 14—20 24 28 43—50

R R'^ 25— 27 a R'' 40—42 51

J 3a 4 6, 7 10—13

P ariii. 1, 2

R Ro 3& 5 8, 9 14—16

xiii. 17 — XV. 21. The journeyings begun. The crossing of the water.

The narratives of J and P in this section have been preserved
almost entire. E's story must have been closely parallel to that of J,
so that little of it that is distinctive has survived.

xiii. 17 — 19 are from E ; ' Elohim ' occurs four times ; and the
carrying of Joseph's mummy would be of interest to a writer with
Ephraimite sympathies. 20 is the first item of the detailed itinerary
of P (cf. xvii. 1, xix. 2), which is collected in a continuous passage in
Num. xxxiii. 21, 22. A study of xiv. 19, and of E's representation
of the pillar of cloud elsewhere, shews that these w. are from J.

xiv. 1 — 4 are assigned to P by the phraseology ; * over against ' is
found in Ezek. only, 'entangled' in Joel and Est. only, and almost
every clause in 4 is characteristic of P. 5. The expression ' what is
this we have done ' is never found in P ; ' and the people were fled ' is
in agreement with J's narrative (xii. 39) of the haste with which they
departed. The composition of 6, 7 is doubtful ; but the two first
clauses of 7 cannot be from the same hand, for if Pharaoh took all the
chariots of Egypt, he did not select 600. 6 may perhaps belong to J,
who has the same verb ' made ready ' (lit. ' bound ') in Gen. xlvi. 29 ;
and 'his people' sounds like a description of the entire army, with which
' all the chariots of Eg.' in lb agrees. In that case la, c are from E.
8, 9 are from P ; Yahweh ' made strong ' the heart of Pharaoh ; ' an
high hand,' cf. Num. xv. 30, xxxiii. 3 (both P). But 96 'all the
horses... and his army' stands, in the Heb., very awkwardly after 'the
sea,' without grammatical connexion with the sentence ; it is probably
a later addition. 10a (to ' sore afraid') may be either from J or E ;
not from P who never uses the expression ' lift up the eyes.' In 10 b

XX INTRODUCTION [§ 2

the people cried to Yahweh, but in 11 they murmured against Moses.
The former may be from E; cf. Jos. xxiv. 7. 11 — 14 may then be
assigned to J ; ' Yahweh shall fight for you/ cf. 25 ; and the word
rendered 'hold ye your peace' is found in Gen. xxiv. 21, xxxiv. 5
(both J). 15 a can only be explained as implied in 106, and is there-
fore from E; cf. xvii. 4. 15b, 166 — 18 have marks of P ('And I,
behold, I'; 'make strong the hearts' ; ' shall know that I am Yahweh').
16a ('thy staff') is from E. In 19a the 'Angel of Elohim' removed,
which must be from E. And thus 196 ' the pillar of cloud removed'
must be assigned to J. (Notice that the conceptions of the pillar
of cloud in J and E are different ; see note.) 20 is difficult, and
probably corrupt (see note). 21a (to 'over the sea') is irom P, in
accordance with 166. 216 (to 'dry land') is shewn to be from J by
the characteristic mention of the wind sent by Yahweh. 21c — 23
contain the miraculous account by P. 24 ' the pillar of fire and cloud '
connects the v. with 196 and xiii. 21, 22 ; and the word rendered 'look
forth ' is not found in E. 26, 27 a are connected with P's account in
166, 21a, and imply that the waters returned miraculously at once.
276. The waters returned next morning in the ordinary course of
nature. The fleeing of the Egyptians agrees with 256, and the
personal action of Yahweh is characteristic of J throughout the

story. 28a is a doublet of 276; and the idiom 'even all (/^f) the
host' is peculiar to P. 286 'there remained not one' is peculiar to
J, occurring six times in his writings. 29 is a repetition of 22, in
a very isolated position ; it must be by a later hand. 30 ' dead upon the
seashore' agrees with J's narrative, rather than with that of P in
which the Egyptians were overwhelmed in the midst of the sea.
31 appears to be redactional ; the use of 'hand' (R.V. 'work') is
found, in the Hex., in Dt. xxxiv. 12 only; and 'servant' applied to
Moses is unexampled in JE, but fi*equent in the Deuteronomic parts of
Joshua.

XV. 1 appears to be J's statement of which E's equivalent is given
in 21. 2 — 18. The remainder of the song is a product of the exile
(see notes). 19 is by a writer later than the psalm, who explains its
significance. 20, 21. The mention of Aaron and his sister Miriam
assigns the vv. to E (cf. ii. 4ff., and note on iv. 29).

§2] ANALYSIS xxi

Analysis of xiii. 17— xv. 21.

J 21, 22 5, 6 ^h 11—14

JB 10 a
B xiii. 17— 19 7a, c 106 15a 16a 19a

P 20 Xiv. 1— 4 8, 9a,c 15 6 166—18

R R*" 96

J 196 216 24, 25 276 286 30 XV. 1

JE20
E

P 21a 21c— 23 26,27 a 28a

Psalm XV. 2—18

R RP 29 R» 31 RP 19

20,21

XV. 22— xviii. From the Red Sea to Sinai.

XV. 22 — 27. Marah and Elim.

22 — 25a. The 'three days' is characteristic of J ; also the idiom
rendered 'therefore the name of it was called.' 27. 'Spring' [lit.
' eye '] occurs eleven times in J, but never in E ; the v. is J's con-
tinuation of the narrative of the journey. 256 has no apparent
connexion with the incident. It is uncertain whether Yahweh or
Moses is the subject of the verbs ; and it is not stated what the
statute and ordinance was (lxx has ' statutes and ordinances '), nor
how the people were proved. But in xvi. 4 Yahweh says that He will
prove the people by raining bread from heaven. And since E relates
that God ' proved ' Abraham (Gen. xxii. 1) and Israel (Ex. xx. 20 ;
cf. Dt. xxxiii. 8), it is plausible to assign both 256 and xvi. 4 to E.
And with them may be coupled xvi. 15, which is earlier than the
rest of the manna narrative (see below). The suggestion has been
made that these three passages are fragments of the story by which E
explained the name Massah. See further on xvii. 1 — 7. 26 supplies
no explanation of 25 b, nor does it appear to be connected with the
Marah incident ; it is hortatory and Deuteronomic in tone, and is
probably a later addition. Bacon conjectures that it is an explanation
of the name Rephidim (rdphdh = ' heal ').

xvi. Manna and Quails. The whole chapter, with the exception
of 4 and 15, shews strong indications of priestly workmanship. In 4
Heb. has ^ And Yahweh said' — not, as R.V., ' Then said the Lord,'
which appears to connect the v. closely with the preceding. The verb
' rain ' [Hiphil, i.e. ' cause to rain '] is found 5 times elsewhere in JE,
but not in P. The words ' that I may prove them ' are probably to
be connected with ' there He proved them ' in xv. 25 (see above).

xxii INTRODUCTION [§ 2

In 15 the statement that the Israelites 'knew not what it was' must
have been earlier than P, for it is reproduced, together with the
proving of the people, in Dt. viii. 3, 16.

6, 7. Moses and Aaron assured the people that signs of Yahweh's
power would be given ' at even ' and * in the morning ' ; but it is not
till 11, 12 that Moses learnt this from Yahweh. 6, 7 must therefore
follow 11, 12. And 8, which is an echo of 6, 7, is probably the work
of a redactor, who found 6, 7 thus misplaced, and added an explanation
of the words 'at even' and 'in the morning.' But P's narrative
requires study as a whole. In Num. xi. it is related that after the
departure from Sinai the people were dissatisfied with the manna.
The verbs in w. 8, 9 of that ch., being in the imperfect tense, describe
what had been the usual procedure; the manna is mentioned as a
phenomenon which had been in existence long enough for the people to
have grown weary of it ; and v. 6 would certainly imply that no flesh
had previously been given as food. The people having murmured for
flesh, Yahweh sent a wind which brought quails. This is allowed by
most critics to be a story from J ; though some see the hand of E
in w. 7 — 9 and 31 — 35. And it would not be surprising that P
should also have a parallel narrative of quails at that point. But a
compiler who had both before him, instead of placing them side by
side, or omitting one of them, combined P's quail story with his manna
story before the arrival at Sinai. But further, an examination of P's
manna story in the present ch. shews that it also belongs to a time
after the scenes at Sinai. [The pot of manna is laid up 'before
Yahweh ' (33) — ' before the Testimony ' (34), i.e. in front of the ark
containing the tablets of the decalogue ; but neither ark nor decalogue
was in existence before the arrival at Sinai. Again 'the glory of
Yahweh ' and ' the cloud ' (10) do not, in P, appear till the completion
of the tabernacle^ (xl. 34 f.), except on the top of the mountain
(xxiv. 15 — 18). And ' come near before Yahweh ' (9) seems to imply
the existence of a sanctuary.] And it is difiicult to see what could
have led a compiler to transplant the story, unless a manna story
from an earlier source already stood at this point before Sinai was
reached^.

22 — 30 are marked by priestly vocabulary, but they cannot be by
the same hand as the rest of the narrative; for, 1st, the Sabbath

1 In V. 10 ' the Dwelling ' must be read for ' the wilderness ' : see note.
' Gray {Numbers, p. 101) denies the presence in this chapter of other elements
than P ; bnt he does not support his contention.

§ 2] ANALYSIS xxiii

regulation is known in v. 5, but is here enjoined as a result of the
miracle in 22 (see note) ; and, 2nd, in 31 a ' the name thereof has
nothing to refer to ; the v, was the natural continuation of 21, before
the insertion of 22 — 30.

xvii. 1 — 7. Meribah, Massah. There is here no trace of P, except
in 1 a (to ' Rephidim '), which is part of his itinerary (cf. xiii. 20), and
is entirely composed of his characteristic phraseology.

It is strange that in 7 Moses gives two names to one spot, in
reference to one incident. But in Dt. xxxiii. 8 Massah and Meribah
are clearly distinguished ; in Dt. vi. 16, ix. 22 Massah is mentioned
alone ; and the double name is nowhere else found. In Num. xx.
occurs another story in which the name Meribah is connected with the
obtaining of water from the rock ; and critics are largely agreed in
thinking that it is a combination of J and P. Thus it is natural
to assign the Meribah story in the present passage to E, which is
borne out by ' the staff' and ' Horeb ' in 5, 6. But another narrative
has been combined with this. 3 is a doublet of \h, 2a; and the
double question asked by Moses (in 2), 'Why tempt ye Yahweh?',
' Why strive ye with me ? ' is evidently the result of the juxtaposition
(in 7) of Massah and Meribah with the corresponding double explana-
tion 'because of the striving...,' and 'because they tempted.' If, then,
the words ' [And Moses said unto them] why tempt ye Yahweh ? ' be
placed after 3, there emerge two stories — Massah from J, and Meribah
from E, as follows : J, 3, 2b, 7a (to 'Massah'), 7c ('because they
tempted... &c.'). E, 1 ft, 2 a, 4 — 6, 7 b ' and [he called the name of the
place] Meribah... of Israel.'

xvii. 8 — 16. Amalek. The use of the staff (9), the importance of
Joshua and of Aaron, together with the absence of any features
characteristic of P, shew that the w. are from E. The incident
belongs to a time immediately preceding the entrance into Canaan
(see notes).

xviii. The visit of Jethro. The narrative, in the main, is the
work of E : several characteristics of his writings appear : ' Elohim,'
' Jethro,' * the mount of Elohim ' (5), the words rendered ' for Israel's
sake' (8), 'the travail which had come upon [lit. found] them' {id.\
'a matter' [Heb. 'a word'] (16, 19, 22, 26), 'fear God' (21), and the
peculiar infin. form •"inb'i|, ' to perform it' (18). The only verses which
call for remark are 1, 2 — 4, 7 — 11. lb. The last clause, with its
sudden change from Elohim to Yahweh, seems to be redactional.
2 — 4 also are probably a later addition, by a compiler who found two
discrepancies between the present narrative of E and previous statements

xxiv INTRODUCTION [§ 2

of J : 1st, in ii. 22 J records the birth of Gershom only, and in iv. 25
clearly implies that Moses had no other son ; and, 2nd, in iv. 20 a,
24 — 26 J relates that Moses took back Zipporah with him to Egypt.
The compiler smooths away the second diificulty by the words ' after
her dismissal * ; and, while basing 3 upon J's words in ii. 22, he retains
E's tradition of two sons by supplying the name of the second — a name
which is found nowhere else in the Hexateuch. 7 — 11. In Num.
xi, 29 — 31 Hobab is at Sinai, and this presupposes a mention of his
arrival by J. There may be traces of it in these verses ; in 6 Jethro
is in conversation with Moses, but in 7 Moses has still to go out to
meet him ; the text in 6, however, is probably to be emended ; see
note. And 7 — 11 have the name Yahweh, while in the rest of the
story (exc. 1 b) Elohim is used. It is not possible with certainty to
separate the two writings in detail ; the compiler has welded them too
closely together. The narrative, as in the case of the quails, Meribah,
and Amalek, belongs to a time after, and not before, the arrival at
Horeb (see notes).

Analysis of xv. 22— xviii.

J XV. 22— 25a 27

E 25b 4 16

P xvi. 1—3 5 9—12, 6, 7, 13, 14 16—21 31—36

R R»26 R^S RP22— 30

J 3, 2 6 la,c

JB 7—11

E lb, 2 a 4—6 7 &, 8— 16, xviii. la 5,6 12—27

P xvii. la

R R-^16, 2— 4 R106

Chapters xix. — xl. form the second of the two divisions into which
the book of Exodus falls, and describe the welding of the Israelite
tribes into a certain degree of unity by the religious bond of a cove-
nant with their one and only God, Yahweh. But a study of the
religious institutions, and moral, social and ceremonial laws which
are collected in these chapters shews that they belong to widely
different periods of Hebrew history. Moses was venerated as the
representative of all law, and thus every new development was ascribed
to him. And so it came to pass that the records of the Sinai scenes,
in which Moses first received the law, were subjected to the elaborate
care and ingenuity of a long series of writers, or schools of writers, of
redactors and compilers. And the result is that these chapters offer

§2] ANALYSIS xxv

the most complicated of the literary problems in the Old Testament.
The priestly writers, whose devoted care is centred upon the taber-
nacle and its ritual (chs. xxv. — xxxi., xxxv. — xL), supply almost
nothing of the nature of narrative that is parallel to the work of
J and E. It is not to P that the most serious textual problems
are due, but to the manifold activities of redactors upon the original
work of J and E. And these problems arise not only from additions
and omissions, but also from the most surprising transpositions and
dislocations. As the tabernacle sections are complete in themselves,
they may be studied separately.

Chapters xix. — xxiv., xxxii. — xxxiv.
The emnts at Sinai.

xix., XX. 18—21. The Theophany.

xix. 1, 2a contain the itinerary of P, continued from xvii. 1. It is
of the same formal character as before ; and the writer's propensity for
exact dates shews itself. It is probable that 2 a originally stood before
1, for the journey from Rephidim would naturally be related before the
arrival at the wilderness. R. V. partly hides the difficulty by rendering
' and when they were departed from R.' ; but the Heb. has ' and they
journeyed' as in xvii. 1. 26 being a repetition of 2a cannot be from
the same source ; it must be coupled with 3 a, which is shewn to be
from E by the name Elohim. 36 — 6. The words of the people in 8
imply that they have received some commands, but these verses contain
none. And Yahweh's covenant is mentioned before it has yet been
made. The verses appear to be a Deuteronomic expansion. ' I bare
you on eagles' wings' finds a parallel in Dt. xxxii. 11 ; 'a peculiar
treasure ' occurs only in Dt. vii. 6, xiv. 2, xxvi, 18 ; and * an holy
nation ' is unique, but 'an holy people' occurs only in Dt. (five times).
7, 8 should evidently follow commands given to the people through
Moses ; and the earliest opportunity for this is after the Decalogue
(xx. 1 — 17). It will be shewn later that the laws which formed the
basis of the original divine covenant in E were not the Decalogue, but
were portions of xx. 23 — xxiii. ; and when the people received the
covenant laws they answered (xxiv. 3) in language almost identical
with that in the present passage. It is probable, therefore, that 7, 8
were attached as a framework to the Decalogue, in imitation of xxiv. 3.
9 — 11a must be coupled with 14 — 17. They can be assigned to E,
both because of the name Elohim in 17, and because they give a dif-
ferent picture of the theophany from that of J in 1 1 h — 13. [9 b appears

xxvi INTRODUCTION [§ 2

to be an accidental doublet of 8b.] lib — 13, Instead of Yahweh
speaking to Moses in a thick cloud, He will 'come down' upon the
mountain in the sight of all. A signal is to be given by a ram's horn
(ifobhel, different from the 'trumpet' of 16). These details and the
name ' Sinai ' mark these verses as belonging to J. They must follow
24 (see below). 14 — 17 E: the natural continuation of 9 — 11a.
18 J has the same traits as 116 — 13, 'Sinai' and 'Yahweh came
down-' [the verb is the same]. 19. The name 'Elohim' assigns the
verse to E, and the 'trumpet' (shopkar) of 16 recurs. The next
passage in E's original narrative is xx. 18 — 21, which forms the
natural continuation of xix. 19. The words of the people in xx. 19
shew that God has not yet spoken to them ; and this is explicable
only if the Decalogue was absent from E's original tradition.
xix. 20 — 25 J. ' Yahweh came down ' and ' Sinai ' connect 20 with
lib and 18. E has related that Moses went up to God (3a), and was
sent down to prepare the people (10, 11a, 14 — 17); and the same
events are now recorded by J (20 — 22), but with differences in detail :
in E Moses sanctifies the people (14), but in J the priests sanctify
themselves ; in E the people are terrified and flee (16 f., xx. 18 — 21),
but in J, so far from being terrified, they must be prevented by special
precautions from breaking through to gaze. 23 is one of the most
noteworthy of the redactional additions to be found in the book. If
lib — 13 are read in their present position, Yahweh, having summoned
Moses to the top of the mountain, immediately sends him down again
— not to take the necessary precautions to prevent the people from
breaking through, but merely to charge them to observe the pre-
cautions already taken. It is very probable that 23 (which has the
appearance of an attempt on Moses' part to put Yahweh right in His
mistake !) was added by a redactor who felt the difficulty. Both this
and a further difficulty are obviated ii lip — ^13 ^replaced after 24;
for 13 closes with the words 'thei/ (hemmdk) shall come up to the
mount ' ; but ' they ' cannot be the people, who are forbidden to come
up (12, 21) ; they must be the ' priests ' of 22 (24 appears to forbid
the priests to come up ; but see note there). 25. Heb. has ' And
Moses went down unto the people and said unto them.' R.V. 'and
told them' conceals the fact that Moses' words are lost; but they
would naturally consist in the declaration to the people of the divine
instructions in 20 — 24, lib — 13. [A portion of J's na/rrative appears
also to have been lost ; see below on xxiv. 1 — 11.]

§ 2] ANALYSIS xxvii

Analysis of xix., xx. IB— 21.

J 18 20—22

B 2b, Sa [Eg?, 8] 9a 10, 11a, 14—17 19

P xix. 2a, 1

R R» 36—6 RJ«96 R'*23

J 24, 116—13, 25

E XX. 18—21

XX. [exc. 18 — 21] — xxiii., xxxiv. 10 — 26. The Laws.

Five groups of laws are to be accounted for : (1) xx. 1 — 17, the
Decalogue (' Ten Words '). (2) xxi, — xxii. 17, a series of laws which
in xxi. 1 are named 'Judgements,' cast in a particular form, and distinct
from anything else in Exodus. (3) xx. 22—26, xxii. 29, 30, xxiii.
10 — 19, Regulations relating to worship and religious festivals.
(4) xxxiv. 10 — 26, Regulations on the same subjects, to a large extent
parallel to the preceding group. (5) xxii. 18 — 28, xxiii. 1 — 9, a few
laws of a moral and ethical character, mostly negative in form, and
widely different both from the Judgements and from the Regulations
on worship.

(1) The Decalogue will be discussed later (pp. Ivi. — Ixiv.).

(2) xxi. — xxii. 17. There are indications that the 'Judgements '
did not originally occupy their present position. Ch. xviii. has been
shewn, on various grounds, to belong to the end of the stay at the
mountain. If that is so, there were no judges yet created who could
dispense these case-laws. And the nature of the contingencies with
which they deal makes it impossible to couple them with the laws on
which the covenant was based ; they are concerned with hjrpothetical
cases, and deal with the rights of male and female slaves, injuries
inflicted by men and by beasts, the loss of animals, injury to field or
vineyard by fire, trusts, and loans. It is unlikely that decisions on
these civil cases, which might from time to time occur (and which, to a
large extent, could not occur until Israel had settled down to agricul-
tural life in Canaan), could form part of the divine covenant, or that the
people could say of them ' all the words which Yahweh hath spoken we
will do ' (xxiv. 3). In the former half of the same verse the ' Words '
which they promise to obey are distinguished from the ' Judgements.'
It is generally agreed that the expression ' and the judgements ' is an
addition made by the redactor who placed the * Judgements ' in their
present position. Their original position may be conjectured with
some probability. In Dt. xii. — xxvi. there is a body of laws, amended
and expanded in many particulars, but based upon the laws of

XXVUl

INTRODUCTION

[§2

Ex. xxi. — xxiii. D puts his version of the 'Judgements,' together with
other laws, into Moses' mouth not at Horeb but on the borders of
Moab. And since Ex. xxi. f. was, so far as we can tell, his only
source for the ' Judgements,' Kuenen's suggestion is reasonable that E
had also placed them at the end of the wanderings ; but that when D
was combined with JE, the compiler could not place the two versions
side by side, so he put back the earlier version into conjunction with
the rest of E's laws at Horeb. That the 'Judgements* are to be
assigned to E may be inferred from characteristic marks of language :
'Elohim,' xxi. 6, 13, xxii. 8 (7), 9 (8) [lxx 11 (10)], 28 (27); 'dmdh
for ' maidservant,' xxi. 7 ; ha'al, xxi. 3, 22, 28 f., 34, 36, xxii. 8 (7),
11 (10), 14 (13) ; ddbhdr for ' cause of dispute,' xxii. 9 (8).

(3), (4). The group xx. 22—26, xxii. 29—31, xxiii. 10—19 is
embedded in material which is on all hands allowed to be Elohistic ;
and the group xxxiv. 10 — 26 in material which is no less clearly
Jehovistic. Other things being equal, few would hesitate to say that
they are two versions of the same body of laws from E and J respec-
tively (see note preceding ch. xxxiv.). Each has been enriched with
some later expansions, which are pointed out in the notes, i.e. xx. 22,
23, xxii. 31, xxiii. 13, 19a, and xxxiv. 106 — 16, 24. And it is probable
that each has in some details been harmonized with the other ; but
it is not possible to detect the process with certainty ; there was at
least a substratum of similar laws which made the harmonization
possible. The following table shews the extent of their similarities
and differences; J appears to have preserved one rule (xxxiv. 17)
which E lacked, and E four or five (xx. 24 — 26, xxiii. 10, 11) which
J lacked ; and there are just those differences of wording and detail
that would be expected in two accounts of the same tradition.

E J

[xx. 23 R] Prohibition of molten images xxxiv, 17

24 — 26 Rules for the construction of altars vacat

xxii. 29 b Firstborn sons to be dedicated 20 h

30 Firstlings of animals to be dedicated 19, 20 a

[31 R] Meat torn by wild beasts not to be eaten vacat

xxiii. 10, 1 1 The seventh, fallow, year to be observed vacat

14 [17 R] Three annual festivals to be observed 23

namely

15 Festival of Unleavened Cakes 18

16 a Festival of Harvest = F. of Weeks 22 a
16 6 Festival of Ingathering 22 h
18 a Sacrifice to be eaten without leaven 25 a
18 & No fat to be left till morning 25 h

xxii. 29 a [xxiii. 19 a R] Firstfruits to be dedicated 26 a

xxiii. 19 6 A kid not to be boiled in its mother's milk 26 b

§ 2] ANALYSIS xxix

(5) xxii. 18 — 28, xxiii. 1—9. It is readily seen that these
injunctions have no real connexion either with the 'Judgements' or
with the Regulations on worship and festivals. They are particular
commands inculcating the moral importance of purity, kindness, justice
and so forth. [In xxii. 25 f., xxiii. 4 f. hypothetical cases are (like the
•Judgements') introduced by the particle kl, 'when'; but a glance
shews them to be of a different nature from the 'Judgements.' They are
expressed in the 2nd person, and deal with cases which affect a man's
own conscience, and which lie wholly outside the province of a civil
judge.] E having preserved the laws in group (3) as the basis of the
divine covenant, some later writer of his school of thought became
possessed of a few scattered laws from other sources, which appealed
to him strongly as a prophet of righteousness and morality, and he
combined them with the older regulations on worship, to form part of
the covenant laws of Israel. The combination was effected before the
time of D, for some of them are included in Dt. xii. — xxvi. ; see Dt.
xviii. 10 — 14, xxiv. 14, xxiii. 19, xxiv. 12 f., xix. 16 — 21, xxii. 1 — 4.
A few expressions, however, in Exodus cannot have been prior to D ;
xxii. 28 b contains the late word nasi, ' prince ' ; in xxii. 21 h, 22 the
plural pronoun suddenly appears after the singular in 21a; and
similarly in 24 and xxiii. 9 h ; and each of these passages (except the
first) is Deuteronomic in tone.

At the end of the laws, a Deuteronomic writer added a hortatory
epilogue, xxiii. 20 — 33.

Analysis of xx. 22 — xxiii. 33, xxxiv. 10 — 26.

J (except expansions) xxxiv. 10 — 26.

E (except expansions) xx. 22—26, xxii. 29, 30, xxiii. 10—19, | xxi. —
xxii. 17, I xxii. 18—28, xxiii. 1—9.

R RJ^ XX. 22, 23, R ? xxi. 17, R» xxii. 21 6, 22, 24, R ? 28 ft, 31, R» xxiii.
9ft, 13, R" 15 b,c, 19a, R» 20—33, R» xxxiv. 10 6—16, RJ^ 18&— 20a, 6,
W> 24.

{a) xxiv. 1 — 11, xxxiii. 7 — 11, xxxiv. 1—5, 27, 28. Narratives
connected with the covenant laws.

(b) xix. 7, 8, xxiv. 12 — 18, xxxi. 18, xxxiv. 29 — 35. Narratives
connected with the Decalogue.

The results of the analysis of these passages may be summed
up in anticipation, (a) The extreme complexity of the narratives
is due to the fact that the early accounts of J and E relating
to the covenant laws have been combined with — and in some parts

XXX INTRODUCTION [§ 2

displaced by — later accounts in Eg and P in which the Decalogue
of XX. 1 — 17 is the sole basis of the covenant. (6) The chief in-
stances in which the earlier accounts have disappeared to make
way for the later are (i) E's account of God's delivery of the
covenant laws to Moses, (ii) the accounts of J and E of the
making of an ark and of a tent to house it. (c) The surviving
narratives of J and E with respect to the covenant laws contain three
important points of similarity : (i) In each Moses commits the laws to
writing. In J he is commanded by Yahweh to write them upon two
' tablets of stones ' (xxxiv. 1, 27), and he does so (28) ; in_E the
writing executed by Moses is called a sepJwr (xxiv. 7), which denotes a
written document of any kind ; but nothing is said of stone tablets.
The word, however, does not entirely forbid this, and E may have
spoken of a stone inscription (perhaps upon the twelve pillars, v. 4),
which has been taken up in the later narrative of E2. (ii) In each
the laws are made the basis of a covenant. In J Yahweh declares
His intention of making a covenant (xxxiv. 10), and after giving the
laws He says that He has made one ' according to the tenour of these
words ' (27) ; in E the laws which Moses had written are called
' the sepher of the covenant,' and he tells the people that the blood
which he sprinkles is 'the blood of the covenant,' made by Yahweh
' concerning all these words ' (xxiv. 7, 8). (iii) In each the covenant
is ratified hy a solemn ceremony. In J it is by a vision of Yahweh and
a sacred feast (xxiv. 1, 2 ; 9 — 11); in E by the sprinkling of blood
(xxiv. 3—8).

(a) xxxiv. 1 — 5, 27, 28 relate that Yahweh delivered to Moses the
covenant words. These verses must, for the most part, be assigned
to J. The name 'Sinai/ 'the top (ro'sh) of the mountain,' the
prohibition to let the people or beasts approach, and the expression
'Yahweh came down,' mark them as homogeneous withxix. 18, 20 — 24,
11 b — 13. [The apparent connexion between xxxiv. 5 and 6 is due to
the Engl, version. The last clause of 5 can only mean 'and he (Moses)
called upon the name of Yahweh.' Neither in 10, nor in the rest of
the interview does Yahweh give any answer to Moses' passionate
entreaty in 9 ; but on the other hand it has already been answered in
xxxiii. 14. It is clear that xxxiv. 6 — 9 belong to Moses' intercession
in xxxiii. ; the verses may have been attracted into their present
position by the recurrence of the word ' he called ' in 5 and 6.] Now
it is strange that though Yahweh commands Moses to write the
covenant words (xxxiv. 27), and Moses apparently does so (28 b),
yet Yahweh has previously said, ' I will write upon the tablets ' (lb).

§ 2] ANALYSIS xxxi

The incongruity is, if possible, increased if 'he wrote' (28b) means
' Yahweh wrote.' The only conceivable explanation is that two tradi-
tions have been combined, in which Yahweh wrote one thing (i.e. the
Decalogue of xx. 1 — 17) and Moses another (i.e. the code in xxxiv.).
Not only so, but in 28 b the covenant words are further described as
' the ten words,' as though they were a well-known decade. But it is
extremely difficult to arrange the commands in 10 — 26 as a decade.
Several arrangements have been offered (see reff. in Carpenter and
Battersby, Hexateuch, ii. 135) ; but when all the possible Deutero-
nomic expansions are removed, there emerge at least fourteen distinct
commands. We must conclude either that the expression 'the ten
words ' stood in J as a correct description of the preceding code, and
that in spite of it some laws were added by later hands, or (which is
much more likely) that 'the ten words' is itself a later addition
referring to the Decalogue of xx. The explanation of the whole
passage, which has been adopted, since Kuenen, by many critics,
is that a compiler who had before him the covenant laws both of
J and E, which were largely parallel, did not discard J's version, but
placed it after the sin of the people and Moses' intercession, so that it
had the appearance of being a code of laws given for a renewal of the
broken covenant \ But after the Decalogue had become the sole basis
of the Horeb covenant, a Deuteronomic redactor in Exod. made J's
laws the renewal — not of E's parallel laws, but — of the Decalogue.
With this object he made three harmonistic additions : — ' like unto the

first which thou brakest' (xxxiv. 1); 'And he hewed like unto

the first ' (4) ; ' the ten words ' (28). [In 4 should be noticed the
unexpected introduction of Moses' name, which would more naturally
have stood at the beginning of the verse, if the opening words had
been original.]

xxiv. 1 — 11. The two narratives of the Covenant Ceremony from
J and E are here combined. 3 is obviously connected not with 1, 2
but with xxi. — xxiii. ; and the sequel of the injunctions in 1, 2 is to
be found in 9 — 11 where they are obeyed. 3 — 8, then, are the con-
tinuation of xxiii.^ and belong to E. The part played by the people in
the making of the covenant is in keeping with other parts of E ; it is
they who were sanctified to meet God (xix. 14), and who take the
initiative in expressing penitence for sin (xxiii. 6 ; see below) ; the

1 Not only is there no hint of this in the narrative, but the words ' behold I
make a covenant ' (10 a) seem clearly to imply that a covenant is being made for
the first time. Moreover, for the renewal of a broken covenant penitence and
forgiveness would sufiSce, without the promulgation of a new code of laws.

2 Or rather of E's lost narrative of the delivery of the laws to Moses.

xxxii INTRODUCTION [§ 2

mention of mazzehhoth (4) is also in favour of E, who relates the
erection of such pillars by Jacob at Bethel and Galeed (Gen. xxviii.
18, xxxi. 45 — 54), and by Joshua at Gilgal and Shechem (Josh. iv.
20, xxiv. 26^, 27). 1, 2 and 9 — 11 can now be brought together.
The fact that they relate a solemn ceremony which is coupled with,
and yet distinct from, E's ceremony in 3 — 8, suggests that they are
the work (in the main) of J. The people are forbidden to come up, as
in xix. 21, 24. In 1 R.V. has ' And He said unto Moses ' ; but in
the Heb. the order is different — ' And unto Moses He said,' which
implies as plainly as the words do in English that Yahweh had
previously been saying or doing something else, which is lost. And
on turning to the last passage in which J's narrative is preserved, we
find xix. 25 ending with ' and said unto them,' followed by a lacuna.
The lost words must have contained Moses' repetition to the people of
the divine instructions in xix. 21 f., 24, 116 — 13, and a statement (in
accordance with 11, 135) that Yahweh came down on the third day,
and that the yohhel was sounded. This was followed by the narrative
and laws in xxxiv. 1 — 28, and then there were some further (lost) words
of Yahweh to the people or the priests leading to the present passage.
[Many commentators find later elements in xxiv. 1, 2, 9 — 11. In 1, 2
Yahweh addresses first Moses (* come thou up '), then the people
('worship ye'), and then again Moses ('but they shall not &c.').
These variations, however, are not unnatural, for, as we have seen,
the words ' unto Moses He said ' (1) shew that He has been addressing
other persons than Moses. But in 9 — 1 1 ' the God of Israel ' and the
idiom ' the very heaven ' are in the style of P ; and the word ' nobles '
(lit. ' comers ') occurs only (in its literal sense) in the exilic passage
Is. xli. 9. The extent to which later hands have touched the verses
cannot be determined.]

xxxiii. 7 — 11 E. The ' Tent of Meeting* Immediately after the
double account of the ceremonial ratification of the covenant, P gives
seven chapters of regulations for worship, which are concerned with the
Tabernacle and its ministers. What ground was there for inserting
these regulations here ? It is natural to suppose that he found some-
thing analogous in the earlier histories. There is evidence (1) that J
must have contained an account of the making of an ark to hold the
tablets of stone on which Moses had written the covenant words, and
(2) that E must have related the erection of a tent. (1) In Dt. x.
1 — 5 (see Driver) the writer makes use of Ex. xxxiv. 1 — 4 (J), but
adds that Yahweh told Moses to make an ark of wood, and to put the
tablets within it; and that, before ascending the mountain, Moses
made an ark of acacia wood, and when he came down he placed the

§ 2] ANALYSIS xxxiii

tablets within it. This writer probably derived his account of the ark,
as well as of the tablets, from J. And immediately after the departure
from Sinai (Num. x. 33 — 36), the existence of an ark is recognised by
J, who gives the prayers that Moses used to recite at the beginning and
end of each stage in the journey. (2) In the present passage, xxxiii.
7 — 11, is related Moses' practice relative to 'the Tent'; the article
implies that such a tent had been mentioned before. The familiar
converse of Yahweh with Moses recalls xix. 9, 19, Num. xii. 5 — 8 (E) ;
and no mention of Joshua before the arrival at Canaan is found in J^
(cf. Num. xi. 28, Dt. xxxi. 14 f., Ex. xvii. 9, 13 f., all E). The passage
shews that E once had an account of the making of this tent, or of
God's command that it should be made. Moreover in xviii., which
must be placed at the end of the Horeb incidents, Jethro brought
sacrifices ' for God,' and Aaron and the elders joined him in the feast
'in the presence of God,' which seems to imply the existence of a
sanctuary. The reason why the early accounts of the making of the
ark and the tent have been lost, must be that they did not agree with
P's ideal descriptions in xxv. — xxvii. ; see note preceding xxxiii, 7.
[After xxxiii. 7 — 11 the book contains no further material from E.
But some think that the continuation of E's narrative is to be found in
Num. xi. 16, 17 a, 24 b — 30. If those verses and Ex. xviii. are placed
side by side at this point, the three passages are seen to be closely
connected, dealing with the Tent, Joshua, Moses' young minister, the
elders, and the help which the latter are to give to Moses. See Gray,
Numbers, pp. 109—116.]

(6) There remain to be noticed those portions of the narrative
immediately connected with the covenant laws, in which those laws
consist solely of the Decalogue of xx. 1 — 17, written by God upon the
tablets.

xix. 7, 8 have no connexion with the rest of the chapter ; they
appear to be a statement in Eg with reference to the Decalogue in
imitation of xxiv. 3.

xxiv. 12 — 15 a, 186. These verses are based on E's narrative of
the delivery of the covenant laws to Moses. The ' mount of Elohim,*
the mention of Joshua and of Aaron and Hur, and the idiom ' whoso-
ever hath a cause ' (ba'al debhdrim), point to Elohistic work. Possibly
a large part of the account is the original work of E, but in its present
form it belongs to a later stage, Eg. Notice that 15a is a doublet of

^ Some think that Joshua was a purely Ephraimite hero, and nowhere occurred
in the Judaean traditions; but this is doubtful. See DJBii. 786. (The writer of
this article, Dr G. A. Smith, strangely makes no reference to events in Joshua's
life before the arrival at the borders of Canaan.)

U H

xxxiv INTRODUCTION [§ 2

136; and that 'Joshua his minister' (13) anticipates the first intro-
duction of Joshua in xxxiii. 11, which must have stood in E after the
directions for the Tent had been given to Moses in the mount. The
clause in 12, ' and the law and the commandments,' refers to something
distinct from 'the tables of stone' ; it appears to be a redactional
addition, intended to comprise the whole legislation in xx. — xxiii.
In 156 — 18 a P adds some characteristic details to the scene — the
cloud, the glory, the six days and the seventh day ; and 18 a repeats
the substance of 136 and 15a. The immediate sequel of P's narrative
is found in xxxi. 18, after the directions for the Tabernacle. And
the immediate sequel of that is xxxiv. 29 — 35, the next passage from P.

Analysis of xix. 7, 8, xxiv., xxxi. 18, xxxiii. 7—11, xxxiv. 1—5,

27—35.

J xxiv. 1, 2 9—11

B 3—8 xxxiii. 7—11

E2 xix. 7, 8 12— 15a 186

P 156—18, xxxi. 18 a

R R« 126

J xxxiv. la, 2—5 27, 28

P 29—35

R BP 16, 4 ('like unto the first'), 28 ('the ten words')

xxxii. 1 — 29, 35. The sin of the people, xxxii. 30 — 34, xxxiii.
1 — 6, 12—23, xxxiv. 6—9. Moses' intercession.

xxxii. 25 — 29. This passage is distinct from the story of the
golden bull, for the following reasons : (a) Though it is not clear what
is implied by * broken loose ' (25), yet the people were out of hand in
such a way as to make them a by-word among the surrounding
nations. This cannot refer to the bull-worship, which the surrounding
nations would regard as a pious act ; and the feasting and dancing
were the ordinary accompaniments of a Semitic festival. It is possible
that the sin was some form of civil rebellion, which Aaron the sheikh
was powerless to restrain. (6) There is no hint in the narrative of the
bull-worship that the tribe of Levi had refused to join in the idolatry,
(c) After the severe punishment inflicted by the Levites a further
punishment (35) is unexpected, {d) The Levites are exhorted to
' consecrate themselves ' to Yahweh. This is, of course, distinct from

§2] ANALYSIS xxxv

the priestly view in xxviii., but it is also wholly unconnected with E's
description of the sacred tent (xxxiii. 11) which is served by the
Ephraimite Joshua. The verses must be assigned to J ; they appear to
be part of his account of a sin committed by the people.

1 — 6. It is probable that E's narrative, in its original form, also
related a sin committed by the people, perhaps more or less parallel to
that of J. But in its present form the story has been dominated
by the thought that the sin was the violation of the Decalogue
by image-worship. It must be assigned to E2, together with its
continuation, 15 — 24, 35. [15 6 is a priestly expansion ; the expression
'tablets of the testimony' is confined to P, and the tautology of the
last clause is a peculiar feature of his style.]

7 — 14 contain a few expressions which distinguish J from E ; but
they cannot be the work of J, for 8 refers to the narrative of the bull-
worship, and 13 quotes Gen. xxii. 17, which is probably a later passage.
Moreover, if they are from J the account of Moses' intercession and
Yahweh's relenting is premature ; it is strange to read afterwards of
the fierce punishment organized by Moses (25 — 29) and of his renewed
intercession (xxxiii. 12 — 23, xxxiv. 6 — 9). On the other hand it is
difl&cult to assign the verses to the hand that wrote 1 — 6, 15 — 24.
When Moses first comes within view of the dancing he is apparently
quite unprepared for the sight ; his sudden anger, while perhaps not
entirely unintelligible, is still surprising, if he had previously received
full warning of the people's sin, and had successfully interceded for
them. And his intercession, though successful in 14, is disregarded in
35. The passage is closely similar in thought and style to the account
in Dt, ix. 12 — 14; and must be regarded as a Deuteronomic expansion.

30 — 34 contain expressions which find parallels in E. But it is
noticeable that in 34 b the punishment is indefinitely postponed, while
in 35 it is inflicted immediately. And the verses present such a
developed consciousness of sin, atonement, and personal responsibility,
that it is probably right to consider them a later expansion. If so, E's
account of Moses' intercession has not been preserved. The only
remaining passage from E is xxxiii. 6, the source of which is indicated
by the name 'mount Horeb'; the verse relates the active part taken by
the people in expressing penitence. The preceding verses are complex.
5 is redactional, combining the wording of 3 with a command intended
to introduce 6. 4 b, which anticipates 6, is absent from the lxx, and
must have been added late. 2 interrupts the sentence, and the words
' I will send an angel before thee ' are really incompatible with ' I will
not go up ' in 3 ; it is a Deut. expansion (cf. iii. 8, 17, xiii. 5 al.).

xxxvi INTRODUCTION [§ 2

xxxiii. 1, 3, 4 a, 12—23, xxxiv. 6 — 9 contain J's account of
Moses' intercession. The following characteristic expressions may be
noticed : 'flowing with milk and honey' (xxxiii. 3), 'consume' {id.), 'in
the midst of,' ^'^i^l {id., xxxiv. 9), 'stiffnecked' {id.), 'find grace'
(xxxiii. 12, 16 f , xxxiv. 9), 'face of the ground' (xxxiii. 16, R.V. 'earth'),
'mercy and truth' (xxxiv. 6), 'made haste' (8), 'bowed' {id.), 'the
Lord' YAdonai as periphrasis for 2nd person pronoun] (9). The
narrative, however, is in itself very difficult to follow, owing to the
transpositions which some of the verses have undergone. In xxxiii. 12
Moses' first words 'See thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people' have
an antecedent in 1 ; but his following words ' And thou hast said, I

know thee in my sight' have none ; and the required words are not

found till 17. Moreover the words in 17, 'I wiU do this thing also that
thou hast spoken ' have nothing in the preceding verses to which they
can refer. It would seem that 17 must be placed before 12, 13. (In
that position 17 might be illustrated by Dt. ix. 19 6, x. 10 b, ' Yahweh
hearkened unto me that time also,' where the words refer to the
repeated sins and murmurings of the people.) Now if 17 precedes 12,
13, J must originally have related that Moses cried to Yahweh that he
could not take the people to Canaan unless Yahweh gave him some
help in the difficult task. And this is actually found in Num. xi. 11,
12, 14, 15 ; those verses have no connexion with the narrative in which
they are at present embedded ; and before the removal of Ex. xxxiv.
1 — 5, 10 — 28 to the end of the Sinai scenes, and the addition of other
matter from E and P, they stood in close juxtaposition with the
present passage. Again, Ex. xxxiii. 14 — 16 relate Yahweh's final condes-
cension ; He could grant nothing more than that His presence should
go with His people. But in xxxiv. 9, Moses is still praying for this.
xxxiii. 14 — 16 should therefore stand after xxxiv. 6 — 9. By this
means 'make me to know thy ways' (13) and 'shew me thy glory' (18)
are brought into proximity.

If, then, the passages are rearranged, and read in the following
order — xxxiii. 1, 3, 4 a, Num. xi. 11 f., 14 f., Ex. xxxiii. 17, 12, 13,
18 — 23, xxxiv. 6 — 9, xxxiii. 14 — 16, they give a very beautiful result.
Moses' prayer rises to a climax (cf Abraham's intercession, Gen.
xviii. 23 — 32 J) : first he asks for help in leading the people, which is
granted ; then for a knowledge of him who is to help them, and of
Yahweh's ways, and a sight of His glory, which is granted in the form
of a partial revelation ; lastly for Yahweh's abiding presence with His
people, which is granted ; and Moses concludes with the earnest reply
inl5f.

§ 2] ANALYSIS xxxvii

Analysis o/xxxii., xxxiii. 1 — 6, 12 — 23, xxxiv. 6 — 9.

J 25—29 xxxiii. 1 3, 4a[Num.xi.llf.,14f.]

EgXXXii. 1— 6 15 a 16—24 35 6

R R»7— 14RP156 RJ^SO— 34 R»2RP46R^5

J 17, 12, 13, 18—23, xxxiv. 6—9, xxxiii. 14—16

Chapters xxv. — xxxi., xxxv. — xl.
The Tabernacle and its Ministers.

In these chapters J and E have no part. The hand of priestly
writers is evident throughout in style, vocabulary and subject-matter.
But they are not the work of a single writer. It was inevitable that
ordinances of worship should undergo enlargement and expansion in a
community to whom ritual had become to so great an extent com-
mensurate with religion. It will be seen that three stages can be
traced. The main conceptions of the Tabernacle, and of the garments
and the consecration of its ministers, are assigned to P. Additions to
these which can be shewn to be of later date are described as P2.
But there are also expansions which presuppose not only P but Pa ;
and they may be collected under the symbol P3. It is not impossible
that there was an earlier nucleus from which P was formed ; but it
cannot be subjected to literary analysis. See p. 156.

xxv. — xxix. are, for the most part, the work of P, and practically
homogeneous. But there are a few later additions : xxv. 6 presupposes
three sections which, on various grounds, appear to be later than P,
i.e. oil for the lamp (xxvii. 20 f.), spices for the anointing oil (xxx.
22 — 33), and for the sweet incense (xxx. 34 — 38). And it was added
so late (apparently to complete the summary in 3 — 7) that it is absent
from the Lxx. It must be assigned to P3. xxvii. 20, 21 P3. The
verses imply that the Tent has been already erected, and that Aaron
and his sons have been consecrated. They appear to be based on
Lev. xxiv. 1 — 3, with the addition of Aaron's sons, xxviii. 13, 14 P3.
A passage of a redactional character; 13 repeats the end of 11 ;
14 anticipates 22, 25 (in the lxx more words are borrowed from 25) ;
and it is strange to find the chains mentioned before the 'breastplate.'
26 — 28 P3. They are absent from the lxx, and contain what appears to
be a second account of the two rings, and their attachment to the
shoulder straps. 41 Pg. The anointing of Aaron's sons is a later

xxxviii INTRODUCTION [§ 2

development of the ordinances of P (see note on xxix. 7) ; and the
verse interrupts the description of the priestly garments, xxix. 21 Pj.
In the Lxx the verse is placed before the last clause of 20 'and
sprinkle &c.'; this variety of position suggests a late date. ('Sprinkle,'
ri^TDl is different from "pnTl in 20.) 38—41 Pj. The verses (together
with 42) interrupt the connexion between 'the altar' (37) and 'it shall
be sanctified' (43). 42 Pg. The use of the plural pronouns suggests
another hand ; see notes.

XXX. — xxxi. 11 Pa. Each of the six sections (xxx. 1 — 10, 11 — 16,
17 — 21, 22 — 33, 34 — 38, xxxi. 1 — 11) contains internal evidence of
belonging to a later stratum than P ; see notes.

xxxi. 12 — 17 P. There are characteristics of H to be found in
12 — 14, but it is not possible to determine with certainty how much
of the section is due to P, and how much to adaptation from an earlier
source. [On 18 see above (p. xxxiv.), in the narratives connected
with the Decalogue.]

XXXV. 1 — 3 Pg. 'These are the words &c.' suggests that the verses
are part of a longer series of Sabbath regulations. 2 is practically a
repetition of xxxi. 15, while 3 contains a new injunction which marks
a very late stage in Sabbath ordinance. After 3 lxx adds 'I am
Yahweh.' The juxtaposition of the verses with the following sections
supports the conclusion that, in their present form, they are late ; but
the writer has either adapted material from, or imitated the language
of, H.

XXXV. 4 — xl. Pg. AU very late ; see notes.

Analysis of xxv. — xxxi. 17, xxxv. — xl.

P xxv. — xxix. (except passages cited below)

P2 41 38—41

P3 xxv. 6, XXVii. 20, 21, XXViii. 13, 14, 26—28 XXlx. 21 42

P xxxi. 12—17

Pa XXX.— xxxi. 11

Pg xxxv. 1 — 3, 4 — ^xl.

§ 3. The Laws in Exodus.

The civil history of a nation is inseparably bound up with, and to
a large extent conditioned by, its religious development. And of no
people is this more true than of the Hebrews. They possessed a
religious unity long before a civil unity was dreamt of; they were
united in the worship of Yahweh generations before they were welded
together under a monarchy. And thus it is that not only their

§3] THE LAWS xxxix

religious institutions but also their civil and social codes are, through-
out their whole development, inspired by the certainty that they were
derived from Yahweh, their God, and had all the force of divine
commands \ To a nation or an individual that trusts in God, the
expression ' purely secular matters ' is meaningless ; the ' secular ' is
but a department of the 'religious.'

The book of Exodus possesses great value from the fact that it
contains Israelite laws in the earliest stage of their development that
is known to us. But the study of them is always beset by the diffi-
culty of determining how much of them is really ancient, and how
much is coloured by the prophetical writers who collected and edited
them. It is shewn in § 7 that little or nothing of primitive
Mosaic law has come down to us in anything like its original form,
although Moses must have been the inspirer of an ethical standard,
and must have given injunctions with regard to the manner in which
Yahweh must be worshipped, and the sacra — a tent, an ark, &c. —
which must be employed. And the only important traces of pre-
Mosaic religion^ which had a lasting value, and were, throughout
Hebrew history, taken up and developed in Yahweh-worship, were
the observance of the Passover (see pp. 64 f.), and of the Sabbath
(see pp. 121—3).

The study of the Hebrew legislation in detail would occupy a large
volume. Here it must suffice to point out those portions of the early
laws in Exodus which were either repeated or modified in the later
codes — or rather in the remains of the later codes which have been
preserved to us. The early laws may, for this purpose, be considered
in their three groups (see analysis) — A. Religious and ceremonial
laws. B. Civil and social rulings. C. Moral and ethical injunctions.
D. And to these must be added a separate notice of the Decalogue.

A. Religious and Ceremonial Laws.

1. Monolati'y'^. The sin of worshipping other gods is forbidden
in J (xxxiv. 14«). In E (xxii. 20), sacrifice to any god save

^ In this respect they were not unique. Hammurabi, one of the greatest of
Babylonian kings (dates are assigned to him ranging from 2342 to 1772 B.C.), issued
a famous code composed almost exclusively of civil and social enactments. And
at the upper end of the front face of the stele on which it is engraved is a sculp-
tured bas-relief, representing Hammurabi in the act of receiving his code from
the seated sun-god Shamash. The relation of this code to the laws of Ex. is dis-
cussed below.

2 A useful sketch of certain details in pre-Mosaic religion of which indications
have survived in the Old Testament is given by E. Kautzsch in his article ' Religion
of Israel,' in DB (extra vol.).

3 No attempt is here made to distinguish between the passages which inculcate
monolatry and those which rise to the higher principle of true monotheism.

xl INTRODUCTION [§ 3

Yahweh places a man under a ban {herem) of destruction. — Monolatry
is further enjoined in the Decalogue (Ex. xx. 3, Dt. v. 6), and in the
Deuteronomic passages : Dt. vi. 14, viii. 19, xi. 16, 28, xxviii. 14,
xxxi. 18, Ex. xxiii. 13, 24a, 32 f., xxxiv. 15, 16. — In H (Lev. xix. 4a)
other gods are called 'eUllm, a contemptuous expression implying the
utter worthlessness of any deities other than Yahweh.

2. Image Worship. In J (Ex. xxxiv. 17) and H (Lev. xix. 46)
molten gods are forbidden. — In E (Ex. xx. 23) gods of silver and of
gold. — In the Decalogue (Ex. xx. 4, Dt. v. 7), 'any graven image.' —
D (Dt. xxvii. 15) curses the man who makes a graven or a molten
image.

3. Altars. The command in E (Ex. xx. 24) to sacrifice on an
altar of earth 'in every place where I shall cause my name to be
remembered ' is with great earnestness set aside at the opening of the
Deuteronomic code (Dt. xii.), where the law of the single sanctuary is
laid down (see esp. vv. 4, 5, 8, 13, 14), and the consequent modifica-
tions in sacrificial enactments are made. — In H (Lev. xvii.), also at
the opening of the code, this takes the form of an injunction that
anyone who sacrifices an animal without bringing it ' to the door of
the tent of meeting^' to present it 'before the dwelling of Yahweh'
shall be put to death. The prohibition to use a tool in the erection of
an altar (Ex. xx. 25) is in the strongest possible contrast with the
injunctions as to the altar in P (xxvii. 1 — 8). On the contrast
between Ex. xx. 26 and the later legislation, see note there.

4. Firstfruits. In J (Ex. xxxiv. 26) and E (xxii. 29 a) there is a
simple command that the offering is to be made. The former recurs
identically in xxiii. 19 a, which most critics regard as redactional. In
both codes a feast is mentioned in connexion with the ofi"ering — the
•Hag of Weeks ' (xxxiv. 22), ' the Hag of Harvest ' (xxiii. 16)1— In D
(Dt. xxvi. 1 — 11) the feast connected with the off'ering is mentioned ;
Levite and sojourner are to share in the hospitality, and a complete
ritual with liturgical formulae is laid down. The feast, however,
probably did not consist in the eating of the firstfruits themselves,
for in Dt. xviii. 4 the priest is to receive the firstfi-uits of corn, wine
and oil, and the first of the fleece. This seems more probable than
that the priest received a portion and the rest was used for the feast
(Driver, Deut. p. 290). — In H (Lev. xxiii. 10 — 17) a sheaf of the
firstfruits, accompanied by a burnt-offiering and a cereal offering,
must be waved or swung by the priest before Yahweh, and seven
weeks later two wave-loaves of fine flour and leaven are to be

^ The expression appears to be an expansion in the style of P.
^ In the earliest legislation there isja»-«QQimand for the payment of tithes. See
Driver, Deuf. 166—173. y<\>'^ ''^^ "^^

§3] RELIGIOUS AND CEREMOIsriAL LAWS xli

offered as firstfruits. — Ezekiel (xliv. 30) claims for the priests 'the
first [of] all the firstfruits of everything/ together with the first of the
dough. (The expression is based on Ex. xxxiv. 26, where see note.) —
In P (Num. xviii. 12) the 'first' {reshlth) appears to be the cooked or
prepared corn, wine and oil which belongs to the priest ; while in v. 13
the ' firstfruits ' (bikkunm) are probably the first ripe raw fruits.
Compare Neh. x. 37 (36) with xii. 44. — The later Jewish regulations
need not be given here. They are contained in Mishna BiJckurim and
Terumoth, and are summarized in DB ii., art. 'Firstfruits.'

5. Firstborn. J (Ex. xiii. 11, 12a, 136, xxxiv. 19 «, 206). In
both passages the general statement is first made, which includes both
man and beast ; every firstborn must be made to ' pass over ' unto
Yahweh — they are His. This is then explained to mean every male
firstborn. Then follows the additional command that every firstborn
of man must be redeemed. The method of redemption is not specified,
nor the purpose for which they are to be given to God. Even if,
in the most primitive times, every firstborn son was actually killed,
the necessity of redemption must very early have been felt. It
has been conjectured that they may have been set apart to assist
the father of each family in priestly functions^ and that possibly
the ' young men ' of xxiv. 5 were firstborn sons ; but nothing is
stated on the subject. It is not improbable tbat J originally had
an explanation which was afterwards expunged because it conflicted
with the later priestly arrangement^. — E (xxii. 29 b) has nothing but
the simple command ' The firstborn of thy sons shalt thou give unto
me.' — It is remarkable that D has no command at all as to the first-
born of men.— P {{a) xiii. 1, 2, (6) Num. iii. 11—13, (c) w. 40—51,
(d) xviii. 15, 16). (a) is a general command that all firstborn of men
and beasts are to be ' sanctified,' i.e. dedicated, to Yahweh. In (6)
all the firstborn of men are to be redeemed by the dedication of
the Levites to the service of Yahweh ; and the dedication of the
firstborn is referred to the time of the exodus. In (c) it is stated that
the Levites were accepted in lieu of those only who were more than a
month old at the time ; but as the number of the firstborn exceeded
that of the Levites by 273, the remainder were to be redeemed by
5 shekels (nearly 14 shillings) a head, {d) lays down the rule that
every male firstborn, at a month old, is to be redeemed by 5 shekels.
Cf. Lev. xxvii. 6.

^ See, however, Gray, Numbers, p. 26.

2 One point of difference was allowed to stand unharmonized. In J the first-
born are to be dedicated after the arrival in Canaan ; in P the claim is made in the
wilderness.

xlii INTRODUCTION [§ 3

6. Firstlings. J (Ex. xiii. 11, 12 6, 13 a, xxxiv. 19, 20 a). After
the arrival at Canaan every male firstling shall be Yahweh's. The first-
ling of an ass must be redeemed with a sheep, or its neck must be
broken. — E (xxii. 30). Every firstling of ox and sheep must be
' given ' to Yahweh when it is eight days old. The command in E is
thus more limited than that in J, since nothing is said of the ass or
of any other unclean animal. — D (Dt. xv. 19 — 23). As in E the
commands are concerned only with the common domestic animals
which could rightly be sacrificed. The firstling males of flock and
herd are to be ' sanctified ' ; and the animals may not be previously
used as a source of gain ; the calf must not be worked, nor the lamb
sheared. The offering on the eighth day became impossible after the
Deuteronomic principle had been laid down of the centralisation of
worship at one sanctuary. The animals are now to be taken annually
to the sanctuary, and eaten there by the owner and his household.
Any firstling, however, which has a blemish, is unfit for dedication,
and may be eaten at home like common food, always provided its
blood is first poured out upon the ground. — The regulations in P are
very different \ Ex. xiii. 1, 2 contains the general command to
dedicate firstlings ; and Num. iii. 13 is a reference to it and the
exodus. In Num. xviii. 15, 17, 18 the firstlings of all clean animals,
such as can be sacrificed, are to belong to ' Aaron,' i.e. the priests ;
the firstlings of unclean animals must be redeemed. The clean
animals may on no account be redeemed ; they must be treated like
an ordinary peace-offering, the blood being sprinkled on the altar and
the fat burnt. But, unlike the peace-offering, nothing is said of the
worshipper receiving a share of the flesh ; it is to be given to the
priests as the special portions of the ordinary peace-offering are given.
In Num. iii, 41, 45 the law that clean animals may not be redeemed
appears to be contravened by the arrangement that the cattle of the
Levites are to be substituted for the firstlings of the cattle of IsraeP.
7. Torn flesh. A prohibition against eating torn flesh {terephdK)
is embodied in E (Ex. xxii. 31). — D (Dt. xiv. 21) forbids the eating of
the flesh of an animal that has died a natural death {nd)heldh), and, as
in Ex., the ' holiness ' of the nation is asserted as the ground of the
command. — In H (Lev. xvii. 15) the terephdh and the nehheldh are
combined, and the guilt contracted by the eating of them can be
purged by washing the clothes and bathing in water.

1 Driver, Deuteronomy, p. 187, discusses attempts which have been made to
harmonize the regulations of D and P.

* Gray, Numbers, -p. 31, suggests an emendation which would lessen the difficulty.

§ 3] RELIGIOUS AND CEREMONIAL LAWS xliii

8. The fallow year. B (Ex. xxiii. 10, 11). — J and D contain no
such law ; but the latter (Dt. xv. 1 — 3) substitutes for it a ' release '
{shemittdh) for Hebrew debtors. Cf. xxxi. 10. — H on the other hand
(Lev. XXV. 1 — 7, 18 — 22) lays down the law as stringently as possible.
The points of view, however, of E and H are different. In the former
the law is intended in behalf of the poorer classes, that they, and the
beasts after them, may benefit. In the latter the chief thought is that
the land itself may enjoy a Sabbath rest. — Lev. xxv. 11, 12 speaks of
a fallow year at the time of the Jubile. This is probably a later idea
than that of H, See Driver and White, Leviticus, pp. 97 — 99.

9. The weekly Sabbath. In J (Ex. xxxiv. 21) rest is commanded
on the seventh day, even in the busy times of ploughing and harvest.
I^^easoiLis attacbM to th^ comman^^^ — In E (xxiii. 12) the reason
assigned is that beasts may rest and servaq^s _be .refreshed. — In the
Dt. version of the decalogue (Dt. v. 12 — 15) a similar reason is
assigned, and it is added that the Sabbath was commanded to be a
commemoration of the release from Egypt. — The importance of the
Sabbath appears in various strata of P. In the decalogue (Ex. xx. 11)
the day was blessed and hallowed as a commemoration of the divine
rest after the creation, xxxi. 17 also refers to the creation, and speaks
of the Sabbath as a sign between Yahweh and His people, and a
perpetual covenant ; everyone that profanes it must be put to death.
In XXXV. 2 the punishment of death is enjoined for the profanation of
the day, and an additional prohibition occurs against lighting a fire in
any house on the Sabbath. (Num. xv. 32 — 36 relates an incident to
illustrate the stringency of the law ; and in Ex. xvi. 22 — 30 another
incident emphasizes the importance of the Sabbath rest.) Num. xxviii.
9 f. specifies the additional burnt-offering for the Sabbath. And in
Lev. xxiii. 3 a redactor of the law of H places the Sabbath at the head
of^ajist of set feasts. (On the origin of the Sabbath see note after

10. Festival of Unleavened Cakes (Mazzoth). J (Ex. xxxiv. 18 a)
has the simple command to observe the festival ; and then fuller
details are quoted ['as I commanded thee'] from xiii. 4, 6, 7, 10 —
'seven days,' 'the month Abib,' and the connexion which the festival
had traditionally acquired with the exodus ; one detail is not quoted,
viz. the special observance of the seventh day of the festival (xiii. 6). —
E (xxiii. 15 a), like J, has the simplest command without details.
[15 6 from ' Seven days' is a harmonizing addition from xxxiv. 18 f. ;
see analysis.] — In early days the processions during the week would be
to the nearest local sanctuary ; but in D (Dt. xvi. 1 — 8) the command
is carefully laid down, as with each of the three annual festivals, that

xliv INTRODUCTION [§ 3

the celebration must be at the central sanctuary. The details are
repeated — ' the month Abib,' the connexion vrith the exodus, and the
special observance of the seventh day. To the latter, however, D alone
applies the title ^azereth (' assembly '). D further stands alone among
the Hexateuchal codes in connecting the F. of Mazzoth closely with the
Passover. Ezekiel, however (xlv. 21), does the same. — In H (Lev. xxiii.
10 — 12) a sheaf of the firstfruits is to be waved before Yahweh, and a
lamb sacrificed as a burnt-offering, ' on the morrow after the Sabbath.'
This was probably part of the Mazzoth ritual ; and P understood it so ;
if so, it points to an original connexion between Mazzoth and the
beginning of harvest. (See Driver- White in he.) — P (Lev. xxiii.
6 — 8) prefixes to the commands of H explicit directions. The festival
immediately follows the Passover on the 15th day of the first month.
A fire-offering on each of the seven days is enjoined, and 'a holy
convocation ' is to be held on the first as weU as on the seventh day.
Similarly Num. xxviii. 17 — 25. In Ex. xii. 15 — 20 the same date is
specified, and the ' holy convocation ' on the first and the seventh
day. But it is further declared {v. 17) that the festival is com-
memorative of the exodus, and {v. 19) the penalty of death is
pronounced on anyone who eats leaven during the week.

11. Festival of Weeks. J (Ex. xxxiv. 22) and E (xxiii. 16) both
have a simple injunction to observe the festival ; it is connected with
* the firstfruits of wheat harvest ' (J) — ' the firstfruits of thy labours,
which thou sowest in the field' (E). The latter alone names it
' Festival of Harvest.' — D (Dt. xvi. 9 — 12) explains the name ' F. of
Weeks ' ; it is to be held seven weeks from the time that the sickle is
put into the standing corn. ' A tribute of free-will offering ' is
enjoined, 'according as Yahweh thy God blesseth thee.' The cele-
bration is to be at the central sanctuary, and the whole household,
and the dependent and poor, are to share in the joy and the feasting.
— In H (Lev. xxiii. 15 — 17, 20), as in the case of Mazzoth, the name
of the festival is not mentioned. It is dated seven weeks from ' the
morrow after the Sabbath, from the day that ye bring the sheaf of the
wave-ofi'ering.' This Sabbath was traditionally understood of the first
day of Mazzoth (Nisan 15th), so that the seven weeks would be
reckoned from the 16th. But it was probably the ordinary weekly
Sabbath — either that occurring in the Mazzoth week, or the first
Sabbath after the beginning of harvest. The latter accords with the
dating in D. Certain offerings are specified, which have been enlarged
by a redactor by the addition of vv. 18 f from Num. xxviii. — P
(Num. xxviii. 26 — 31) prescribes elaborate offerings.

12. Festival of Ingathering or Booths. J (Ex. xxxiv. 22 h) has

§3] RELIGIOUS AND CEREMONIAL LAWS xlv

the briefest possible command to observe * the festival of Ingathering
at the revolution of the year.' — E (xxiii. 16) has a similar brief
command to observe it 'at the exit of the year, when thou gatherest
in thy labours out of the field.' — In D (Dt. xvi. 13 — 15) it is called
the 'F. of Booths.' Its length is seven days, and it is held 'after that
thou hast gathered in from thy threshingfloor and from thy wine-
press.' The celebration is to be at the central sanctuary, and the
whole household, and the dependent and poor, are to share in the joy
and the feasting^ — In H (Lev. xxiii. 39 — 43), as before, the festival is
not named. It is to last seven days ; on the first the people are to
take ' the fruit of noble trees, fronds of palm-trees, and boughs of
thick trees, and poplars of the brook,' and they are to live in booths
throughout the week. And here only is a reason assigned : 'that
your descendants may know that I made the Israelites to dwell in
booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt.' (A redactor
has added, in v. 39, P's date, ' the 15th day of the seventh month,' and
an eighth day at the end of the festival.) — In P (Lev. xxiii. 34 — 36)
it is named the 'P. of Booths.' It is held on the 15th day of the
seventh month, and lasts seven days, to which an eighth day is added.
Num. xxix. 12 — 38 agrees with this, and prescribes elaborate offerings
for every day of the week.

13. Leaven in sacrifices. J (Ex. xxxiv. 25 a) and E (xxiii. 18 a)
prohibit universally the use of leaven in sacrifices (cf. Am. iv. 5, where
its use is regarded as a sin, or at least as a new-fangled custom
contrary to ritual tradition). It is forbidden at the Passover in J
(Ex. xiii. 3), D (Dt. xvi. 3) and P (Ex. xii. 8) ; and in the case of
the cereal offering in P (Lev. ii. 11, vi. 17). — Two exceptions are
found : H (Lev. xxiii. 17), the wave-loaves offered as firstfruits on the
F. of Weeks ; P (Lev. vii. 13), part of a peace-offering, when that
takes the form of a 'praise-offering.'

14. Sacrificial fat not to be left till the morning. The command
in this form is found only in E (xxiii. 18 h). — In J (xxxiv. 25) the pro-
hibition is concerned not only with the fat but with the whole victim,
and is restricted to the Passover sacrifice. Some, however, would
omit ' of the Passover ' and read ' my feasts ' for ' my feast.' — D
(Dt. xvi. 4) forbids the flesh of the Passover sacrifice to be left tiU
morning. So P(Ex. xii. 10, Num. ix. 12). — H (Lev. xix. 5 — 8) allows
a sacrifice of peace-offerings to be eaten on the second day, but it

1 In Dt. xxxi. 10 f. it is commanded that every seven years, in the year of release,
the Deuteronomic law is to be read to all Israel assembled at the central sanctuary
for the festival.

xlvi INTRODUCTION [§ 3

must not be left till the third. But (xxii. 29, 30) that form of it
which consists of a ' praise-offering ' may not be left till the second
day. — P (Lev. vii. 15f.) does not admit the general concession in the
case of peace-offerings^ but does admit it in the case of another
variety of peace-ofFerings — i.e. vows or free-will offerings.

15. ' Thou shalt not seethe a kid in its mother^ s milk' The
command is identical in J (Ex. xxxiv. 26 6), E (xxiii. 19 b), and D
(Dt. xiv. 21).

B. Civil and Social Rulings.

It is noticeable that the civil laws in chs. xxi. — xxii. 17, considered
as a code, are far from being a complete corpus such as would satisfy
even the elementary requirements of the Israelites in the wilderness
and during the days of the judges. For example — the laws of theft,
of debt, and of injury to property are signally incomplete ; in xxi.
23 — 25 the lex talionis is briefly summarized, the details being for the
most part quite inapplicable to the case supposed in v. 22 ; the method
of killing an ox is prescribed (xxi. 28 f., 32), but the method of the
judicial execution of a man is nowhere specified. No doubt much of
this incompleteness is due to the fact that the ^prophetical compiler has
preserved only portions of existing codes, and again that some of ^is
work has been lost in the course of transmission^. But another cause
is also assignable. It is to be remembered that the native inhabitants
of Canaan, among whom the Israelites found themselves, were not
wild barbarians. They had been in the land for centuries, and were
dwelling in settled communities. Their civilisation must, from the
nature of the case, have been more advanced than that of the invaders,
who had but recently emerged from a rude nomad life. If the
Israelites, coming in with their tribal customs, were to coalesce with
their neighbours, some amalgamation of laws and customs was neces-
y sary. The body of Canaanite laws with regard to landed property,
houses, commerce and agriculture, dealing with matters hitherto
outside their experience, would in most cases be adopted entire. But
there would be numerous details of criminal and civil procedure in
which a compromise would have to be made ; and on these points the
Israelite elders and priests would be called upon to deliver to their
people authoritative rulings. In our ignorance of Canaanite laws this

^ Cf. Ex. xxix. 31 — 34, a special case of peace-offering.
* See note on xxii. 1 f.

§3] CODE OF HAMMURABI xlvii

is of course conjectural ; but it is a conjecture which has a high degree
of probability. The laws of Exodus will, then, represent to some
extent the points in which the sterner, more rugged and uncivilised,
customs of the Israelites were either enforced or modified in the
presence of the laws of Canaan, while the great mass of the latter are
taken for granted and therefore receive no notice. And this has
an important bearing upon a question that has recently been raised,
as to whether the Israelite laws were in any way dependent upon
Babylonian influence. Owing to the enthusiastic study of Babylonian
and Assyrian literature roused by the rich discoveries of recent years,
the tendency to find Babylonian influence in all parts of the Bible — in
the New Testament as well as in the Old — has been apt to run to
extremes, and thus to discredit the instances in which the evidence
for such influence is strong. It is argued that if in Palestine Israel
learned and appropriated the ancient Babylonian myths, why should
they not have learned the Babylonian law as well ? And extravagant
language has sometimes been used, to describe the debt which Israelite
law owed to the ancient Code of Hammurabi. It may be well to
discuss the matter briefly at this point. The best concise account of
the code, with a translation, is to be found in DB (extra vol. pp. 584 —
612), in the article 'Code of Hammurabi.' The writer, Mr C. H. W.
Johns, notes the Biblical parallels which previous writers claim to have
found, but he also points out that the divergences between the code
and the Hebrew laws are in some cases scarcely less significant, as
signs of influence, than the similarities. The more striking of the
enactments which find parallels in the laws of Exodus are as follows :

§ 8. ' If a man has stolen ox or sheep or ass or pig or ship, whether
from the temple or the palace, he shall pay thirtyfold. If from a poor
man, he shall render tenfold. If the thief has not wherewith to pay,
he shall be put to death.' See Ex. xxii. 1 — 3, 9.

§ 9. ' If a man who has lost something of his, has seized some-
thing of his that was lost in the hand of a man, (while) the man in
whose hand the lost thing has been seized has said, " A giver gave it
me," or " I bought it before witnesses " ; and further, the owner of the
thing that was lost has said, " Verily I will bring witnesses that know
my lost property " ; (if) the buyer has brought the giver who gave it
him, or the witnesses before whom he bought it, and the owner of the
lost property has brought the witnesses who know his lost property,
the judge shall see their depositions, the witnesses before whom the
purchase was made, and the witnesses knowing the lost property, shall
say out before God what they know ; and if the giver has acted the
thief he shall be put to death, the owner of the lost property shall take

xlviii INTRODUCTION [§ 3

his lost property, the buyer shall take the money he paid from the
house of the giver ' [' to give ' is often = ' to sell ']. See xxii. 7 — 9.

§ 14. ' If a man has stolen the young son of a freeman, he shall
be put to death.' See xxi. 16.

§ 57. ' If a shepherd has caused the sheep to feed on the green
com, has not come to an agreement with the owner of the field, with-
out the consent of the owner of the field has made the sheep feed oflf
the field, the owner shall reap his fields, the shepherd who without
consent of the owner of the field has fed off the field with sheep shall
give over and above twenty GUR of corn per GAN to the owner
of the field.' See xxii. 5f., and note.

§ 112. ' If a man stays away on a journey and has given silver,
gold, precious stones, or portable treasures to a man, has caused him to
take them for transport, and that man has not given whatever was
given him for transport, where he has transported it, but has taken it
for himself, the owner of the transported object shall put that man to
account concerning whatever he had to transport and gave not, and
that man shall give to the owner of the transported object fivefold
whatever was given him.' See xxii. 7 — 9.

§ 117. 'If a debt has seized a man and he has given his wife,
his son, or his daughter for the money, or has handed them over to
work ofi* the debt ; for three years they shall work in the house of their
buyer or exploiter, in the fourth year he shall set them at liberty.'
See xxi. 2, 7.

§ 130. ' If a man has forced the wife of a man who has not known
the male and is dwelling in the house of her father, and has lain in her
bosom and one has caught him, that man shall be put to death ; the
woman herself shall go free.' § 156. * If a man has betrothed a bride
to his son and his son has not known her, and he has lain in her
bosom, he shall pay her half a mina of silver. Further, he shall pay to
her whatever she brought from her father's house, and she shall marry
the husband of her choice.' See xxii. 16.

§ 195. ' If a man has struck his father, one shall cut off his
hands.' See xxi. 15, 17.

§ 196. ' If a man has caused the loss of a gentleman's eye, one
shall cause his eye to be lost.' § 197. ' If he has shattered a gentle-
man's limb, one shall shatter his limb.' § 200. ' If a man has made
the tooth of a man that is his equal to fall out, one shall make his
tooth fall out.' See xxi. 24.

§ 199. ' If he has caused the loss of the eye of a gentleman's
servant or has shattered the limb of a gentleman's servant, he shall
pay half his price.' See xxi. 26 f.

§3] CODE OF HAMMURABI xlix

§ 206. * If a man has struck a man in a quarrel and has caused
him a wound, that man shall swear " I did not strike him knowingly,"
and shall answer for the doctor.' See xxi. 18 f.

§ 209. ' If a man has struck a gentleman's daughter, and caused
her to drop what is in her womb, he shall pay ten shekels of silver for
what was in her womb.' § 210. ' If that woman has died, one shall
put to death his daughter.' §§ 211 — 214 treat of similar injuries to
the daughter of a poor man and to a maidservant, the punishment
being according to a graduated scale of fines. See xxi. 20, 22 f.

§§ 245, 6. ' If a man has hired an ox and through neglect or blows
has caused it to die... [or] has crushed its foot or cut its nape, ox for
ox to the owner of the ox he shall render.' § 247. '...if he has
caused it to lose its eye, he shall pay half its price to the owner of the
ox.' § 248. ' ...if he has broken its horn, cut off its tail, or pierced
its nostrils, he shall pay a quarter of its price.' § 249. '...if God
has struck it and it has died, the man who has hired the ox shall
swear before God and shall go free.' See xxii. 10 — 15.

§ 250. ' If a savage bull in his charge has gored a man and caused
him to die, that case has no remedy.' See xxi. 28.

§ 251. 'If the ox has pushed a man, by pushing has made known
his vice, and he [the owner] has not blunted his horn, has not shut up
his ox, and that ox has gored a man of gentle birth and caused him to
die, he shall pay half a mina of silver.' See xxi. 29. § 252. ' If a
gentleman's servant, he shall pay one-third of a mina of silver.' See
xxi. 32.

§ 266. * If in a sheepfold a stroke of God has taken place or a lion
has killed, the shepherd shall purge himself before God, and the
owner of the fold shall face the accident to the fold.' § 267. ' If a
shepherd has been careless and in a sheepfold caused a loss to take
place, the shepherd shall make good the fault of the loss which he has
caused to be in the fold, and shall pay cows or sheep and shall give to
their owner.' See xxii. 10 — 12.

The parallels and the divergences, summarized in Mr Johns'
articles on pp. 608 — 10, lead inevitably to the conviction which he
states, that ' there can be no question of actual borrowing, at any rate
until post-exilic times.' But though the Hebrew legislators did not
sit down, so to speak, with a copy of Hammurabi's code before them,
their work does undoubtedly shew traces of Babylonian influence,^
which may be accounted for as follows. IJammurabi was the ruler of
a united Babylon, but it had been united by conquest. When his
dynasty (of which he was the sixth king) became established on the

H. d

1 INTRODUCTION [§ 3

throne, the population of Babylonia was an amalgamation of very
different elements. On the onehand there was a people long settled
in the country, who — though of mixed, and already partly Semitic,
origin — may be called the native Babylonians. These had attained to
a considerable degree of culture and civilisation. On the other hand
were the conquering (and probably Semitic) invaders, aristocratic, and
conservative of ancient ideas, but rugged and primitive. And Ham-
murabi's code represents a compromise between the customs of the two
peoples, in which the virile force of the new-comers left its mark. And
this state of things probably finds a close analogy in Palestine. The
rude and forceful new-comers were the Hebrews, while the mixed
Canaanite population were relatively in the same stage of civilisation
! as the native Babylonians ; and, as suggested above, a compromise
between the respective bodies of custom and law took place.

But further — it is probable that the laws of^the native Canaanites
were, with the modifications which would result from different climatic,
geographical and racial circumstances, in the main closely similg,r to
the laws of Babylon. As to the exact extent to which life in Palestine
had been affected by Babylonian influence before the Israelite occupa-
tion very divergent views are held. It is certain, however, that (as
Johns says) before that occupation ' the rulers of the settled districts
wrote in Babylonian to the kings of Egypt, and, presumably, also to
the kings of Mitanni, Assyria and Babylon.' Though this does not
prove that Palestine was at that time under Babylonian rule, it shews
that the whole of western Asia was so far permeated with Babylonian
influence that the language was the ordinary literary vehicle of the

Iday. In an inscription erected in his honour, Hammurabi is called
the King of Ma/rtu, which probably means ' the west land.' In still
earlier times Sargon I, king of Agade, is stated to have made an
expedition against Phoenicia ; and Gudea, the patesi or priestly ruler
of Sirgulla, boasts of having brought stones and timber from Martu
and Arabia. The kings of Ur, also, at one time possessed the west
land. And the title held by several of the ancient kings — ' King of
the four quarters of the world' — is held to denote that they ruled
westward as far as the Mediterranean. It is, therefore, in the highest
^degree probable that there had been contact in the past between
Babylonia and Palestine. And though certaiii ^features which the
early Hebrew laws have in common with Hammurabi's code may have
been common to all Semites from prehistoric times, or were such as
human nature in any country might devise, yet some of them may well ^
have found their way to Palestine during the tunes when Babylon

§ 3] CIVIL AND SOCIAL LAWS U

either traded, or held suzerainty, in the west land. In the later
Hebrew legislation of D and P, when Babylonian influence had again
reached Palestine in the times of the New Kingdom, the parallels with
Babylonian laws become increasingly frequent and close. But how-
ever large or limited the Babylonian elements in the Hebrew laws may
be, or may hereafter prove to be, the question of ' inspiration ' is not
really affected. The history of all the Semitic and other nations
involved in the problem was controlled by the One God who worketh
all in all ; it was the leading of His Holy Spirit, working upon a multi-
tude of minds through long ages, that brought the laws of Exodus into
a form, which, so far as our present knowledge enables us to discern it,
was a step in the guidance of the chosen people along the path that
ultimately led to ' the Perfect Law, the Law of Liberty \'

The civil and social laws in Exodus must now be compared with
later laws on the same subjects.

1. Enactments with regard to slaves.

E. Ex. xxi. 2. A Hebrew male slave is to be set free without ransom in
the seventh year of his slavery.

3. If unmarried when he became a slave, he goes free by himself ;

if married, his wife goes with him.

4. If he receives a wife while in slavery, she and her children remain

the property of the master, and the slave goes free by
himself.
5, 6. He may bind himself for life if he wish.

7. A concubine slave cannot go free.

8. If she please not her master, he may allow her to be ransomed,

but he may not sell her to foreigners.

9. If she be married to her master's son, she must be treated as a

daughter.
10, 11. If the master take another wife, he must give the concubine her

full dues ; otherwise she may go free without ransom.
20, 21. A master who strikes his slave with immediate fatal effects must

be punished. But if death is not immediate, he shall not

be punished.
26, 27. If he destroy the eye or tooth of a male or female slave, the slave

may go free.
32. If a male or female slave be gored to death by an ox, the owner of

the ox shall pay 30 shekels to the master of the slave, and

the ox shall be stoned.

^ Some useful remarks upon Hammurabi's code in its bearing upon the inspira-
tion of Scripture are made by DrLock, in The Bible and Christian Life, pp. 1 — 19.
The text of the code in the original cuneiform, with a French translation, will be
found in Textes Elamitiques-Semitiques, iv. Paris, 1902, and in English in Johns'
The Oldest Code of Laws in the World, Edinburgh, 1903.

Dt.

XV.

12.

13—15.

16,

17.

xvi.

11,

13.

xxi.

10-

-14.

xxiii.

15.

Lev.

xix.

20.

lii INTRODUCTION [§ 3

The later codes do not deal with the subject in such close detail,
but they are marked by a more humanitarian spirit.

D. Dt. XV. 12. A Hebrew male or female slave shall go free in the
seventh year of slavery.
The master shall present them with liberal gifts.
A male or female slave may be bound for life if they

wish.
Slaves shall join in the annual festivals.
A captive slave girl may bewail her parents for a month
before becoming a wife. If she please not her master,
he must let her go free. He may not sell her, or
treat her as a slave, if he has made her his wife.
A runaway slave is to be protected from his master.
H. Lev. xix. 20. Seduction of a betrothed slave girl must be punished,
but not by death,
xxii. 11. A bought slave may eat holy food in a priest's family.
XXV. 39, 40a, 43, 47, 53, 55. A Hebrew may not sell himself into life-long slavery.
He must be treated, without rigour, as a servant
hired by the year. Because all Israelites are Yahweh's
bondmen.
P. Lev. XXV. 406 — 42, 44 — 46, 48 — 52, 54. A Hebrew slave may redeem him-
self, or be redeemed, at any time, at a price varying
as the distance from the jubile. At the jubile he
shall in any case go free with his children. Only
foreigners may be owned as heritable chattels.
Ex. xii. 43. A slave when circumcised may eat the Passover.

2. The law of Asylum. E (Ex. xxi. 13, 14). The appointed
place, as may be gathered from v. 14, was an altar, which would be
within easy reach of every town. — In D (Dt. xix. 1 — 10), special
cities are substituted for the local altars, because the one altar at
Jerusalem would be practically useless for purposes of asylum. Three
cities are commanded, and, if Yahweh enlarged the Israelites' borders,
three more were to be added. (Three have previously been mentioned
in iv. 41 — 43. But it is unlikely that the writer of ch. xix. under-
stood nine cities to be intended. See Driver, Deut. p. 233.)— P /Num.
XXXV. 9 — 15, 22 — 28, 32) describes a more detailed procedure. The
cities are to be six in number, three on each side of the Jordan ; and
they now receive the definite title 'cities of refuge' or (perhaps)
'reception^' When a manslayer flees to one of these cities, the
' congregation ' of his own city bring him home, and judge between him

^ ISpPP *!!V. The word is obscure.

§ 3] CIVIL AND SOCIAL LAWS liii

and the go^el or 'avenger of blood,' to discover whether the man-
slaughter had been deliberate or accidental. If they find the latter,
they must take the man back to the city of refuge, where he must
remain until the death of the high priest. If he ventures out of the
city before that time, the go'el may kill him. (See Gray on the
chapter.)

3. Murder. B_(Ex. xxi. 12, 14). No asylum is possible for the
deliberate murderer. — D (Dt. xix. 11 — 13). The elders of the
murderer's city shall send to the city whither he has fled for
asylum, , and shall deliver him up to the go'el. — P (Num. xxxv.
16 — 21, 31). Different methods of committing murder are enu-
merated, and thereby the congregation of the murderer's city can
discover whether the act has been deliberate or accidental. If the
former, the go el shall kill him ; and {y. 31) no ransom is possible. —
Murder is forbidden in the decalogue (Ex. xx. 13, Dt. v. 17).

4. The Lex Talionis. E (Ex. xxi. 23—25). V. 23 is connected
with the case in which men strive together and injure a woman with
child ; if ' mischief ensue, i.e. the death of the woman, life must be
given for life. But this is followed by a brief summary of the law of
retaliation, irrelevant to the case in point. — In D (Dt. xix. 21) a
similar list, life, eye, tooth, hand, foot, follows a passage relating to
false witness (15 — 20), a very loose connexion being aiForded by the
words 'Ye shall do to him as he devised to do to his brother.' —
IJ.. (Lev. xxiv. 17 — 22) deals similarly with human life, limb, eye,
tooth, or any other blemish. An additional detail {v. 18) is that if a
beast is killed, a beast's life must be forfeited for it^.

5. Death inflicted by an animal. E (Ex. xxi. 28). The animal
must be killed. — So in P (Gen. ix. 5).

6. Theft. E (Ex. xxii. 1 — 4). The penalty for cattle-lifting is
five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep. If the animal be
found alive in the thief s possession, he must pay two animals. The
killing of a burglar by night is not criminal, but it is by day. — Theft
is forbidden in the decalogue (Ex. xx. 15, Dt. v. 19). — In H
(Lev. xix. 11, 13) theft (n33) and violent robbery Cptj) are mentioned
as distinct crimes. — In P (Lev. vi. 1 — 7) theft, or any fraudulent
appropriation of property, must be atoned for by full restitution, plm
one-fifth, and by a guilt-oflFering. Num. v. 5 — 8 : if restitution can-
not be made either to the owner or to his next of kin, it must be made
to the priest.

^ The section is placed very strangely by a priestly redactor in the middle of a
narrative which relates the stoning of a man who blasphemed the divine Name.

liv INTRODUCTION [§ 3

7. Kidnapping. E (Ex, xxi. 16). The penalty is death. —
Similarly in D (Dt. xxiv. 7), where, however, the command speaks
only of the stealing of an Israelite.

C. Mm-al and Ethical Injunctions.

Under this head are grouped some remaining laws in xxii. 18 — 28,
xxiii. 1 — 9. They reflect the religious spirit of the prophets who
preached in the 8th and 7th centuries.

1. Sorceress. .El.(Ex. xxii. 18). A sorceress must be put to death.
— By the time of D such practices had taken a strong hold upon the
country, and they are dealt with at greater length. In D (Dt. xviii.
10 — 14) eight kinds of magic are enumerated, and denounced as
'abomination to Yahweh.' — In H, the observance of omens and the
practice of soothsaying are forbidden (Lev. xix. 26 h) ; the consulting
of ghosts or familiar spirits is a defilement (v. 31) ; Yahweh will cut
off anyone who regards them (xx. 6) ; and a man or woman who has
a ghost or familiar spirit must be stoned (v. 27).

2. Intercourse with a beast. In E (Ex. xxii. 19), punishable with
death. — In D (Dt. xxvii. 21) it is cursed. — H (Lev. xviii. 23)
denounces it as ' unnatural V and a defilement.

3. Treatment of sojourners {gerlm). In E (Ex. xxii. 21, xxiii. 9)
the sojourner is not stated to have had any legal rights, but there is
the injunction not to oppress him. — In the decalogue (Ex. xx. 10,
Dt. v. 14) he must observe the Sabbath. — In D he must be treated
with justice (Dt. i. 16, xxiv. 14) and kindness (x. 18, xiv. 29) ; he may
share in the covenant (xxix. 10 — 12), and may receive instruction
with Hebrews (xxxi. 12). He is not, however, on complete equality
with the Israelite, for he may eat the flesh of an animal that has died
a natural death (xiv. 21 ^ Contrast Lev. xvii. 15). — In H the equality
is complete. Besides receiving justice and kindness (Lev, xix. 33 f.,
xxiii. 22), his religious privileges and obligations are the same as those
of Israelites (Lev. xvii. 8 — 14, xviii. 26, xx. 2, xxii. 18). — In P the
complete equality is emphasized (Lev. xvii. 15 f., xxiv. 16, 22); the
Passover and other sacrificial laws apply to him (Ex. xii. 48 f., Num. ix.
14, XV. 14 — 16), and the law of asylum (Num. xxxv. 15).

4. Treatment of widows and orphans. E (Ex. xxii. 22). A

^ ?3ri ' confusion,' violation of the divine order. In xx. 12 t the word ia applied
to intercourse with a daughter.

2 This is the only point of inequality mentioned in D ; but there were probably
others.

§3] ETHICAL INJUNCTIONS Iv

peculiarly Deuteronomic injunction. Cf. Dt. xiv. 29, xvi. 11, 14,
xxiv. 17, 19, 21, xxvi. 12 f., xxvii. 19.

5. Usury, forbidden to be exacted from a fellow- Hebrew ; E (Ex.
xxii. 25), — D (Dt. xxiii. 19 f , where, however, it is expressly allowed
from foreigners), — H (Lev. xxv. 35 — 37).

6. Pledges. In E (Ex. xxii. 26 f.) it is forbidden to take as a
pledge a man's outer garment, in which he would wrap himself at
night. — In D (Dt. xxiv. 12 f.) it is forbidden to keep the garment later
than sunset ; v. 6 forbids the taking of a mill, or the upper stone of
a mill; v. lib, a widow's raiment; and vv. 10, 11 prohibit the
entering into a man's house to fetch any article as a pledge ; the
lender must wait without for the borrower to fetch it.

7. False witness. Forbidden in E (Ex. xxiii. 1), and in the
decalogue (Ex. xx. 16, Dt. v. 20).— In D (Dt. xix. 16—20), one who
is proved to have witnessed falsely shall suffer the same penalty that
he thought to bring upon the defendant. — P (Lev. v. 1) condemns the
withholding of witness after adjuration to speak. (One witness in-
sufficient. Dt. xvii. 6, xix. 15, Num. xxxv. 30 (P).)

8. Unjust judgement. E (Ex. xxiii. 2, 3\ 6 — 8). — Impartial
judgement is commanded in D (Dt. xvi. 18 — 20), and H (Lev. xix.
15, 35). The taking of bribes is cursed in Dt. xxvii. 25.

9. Assistance to animals. E (Ex. xxiii. 4). A man must restore
to his enemy a straying ox or ass. — D (Dt. xxii. 1 — 3) has ' thy
brother's ox or his sheep,' and also his ass, garment or any lost thing.
And if the owner be absent, the lost property must be kept for him till
he claims it.

E (Ex. xxiii. 5). A man must help his enemy to raise a fallen
ox or ass. — Similarly D (Dt. xxii. 4), ' thy brother's ass or his ox.'

10. Adultery. Forbidden in the decalogue (Ex. xx. 14, Dt. v. 18).
— D (Dt. xxii. 22 — 24). The crime is punishable by the death of both
parties, even if the woman be only betrothed ; if, however, she be
forced, she is of course innocent (25 — 27). — In H (Lev. xviii. 20) the
crime is condemned as a defilement ; punishable by the death of both
parties (xx. 10)^. — In P (Num. v. 11 — 31) a woman suspected of guilt
is subjected to the ordeal of drinking a potion.

11. Covetousness. Forbidden in the decalogue (Ex. xx. 17, Dt. v.
21). See note, pp. 120 f.

In the above lists no laws are enumerated which do not find a
starting-point in the non-priestly portions of Exodus. There is a

1 The passage is corrupt : see note.

2 xviii. 6 — 19, XX. 11 — 21, contain further prohibitions with regard to sexual
intercourse.

M INTRODUCTION [§ 3

large number of regulations in D and H dealing with civil and moral
cases, and in H and P dealing with priestly requirements, which find
no equivalents even of the most primitive kind in JW. But if the
Exodus laws represent a compromise gradually brought about between
Israelite and Canaanite customs, so that a large body of native laws
and customs, which the Israelites found in Palestine and adopted
unchanged, never had a place in their early written records, it is not
' impossible that when later generations drew up codes, some of these
unwritten laws and customs might appear in them — either in the form
which ancient tradition had preserved, or (as would most frequently be
the case) with numerous modifications. This is not the place to
investigate the subject ; but it may be confidently assumed that many
regulations in the later codes did not originate in or near the times of
the writers, but — though the earlier codes do not contain them — point
ultimately to the period when Israel was silently assimilating customs,
ceremonies and laws, which had existed in Canaan for ages before they
arrived in the country. See, for instance, the following passages, con-
taining elements which have every appearance of being ancient :
Lev. xvi. 8—10, xviii. 6—18, xx. 11—21 ; Num. v. 11—31, vi. 1—21,
xix., xxx., xxvii. 1 — 11, xxxvi. 1 — 12.

D. The Decalogtie.

The famous group of laws which stands at the head of the Horeb
legislation (Ex. xx. 1 — 17, Dt. v. 6 — 21) has afforded a wide field for
critical study. The group is usually known as the Decalogue, that is
the ' Ten Words/ a name derived, not from Exodus, but from
Dt. iv. 13, X. 4. Opinion, however, is not unanimous as to its
division into ten parts. There are three systems, adopted by
different religious communities, as follows^ :

Greek and E.C. and
Reformed. Lutheran.

Jewish.

God the Deliverer out of Egypt Preface Preface 1st

Prohibition of polytheism Ist I , j. I

Prohibition of graven images 2nd j st j- 2na

Employing the divine Name wrongly 3rd — 9th 2nd— 8th 3rd — 9th

...False witness

Prohibition of covetousness 10th 9th & 10th 10th

^ They can be seen conveniently tabulated by Carpenter-Battersby, The
Hexateiich, i. 223 — 254.

' See art. ' Decalogue ' in DB i. 581, Nestle, Expos. Times, June 1897, and
Taylor, Sayings of the Jewish Fathers^, pp. 120 — 3.

§3] THE DECALOGUE Ivii

The Jewish acceptation of -iw. 1, 2 as the first 'word' is very
unnatural ; and scarcely less so is the union into one ' word ' of the
prohibitions against the worship of other gods and the making of
images. The Roman and Lutheran division of the prohibition of
covetousness into two ' words ' can claim support from the arrange-
ment of the clauses in Dt. (TJie Roman Church,. indeed, follows the
order of Dt., placing the coveting of the wife before that of the house,
&c.) But if the history of the Ten Words is rightly explained below,
the original form of the 10th precludes the possibility of such a
' division.

The first four ' words ' deal with duties to God ; the remainder with
duties to fellow-men. But filial duty was so closely allied to religious,
that the commands are usually thought of as falling into two pentades
1st to 5th being precepts oipietas, 6th to 10th oi probitas.

The student is at once struck by the fact that while the 1st, and
the 6th — 9th 'words' consist, in each case, of a single terse sentence, the
others are amplified by reasons assigned for keeping the commands, or
other additional matter. Not only so, but in the Dt. version these
amplifications do not preserve intact the wording of Exodus. A
different reason is assigned for the observance of the Sabbath, and
there are small divergences in the 2nd, 5th, 9th and 10th. And there
is great probability in the supposition which is now widely adopted
that some of the commands have received later hortatory expansion,
and that all were originally cast in the same terse form, which would
be more suitable for inscriptions on tablets of stone. Thus the 2nd —
5th and the 10th may have run ' Thou shalt not make to thee a graven '
image,' ' Thou shalt not take up the name of Yahweh for a falsehood,'
' Remember the Sabbath day to sanctify it,' ' Honour thy father and
mother^' 'Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house.' When the
expansions are carefully studied it is found that they contain literary
characteristics which recall each of the four elements J, E, D and P.
The 'jealousy of Yahweh' is spoken of in xxxiv. 14 (J) ; the reason"
attached to the 3rd ' word,' ' Yahweh will not hold guiltless,' recalls
xxxiv. 7 (J); 'visiting the iniquity... generation,' and 'doing mercy
for thousands,' find parallels also in xxxiv. 7^ The enumeration of
the household in the 4th and 10th ' words ' may be compared with
xxiii. 12 (E). The larger proportion, however, of the hortatory matter .

^ It is further possible that the 4th and 5th were originally prohibitions, like
the others.

2 The expression ' doing mercy ' is peculiar to JE, occurring elsewhere seven
times in the Hexateuch ; Gen. xix. 19, xx. 13, xxi. 23, xxiv. 12, 14, xl. 14, Josh.
u. 12.

Iviii INTRODUCTION [§ 3

is in the unmistakeable style of J). The addition ' thy God ' after
the name Yahweh in the Preface and in the 2nd — 5th 'words' is
peculiarly Deuteronomic ; as are also ' the house of slaves ' (v. 2), and
the additions 'nor any form... nor serve them' (vv. 4f), 'them that
hate me,' 'them that love me' (v. 6); the expression 'within thy
gates,' and the reason attached to the 5th 'word/ are strongly
characteristic of Deuteronomy. If these additions had been made in
Y Exodus before Dt. v. was written, it is difficult to see why the writer of
^ \ the latter should not have quoted them verbatim. They must have y
been added in Exodus by a Deuteronomic redactor. Again — after the
enlargement of the 4th ' word ' in vv. 9 f , a reason for keeping the
Sabbath is annexed which differs from that in Dt. v. 15. It is scarcely
/ probable that if D had had the present passage before him, he could
'^ have substituted his historical reference for the high spiritual con-
ception of a community in Sabbath rest between God and man. The
clauses in Exodus — 'for in six days...&c.' — appear to be based upon
Gen. ii. 1 — 3, which forms part of P's account of the Creation\ It['
appears, then, that the decalogue reached its present form by a gradual ]
growth. The 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 10th ' words ' were expanded by-
material from J and E ; Deuteronomic elements were added to the
2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th, and the Preface ; and the 4th was further,
expanded by a priestly writer.

But when the later expansions have been recognised, the question
remains whether the original brief commands were included from the
first in the work of E, or whether they were added to the Exodus
legislation after his time.

(a) Some have approached the problem from a subjective point of
view. Do the 'Ten Words,' in their original form, display such an
advanced ethical standard as to render it impossible to place them at
the head of the enactments of the Israelite religion, and to assign
them to Moses ? It is true that we are accustomed to see in them an

1 Carpenter-Battersby, Hexateuch, ii. 112, point out that some of the verbal
details are different ; instead of ' the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is
in them,' Gen. has 'the heavens and the earth and all their host' ; the verb
'rested' is shdbhath in Gen. but nfiah in Ex. ; the word ' Sabbath' is not used in
Gen., nor is the blessing on the day connected with Yahweh's rest by ' therefore'
('al ken). But they also observe that 'al ken is employed in connexion with the
Sabbath in Ex. xvi. 29 (P) ; the verb mlah is found in the parallel passage Dt, v. 14,
which may have prompted the writer's choice ; and the other differences may be
explained by the influence of the context : the triple division into sky, earth and
sea is already recognised in v. 4, and the word ' Sabbath ' was already before the
writer in vv. 8, 10. But in any case he was under no obligation to quote Gen. ii.
1 — 3 ; it is the similarity in thought which suggests that the two passages emanate
from the same circle of ideas. See the priestly passage xxxi. 17, where the addition
'and was refreshed' is an echo of the Sabbath law in E (xxiii. 12).

§ 3] THE DECALOGUE lix

ethical code of profound depth, inculcating, in all fulness, piety
towards God and right dealings with our fellow-men. The Christian
Church has, of course, been justified in drawing from them all the
spiritual teaching that can be drawn. In the modern religious use of
the 'Ten Commandments' the principle is applied to them which was
applied by Jesus Christ, that each specific command is to be com-
plemented by the universal moral and spiritual requirements which
conscience demands. But this interpretation of the commands!
according to a high ethical standard is apt to conceal the possibility,
that their original standard may have been less lofty. All the ■
commands can be expkined as _teaching^^ not morals, so much as
][>reservati(m_ of rights. Kautzsch sums them up as follows : ' Thou
shalt not do violence to (i) what belongs to God — 1st, His sole right
to worship ; 2nd, His superiority to any earthly form ; 3rd, His name;
4th, His day (as a type of all His other " holy ordinances ") ; 5th, His
representatives ; (ii) what belongs to thy^ neighbour — 6th, his life (as
his most precious possession) ; 7th, his wife (as next in preciousness) ;
8th, his goods and chattels ; 9th, his honour. It is only in the last of
the Commandments that another point of view makes its appearance,
namely in the prohibition to touch even in thought the property of
one's neighbour. Thus the climax is reached of the ascending scale
which presents itself in the arrangement of the Commandments of the
second table — in the advance from sins of act to sins of word, and
finally to sins of thought.' But it is not certain that even the
10th ' word ' really rises to a higher ethical standard than the others.
Even in Dt., where the two words 'covet' and 'desire' are used, they
may be, as Prof. Driver says, merely a rhetorical variation. But
certainly in Exodus, where the wife is coupled with slaves, cattle
and other property, there is no reference to lustful thought. The
command is aimed against that greedy desire for another's goods which
so often issued in violent acts — the oppressions and cheating which
were rife among the wealthier classes, and were denounced by Amos,^
Isaiah and Micah^ As far, then, as the nature of the commands is
concerned, there is nothing in them which must necessarily be con-
sidered impossible in the Mosaic age.

(&) But a serious difiiculty arises in connexion with the 2nd 'word.'
Although it is true that the conscience of a nation could not have
been on a level with the conscience of its noblest leader, yet if Moses
himself prohibited the making of images it is strange that no one before

1 Cf. Am. iii. 10, v. 11, viii. 4—6 ; Mic. ii. 2, 9, iii. 2, 3, 5 ; Is. i. 23, iii. 14, 15,
V. 8, 23.

Ix INTRODUCTION [§ 3

the 8th century appears to^have been acquainted with the fact. It
was apparently the universal practice to employ images in the worship
of Yahweh. The j?m/m at Gilgal (Jud. iii. 19, R.V. 'quarries')
were probably sacred stone images used in worship. The Danites
(Jud. xviii. 30 f.) set up Micah's pesel\ or 'graven image,' at Dan,
and it was served by a line of priests originating with the Levite
Jonathan, whose ancestry was traced to Moses. It is clear that the
pesel was an image used both by Micah and the Danites for Yahweh-
worship (cf. xvii. 13); and in chs. xvii., xviii., there is not the slightest
blame attached to its use ; in Micah's case the making of an image
was a religious act on the part of his mother. A pesel was also set up
in Manasseh's reign (2 K. xxi. 7), when there was a violent reaction
from the recent prophetical movement towards reform. Another
sacred object of frequent use in worship was the Ephod^. It has been
noticed as occurring in the list of Micah's properties. Gideon (Jud. viii.
27) made an ephod of 1700 shekels of gold, and set it up at Ophrah.
The later religious editor denounces this as idolatry, but Gideon's
previous zeal in overthrowing the altar of Baal (vi. 25 — 28) shews that
he intended, by his ephod, to advance the worship of Yahweh. There
V was an ephod (IS. xxi. 9), apparently a solid figure or image, in the
sanctuary at Nob.. And throughout the days of Samuel and Saul the
ephod is in evidence as a recognised method of inquiring of the oracle
(1 S. ii. 28, xiv. 3, 18 (lxx), xxiii. 6, 9, xxx. 7). As late as Hosea the
use of the ephod remained unobjectionable. In Hos. iii. 4 it is
mentioned (together with king and priest, sacrifice, mazzebhdh and
terdpMin) as one of the requisites of Israel's normal political and
religious life of which they will be deprived in exile. Teraphim, also,
appear to have been employed by true worshippers of Yahweh ^. They
are often thought to have been images of ancestors worshipped in each
household. But the evidence for ancestor-worship in Israel is very
doubtful. It is unlikely that David (1 S. xix. 13, 16) would have had
an image for any other purpose than Yahweh -worship*. The word
'teraphim,' as has been said, is coupled with ephod in the story of

^ In xvii. 4 f. four different words are employed to describe objects used in
Tahweh-worship : pesel ('graven image'), massekah ('molten image'), ephod and
teraphim. It is probable that the two verses belong to different sources, and it is
doubtful how many images the words really describe. See Moore, Judges, in loc.

^ The derivation and exact meaning are doubtful. See note following xxviii.
12.

3 The word is used of an image of an Aramaean deity in Gen. xxxi. 19, 30, 32,
34 f.

* The same passage shews that the plural word ' teraphim ' could denote a
single figure, and that it might be of the size and form of a man.

§3] THE DECALOGUE Ixi

Micah, and in Hos. iii. 4. Among images for Yahweh-worship must
also be reckoned the^ golden bulls of Jeroboam I at Bethel and Dan.
It is quite evident that he intended them to represent Yahweh
(1 K. xii. 28), as Aaron is related to have done (Ex. xxxii. 4). On
the other hand the Deuteronomic compiler of the books of Kings
denounced them repeatedly, and the opposition to them seems to
reach back as early as Hosea (x. 5, 8) ; ' molten images,' also, are
condemned in J (Ex. xxxiv. 17) and in Hos. xiii. 2. Lastly, besides
the mention of various images, expressions were used in early times
which imply that Yahweh was conceived of as visibly and locally
present in His sanctuary. ' To see the face of Yahweh ' occurs with
some frequency ; but later orthodoxy altered it to the form * to
appear the face of Yahweh ' (sic), the impossible construction clearly
pointing to the original form (cf. Ex. xxiii. 15, IV, xxxiv. 23 f., Dt.
xvi. 16, xxxi. 11, Is. i. 12). And the expression 'to stroke, or
smooth ^ the face of Yahweh (or Elohim),' though it came to be ,
used as a mere idiom for * propitiate,' seems to date from a time when
it implied the presence of a tangible figure (cf Ex. xxxii. 11, 1 K.
xiii. 6, 2 K. xiii. 4, Jer. xxvi. 19).

The evidence, therefore, suggests that Yahweh was universally
worshipped in Israel with images Ml..about_the time of Jeroboam 11,^
when the prophets began to raise their voice against a worship which
was only external, and did not shew its fruits in righteousness and
justice. If this is so, it may safely be said that a categorical command! ^
against the practice could scarcely have been laid down by the founder •
^ / of the nation. Moses may have taught some of the lessons enshrined V| V
)( in the decalogue, but it is difficult to believe that he promulgated the^' ' ^
'' ^ ' Ten Words.'

(c) It is instructive to notice the_relation in which the contents of
ihe decalogue stand to the other laws assigned to Moses at Horeb.
Each of the commands, with the exception of the 7th and 10th,
finds a point of contact with laws preserved by Elohistic hands in
chs. XX. — xxiii.

Ist 'Thou shalt have none other xx. 23a 'Ye shall not make [other

gods but me.' gods] with me.'

2nd 'Thou shalt not make for thy- xx. 23 6 'Gods of silver or gods of

self any pesel.' gold ye shall not make unto you.'

^ The Samaritan version retains the accusative particle flN, instead of 7N
« nntc'

2 The root of the verb, however, in Aram, can denote 'to be sweet.' This
meaning is not found in Heb., but it is possible that ' to sweeten the face ' may
have been the early form of the expression.

Ixii INTRODUCTION [§ 3

3rd ' Thou shalt not take up the xxiii. 1 a ' Thou shalt not take up
name of Yahweh for a false a false report (a report of shdv').'

purpose {shdv'y
4th ' Remember the Sabbath day to xxiii. 12 'Six days thou shalt do thy

sanctify it.' work. . .&c.'

5th ' Honour thy father and mother.' xxi. 1 5, 1 7 'He that smiteth — curseth

— his father or his mother shall
surely be put to death.'
6th ' Thou shalt do no murder.' xxi. 12 'He that smiteth a man so

that he die shall surely be put to
death.'
7th ' Thou shalt not commit adul- vacat ; cf. xxii. 16 f.

tery.'
8th ' Thou shalt not steal.* xxi. 16, xxii. 1 — 4 Kidnapping, house-

breaking and cattle-lifting.
9th ' Thou shalt not bear lying xxiii. 1 b ' Put not thine hand with
witness against thy neighbour.' the wicked to be an unrighteous

witness.'
10th ' Thou shalt not covet thy vacat.
neighbour's house.'

The commands of the decalogue are couched, as a whole, in a
generalising didactic form, while those in the other column deal more
in concrete instances. And it is difficult to deny priority to the
latter.

(d) The above arguments consist of deductions from the contents
of the decalogue. But the subjective considerations are entirely borne
out when we examine the place which the decalogue holds in the Horeb
chapters. As it stands it is in the forefront of the legislation ; it
should be followed by xix. 7, 8, a fragment of narrative connected with
it. The Deuteronomist, finding it in this position in the source which
he had before him, went further, and in his own writing placed it in
isolated grandeur as the sole basis of the Horeb covenant. But in
y Exodus not a word is said to shew that the decalogue was the basis of
any covenant. The covenant, both in J and E, is expressly based on
other laws, which were — as stated in both narratives — inscribed by
Moses himself (J, xxxiv. 27 f., E, xxiv. 4). E's description of the
theophany, interrupted at xix. 19 by part of J's description, is
continued in xx. 18 — 21, after which the covenant laws at once begin.
And J's version of the covenant laws begins at xxxiv. 14 (see v. 10).
\ Thus np^roomcan^be found for the decalogue in the original narratives
of J and E, and the conclusion is inevitable that it was a later addition.
The literary evidence suggests that in its original_form, without the
expansions, it came into being as a di8tinct/code~between E and the

§3] THE DECALOGUE Ixiii

rise of the Deuteronomic school^^ i.e. roughly speaking, between 750
and 650 B.C.

It cannot be determined with certainty whether its composition is
to be assigned to the Northern or the Southern Kingdom. Kuenen,
who believes in a ' Judaean recension ' of both J and E, says\ ' If we
are to regard the writer who summarised Yahw^'s commands in the
decalogue as an original and creative author, we must place him in the
8th century ; but if we are to suppose that he merely resumed what
the prophets of Yahwfe had already uttered, we must make him a
contemporary of Manasseh. His ethical conception of the service of
Yahwfe finds its closest analogue in Mic. vi. 1 — vii. 6, which is in all
probability a product of this latter period.' It is reasonable to suppose
that the prophets, like Isaiah, drew round them by their magnetic
influence, a circle of disciples, who would be eager to store up the
' testimony ' and the 'torah' (cf. Is. viii. 16, 20) which they received
from them. But if the decalogue was the work of such a disciple, it is
not necessary to place him as late as Manasseh. The ethical con-
ception of the service of Yahweh finds at least as close an analogue in
the teaching of Hosea, as in Mic. vi., vii. No less than six of the
' Ten Words ' may be compared with the brief surviving records of his
preaching. The 1st 'Word' is implicitly contained in the pathetic
story of Gomer (Hos. iii.), who symbolized Israel in her ' whoredom,'
i.e. her adherence to other gods than Yahweh; and it is found almost
verbatim, together with the Preface (in a non-Deuteronomic form), in
xiii. 4 (and cf. xii. 9). Although, as has been said, Hosea speaks
without disapproval of the ephod and teraphim (iii. 4), yet the
2ud 'Word' is in keeping with his unsparing denunciation of idols
of silver and gold and of 'the calf of Samaria' ^iv. 17, viii. 4 6—6,
xiii. 2). The sin forbidden in the 3rd 'Word/ if it be that of
swearing false oaths, is found in iv. 2, 'swearing and Ijang,' and
^.v. JL. ' swearing falsely ' {shdv'). The Sabbath is mentioned in
ii. 11 as one of the religious festivals of which Israel would be
deprived in exile. The 6th, 7th and 8th 'Words' find their counter-
part in iv. 2 3, and it is significant that, apart from the decalogue, the '
word ' adultery,' with either a symbolical or a literal meaning, occurs ,
in no Old Testament writing earlier than Hosea ; nor does it occur ^
again till Jeremiah. The 9th and 10th 'Words' find no exact parallels
in Hosea ; but, on the other hand, false witness and covetousness are
denounced by his predecessor Amos, who preached in the north
(v. 10—12 ; ii. 6, viii. 4—7).

1 The Hexateuch, Engl. Transl. p. 244.

Ixiv INTRODUCTION [§ 3

The decalogue, therefore, touching at so many points the Elohistic
legislation at Horeb and the teaching of Amos and Hosea, appears to
be a result — and an immediate result — of prophetic teaching in the
north. But it is probable th&t its present position in JE, and the
narrative material, attaching to it (see analysis) are due to a subsequent
Judaean editor.

This study of the laws in Exodus makes it clear, beyond all doubt,
that the_PeaJ^teuch embraceselements belonging^ to widelyjiifferent
periods ; and it shews that with the advancing life of the people of
Israel from Mosaic until post-exilic days, the basis of their national
and religious constitution was successively and frequently modified.
There is no consideration more fatal than this to a mechanical theory
of divine inspiration. If the Pentateuch consists in the ipsissima verba
of God, treasured up and written, or even verbally taught, by Moses,
it is, as regards large portions of the law, an unintelligible chaos.
The critical treatment of it, on the other hand, to which the guidance
of the Holy Spirit has led students of modern times, is the reverse of
destructive, in that it ^ves_order and coherence to the records, and
shews how, by the gradual changes in the national ordinances, God
fulfilled Himself in many ways.

§ 4. The Priesthood.

The following remarks are not a study of the Israelite priesthood,
which presents many and complicated problems, but a brief sketch of
its history in so far as it bears upon the book of Exodus. For fuller
treatment the reader is referred to the article 'Priests and Levites,'
by W. Baudissin, in DB iv.

In all parts of the world, tribes that have reached a certain stage
in the development of religious ideas feel that they require someone to
mediate between them and the deity whom they worship. That the
deity may be propitiated, and that he may preserve a kindly and
protective attitude towards them, certain performances of religion are
requisite ; and the more elaborate these become, the more necessary is
it to be provided with someone who possesses the technical knowledge
required for the purpose. By reason of his technical knowledge, this
mediator stands in a specially close relation to the deity, and is there-
fore able not only to propitiate him, but also to declare to the people
his will in any matter on which they need guidance or correction.
The Hebrew term kohm, ' priest,' appears to be derived from a root
signifjdng ' to stand.' He is one who occupies a close relationship to
God, in that he ' stands ' continually before Him as His servant. This

§4] THE PRIESTHOOD Ixv

early conception perhaps underlies the (probably late) expression
applied to the priests in xix. 22 : ' who come near unto Yahweh.'
The functions of the Israelite priests in early times are not easy
to define with certainty. But something may be gathered from the
action of Moses. He was the great mediator between Yahweh and
Israel (xx. 19, 21, cf. Gal. iii. 19) ; and, apart from his capacity
as leader in the desert wanderings, his chief duty consisted in
declaring to them the will of God. He pitched a tent outside the
camp, where Yahweh ' used to speak to him face to face as a man
speaketh unto his friend ' ; and everyone who wanted to enquire of
the divine oracle used to go out to the Tent of Meeting (xxxiii.
7 — 11). And for generations afterwards this appears to have been
the main function of a priest — to deliver toroth, statements of the
divine will, to aU who enquired of him (see p. 183). After the
arrival in Canaan, when a body of laws began to be formed, it was a
custom, perhaps learnt from the Canaanites, to decide certain social
difficulties by the test of an ordeal ; and this used to be performed
* before God ' (xxii. 8, 9), i.e. at the nearest local sanctuary, where the
priest would officially superintend the function, and formally pronounce
the decision arrived at by means of the ordeal. Another ordeal, which
though described only in P (Num. v. 11 — 31) was probably a survival
of very ancient custom, was superintended in all its ritual details by
the priest. And a formality of a different kind, the boring of a slave's
ear (Ex. xxi. 6), was also performed at the sanctuary. And these are
probably only specimens of many. But while priests held an official
position in early times, it is quite certain that the act of sacrifice was "'■
not their exclusive prerogative. In aU the regulations bearing upon
worship in chs. xx. — xxiii., xxxiv., priests are not mentioned, the laws
being addressed to the whole body of Israelites. At the important
crisis of the inauguration of the covenant, it was not Moses or any
other priest who offered sacrifice, but ' the young men of the children of
Israel' (xxiv. 5). This perhaps reflects a common custom of deputing
the duty of slaughtering and manipulating the body of the victim to
the young men of the family, as being the strongest and most active
members of it. But for a long time after the age of Moses, sacrifices \
were freely offered by non-priestly persons on all kinds of occasions : [
e.g. Gideon (Jud. vi. 20, 26), Jephthah (xi. 31, 39), Manoah
(xiii. 19), the Beth-shemites (1 S. vi. 14), Saul (xiv. 34 f.), David's
family (xx. 6), David (2 S. vi. 13, 18, xxiv. 25), Adonijah (1 K. i. 9)>
Solomon (iii. 4, viii. 63).

M. e

Ixvi INTRODUCTION [§ 4

The mention of 'the priests' in Ex. xix. 22, 24 is difficult. In
pre-Mosaic days the religious practices of Israel were in all probability
similar to those of other nomads ; and the act of sacrificing and the
general conduct of worship would lie with the father of each family.
It is quite unlikely that there was a recognised body of official priests
before the arrival at Sinai. Indeed it is not until xxxii. 25 — 29 that
the first formation of such a body is recorded (see below). Their
introduction into the narrative of the theophany appears to be an
anachronism.

But when the Israelites had been a short time in Canaan a new
development emerges into sight. The actual beginnings of it are
obscure, but it gradually came about that certain members of the
nation, who were skilled in the technical knowledge required for the
dispensing of the divine oracle, were considered as a special body or
caste. They did not belong to any one portion or tribe of Israel.
Some of those who usually performed religious functions for their
families perhaps confined their attention to them, and became recognised
experts. Jud. xvii. contains an instructive narrative of an Ephraimite
named Micah, who had a private shrine with an image (or images), and
consecrated his son to be its priest. But when 'a young man... of the
family of Judah who was a Levite ' came by, he persuaded him to be
his priest for a yearly wage. His son could fulfil the office well
enough, but it was more satisfactory to have procured the services of
an expert (v. 13). A 'Levite,' then, was a term which connoted not
ancestry but profession; it was equivalent to 'clergyman' — according
to the notions of a clergyman's office which then prevailed. The origin
and derivation of the word are quite uncertain. The Hebrew form of it
is Lewi. But not only was the individual official styled a Lewi, but
also the whole body of them — the clerical caste ; and so we find the
expression bene Lewi, 'the sons (i.e. members) of the Lewi body.'
In the book of Exodus the name occurs once with its individual, and
once with its corporate, signification. In iv. 14 Yahweh speaks to
Moses of 'Aaron thy brother the Levite.' As pointed out in the
note on the words, it would be quite superfluous to tell Moses to what
tribe his own brother belonged ; and the passage probably belongs
to a time when the official body of Levites were believed to have
been genealogically descended from an ancestor Levi. In xxxii. 25 — 29
(J) there appears to be an attempt on the part of the prophetic
historian to explain the origin of the Lewi body^ The bene Lewi

1 Other instances of narratives in J whose object is to accoant for existing
customs or institutions may be seen in Gen. xxxii. 32 (the custom of abstaining

§4] THE PRIESTHOOD Ixvii

consecrated themselves for divine service by their zeal in punishing
the Israelites for some sin which the remains of the narrative do not
explain.

The chief problem, however, which calls for explanation, is the
relation in which the official body stood to the tribe of Levi the son
of Jacob. The solution which is widely adopted at present is that
mgmbership in the body came to be explained as a blood-relationship.
This was rendered easier by the title bene Lewi — the sons of Levi
were believed to be sons by lineal descent — and also by the fact that
the priesthood in many of the sanctuaries actually became a here-
ditary privilege. The line of Eli — Eli, Phinehas, Ahitub, Ahimelech,
Abiathar — is an instance in point. (See Driver on the corrupt text in
2 S. viii. 17.) In some parts of the country the genealogical descent
was traced to Moses (cf. Jud. xviii. 30), but in the larger number of
cases to Aaron. And thus Moses and Aaron were the first and greatest
* sons of Levi,' and therefore they were brothers. The piecing together
of scanty evidence must necessarily be to a certain extent conjectural ;
and it would of course be absurd to dogmatize on the matter. But
this explanation is quite in accordance with what we know of ancient
habits of thought, and seems to account for the facts more simply than
any other. Further, if the bene Lewi, as a tribe, never had a real
existence, it is easier to explain an otherwise extraordinary fact — that
they alone are recorded to have received no tribal territory in the land
of Canaan. According to P (Josh, xxi.) the priests and Levites
received certain towns, scattered throughout the country. But not
only do the earlier writers say nothing of such an arrangement, but no
less than six of the towns occur in the short early fragment, Jud. i.,
as places from which the Israelites could not drive out the native
inhabitants — i.e. Taanach (Jud. i. 27), Gezer {v. 29), NahaloP (v. 30),
Rehob (v. 31), Beth-shemesh {v. 33), Aijalon {v. 35) ; and two others,
Hebron^ and Debir, are expressly stated (Josh. xv. 13 — 19 = Jud. i.
8 — 15, 20) to have been appropriated by Caleb and Othniel the son of
Kenaz. The individual Levites were for the most part very poor ;
many of them, like Micah's Levite, wandered about looking for a home
and occupation. And afterwards, when local sanctuaries, in which

from eating the hip sinew of animals), Ex. iv. 24 — 26 (infant circumcision), xii. 21 —
23, 29 f., xiii. 11 — 13 (the offering of firstlings, and its connexion with the Passover),
xii. 34, 39, xiii. 3 a, 4, 6f., 10 (the Festival of Unleavened Cakes). And several
stories account for the sanctity of particular objects or places ; e.g. Gen. xii. 6 f.,
xvi. 13 f., xxi. 33, xxvi. 23—25, xxxi. 46—48, xxxii. 30 f., xxxv. 20.

^ In Josh. xxi. 35 it is spelt Nahalal.

2 Josh. xxi. 12 is an attempt to harmonize the discrepancy.

Ixviii INTRODUCTION [§ 4

some of them had risen to considerable wealth and position, were
abolished in the Deuteronomic reform, they were reduced to straits ;
so that they are commended, in Dt., to the charity of the Israelites,
together with strangers, widows and orphans (see xii. 12, 18 f.,
xiv. 27, 29, xvi. 11, 14, xxvi. 11 ff.).

Still another problem requires attention. How was it that though
Moses was the great leader of the nation and the first official at the
desert sanctuary, Levites in many parts of the country traced their
descent not to him but to Aaron? In Ex. xviii. 12 Aaron does not
act as a priest ; he is apparently an elder, or sheikh. And in xxiv. 14
he and Hur (cf. xvii. 12) are left, in the capacity of sheikhs, to control
and govern the people. See also v. 9. There is nothing in J or E
which implies that Aaron was the great priest of the Israelites'. We
are once again landed in the region of conjecture. It is possible to
suppose that in course of time Moses — who was never related to have
offered sacrifice — was considered exclusively as the leader and the
lawgiver ; and Joshua, who had been his assistant in the sanctuary,
became the warrior captain who succeeded him in his leadership. So
that when sacrifice, as well as the dispensing of the oracle, came to be
included among the exclusive rights of Levites, they traced the rights
to the next most important personage whose name figured in the
ancient traditions.

It is important to notice that before the time of the exile there is
not a trace of the idea that Levites are inferior to priests ; Levites are
priests. There was one line of priests, however, to whom a special
prestige attached. When Solomon built his magnificent royal chapel
at Jerusalem, he appointed as its chief official Zadok, who had
previously acted as one of David's priests. In so doing he dis-
missed David's principal priest Abiathar. The latter, as has been
said above, was descended from Eli ; and Eli — to judge from the name
of his son Phinehas — probably traced his descent to Aaron through
Phinehas and Eleazar*^. But no pre-exilic writings contain any statement
with regard to Zadok's descent. The priests at Jerusalem were content
to be known as the ' sons of Zadok.' And the more that the southern
kingdom prospered, the more important did the royal sanctuary
and its officials become ; especially must this have been the case after
the fall of the northern kingdom. But the Levites in the northern

^ Unless Dt. x. 6 is from E, in which case the passage contains the earliest
trace of the idea.

^ Even the Chronicler, who exalts the line of Zadok, admits Eli's Aaronic
descent, but he relegates it to the inferior line of Ithamar (1 Chr. xxiv. 3).

§4] THE PRIESTHOOD Ixix

kingdom were further distinguished from the Jerusalem priests by the
fact that the official worship of Yahweh was carried on under the form
of bull-worship, certainly at Bethel and Dan (1 K. xii. 29), and
probably also at many other leading sanctuaries. And in many
places in Judah images of some sort were employed 'from Geba to
Beersheba' (see 2 K. xxiii. 8). It is easy therefore to understand
the dislike which the Jerusalem priests would feel towards them,
and the serious friction that would ensue, when, by the Deutero-
nomic reform, all the country sanctuaries were suppressed, and it
was laid down that the Levites who had served in them were to
receive an equal share in religious rights with the priests at the
capital (Dt. xviii. 6 — 8). It would appear from the somewhat obscure
statement of 2 K. xxiii. 9 that the Jerusalem priests contrived to hold
their own, so that the country priests, although possessed of some
privileges, did not manage to gain the right of sacrificing. Ezekiel,
himself a Jerusalem priest, vehemently states his own view of the
matter (xliv. 10 — 16), — that the country Levites, who had formerly
officiated in worship at which images were used, ought to be degraded
to the position of inferior assistants to * the Levite priests the sons of
Zadok.' Some writers have conjectured that it was during this eccle-
siastical contest that the story of Ex. xxxii. 1 — 24 received its present
shape. The earlier form of it was probably a protest against image-
worship, introduced in a late stratum of E in connexion with the
delivery of the Ten Words (xx. 1 — 17). But since the country
Levites, at some sanctuaries at least, worshipped Yahweh under the
form of bulls, it is not impossible that a tradition had sprung up among
them that bull-worship could be traced to their founder — Aaron him-
self. But whether they actually made this claim or not, it is plausible
to suppose that the narrative received its present sinister form at the
hands of those who denounced the Aaronite Levites for idolatry by
condemning their founder for the same sin.

Thus far only those passages in Exodus which are earlier than P
have been touched upon. But an extraordinary feature of the later
history of the priests is that after the return from exile everyone with-
out exception who claimed to be a priest was obliged to prove his
descent from Aaron. The term ' sons of Zadok ' disappeared, and
every priest was now a 'son of Aaron,' Levites being reduced, as
Ezekiel had wished, to the position of inferior officials. And yet at
a later time the name Zadok reappears in the title ' Sadducee.' This,
however, is not the place to deal with the subject, and it is still a
problem of considerable difficulty. (See an article by Prof. Kennett

Ixx INTRODUCTION [§ 4

in the Jov/rnal of Theol. Studies, Jan. 1905 ; and by the present
writer, Sept. 1905.)

The final exaltation of the * sons of Aaron ' to the position of the
only possible priests at the only possible sanctuary is the point of view
from which the priestly writers looked back at the events at Sinai.
They represented the state of things which obtained in their own day
as having existed by divine ordinance from the first. Aaron their
reputed founder, and his sons, are personages of extreme sacredness
and importance. The Levites, their inferiors and assistants, are
mentioned, in Ex., only in xxxviii. 21, which anticipates the full
definition of their status and duties in the book of Numbers.

The following are the injunctions laid down in Exodus with regard
to the vestments and the consecration of the priests.

The Vestments. Ch. xxviii. {l) Of Aa/ron. By far the most impor-
tant item (which is mentioned first) is that which marked him out as
the priest par excellence — one whose chief duty it was to declare God's
will to men, and to represent men before God, — i.e. the Ephod. This
was to be of the most elaborate workmanship, like the inner veil in the
Tent : the finest linen woven by a designer with gold, violet, purple and
scarlet threads. Its shape is not fully described ; but it appears to have
been merely a broad piece of material which was worn round the chest
and under the arms. The elaborate accessories, on the other hand, are
described in more or less full detail — the two shoulder-straps, each
with a jewel in a gold filigree setting fastened to it, and each jewel
engraved with the names of six of the tribes of Israel ; and immediately
below the ephod was worn the artistic girdle. The ephod was doubled
in front, forming the Hoshen (EW ' breastplate '), a square pouch in
which were carried the Urim and Tummim ; and the pouch was covered
with twelve jewels placed in four rows in gold filigree settings. The
pouch was kept closed at the upper end by gold chains fastened to the
two upper corners and to the jewels on the shoulder-straps, which thus
acted as buttons ; and at the lower end there were rings at the two
corners on the under side of the pouch which exactly coincided with
two other rings fastened to the ephod ; and the two pairs of rings
were tied together by violet ribands. On each of the twelve jewels
was engraved the name of one of the tribes. With the ephod was
worn a violet robe, made in one piece like a chasuble, with an opening for
the head. The opening was strengthened by 'a binding of woven
work ' to prevent it from being torn. And round the lower rim of the
robe there ran alternate golden bells and pomegranates. On the head
was worn a turban {miznephetK), and upon the front of it a golden

§4] THE PRIESTHOOD Ixxi

diadem or fillet, tied with a violet thread, and inscribed with the
words Kodhssh leYahweh 'Consecrated to Yahweh.' Beneath the
* robe of the ephod ' was worn a tunic, woven in a check pattern ; its
shape was probably something like that of a cassock. And it was
bound to the person by an embroidered sash.

(2) Of Aa/ron's 'sons.' Their vestments were of the simplest
kind. Tunics, of which the material is not specified ; but they were
probably intended to be of a check pattern similar to x\aron's.
Sa^kes, which were apparently similar to his. Turbans (migbd'oth) ;
these were different from Aaron's, and the derivation of the word
suggests that they were wound in such a way as to raise them to a
height above the head. Linen breeches, worn because in performing
their duties at the altar the priests stood upon a high ledge. (Con-
trast the early regulation in xx. 26.) Shoes are nowhere mentioned,
and it may be taken for granted that priests always officiated with
their feet bare. In the case of the priests' benediction this was laid
down as imperative even after the destruction of the temple. (Bosk
Hashana 316 ; Sota 496.) The post-Biblical passages which treat of
the priestly vestments are B. Sir. xlv. 6 — 13, 1. 5 ff. ; Philo, Vita
Mos. iii. 11 — 14 (ed. Mangey ii. 151 — 5); De Mona/rchia ii. 5, 6
(ed. Mang. ii. 225—7); Joseph. Ant. ni, vii. 4 — 7; Bell. Jud. v.
V. 7 ; Mishn. Yoma vii. 5. ; Jerome, Ep. ad Fabiolam x. — xviii.
(ed. Vallarsi i. 360—6).

The Consecration. Ch. xxix. 1 — 37. The ceremony of consecration
both for Aaron and his sons is, with one exception, the same. It is
probable that it represents approximately the ritual which obtained at
the time of the writer ; but whether the whole ceremony continued to
be performed in the later days of the priesthood is doubtful. See
Schiirer, The Jewish People in the Time of Christ, Div. n. Vol. i.
215 f.

(1) They bathed in water, to wash away all ceremonial impurity
attaching to them at the moment. (2) They were clothed in their
vestments. (3) After the high priest had been vested, he was
anointed with oil. It is only in a later stratum of P that Aaron's
sons, the ordinary priests, are also anointed. (See note on v. 7.)

These acts comprise the preparation of the persons of the priests.
Now follows that which brings them into relation with God.

(4) A bullock was brought before the Tent for a Sin-ojffering — a
propitiatory gift whereby the persons concerned were separated from
all that was not holy. Aaron and his sons formally signified that they
were the persons concerned, by placing their hands upon the head of

Ixxii INTRODUCTION [§ 4

the bullock. When the animal had been killed, its blood was smeared
upon the horns of the altar, and dashed at its base, to do away with
the impurity of an altar made with human hands. It was thus con-
secrated to receive the victim. Then the intestinal fat was burnt, as
God's share in the offering. And lastly the flesh, skin and dung were
burnt outside the camp. As the sin-offering was, in this case, in
behalf of the priests themselves, they did not, as was usually the case,
receive the flesh for their own use. (5) A ram was next offered as a
Burnt-offering, — that is to say, not only the fat, but the whole animal
was burnt, after the laying on of hands, and the dashing of the blood
at the base of the altar. (6) A second ram was then offered as a
Peace-offering, the distinguishing feature of which was that the
ordinary worshipper normally received a share for the purpose of a
sacrificial meal. (In the present case Moses acted as priest, while
Aaron and his sons held the position of the ordinary worshipper
since they were not priests until the ceremony was completed.) Besides
the usual ritual of the peace-offering, two special ceremonies were
performed, because the ram was not only a peace-offering but also
a *ram of consecration.'

{a) Aaron and his sons were consecrated for service in every limb
of their body. This was s)naibolized by smearing the blood of the ram
on their right ear, thumb and great toe ; and the blood was dashed at
the base of the altar. (6) The fat portions and the right shoulder,
together with part of a cereal offering, which were to be given to God
by burning, were first placed in the hands of the ordinands, and offered
(lit. ' waved ' or ' swung,' see n. on v. 27) before God. This was the
priestly interpretation of the ancient expression ' fill the hand ' — ordain
for service. Then these portions were burnt in the usual way. The
burning of the right shoulder was unusual. It is called ' the shoulder
of the contribution ' (R. V. ' the thigh of the heave-offering ') because it
was normally taken from the carcase as a contribution to the priest.
And the priest, in ordinary cases, also appropriated the breast, after
' waving ' it. In the present case, Moses ' waved ' the breast and took
it for himself, but the shoulder was given to God. (c) Lastly the rest
of the carcase was boiled, and Aaron and his sons, in the capacity of
ordinary worshippers, ate it and the rest of the cereal offering, as a
sacrificial meal, (d) This ceremony was to be performed daily for
seven days. In a later passage (Lev. viii.), where Moses' performance
of these injunctions is described, three further details are added :
(i.) Moses anointed not only Aaron but also * the Tent and all that
was therein,' ' the altar and all its vessels and the laver with its base *

§ 5] THE TABERNACLE Ixxiii

(w. 10 f.) ; (ii-) he also sprinkled Aaron and his sons and their gar-
ments with a mixture ' of the anointing oil and of the blood which was
upon the altar' (v. 30) ; (iii.) the repetition of the ceremony for seven
days is understood to involve that Aaron and his sous shall not depart
from the door of the Tent during the seven days (vv. 33, 35).

§ 5. The Tabernacle; its structure, historicity and
religious significance.

1. The Structure. The contents of the Tabernacle, its various
articles of furniture, the veil and screen, and the apparatus for service,
are dealt with in the notes. But it may be useful to discuss here, in a
continuous form, the difficulties occasioned by the description of the
Tent itself.

Many attempts have been made to elucidate the details specij&ed in
xxvi., xxvii. 9 — 18, and to produce from them a coherent description ;
and it would be of little use to enter into a prolonged discussion of
their various merits. The commentaries of Dillmann, Baentsch and
Holzinger, the Archaeologies of Keil and Nowack, the dictionary
articles of RiehmS Riggenbach* and Benzinger^ and the monographs
by Bahr, Popper, Brown and Caldecott, present a bewildering abun-
dance of conflicting opinions. The work, however, which appears to
the present writer to leave the fewest problems unsolved is Kennedy's
article ' Tabernacle ' in DB iv. He strikes out, on some points, an
independent and successful line of his own", which he will doubtless
present more fully in his forthcoming commentary.

(a) Curtains, xxvi. 1 — 6. It must be remembered throughout
that the narrator wished to describe a Tent — not a solid building,
xxvi. 1 clearly states that the Dwelling is to be made of ten curtains
each 28 X 4 cubits. They are to be joined (how is not specified) into
two sets of five. These two sets are again to be joined by 50 gold
hooks, caught into 50 loops of violet, placed along the edge of each set ;
' and the Dwelling shall be one.' The Dwelling is therefore one great
curtain, 28 x 40 cubits. But, as in an ordinary tent, while the covering
is the first consideration, wooden supports are necessary to hold it up,
so it is with the Dwelling. This relation of the woodwork to the
Dwelling is rightly insisted on by Fairbaim* : ' The boards in the
original description appear only as a sort of accessory, and are not
referred to till after the two sets of curtains which properly formed the
tent are described.'

1 Bihl. HWB. 2 PEE\ » Enc. B. * Typology of Scripture, 243 footnote.

Ixxiv INTRODUCTION [§ 5

(b) Kerdshim, xxvi. 15 — 30. The invariable opinion hitherto
has been that the ' boards ' specified in xxvi. 15 f. are solid beams of
wood. They are to be 10 cubits in height and 1| cubit in width.
Their thickness is not mentioned. Twenty ' boards ' form each of the
long sides of the Tent {w. 18, 20), and six the hinder (western) end
{v. 22). This would make the wooden walls 30 cubits on each of the
long sides. The length of the western end will be discussed below.
Each 'board' {v. 19) is to have two bases (^adhdnim, R.V. 'sockets')
of silver, i.e. solid blocks of silver into which it is fixed. And each
' board ' has two yddhoth, each of which has a base corresponding to
it {v. 17). These yddhoth are understood by Benzinger and others to
be ' pivots ' (Joseph, orrpoc^tyycs), which are fixed into the bases. It is
noticeable, however, that (in v. 37) though the five pillars at the
eastern entrance stand on bases, nothing is said of yddhoth. An
insuperable difficulty arises here. If these wooden walls are to support
the curtains, the latter must hang outside them ; but if the walls
are composed of solid beams touching one another throughout, the
magnificent curtains worked with cherubim become invisible from
within ; and when the covering of goats' hair is thrown over them,
they become invisible from without ! Benzinger suggests (see below)
that the goats' hair covering was drawn out from the curtains, and
fixed by ropes and pegs, so that the beautiful curtains would be visible
to one peering into the narrow open space thus formed. But of this
the account in Exodus says nothing. By some writers the difficulty is
felt so acutely that they suggest that the curtains worked with
cherubim were intended to hang inside the walls as tapestry. But
there is not a hint in Exodus as to the method by which they are
to be held up. And against this supposition is the fact that the goats'
hair covering is said to overlap the curtains by one cubit on each of
the two long sides, 'to cover it' (xxvi. 13). And, further, in the
secondary portion of the priestly narrative (xl. 19), Moses ' spread '
the Tent (i.e. the goats' hair) over the Dwelling (i.e. the curtains).
It is here that Kennedy's ingenious explanations throw the greatest
light. He argues that the kerdshim are not 'boards' but 'frames'
of comparatively thin wood ; that the two yddhxJth are not ' tenons '
or 'pivots' but 'arms' (as the Hebrew word itself rather impHes),
i.e. long pieces of wood which formed the sides (lxx fjiiprj) of the
frames ; and that the expression 'joined one to another' (xxvi. 17)
means 'joined by cross-rails' like the rungs of a ladder. (This is
further explained in the notes.) Now if the kerdshim are frames,
composed of side-arms and cross-rungs, it is evident that the curtains,

30 40 50

^ ' ■» - T -■• « ■ m • f » 1

1 v2 3 1 a » i . « 3,'

' \ 1

/ ' *

^—■r--\--;

'- — 1 — -.

■ [ i.tt

^^\ i \

,Y----]~-o-^

---->---

' '^'.1

(.'--J

* - - 1

— }_ — '^^

i '^

0 o

•---;•----•

'-.'°-^-.

'---[----

' ^^

^ , 1

' ' .' ' 1 ^^ 1 1

> L' -1 ' ^'•

. ^ 1 1 ' ! "^ c

Plan of th«

Court of the Dwelling

ScaJe of Cubits

0 S 10 IS 20 2S

Two Kerashim
ith Bars Rings & Banes

§ 5] THE TABERNACLE Ixxv

when thrown over them, a,re visible from within the Dwelling, and that
they are divided into a series of panels. (Moreover this was the case
in Ezekiel's temple (xli. 18 — 20), where a cherub and a palm tree
appeared in each panel of the wall.) The frames are strengthened by
five bars running through rings. One unbroken bar ran continuously
the whole length of a side of the structure, and the other four pre-
sumably ran above and below it, at the top and the bottom, two
half-length bars in each case being placed end to end, and reaching
the whole length. Thus, when inserted in position, there were three
full-length bars ; and this renders it probable that each frame had
three cross-rungs, over which the bars ran. Further advantages of
Kennedy's scheme will be seen later.

The description of the hinder (western) end of the structure causes
great difficulties. In xxvi. 22 it is composed of six herashim. As
each is \\ cubit in width, the wall will be 9 cubits in length. But it
is allowed on all hands that the Most Holy place, formed by three
walls and the veil, was a perfect cube of 10 cubits — the side measure
being half of that in the shrine of Solomon's and Ezekiel's temples.
There is, therefore, 1 cubit of wall left to be accounted for ; and
Kennedy very plausibly accounts for it by allowing \ cubit for the
thickness of each of the side walls with its bars. But in w. 23 — 25
two more herashim are specified, making a total of eight with their
bases. Benzinger despairs of -y. 24 as hopelessly corrupt. He places
the eight ' beams ' in a line, to form the western wall, making a length
of 12 cubits, and standing outside the ends of the side walls. But
since the Most Holy place is a cube of 10 cubits (which he takes to be
the inside measurement), he, with several other writers, concludes that
the ' beams ' are each 1 cubit in thickness. Apart from the enormous
difficulties involved in the use of beams 1 x 1^ x 10 cubits, this
explanation does not account for the specifications in xm. 23, 24,
in which the two kerdsJiim are mentioned separately from the six,
and intended for a special purpose. Holzinger {Kwrz. Hand-Komm.
p. 128) suggests that the seventh and eighth ' beams ' {v. 25) may be a
late gloss for the two end beams of the six {v. 22), and the ' sixteen
bases ' a correction for ' twelve bases,' to agree with it. The hinder wall
stood between the last kerdshim of the two long sides, and the walls
were fastened at each comer by a clamp. But he pronounces v. 24
'unintelligible in details.' Kennedy believes that the two extra
herashim are to be used simply to strengthen the corners. The last
frame at each end of the hinder wall is to be doubled, the second frame
forming a buttress, sloping upwards and terminating just under the

Ixxvi INTRODUCTION [§ 5

topmost bar. This involves the adoption (with many writers) of the
Samaritan reading ' double ' {toarmm, lit. * twins ') for the present
Hebrew reading ' entire ' (tammlm). The words may be rendered :
' and let them be double beneath, and likewise let them be double at
the top of it [i.e. the Dwelling] towards the one ring,' — implying that
the same is to be the case towards the ring at the other corner\

By those who do not hold the passage to be corrupt, and yet who beUeve
that the kerashim were thick beams, many fanciful explanations have been
offered. The least impossible is that of Keil, to which Dillmann hesitatingly
assents, that the ' double ' keresh meant two beams fastened at right angles.
In this case either reading — ' double ' or ' entire ' — could be explained ; the
beams are to be considered either double, or fastened into one, from bottom
to top. But even so, Dillmann is forced to assume that ' beneath ' and ' at the
top ' imply that a piece in the middle is cut away, to allow for the passage of
the bar. Nowack follows Bahr in supposing that ' double ' means ' exercising
a double function,' the comer beam belonging both to the end and the side
wall, although in the measurements it could only be reckoned to the end wall.
Riggenbach accepts the strange suggestion of Riehm, that the comer beam
was ' entire ' at the top, but cut with a re-entering angle at the bottom, giving
the appearance of a double comer. This would only have weakened the
comer, with no compensating advantage.

The passage is certainly obscure, and possibly corrupt. But it is
extremely improbable that any explanation is right which does not
preserve intact the statement of v. 22, that the kerashim which
formed the end wall were six in number, and each was 1| cubit
in width.

The inside measurements of the Tent, adopted by many writers
from early times, produce improbable and uns3nnmetrical results only
if the kerashim are thick beams. In Solomon's temple the measure-
ments were quite certainly inside, from wall to wall. But in the
Tabernacle, the walls are represented by curtains, whose thickness may
be neglected. The Dwelling consists of the curtains, and therefore the
measurements must be from curtain to curtain. And thus Kennedy's
supposition that the kerashim were frames, which, with their bars,
were each ^ cubit in thickness, allows an inside measurement of
10 cubits. And the outside measurement is the same ; so that
from within or without the whole structure measures, symmetrically,
30 X 10 X 10 cubits, and the Most Holy place 10 x 10 x 10 cubits.

^ This is preferable to 'towards the first ring,' i.e. the uppermost of the three
rings fastened to each keresh to hold the bars.

§ 5] THE TABERNACLE Ixxvii

(1.) xxvi. 1 — 6. The Dwelling is one great curtain, 28 x 40 cubits.
Now if, according to the calculations of Nowack and Benzinger, the
end wall measures 12 cubits, and the side walls 31 cubits each, and
they are 10 cubits in height, the curtain will hang down 8 cubits at
the sides and 9 cubits at the end. But if, more probably, the walls
measure 10 cubits (the end) and 30 cubits (the sides), and their height
is 10 cubits, the curtain will hang down 9 cubits, i.e. one cubit off the
ground, at the sides, and 10 cubits, i.e. just touching the ground, at
the end. In either scheme the separating of the Most Holy from the
Holy place is rightly taken account of in the formation of the curtain ;
the joining of the two sets of five pieces of tapestry (with 100 violet
loops and 50 gold hooks) Hes along the line of the veil which divided
the Dwelling into its two parts.

(2.) w. 7 — 13. Above the Dwelling was spread the goats' hair
covering, named, rather confusingly, in v. 7 'the Tent,' This consisted
of eleven pieces, comprising two sets of six and five respectively, joined
by 100 loops (colour not stated) and 50 bronze hooks. The whole was
one covering, 30 x 44 cubits. With Benzinger's measurements this
hangs down 9 cubits, i.e. 1 cubit off the ground at the sides. With
Kennedy's it just reaches the ground. Both are in agreement with
V. 13, in which the goats' hair is said to overlap the tapestry at the
sides by 1 cubit. But the measurements along the length of the
structure are thrown into confusion by v. 12. The goats' hair covering
is 13 cubits (Benzinger), or 14 cubits (Kennedy) longer than the roof
length. V. 9 says that one piece (i.e. 4 cubits' width) shall be
'doubled over against the front of the Tent.' This would allow
9 cubits hanging at the back (Benzinger), or 10 cubits just reaching
the ground as on the two long sides (Kennedy). But v. 12 says that
an extra half curtain (i.e. 2 cubits' width) remains, which is to hang at
the back of the building. In order to allow of this, Benzinger is forced
to assume that ' the sixth curtain,' of v. 9, must mean ' half the sixth
curtain ' ; so that 2 cubits are doubled at the front of the building,
31 cubits cover the roof, leaving 11 cubits hanging at the back.
The extra cubit at the back he supposes, without any evidence,
to have been drawn taut and pegged to the ground — as he also
supposes to have been the case at the sides. But to make ' the
sixth curtain ' mean ' half the sixth curtain ' is a more violent
expedient than to regard v. 12 as a gloss (Kennedy, Holzinger ai).
Either there were two divergent traditions as to the arrangement of

Ixxviii INTRODUCTION" [§ 5

the goats' hair, preserved in v. 9 and v. 12 respectively, or the writer
of the gloss in u 12 misunderstood v. 9.

With regard to the portion doubled in front, the effect would be
that of 2 cubits hanging over the edge of the roof, and protruding at
the sides \ Joseph. Ant. m, vi. 4 describes it as an deraifia, 'gable,'
and Trao-ra's, ' porch.' This would be useful in excluding all light,
which might otherwise penetrate along the top of the entrance screen ;
and it would also exclude any dripping in of rain-water at the same
place. But it is not at all improbable that the chief thought in the
narrator's mind was a wish to present a miniature counterpart to the
porch in Solomon's and Ezekiel's temples.

The other coverings of the Dwelling, the dyed rams' skins and the
dugong skins, are enjoined in xxvi. 14, but their size is not stated ; but
to be of any use they (or at least the dugong skins) must have
descended to the ground.

(d) The pillars of the court. The only further item which calls
for special consideration here is the difficulty occasioned by the
narrator's enumeration of the pillars required for the court. On
the north and south sides the hangings measure 100 cubits, and
on the western side 50 cubits. On the east there are three hangings ;
those to the north and south of the entrance measure 15 cubits each,
while the entrance itself consists of an embroidered portiere or screen
(mdsdk) of 20 cubits. The periphery of the court is thus 300 cubits.
The pillars which support the hangings are numbered 20 on each of
the long sides, and 10 on each of the short sides ; there is therefore a
pillar for every 5 cubits of hanging. This, though mathematically
accurate, and satisfying the narrator's instinct for symmetry, is in
practice exceedingly difficult. For if the corner pillars are reckoned
twice, as some writers suppose, the distance from one another of the
pillars on the short sides would be ^-^ cubits, i.e. rather more than the
distance, yV cubits, between the pillars on the long sides ; while if the
corner pillars are not to be reckoned twice, the longer sides require
21 pillars each, the western end 11, and the eastern end 5 + 4 +4=^13.
To preserve, as far as possible, both symmetry and mathematics
Kennedy explains as follows : ' counting 4 for the entrance, and 3
for the curtain to the left (vv. 16, 14), we proceed round the court,

^ Kennedy, in his illustration of the structure in DB, disregards, by an over-
sight, the :part which must have protruded at the sides, giving the impression that
it was tucked in beneath the first piece which covered the side walls. This would
require a transverse cut in the material at the top of each wall, of which the text
gives no hint.

§ 5J THE TABERNACLE Ixxix

reckoning always from the first corner pillar met with and counting no
pillar tmce.' His diagram (here reproduced by permission of the
publishers of Hastings' DB) illustrates this\ But though this is
the only way of giving a meaning to the narrator's words, symmetry
is, as a matter of fact, completely destroyed, because the entrance
does not stand in the centre of the eastern end. It is incon-
ceivable that P intended this. But in planning on paper a purely
theoretical scheme of numbers — 3, 4, 5 and their multiples — the
practical difficulties escaped him. The straits to which writers are
reduced in the attempt to explain the narrator's words can be seen in
The Tabernacle, Its History and Structure, by W. Shaw Caldecott,
who not only places the screen with its four pillars at a distance
eastward of the court, but assumes an hiatus of one pillar on the north
side, forming a second entrance (pp. 169 — 177). Of this there is not
the slightest hint in Exodus, although Ezekiel's court had both a
northern and a southern entrance (ch. xL). As to Solomon's court
this is uncertain (see DB iv. 702).

The following are the principal measurements in a tabular form :

Cubits

Feet (approx.)

Ten curtains of the Dwelling, each

28x4

42x6

Eleven curtains of goats' hair, each

30x4

45x6

Height of the Dwelling

Width of the Dwelling

Length of the Most Holy place

Length of the Holy place

Width of Kerashvm

Thickness of Kerashvm (with bars)

Side of the court

100

150

End of the court

Screen at entrance to the court

Hangings on each side of screen

22i

2. Historicity. The book of Exodus affords abundant proof that
the priestly writers did not make it their aim to present history as it
was, but to systematize traditions and often to supplement them,
under the dominance of religious ideas. Nowhere is this more
strikingly illustrated than in the description of the Tabernacle. The
ideas with which the writers were inspired are a study totally distinct
from the question whether those ideas corresponded with actual

1 The words NOETH and SOUTH have been accidentally printed in his diagram
on the wrong sides of the court. This is corrected in the accompanying figure.

Ixxx INTRODUCTION [§ 5

historical data. Most students of the Old Testament to-day can
start with the presupposition that a series of chapters exhibiting
countless characteristics of P. and finding no parallels in J, E, or D,
will probably contain matter which cannot claim to be historical.
And the presupposition finds ample support when the chapters are
carefully studied.

(a) First it is to be noticed that the writers, in drawing up an
ideal scheme, have allowed inconsistencies and obscurities to creep in,
which render many important details impracticable. The difficulty of
arranging the pillars of the court has already been noticed ; others,
such as the following, may be mentioned. The altar of bumt-oifering
(xxvii. 1 — 8) is a hollow wooden structure plated with bronze, within
which a fire burnt. If this fire was hot enough to consume whole
animals, it must soon have charred to ashes the wooden structure !
The kerdshlm which supported the curtains of the Dwelling (though
they were not solid beams one cubit in thickness, which would weigh
nearly a ton each) must have been at least ^ cubit in thickness (see
above) ; and 48 of these, with their 13 bars, and 100 bases of solid
silver, the 9 pillars for the veil and the screen, together with the
300 pillars of the court, their bases of solid bronze, their pegs,
cords, &c., would be a burden requiring a number of transport
waggons out of all proportion to the capabilities of a nomad caravan
in the desert. And the difficulty reaches its climax when it is stated
in Num. vii. 8^ that the Merarites were assigned /our waggons for the
purpose.

Again, in spite of the mass of detailed information, the omissions
are surprising ; for example, nothing is said of the shape of the
cherubim, the formation of the ' feet ' of the ark and the table, the size
of the two outer coverings of the Tent, the material of the lamps which
were placed upon the lampstand, the nature and position of the ' ledge'
on the bronze altar, the position of the ' rail ' (R. V. ' border ') round
the table, the position in which the poles were attached to the ark,
the table and the incense altar, the position of the ornamentations on
the lampstand, the thickness of the solid gold kapporeth, and of the
flat top of the table, the thickness of the kerdshlm, and the method of
fixing them into their silver bases, the method (if any) of fixing the
bases themselves'^, the method of coupling the several pieces which

^ A passage belonging to a later stratum of P than Ex. xxvi.

2 The bases were probably not thought of as sunk in the ground, for precious
metal must have been intended to be visible. On the other hand, if the silence of
the narrator is to be pressed, and they were not fixed at all, the weight of the four-
fold covering would force the walls inwards.

§ 5] THE TABERNACLE Ixxxi

composed the two parts of the curtain and of the goats' hair covering.
All these, and other details, cannot have been omitted from the text
accidentally ; and they form remarkable gaps in a series of specifica-
tions intended to guide Moses and his workmen. They are minutiae
which escaped the narrators.

(b) In the next place it is natural to ask how it was that these
untrained nomads, fresh from Eg5rptian slavery, possessed the utmost
artistic skill in joinery, weaving, embroidery, the casting and hammering
of metals, and many other branches of handiwork, and also in the
manufacture of the highly finished tools which the work required —
while generations later, as a settled and comparatively civilised
community, the Hebrews were so ignorant of these arts that Solomon
was obliged to hire Phoenician workmen for his temple (1 K. v. 6,
vii. 13 f, 40, 45). Further, it is difficult to suppose that a desert
tribe, even after spoihng the Egjrptians, possessed the requisite mate-
rials. Apart from the precious stones and the fine linen thread, the
amount of metals alone, as given in xxxviii. 24 — 29, works out roughly
(on the lowest computation of the shekel, i.e. 210*48 grs.) as follows^ :
gold, 40,553 oz., silver, 132,297 oz., bronze, 92,699 oz. Moreover it
would be very diflicult to procure in the desert the olive oil for the
lamps, and the dyes — violet and purple from Tyrian shell-fish, and
crimson from an insect found on a particular kind of oak tree.

(c) An insurmountable difficulty in accepting P's descriptions
as historical is the fact that some details are directly opposed to
commands and descriptions in the earlier writings. The 'Tent of
Meeting,' in E (xxxiii. 7 — 11), was a simple nomad tent, which 'Moses
used to take and pitch outside the camp.' No ingenuity can identify
this with the elaborate structure of P, for the stationing of which
in the centre of the camp careful injunctions are laid down in
Num. ii. In the primitive sanctuary, the only attendant was Joshua,
an Ephraimite ; but in Num. iii. 5 — 10 the tribe of Levi alone are to
serve the Dwelling, ' and the stranger [i.e. the non-Levite] that cometh
nigh shall be put to death.' According to the early regulations, the
only form of altar which it was permissible to erect was one of earth or
unhewn stone ; the use of any tool polluted it (xx. 24 f.). But if
the commands in xxvii. 1 — 8 for the construction of the altar were
really given at Sinai a few weeks later, the object of the earlier
command cannot be imagined ^. And contrast xx. 26 with xxviii. 42 f.

1 The present English value of the gold would be about £157,903, and of the
silver £20,247.

2 The explanation has been offered that xx. 24 f. refers not to the Tabernacle
altar, but only to any altars which might from time to time be erected in various

M. /

Ixxxii INTRODUCTION [§ 6

(d) Lastly, throughout the whole pre-exilic history of Israel no
genuine passage occurs which hints at the existence of P's Tabernacle.
The ark has a history from early times, but in all the vicissitudes
through which it passed the Tabernacle is not mentioned. At Shiloh
the ark, guarded by EU and the Ephraimite Samuel, was placed, not in
the Tabernacle, but in a solid temple (1 S. i. 9, iii. 3, 15), to which
Jeremiah (vii. 12) refers — 'where I caused my name to dwell (skdkan)
at the first.' After the ark was restored by the Philistines, the only
possible place where it could rightly have been kept would be the place
whither the Tabernacle (if it existed) had been moved at the destruction
of Shiloh — if Shiloh was destroyed at that time. But in entire neglect
of the Tabernacle it was housed first with Abinadab, and then with
Obededom. Afterwards David took it to his capital; but still the
elaborate Mosaic Tabernacle does not appear ; David himself pitched
a tent for it. When, however, Solomon removed it to his newly built
temple (1 K. viii. 4), the 'tent of meeting' is mentioned as being
taken with it. No explanation is given as to where this tent had
previously been kept, nor what was now done with it and with all the
ancient furniture, pillars, hangings, &c. We are forced to conclude
that the tent which David had pitched was, in this verse, transformed,
by a late writer, into the ' tent of meeting ' ; cf 2 Chr. v. 5. In
another passage (1 S. ii. 22), although the ark was in a solid temple at
Shiloh, reference is made to ' the women that served at the door of the
tent of meeting.' Considerable doubt is thrown on the words by the
fact that the latter half of the verse, after ' all Israel,' is omitted in the
Lxx. They are evidently based upon Ex. xxxviii. 8 (see note), and
must be considered a late gloss. It is only in the Chronicles that the
Tabernacle is thought of as in existence before Solomon's temple.
In 1 Chr. xvi. 39, xxi. 29, 2 Chr. i. 3 the Tabernacle is at the high
place at Gibeon. But not only does 1 K. iii. 4 make no mention of it
when Solomon sacrificed at ' the great high place ' at Gibeon, but t). 2
condones the practice of sacrifice at high places because there was
no house yet built for Yahweh. But could any such condonation
have been necessary if Solomon sacrificed in the divinely appointed
Tabernacle ?

places ; and that the prohibition of hewn stones and of tools was made in order to
prevent such altars from being permanent. But beside reading into the text a great
deal that is not there, this explanation fails to do away with the difficulty. A tool
would be a pollution in the one case as much as in the other. And the writers who
described the Tabernacle and the organized priestly and Levitical system took their
stand upon the principle laid down in Dt. xii. 13 f. ; only one sanctuary and one
sacrificial altar was allowable or conceivable. See note on Altars, pp. 125 f.

§ 5] THE TABERNACLE Ixxxiii

3. Its place in IsraeVs religious history. If the Tabernacle of P
was not erected by Moses in the desert, and did not at any time exist,
it is important to determine the reasons for its elaborate representation
in the middle books of the Pentateuch. Its value as an embodiment
of religious ideas is quite unaffected by the question of its historicity.
The keynote of the whole is struck in Ex. xxv. 8 : ' Let them make me
a sanctuary that I may dwell among them ' ; cf. xxix. 45. The supreme
interest of the study of Israel's religion lies in the fact that the truths
of God's nature and character were realised slowly and gradually —
TroXvfiep<S<s kol TroXvTp6ir<j>^. It is contrary to everything that we know
of the divine methods of working that the full truth should be revealed
all at once. Israel was led from monolatry to monotheism ; their
prophets, by emphasizing the universality of God's rule, and His
infinity, cast discredit on the use of images and on the Canaanite
worship at the high places ; and this led to an era of reformation,
when, for the sake of purity of worship, it was felt that there should
be one sanctuary only — a spot where the religion and worship of Israel
would be concentrated. This movement was assisted by the existence
of the splendid temple which Solomon had long before built in the
capital as his royal chapel. But underlying this centralization of
worship, there was a deep innate longing which could find its full
satisfaction only in the Incarnation — a desire for a concrete objective
presence of God among men. And the longing began to bum hot,
when, by the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile in Babylon, Israel
ceased to be a civil community, and were bound together solely by
a unity of religion \ Pohtical and national ambitions gave place to
religious ideals ; and these ideals were shaped by this longing for
something concrete, round which Israel, as a body of co-religionists,
might rally. The first inspired product of the period was the pro-
gramme sketched by Ezekiel (xl. — xlviii.). His imagination pictured
a temple of the future, with a highly organized worship and priesthood,
standing on a sacred site of ideal proportions, carefully guarded from
defilement 'to make a separation between that which was holy and
that which was common ' (xlii. 20). The priests who had formerly
taken part in the worship on the high places must be degraded to the
position of temple servants (xliv. 6 — 14). The civil governor of the
future is merely a 'prince,' who, as a devoted layman, is entirely
subservient to the priestly system (xlvi. 1 — 18, xlviii. 21 f.). And
the centre and kernel of the system is ' the most holy place,' a perfect

i See G. A. Smith, The Book of the Twelve Prophets, ii. 275—279.

Ixxxiv INTRODUCTION [§ 6

cube of 20 cubits ; this represented the completeness and perfection
of the divine nature. And within it appears the glory of Yahweh,
and a voice declares that this is * the place of my throne, and the place
of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children
of Israel for ever' (xliii. 7).

But it is easy to see that this idealism might take another form.
When, after the return to Jerusalem of the most loyal of the exiles, an
attempt was made to establish a priestly system somewhat on the lines
of Ezekiel's suggestions, devotional spirits, in contemplation of Israel's
past, delighted to imagine that the concrete visible sign of Yahweh's
presence had been the centre of their worship from the first. If the
nation was ideal, their beginnings must have been ideal. And as the
picture shaped itself in their meditations, it was based upon one factor
and another in the actual histories which they possessed. Moses had
made a ' tent of meeting ' where Yahweh spoke to him face to face, and
an ark to which Yahweh attached his presence. Solomon had built a
gorgeous temple, which had come to be the only place where Yahweh
might be worshipped with sacrifice. And so the splendours of
Solomon's temple, and of Ezekiel's vision, and probably some of
the actual arrangements of Zerubbabel's temple, were projected into
the past. And to this imaginative picture details were added by
successive priestly thinkers, and the whole has been handed down to
us as the record of a spiritual longing, pointing towards the time when
' the Word tabernacled among us, and we beheld his glory.'

4. Its relation to the temples of Solomon and Ezekiel. The Taber-
nacle was to partake of the glories of the Temple ; but since the
Israelites were wandering in the desert, it must be portable. The
innermost shrine of the temple was a cube of 20 cubits (1 K. vi. 20,
Ez. xli. 4); that of the Tabernacle was 10 cubits. The larger
portion of the temple, the 'Holy Place,' was a rectangle 40x20
cubits and 20 cubits in height (1 K. vi. 2, 17, Ez. xli. 2) ; that of the
Tabernacle measured 20 x 10 x 10 cubits. Solomon's cherubim each
measured 10 cubits between the tips of the outstretched wings
(1 K. vi. 24) ; those in the Tabernacle were small enough to stand on
a space 1^ x 2^ cubits. The side walls of Ezekiel's temple were com-
posed of cedar panels, carved with cherubim, palm trees and flowers
(xli. 18 — 20)^ ; those of the Tabernacle consisted of light wooden

^ 1 K. vi. 18 states that the walls of Solomon's temple were carved with gourd-
shaped ornaments and flowers. But lxx omits the verse, and it must be
considered doubtful. It is not impossible, however, that the pre-exilic temple

§ 5] THE TABERNACLE Ixxxv

frames, with curtains hanging behind them, and shewing as panels
worked with cherubim. In Ezekiel's temple the partition which
separated the most holy place, and the eastern wall of the building,
were of cedar, with carvings (xli. 21, 24 f.); in the Tabernacle their
place is taken by the veil and the screen woven with figures'. And in
general it may be said that the exact and ideal symmetry of Ezekiel's
scheme is carefully imitated on a miniature scale in the Tabernacle.
But another important feature in this imitation is to be noticed.
Although Yahweh dwelt among His people, and deigned to shew a
' conversableness with men/ yet reverent care must be taken to
emphasize the supreme holiness — the unapproachableness — of the
divine presence. 'The inaccessibility was not absolute, but the
solitary exception made the sense of inaccessibility more intense
than if there had been no exception. Had entrance been absolutely
forbidden, men would have regarded the inner sanctuary as a place
with which they had no concern, and would have ceased to think of it
at all. But the admission of their highest representative in holy
things on one solitary day in the year taught them that the most
holy place was a place with which they had to do, and at the same
time showed it to be a place very difficult of access ^' This inacces-
sibility was further marked by making gradations of sanctity in the
successive parts of the sacred precincts. Ezekiel (xlv. 1 — 4, xlviii.
8 — 12) places his temple in a square of 500 cubits, which is holy.
Within this is a specially sacred portion which belongs to the
priests alone, who thus surround the temple and guard it from all
danger of pollution. P similarly (Num. ii.) pictures the Tabernacle
as surrounded by the Israelites, three tribes on each of the four sides.
And within them a smaller square was formed by the priests and the
three Levitical families of Gershon, Kohath and Merari.

This gradation is marked, again, in the Tabernacle in a unique
manner by the varying values of the materials used. The Kapporeth,
and its cherubim were of solid gold of a specially refined quality,
described as 'pure gold.' The ark was sheathed inside and out with
pure gold. And the same metal was employed for the lampstand, and

underwent considerable alterations in the course of its history, and that Ezekiel's
plan, though ideal, was based upon it to a larger extent than we have any means of
realising. See DB iv. 703 (last paragraph but one).

1 The supposition (see art. ' Veil' in DB iv.) that Zerubbabel's temple had a veil
and screen instead of wood cannot be verified, and is improbable. The Tabernacle,
in order to be portable, must have them, and afterwards Herod's temple conformed
to it. But the second temple was probably erected before P wrote, and i may be
assumed that it had wooden partitions.

2 Bruce, Expositor, Dec. 1889.

Ixxxvi INTRODUCTION [§ 5

for the covering of the table and the incense altar — objects which stood
in the closest proximity to the 'most holy place.' The pillars for the
veil stood on bases of silver, which, as the veil must have hung inside
the pillars, were reckoned as belonging to the ' holy place.' But the
bases of the pillars at the entrance which supported the screen
belonged to the court, and were therefore of bronze. Similarly the
hooks in the curtain which formed the Tent proper were of silver,
while those in the goats' hair covering were of bronze. And in the
court itself, furthest removed from the most holy place, bronze was
employed for the laver, the altar and the bases of the pillars. The
same principle is seen in the case of the hangings : the veil was
worked with cherubim in three colours ; the entrance screen, and the
hanging at the entrance of the court were in three colours, but without
the cherubim ; while the ordinary hangings of the court were of plain
white linen. Once more, the principle is observed in the garments of
the ministers. Aaron, concentrating in his person the sanctity of the
whole nation, and marked out as * holy unto Yahweh,' wore ' holy
garments for glory and for beauty,' described in Ex. xxviii. 1 — 39 ; his
sons wore coats, sashes, turbans and linen breeches ' for glory and for
beauty,' but greatly inferior to Aaron's robes {tyo. 40 — 43) ; and for
the Levites no special garments were appointed.

5. Symbolism. The extraordinary minuteness of the description
of the Tabernacle, its measurements and specifications, its elaborate
symmetry, its consistent adherence to the numbers 3, 4 and 5 with
their halves and multiples, its frequent employment of the ratio 2:1,
and the wonderful effect which the whole description has of carrying
the thought incessantly to the most holy place, together with a certain
oriental glamour which attaches to it all, have exercised a powerful
fascination on many generations of Jews and Christians. It was
natural that both in ancient and modern times it should have been a
mine of symbolical interpretations. But it is very remarkable that the
Old Testament writers themselves nowhere ofifer the slightest sugges-
tion as to the s3rmbolism of any of its parts. It is possible, however,
that in the late passages, Ex. xxxix. and xl. 19 — 33, the first
beginnings of Rabbinic speculation are to be detected. Both are
punctuated by the seven-fold repetition of the words 'as Yahweh
commanded Moses ' ; and this may have been an attempt to imitate
the recurring ' and it was so ' — ' and God saw that it was good ' — in
(Jen. i.^ The finished work was inspected and blessed by Moses

^ See farther the preliminary note on cbs. zzy. — xxzi.

§ 5] THE TABERNACLE Ixxxvii

(xxxix, 43) ; cf. Gen. i. 28, 31, ii. 3. Thus the new ritual order is
brought into parallelism with the old cosmic order — a line of thought
afterwards elaborated by Josephus. Typological research offers a
fruitful field for devotional study ; but its results depend largely on
individual temperament and presuppositions, and can in no case be
accepted as final. It is nevertheless difficult to refrain from pointing
out some of the spiritual analogies which suggest themselves, apart
from the interpretations found in the New Testament, which are
collected on pp. cxxviii. — cxxxiii.

Names. The names by which the building was known suggest
different aspects under which the divine presence among men must be
regarded. The fundamental truth that God is present is expressed in
the Dwelling (mishkdn), commonly rendered the 'Tabernacle.' It
contains in germ all the manifold teaching which finds its highest
expression in the writings of S. John. As the Father ' abides ' in the
Son, and He in the Father, so the Son ' abides ' in men, and they in
Him. The Tent ('ohel), on the other hand, is a symbol of tran-
sitoriness ; it emphasizes to us the fact that the Tabernacle was but
a type, and 'nigh unto vanishing away' when the true 'abiding'
began. The names further teach something of the divine character as
revealed to men. The innermost shrine was the Most Holy place,
and every portion of the Dwelling and the court, their furniture and
utensils, was holy. It was a concrete symbol of the truth which had
been taught by the prophets, that Yahweh was 'the Holy One of
Israel,' transcendently separated from every shadow of human weak-
ness and limitation and pollution. But because He was so separate,
man could not learn of His nature and character without a revelation.
Even the Tabernacle itself, the symbol, was not of human invention ;
it was revealed according to the pattern shewn to Moses in the
mount. And it was named the Tent of Witness (Num. ix. 15,
xvii. 7, xviii. 2), or the Dwelling of Witness (Ex. xxxviii. 21,
Num. i. 50, 53, x. 1 1). ' The " witness " was the revelation which God
had made of His will expressed in the " Ten Words "... This " witness "
was the solemn declaration of the claims and nature of God, who took
up His dwelling in the midst of Israel. The Tent under which He
dwelt had this enshrined in it to determine its character.' (Westcott,
Hebrews^ p. 235.) Within it rested that which declared the righteous-
ness, the justice, the moral requirements of God. Hence we meet
with the expressions ' the ark of witness ' (Ex. xxv. 22, xxvi. 33 f.,
xxx. 6, 26), ' the tablets of witness ' (xxxi. 18, xxxiv. 29), and even
' the veil of witness ' (Lev. xxiv. 3). It carries us forward again to the

Ixxxviii INTRODUCTION [§ 5

teaching of S. John, according to which the Incarnate Christ is the
witness to men of what the Father is, this being developed into the
further thought that the Church, having received from the Father His
witness to the Son, is to be herself also a witness to the world of what
the Son is. Once more, the spot in which the witness dwelt was also
named by the title which the narrators understood to mean the Tent
of Meeting, — the Tent where God was willing to meet with His people
and shew His ' conversableness,' His sympathy and love, His readiness
to advise and help, and to enter into intimate communion with men,
' fece to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend ' (Ex. xxxiii. 11).

In considering the various parts and properties of the building,
it is not possible to determine the extent to which the narrators them-
selves attached symbolical significance to the several details. But the
chapters in Exodus which concern them belong to a late, reflective
stage in Hebrew thought, and it is unreasonable to doubt that, to
a considerable extent, the writers deliberately aimed at expressing
spiritual truths. It must be carefully borne in mind that although
they may unconsciously have provided symbols of great Christian
truths which were afterwards revealed, yet they must themselves have
conceived of truths clothed in these symbols, which were far short of
what we have since been enabled to learn through the revelation in
Jesus Christ. And a sympathetic study of the Tabernacle must there-
fore distinguish between what was symbolical to them and what is
typical to us.

Numbers. It is easy to be led into extravagance in attempting
to interpret the significance of numbers ; allegorical arithmetic has
called forth fantastic absurdities from both Jewish and Christian
writers. But it is perhaps right to see in the number three a sjTnbol
of the divine, in four the totality of what is human, and in seven
(4 + 3) and twelve (4 x 3) the all-embracing unity which combines them
both\ The number ten, and its multiples, seem to suggest s)rmmetry,
a large and satisfying completeness which is the expression of per-
fection. This symmetry reaches its climax in the ' Most Holy ' shrine,
which is a perfect cube of ten cubits ; as in the case of the ideal
Jerusalem of the Apocalypse (xxi. 16) ' the length and the breadth and
the height of it are equal' In the 'Holy Place' which formed the

^ I hesitate to say, with Dr Ottley, 'the number twelve, four multiplied by three,
corresponds to a more intimate relationship between the Creator and the creature
than is expressed in the number seven.' At any rate it may be doubted whether it
possessed this fuller force in the minds of the writers of Exodus. Seven is found,
in the Tabernacle, only in the seven-branched lampstand.

§ 6] THE TABERNACLE Ixxxix

approach to it there is indeed order and symmetry in the measure-
ments 20 X 10 X 10 cubits, but it fails to reach complete perfection, ' a
contrast which suggests the incompleteness of the visible kingdom of
God as contrasted with the ideal perfection towards which it tends.'
(Ottley, Aspects of the O.T., p. 264.) On the whole subject, how-
ever, see art. 'Number' in DB iii. 566.

Metals. It is possible that a distinct meaning was attached to
each of the metals employed — gold, silver and bronze ; but more
probably they implied only gradations of sanctity in the different parts
of the sacred precincts (see above).

Colours. There is some evidence that the Hebrews gave signi-
ficance to colours, but none that is connected with the Tabernacle.
Of those employed in the Tabernacle white may be the emblem of
purity, the result of the cleansing away of the stains of sin (cf. Ps. li. 7,
Is. i. 18). Blue, or rather hyacinth, was perhaps thought of as the
sapphire hue of the heavens (cf. Ex. xxiv. 10), but this is doubtful.
Purple has at all times been the sign of royalty (cf. Jud. viii. 26,
Cant. iii. 10). To scarlet or crimson, as distinct from purple, it is
difficult to attach a symbolic meaning. It can hardly be considered
the colour of blood, which is 'red'.' Mr Thatcher (art. 'Colours,' DB
i. 456) is on the safe side when he says, ' In matters pertaining to
ritual (esp. in the tabernacle) colours are frequently used, but it has
not yet been satisfactorily shown that they were used symbolically,
or that they were other than the most brilliant colours procurable when
the descriptions were given.' See also Ruskin's words on 'the sacred
chord of colour' {Mod. Painters, iv. iii. § 24).

Furnitwe. On the other hand the significance of the furniture
may be explained with greater confidence.

(a) The Altar of bronze was the embodiment of the whole
sacrificial system. It was the first thing that met the worshipper when
he came in by the entrance at the east of the court, and it stood
between him and any nearer approach to God's presence. The writer
who described it would eagerly have endorsed the later words, which
sum up the truth which it symbolized, — ' apart from shedding of blood
there is no remission ' (Heb. ix. 22).

(6) The Laver probably stood immediately in front of the entrance
into the Tent. And from this point onwards there was access only for

^ It is quite improbable that the red of the dyed rams' skin covering was in any
way symbolical. Red-dyed leather was used for shoes, saddles and other articles
from the earliest times.

xc INTRODUCTION [| 5

the priests ; but they performed their functions as the representatives
of the people, so that what was true of them was ideally true of the
whole nation. It is very striking to notice that for the most part the
' Holy Place ' was thought of as a sublime reproduction of an ordinary
dwelling-house. Before entering the private apartments of any man,
at least for a formal visit or for a meal, the hands and feet would
always be washed. And it was so in the case of God's Dwelling.
Ceremonial purity — the outward expression of heart purity — was
necessary before the priests could approach the Holy Place or offer
sacrifice at the altar. What the writer could not know was that his
description foreshadowed the spiritual 'laver {or washing) of re-
generation and renewing of the Holy Ghost ' (Tit. iii. 5).

(c) On entering the Tent, the eye would at once be struck by the
Lampstand, by which the Holy Place, like an ordinary house, was
lighted. The symbolic meaning of it may perhaps be gathered from
Zech. iv. It would appear that Zerubbabel's temple contained a seven-
branched lampstand\ which formed the basis of (or perhaps was due
to) Zechariah's vision, and which also suggested the lampstand in the
description of the Tabernacle. And the prophet's symbolical explana-
tion of it, which was probably known to the writer of Ex. xxv., is
that the seven lamps ' are the eyes of Yahweh ; they run to and fro
through the whole earths' The light of the lamps represents the
complete (seven-fold) revelation of God's presence and all-seeing
providence, illuminating the sanctuary which was the core and heart
of the nation's life.

(d) The lampstand stood on the left, or south, side of the Tent.
On the opposite side stood an article of furniture which every private
dwelling-house possesses — a Table for food. In primitive days the
' Presence Bread ' (see on xxv. 30) was placed before the Deity for His
consumption. But in the time of P such crude notions had been left
far behind. The priests (representing the people) consumed the
loaves, with the accompaniment of the burning of frankincense and
libations of wine, thus transforming the ceremony into a feast of
thanksgiving — a Eucharist. It is another signal instance of the truth
of 1 Pet. i. 12, that the Old Testament writers unconsciously pointed

^ In Solomon's temple light was supplied by ten several lampstands, five on
each side of the entrance to the shrine (1 K. vii. 49).

^ F. 10 fe should be rendered ' these seven are the eyes of Yahweh...&c. ' : the
•words are the continuation of v. 6 a, ' spake unto me saying,' the intermediate passage
being an interpolation from an address to Zerubbabel belonging to an earUer date
in the prophet's life (see G. A. Smith, in loc).

§ 5] THE TABERNACLE xci

to something far higher than the meaning which they attached to their
own words.

(e) One piece of furniture in the Holy Place yet remains. It is
of a distinctive character, and would not find any equivalent in an
ordinary dwelling-house. The golden Altar of Incense stood close to
the veil, and its true significance was connected not with the Holy
Place, but with the Most Holy. As in the case of the bread the
incense had in primitive times a crude anthropomorphic meaning ; the
smoke of burning sacrifices (see n. on xxx. 34 — 38) rose to the Deity
and pleased Him by its sweet odour. But in the present case the
meaning is largely determined by the position which the altar occupied
in the Tent, ' The Altar of Incense bore the same relation to the
Holy of Holies as the Altar of Burnt offering to the Holy Place. It
furnished in some sense the means of approach to it. Indeed the
substitution of Ixouo-a for cv y (Heb. ix. 2) itself points clearly to
something different from mere position. The Ark and the Altar of
Incense typified the two innermost conceptions of the heavenly
Sanctuary, the Manifestation of God and the spiritual worship of man '
(Westcott, Hebrews, p. 247). The smoke of the incense was analogous
to that of the burnt-offering. The latter expressed the offering of
self, the former the offering of the heart's adoration and homage —
both necessary before man can gain, or bear, complete access to the
Presence of God.

(/) Finally, the Presence itself is manifested in the Ark ; and the
Tablets of the Law within, and the 'Propitiatory' (see on xxv. 17)
above, represent the two complementary aspects of the divine character
which is there revealed — His stern moral requirements and His infinite
compassion ; there ' mercy and truth are met together, righteousness
and peace have kissed each other.' The Cherubim above the ark are
the divine throne. In the far past they were symbols connected with
a primitive mode of thought. ' The " cherub " survived as one of the
traces of a Hebrew mythology, which was retained by the prophets
because it represented pictorially the attributes of the majesty of the
God of Israel, and was employed to express more vividly the means by
which His glory is revealed to man ' (art, ' Cherubim,' BB i. 378).

An interpretation of some of the ruling features of the Tabernacle
wiU be found in a suggestive note by "Westcott (Hebrews, pp, 235 — 7) ;
see also Ottley's Bampton Lectures, Aspects of the Old Testament,
pp, 247 — 264, A fuller treatment of details may be seen in Keil's
Archaeology (Engl, transl,), pp, 125 — 7, and in Fairbairn's Typology,
pp. 232 — 278. The latter makes some sensible strictures on the

xcii INTRODUCTION [§ 5

very minute and fanciful investigation of Bahr, Symholik d. Mosaischm
Cultus. Allegorical explanations are plentiful in patristic writings ;
see Clem. AL Stromateis v. 6, §§ 32 — 34 ; Theod. Mops, on Heb. ix. 1 ;
Theodoret, ih. ; Origen, Horn, in Ex. ix. ; Greg. Nyss. De Vita Moysis.
At an earlier period Josephus and Philo present what were probably
the current methods of interpretation at the two great centres of
Jewish thought, Jerusalem and Alexandria. The ideas of the former
are what may be called naturalistic. ' The several parts [of the
Tabernacle, its vessels, and the dress of the priest] have been framed
to imitate and represent the Universe.' His chapter on the subject
{Ant. III. vii. 7, and cf B.J. v. v. 4 — 7) is quoted in extenso by
Westcott {loc. cit.). Philo, with his Alexandrian training, follows
a similar line of exegesis, but combines it with a philosophical
element {Vit. Mos. ii. 155 ed. Mangey). Among some modem
writers there is now a tendency, which runs all too easily to
extremes, to explain large parts of Israelite traditions as having a
naturalistic or cosmological origin, being based upon the number and
movements of the planets, and the like. This may prove a fruitful
line of study in the future, but at present the theories are, for the
most part, speculations which, though sometimes ingenious, rest upon
very scanty evidence.

§ 6. The Geography of Exodus.

In spite of the steadily increasing fund of knowledge afforded by
excavations, not a trace has been found of the presence of the
Hebrews in Egypt. So that while discoveries have been of great
interest and value as a means of testing the archaeological and
geographical accuracy of the Biblical writers, they cannot be used as
proofs of the truth of the narrative. The earliest Hebrew writer whose
narrative has come down to us lived some four centuries after the
Pharaoh in whose reign the exodus probably took place ; so that it
might be expected that he would sometimes be inaccurate in details
and guilty of anachronisms ; but, so far as our present knowledge
enables us to judge, the mistakes are surprisingly few.

(a) The scene opens in Goshen. This is the vocalisation of the
word with which we are accustomed, and which is due to the Masoretic
scribes ; it is probable, however, that Geshem or Gesem is the more
original form (lxx rco-c/i). M. Naville, the French explorer, excavat-
ing in 1885 at a village named Saft el-Henneh, c. 40 miles N.N.R of

§ 6] GEOGRAPHY xciii

Cairo, found a shrine of the 4th cent. B.C., with an inscription which
shewed that the place where the shrine stood bore the name Kes. In
the ancient hieroglyphic lists of the ' nomes ' or administrative
districts of Egypt, Kesem is mentioned as the 20th nome of Lower
Egypt, and its capital is named Pa-Sopt, Sopt was the name of the
god to whom the shrine was dedicated, and is evidently the modem
Saft ; and Kesem is the older and fuller form of Kes. Kesem (= Gesem
or Goshen) was, therefore, the ancient name of the district in which
Saft stands. In Gen. xlv. 10 lxx has Via^fx. 'Apa/Jm?, which is
a further indication that Kesem is rightly identified with Goshen, for
Arabia was the name of a nome in the same direction, whose capital
was Phakusa^ i.e. Kes with the Egyptian article Pa. M. Naville infers
from the texts of the 19th and 20th dynasties that Kesem 'was not
an organized province occupied by an agricultural population ; it was
part of the marsh land called the waters of Ra... It could be given
by the king to foreigners, without despoiling the native population. It
must have been something very like the borders of the present
Sharkiyeh, N. of Fakoos, where the Bedawin have their camps of
black tents and graze their large flocks of cattle.' If this is so, the
description of Goshen as 'the best of the land' (Gen. xlvii. 16)
is somewhat exaggerated.

{b) When the Israelites were forced into building labour, it is
related that they built for Pharaoh PitJwm and RoMmses (Ex. i. 11).
The former has been clearly identified by M. Naville. Two years
before his discovery of the shrine of Sopt, he found at Tell-el-Mash-
kuta inscriptions which shewed that the ancient name of the place
was Pi-Tum, the 'house of Tum.' Tell-el-Mashkuta, 'the mound
of the statue,' is so named from a statue, which is there at the
present time, of Ramses II sitting between the two solar deities
Ra and Tum. There can be no doubt that Pi-Tum is the Biblical
Pithom. M. Naville further found that Pi-Tum was a square city,
about 220 yards in length, enclosed by enormous brick walls, and
containing store chambers built of brick, and a temple. The store
chambers were of various sizes, rectangular and very numerous.
They had no communication with one another, but could be filled with
corn from the top, and emptied also from above, or through a reserve
door in the sida They stood on a thick layer of beaten clay, which
would prevent rats from getting into them. Tell-el-Mashkuta is the
only place where such granaries have hitherto been excavated. It
is known, from inscriptions discovered on the spot, that the city was
founded by Ramses II. It would be used partly as a magazine for

xciv INTRODUCTION [§ 6

supplying provisions to Egyptian armies about to cross the desert, and
partly, perhaps, as a fortress for the protection of the exposed
eastern frontier. The discovery is important ; for if the statement in
Ex. i. 11 is accurate — which there is no evidence to lead us to doubt —
the Pharaoh of the oppression is proved to be Ramses II ; and since
Ex. ii 23 implies that the Pharaoh of the Exodus was Ramses'
successor, the Exodus took place under Merenptah.

The site of the other store city Raamses has not yet been settled
with equal certainty. Ramses II was a great builder, and he erected
many towns and temples in the eastern Delta. Zoan, i.e. Tanis
(modem San), is often called in the papyri Pa-Ramessu Meriamum
(* The Place of Ramses II '). It was built, indeed, in the 12th
dynasty; but Ramses added so much to it that M. Naville calls him
its ' second founder.' But since its true name Zoan is preserved
in the O.T. (Ps. Ixxviii. 12, 43, Is. xix. 11, 13, xxx. 4, Ezek. xxx. 14,
Num. xiii. 22), Maspero^ and others think that the Raamses of Exodus
is a place built by Ramses which has not at present been identified*.

(c) The first movement of the Israelites was 'fi-om Raamses
to Succoth' (xii. 37). Succoth is a Semitic word meaning 'booths ^'
but here it is probably a Semitic adaptation of an Egyptian word
Thku{t). A papyrus speaks of * a royal fortress (Jietem) of Thku.
close by the pools of Pithom.' In the inscriptions at Tell-el-Mash-
kuta the name Thku is of frequent occurrence, in such a way as
to suggest that Pithom and Thku, if not identical, were so closely
associated that the names could be used interchangeably. W. Max
Miiller suggests that they were 'neighbouring places which had
grown together by expansion so as to form one city.' If, then,
Succoth was practjpallyjdenticalwith^ Pithom, we may suppose that
the gangs of Israelite labourers at Raamses moved in a body, and
joined the labourers at the other great building centre.

{d) ' And they journeyed from Succoth, and encamped in Etham,
in the edge of the wilderness' (xiii. 20). The N.E. frontier of Egypt,
along the line of the present Suez canal, was in ancient times guarded
by fortresses and a strong wall. It is not certain, though it is probable,
that the wall ran the whole length of the isthmus. In the period of
the New Kingdom there were two chief fortresses, commanding the
two routes from the desert — the northern named the hetem of Zaru,

1 Rev. ArcMol. xxxiv. (1879) 323 f.

2 See, however, Addenda.

^ It was the name of a place E. of Jordan, of which an explanation is given in
Gen. xxxiii. 17.

§ 6] GEOGRAPHY xcv

and the southern the hetem of Thku. In the reign of Merenptah the
Shasu nomads of Atuma (probably Edom) received official permission
to pass the hetem of Thku towards the lakes of Pithom, in order to
obtain a living for themselves and their cattle. It is tempting to
identify this southern hetem with the Biblical Etham. Its exact site
cannot at present be determined, but it was evidently close to Pithom-
Succoth. The fact that Ex. xiii. 20, Num. xxxiii. 6 appear to
represent the distance as a day's march is not a serious difficulty.
By the time of the priestly writer all exact knowledge of Egyptian
localities might easily have been lost. And in any case it would be
natural for the Israelites to move very slowly at the start, in order to y
pick up as many of their kinsmen as possible from the surrounding
districts. Maspero, however, questions the identification, on the
ground that a stronger guttural than the Hebrew aleph would have
been expected as a transcription of the Egyptian guttural h ; but it is
not impossible that the Hebrew word was originally spelt with a
stronger guttural, which became softened during the centuries which
intervened before the time of the priestly writer. The identification
perhaps finds further support in the fact that the Wilderness of
Etham (Num. xxxiii. 8) is also called the Wilderness of Shur
(Ex. XV. 22 ; cf. Gen. xxv. 18). Shur is the Hebrew word for a
'wall.'; and the name may have originated in the fi"ontier walls
(Eg. anbu) along the isthmus, which were strengthened at important
spots by the fortified hetems.

(e) Increasing difficulties beset the question as to the spot at
which the Israelites crossed ,the sea. Ex. xiv. 2 is tantalizingly
explicit : ' speak unto the children of Israel that they turn back and
encamp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, before Baal-
zephon : opposite it shall ye encamp by the sea.' Pi-hahiroth has the
appearance of an Egyptian word compounded with Pi, ' house ' (as in
Pithom and Pi-beseth, Ez. xxx. 17). The site is unknown. Prof.
Petrie {Researches in Sinai, p. 204) finds Pi-hahiroth in Paqaheret,
the name of a place of which Osiris was god. The only Serapeum or
shrine of Osiris known in this region is towards the northern end of
the Bitter Lake. But that appears to be too far north to allow of the
' turn ' southward. Migdol is Semitic, and connected with the Heb.
migddl, a ' tower,' of which the Egyptian form maktl occurs frequently
in the inscriptions. It is known from an inscription of the reign of
Usertasen I (2758 — 2714 Petrie) that the frontier walls were manned
with guards, who watched on the top and were changed each day.
Thus there must have been a series of watchtowers. A Migdol is

xcvi INTRODUCTION [§ 6

mentioned in the reign of Merenptah's successor, Seti II, as standing
south of the route guarded by the hstem of Thku. But it is impossible
to say whether this, rather than any other of the towers, was the
Migdol near which the Israelites encamped. The site of Baal-zephon,
(clearly a Semitic name) is entirely unknown. W. M. MiiUer
{Enc. B. i. 409) notes that a goddess named Ba'alt(i)-sapuna was
worshipped at Memphis. If this is so, the corresponding male divinity
Ba'al-sapuna probably had a town devoted to his cult'.

Two theories must be mentioned, only to be set aside, (i) Josephus
{Ant. n. XV. 1) makes the Israelites march through Letopolis-Babylon,
i.e. round the south side of the hill on which Cairo stands, through the
Wddy et-Tih, and then northwards so as to move through the Pass
el-Muntula. But this disregards all the Biblical evidence, (ii) Brugsch
and others advanced the theory that the route was from Zoan-Tanis
(which they identified with Raamses) to the shore of the Mediterranean,
along the thin neck of land north of the ancient Sirbonian bog, and
thence to the Migdol of Jer. xliv. 1, xlvi. 14, Ez. xxix. 10, xxx. 6,
which was not quite 12 miles south of Pelusium; so that the 'water
which was dried up was the northern end of the Sirbouis. But this
view has been negatived by the discoveries which have settled the
position of Goshen.

These discoveries suggest a route midway between the two. The
course of the modern Suez canal runs from Port Said to Suez, passing
successively, on its southward course, through the Balah lake, the
Timsah_ ('crocodile') lake, and a large bitter lake known in the
12th d3masty as the 'Great Black Water.' The latter lies roughly
N.W. and S.E., and its southern point is rather more than 20 miles
north of Suez. In the 12th dynasty it appears to have reached far
enough northwards to be joined with the Timsah lake, but it is not
known whether that was the case in the 19th dynasty. There is no
evidence within historical times that it reached southward to the Gulf
(see Enc. B. art. 'Exodus,' 1439), though geologists are agreed that at
one time there was a complete channel from the Mediterranean to the
Gulf. Now if the Israelites moved eastward along the Wddy et-
Tumildt to the frontier wall, they would reach it at a point close to

^ Some explain the name aa Baal, or Master, of the Northern point of the Red
Sea, or of the North wind, to whom sailors would pray for a fair passage down the
gulf. There was a Phoenician deity Baal-zaphon (' Baal of the North '), mentioned
several times in Assyrian inscriptions, who was worshipped in the region of Mt
Lebanon.

§ 6] GEOGRAPHY xcvii

the Timsah lake. M. Naville suggests that the crossing was effected
at a point between jthe Tirnsah and_the_large bitter lake, assuming
a shallow connexion between them. But this gives room for hardly
any southward movement such as is contemplated in the command
' turn back ' (xiv. 2). There are thus two alternatives left to be
considered. Did they cross the N. point of the Gulf of Suez, where it
is two-thirds of a mile in width, or the S. point of the large bitter j
lake ? The word ' sea ' does not of itself exclude the possibility of the
lake, for the small lake on the E. of Galilee is called the Sea of
Kinn^reth (Kinn^roth), and in the N.T. the Sea of Galilee or of
Tiberias ; and, by an even wider application, the word is used of the
Nile (Nah. iii. 8, Is. xix. 5) and of the Euphrates (Jer. li. 36). Indeed
classical Hebrew had no other word to express (like XCfxvri) a piece of
water surrounded by land. Again, there are no subjective considera-
tions which decide the point. Subsequent Biblical writers, it is true,
convey the impression that they believed the crossing to have been
made over the open sea ; but all that it was possible for them to do
was to repeat the 'sea' which they found in the original narrative.
Setting aside the picture drawn by P of the double wall of water
(see note on xiv. 22), the miracle, i.e. the wonderful providence of
God, is not more striking if the wind caused an unusually low tide
in the Gulf of Suez, than if it caused an unusually wide margin at the
S. of the bitter lake. The miracle consisted in the strong wind being!
sent in the required direction at the required moment. On the other '
hand there are two indications in favour of the lake. 1. The name
Yam Supk, ' sea of reeds,' seems to point to a marshy spot covered
with reeds or flags \ The name would suit any part of the swamps on
the E. of Goshen. It is true that at a later time the name was applied
not only to the Gulf of Suez but also to the eastern (Aelanitic) arm of
the sea (Num. xxi. 4, Dt. ii. 1, 1 K. ix. 26, Jer. xlix, 21), and it is a
little strange that the name of an inland lake or swamp should have
been thus extended to the whole sea. But it is probable that the
northern point of the Gulf was considerably nearer to the lake than it
is now ; and the extension of the name cannot be considered impossible.
2. There is, however, another fact which has hardly received the
attention it deserves, i.e. that it was an ' east wind ' which drove the
water from its usual boundaries (xiv. 21). It is pointed out (Dillmann-
Ryssel, Comm. in loc. p. 165) that if the wind were due east it would

^ The meaning of suph is discnssed in the notes on ii. 3, xiii. 18.
M.

0;,

xcviii INTRODUCTION [§ 6

have driven the waters right against the Israelites. But since the
Hebrew language has no terms other than North, South, East and
West to express all the points of the compass, an 'east wind' may
come from either N.E. or S.E. ; and if the N. point of the Gulf be the
point of crossing, we are forced to accept the former. But the wind
that would really drive the waters of the Gulf southwards would be the
"NoTth-West. Other writers, observing that the song in ch. xv. does
not mention the direction of the wind, assume that the ' east ' wind in
ch. xiv. is a mistake. But if the point of crossing was the S. point of
the lake, a S.E. wind is exactly that which is required to drive the
water in a north-westerly direction — that is along the direction in
which the lake lies. Riippell (Nubia 184, cited by Dillmann) says
that in April and the beginning of May the S.E. wind often blows
along the Gulf with great force, generally for three days at a time, as a
reaction from a still stronger N.W. wind, which, however, does not
last long. Now the 'east' wind is nowhere clearly used in the O.T.
with the meaning ' north-east,' while it is frequently used to denote the
violent scorching S.E. wind, the Sirocco ; Gen. xli. 6^ 23, 27, Hos.
xiii. 15, Jer. xviii. 17, Ps. xlviii. 7 (8) &c. (see Driver on Am. iv. 9 in
Camb. Bible). And, if the words of the song (xv. 7 f.) are to be given
weight, a hot wind seems to be implied in Yahweh's wrath which
*consumeth them as stubble,' standing in juxtaposition with 'the
blast of thy nostrils.'

Complete certainty with regard to the point of crossing cannot be >»
reached until the locality of the places mentioned in xiv. 2 is accurately
identified — perhaps not even then. But though there are difficulties
on both sides, the data appear to be more fully satisfied by the
southern point of the bitter lake than by the northern point of the
Gulf of Suez.

(/) When the body of fugitives emerged into the desert of Shur
or Etham, two routes were open to them — (1) the haj route now followed
by pilgrims going from Cairo to Mecca, running eastward across the
peninsula to Elath at the N. point of the Gulf of Akaba ; (2) the route
to the traditional Sinai, which runs southward, close to the Gulf of
Suez. The latter is graphically described by Palmer (The Desert of
the Exodus), and is, by most writers, accepted as the course taken by
the Israelites. Prof Petrie (Researches in Sinai) still advocates it.
J relates that the Israelites reached Marah after three days' march
(xv. 23), and thence they came to an oasis at Elim (-y. 27). Neither

^ See Driver's note.

§ 6] GEOGRAPHY xcix

of these names has been identified on the southern route. Palmer
reached a bitter spring Ain Hawwarah, three days' march from Suez ;
and, a little further on, tamarisks and palms and a running stream in
the Wddy Gharandel, which is by many identified with Elim. But
there is no other ground for the identification than the fact that these
spots lie on the supposed route. On the other hand there is much to
be said for identifying Elim with the place described by the different
names Elath, Eloth (Dt. ii. 8, 2 K. xvi. 6) and El-Paran (Gen. xiv. 6^),
a port on the eastern arm of the Red Sea. The name appears in Greek
as AiXavu ; hence the name Aelanitic Gulf.

Continuing the narrative — JE do not preserve the name of the
place where the manna was given, while P, who states that it was in r / \
the ' Wilderness of Sin ' (Ex. xvi. 1), clearly places the incident after
the stay at Sinai (see analysis on w. 33 f.). Again, the smitin^_of
the rock (xvii. 6) is explicitly stated by E to have taken place 'in i
Horeb,' the name Meribah being attached to the spot in consequence
of the incident ; while J (Num. xx.) places a similar incident (with I
the name Meribah) near Kadesh and Edom {v. 14). It is improbable, )
therefore, that it occurred at the south of the peninsula (see below).
Once more, E relates (xvii. 8 — 16) that the Amalekites fought with ^^
Israel in Rephidim. Whether or not this be a confusion with J's
narrative in Num. xiv. 40 — 45, it is extremely probable that the story
in Exodus belongs to a period near the end of Moses' life, and must,
for that reason if for no other, be placed riear the borders of Palestine
(see notes). The direct evidence, therefore, afforded by JE as to the
route between Suez and Sinai is confined to Marah and Elim.

When we turn to P the evidence for this portion of the journeys is
no less ambiguous. The incident of the manna is placed in ' the
Wilderness of Sin which is between Elim and Sinai ' (xvi. 1). There
would appear to be a connexion between the names Sin and Sinai, but
that reveals nothing as to the locality of either. There is no modern
evidence for a wilderness of that name in the south of the peninsula.
In P's itinerary (Num. xxxiii.) an encampment ' by the Yam Suph' is
mentioned (v. 10) between Elim and the Wilderness of Sin. This is
usually supposed to refer to the Gulf of Suez ; but the name can also,
as we have seen, be employed to describe the Gulf of Akaba, Those
who maintain the traditional site of Sinai place this encampment
by the sea at the mouth of the Wady Tayibeh, on the more southern

^ The passage, however, does not mention the sea, and El-Paran was, perhaps,
not as far south as Elath.

c INTRODUCTION [§ 6

of the two possible routes from the Wady Gharandel to the mountain.
Rendel Harris (art. 'Exodus to Canaan' in DB i.) says, 'The most
striking identification on this route is. the encampment on the sea-
shore five days after having left it. But it is clear that, striking as
this is, the same thing is true of the route of the Mecca pilgrims ; so it
can hardly be called a conclusive identification.' After the Wilderness
of Sin the itinerary (Num. xxxiii. 13) gives two encampments, Dophkah
and Alusk. Ebers and Rendel Harris suggest that Dophkah may be
near the entrance to the Wady Maghareh. The latter writer says,
' This wady contains the oldest Egyptian mines, and as the blue-stone
[turquoise, Petrie] which the Egyptians quarried is known by the name
of Mafkat, and gave its name to the district of Mafkat, it is a tempting
suggestion to identify Dophkah as an erroneous transcription of
Mafkah.' But this is purely conjectural (lxx has 'Pa^aicd), and the
sites of Dophkah and Alush remain entirely unknown.

Nor are the names on the route after the stay at Sinai more help-
ful. Num. xxxiii. 16 — 36 contains twenty names between Sinai and
Ezion-geber. The latter stood at the northern end of the Gulf of Akaba,
' beside Eloth, on the shore of the Yam Stiph, in the land of Edom '
(1 K. ix. 26). Of these twenty names not one can be identified with
any point on a route from the south of the peninsula, though Palmer
(p. 508, 9) finds some resemblances to modern names in Hazeroth,
Rissah, Haradah and Tahath. The first of these he identifies with
'Ain el Hudrah about half-way between Jebel Musa and Ezion-geber.
But since Hazeroth signifies ' enclosures ' it might be applied to many
places {EB iii. 3316 f.). Trumbull {Kadesh- Balnea, p. 314) rejects it
' on the ground of its location and approaches ' ; it is not a place where
pastoral enclosures would be possible. Moreover the name occurs,
together with other unknown localities, in Dt. i. 1, and 'interpreted
in their obvious sense the words define... the locality E. of Jordan
in which the following discourses were delivered' (Driver in loc).
In the same passage a Di-zahab is mentioned, which Burckhardt
(Syria, p. 523) identifies with Mina-ed-Dahab, the third of seven
boat-harbours between the Ras Muhammad and Akaba, nearly due
east of Jebel Musa. But this not only forces the words in Dt. i. 1 to
be taken in a very unnatural sense as referring to the previous
journeyings of the Israelites, but is objected to by Keil on the ground
that Mina-ed-Dahab is too inaccessible on the side of [the traditional]
Sinai for the Israelites to have made it one of their halting places.
Further, if Laban in Dt. i. 1 be the same as Libnah in Num. xxxiii. 20
(though both are unknown), it is another indication that the route

§ 6] GEOGRAPHY ci

between Sinai and Ezion-geber was in the region close to the Negeb,
Edom and Moab.

Petrie's arguments in support of Palmer's route are slender. He
identifies Marah with the Wady Hawwarah, because the latter contains
a spring, and is two hours' journey before the Wady Gharandel, which
is three days' journey from Suez. And he adds, ' it seems clear that
the writer of these itineraries knew the road to the present Sinai well.
The description exactly fits that road, and it will not fit any other.'
As regards the eastward route to the Gulf of Akaba he merely remarks
that ' the account of the journey cannot agree with that.' But he does
not support the statement. There may well have been in the days of
the Israelites a brackish pool, three days' journey from the frontier on
the Mecca road, which has since disappeared. Exodus says nothing of
the distance from Marah to Elim, which may have been considerable,
and not one of two hours' journey. Petrie also says, ' There is a further
presumption that the writer did not regard Midian as being inacces-
sible to asses, as Moses returned thence with an ass (Ex. iv. 20).
This is possible up the Gharandel road, but could scarcely be done on
the longer waterless route of the Derb el Hagg.' But if the pool, after-
wards called Marah, lay half-way along the route, it was not waterless.

For the traditional site of Sinai, therefore, there is no Biblical
evidence which can be called strong, much less certain.

The origin of the tradition which placed Sinai in the south of the peninsula
cannot be traced. S. Paul's reference to 'Sinai in Arabia' (Gal. iv. 25) tells
nothing as to the extent of the district which was called Arabia in his day, or
the locality of Sinai. The tradition first emerges about the 3rd century A.D.,
when the lauras^ of monks were found in the mountainous tract of the present
Sinai. But even then the traditions differed as to the exact spot. Witnesses
are cited from Dionysius Alex, (in Eus. H.E. vi. 41 f., 44) down to Cosmas
Indicopleustes who visited the country c. 535 A.D., in favour of Mt Serbal, a
height near the junction of Wady Feiran and Wady es Sheikh, and close to
which stood the episcopal town Pheiran (Beke, Sinai and Arabia, 17 — 44).
On the other hand the Peregrinatio Silviae (probably c. 385 — 388 a.d.) — an
account by Silvia, a lady of Aquitaine, of a pilgrimage which she made —
describes ' Syna the holy mountain of God ' in such a way as to identify it
clearly with Jebel Musa, in front of which lies the large flat plain of er-Rahah,
where it is supposed that the Israelites encamped. Jebel Musa is about 20
miles E.S.E. of Mt Serbal. The sanctity of this spot was emphasized by
Justinian (527 — 565 A.D.), who founded a church there. It has had many
modem advocates; but these, again, differ as to whether the actual Jebel

' i.e. buildings in which each monk lived a separate life, secluded in his own
cell.

ilA

cii INTRODUCTION [§ 6

Musa or the rugged mass Ras-es-Safsaf— a little to the N.W. of it — ^be the true
SinaL See Currelly in Petrie's Researches in Sinai, 250 — 4. Illustrations
will be found in Benzinger's Bilderatlas.

On the other hand much of the Biblical evidence appears to
militate strongly against the traditional site. One point, indeed,
which is sometimes urged, has been met by Prof. Petrie. The
Eg3rptians, as late as the 20th dynasty, worked mines in the south
' L^y of the peninsula, in the Wady Maghareh and in Sarbut el Hadim.
The labour was performed chiefly by foreign prisoners, guarded, of
course, by Egyptian soldiers (see Palmer 196 f., 233 f.). And some
have thought it improbable that the Israelites, who had avoided the
Philistine road for fear of possible enemies (Ex. xiii. 17), would
deliberately march through a district containing Egyptian troops ;
or, if they had done so, that they would have been able to remain
unmolested at the mountain. This, however, is without force if
Petrie's statement (p. 206) is correct, that Egyptian expeditions for
mining purposes were 'at most in alternate years, and in the time
of Merenptah only once in many years. Hence unless an expedition
were actually there in that year, no reason existed for avoiding the
Sinai district.'

The statement of Dillmann (on Ex. iii. 1) has been generally

( y accepted, that 'there is no distinction in the Bible between Sinai

and Horeb ; they are difl"erent names for the same locality, and the

names interchange only according to the different writers, or, as in

Sir. xlviii. 7, in the same verse according to the parallelism of its

members.* But there seems to be evidence in the Bible for two

different traditions as to the position of Sinai and Horeb respectively.

The former name is employed (in the Hexateuch) by J and P, and in

: Dt. xxxiii. 2 (see Driver on the date of the chapter), and the latter by

^o>- ' E (Ex. iii. 1, xvii. 6, xxxiii. 6) and D^ and in 1 K. xix. 8 which is

coloured by Deuteronomic language.

1. SINAI. J relates that the name Meribah was given (Num. xx.
7 — 13) to the place where Moses brought water from the rock. In
Ex. xvii. 6 (E) this took place at 'the rock in Horeb ^' But the
former story is placed by a compiler between two statements of E
relating to Kadesh (Num. xx. 16, 14). The inference from this —
that the Meribah incident took place at Kadesh — is accepted by P,

^ It is pointed out in the note on this verse that the name of the place at which
the incident occurred has fallen out. It is not impossible that it was purposely
omitted, because it conflicted with the Sinai tradition of P.

§ 6] GEOGRAPHY ciii

who speaks of ' the waters of Meribah of Kadesh [Meribath Kadesh] '
in Num. xxvii. 14 = Dt. xxxii. 51. It appears, therefore, that the
mountain which P considered equivalent to Horeh was at, or near
Kadesh. P also says, in the same passages, that Meribath Kadesh is
*in the wilderness of Zin.' Compare Num. xx. 1, where P's statement
of the arrival at the wilderness of Zin is placed immediately before
E's statement {v. 2) that the people abode at Kadesh. And in
Num. xxxiii. 36 P explicitly identifies the wilderness of Zin and
Kadesh. See also Num. xxxiv. 3, 4, Jos. xv. 1, 3.

J^adesh, or Kadesh Bamea', was identified in 1842 by Mr Rowland as the
modem *^Ain Kadis, some 50 miles S. of Beersheba in the desert et- Tih (see
Trumbull, Kadesh-Barriea). The name signifies 'holy,' and the place was
probably a sacred one not only to the Israelites but also to the other tribes
in the neighbourhood. Its sacredness is also shewn by the name 'En-mishpat
('Well of Judgement') which is given to it in Gen. xiv. 7.

Further, P appears to identify Zin and Paran. In Num. xiii. 3
Moses sent spies from the wilderness of Paran; but in v. 2\b they
spied from the wilderness of Zin to Rehob, and {v. 26 a) they returned
to the wilderness of Paran. And immediately afterwards (y. 266)
foUow the words, probably from E, 'to Kadesh.'

Once more, Paran is closely associated with Sinai. In Num. x. 12
(P) it is the first stopping-place after the wilderness of Sinai. In
Dt. xxxiii. 2 Sinai is mentioned in parallelism with Seir {- Edom) and
Paran (cf. Hab. iii. 4, where Teman, a part of Edom, is parallel with
Mt Paran) ; and in Jud. v. 4 f., if the words ' that is Sinai ' are genuine
(see Moore), Yahweh comes from Seir and the country of Edom, and,
in order to help His people in Palestine, passes Sinai. If El-Paran
(Gen. xiv. 6) is the same place as Elath or Eloth, it is another
indication of the locality of Paran^. And in Num. xx. 16 (E) Kadesh
is said to be in the uttermost of the border of Edom.

Thus Sinai is very closely associated with Zin, Kadesh and Paran,
and all are at the borders of Edom^.

A similar result is reached in another way. E's story of Meribah
'at the rock in Horeb' (Ex. xvii. 6f.) is introduced by P's state-
ment that the Israelites pitched in Rephidim. P therefore understood

^ 1 K. xi. 18 seems to imply that a place named Paran lay between Midian and
Egypt.

" In this connexion should be noted the plausible emendation in Dt. xxxiii. 2,
instead of K'lp nhQ'ID ' from ten thousands of holiness ' to read either
BHi^ nnnp 'to Meribath Kadesh' or "p niirsO « from Meribath K.' (See
Driver.)

civ INTRODUCTION [§ 6

the sacred mountain to be in close proximity to Eephidim. So also
Num. xxxiii. 15. And in Ex. xvii. 8 E relates that the Amalekites
fought with Israel at Rephidim. Palmer conjecturally identifies
Rephidim with Wddy Feiran, about 30 miles N.W. of the modern
Sinai. But there is nothing to support the supposition that a body of
Amalekites had left their country and moved to the S. of the penin-
sula. In Num. xiv. 40 — 45 (J) they were in their ordinary locality
when, in conjunction with the ' Canaanites,' they defeated Israel
(see note on Ex. xvii. 8) ; and in Dt. i. 44 the * Amorites '
(=' Canaanites ' in J) are said to have beaten down Israel 'in Seir.'
Thus Rephidim, together with Kadesh, Zin, Paran and Sinai, is to be
placed close to Edom.

It is true that the itinerary in Num. xxxiii. gives twenty stations
between the departure from Rephidim and Sinai, and the arrival at
* the wilderness of Zin which is Kadesh.' But this cannot be taken as
evidence that Sinai and Kadesh were any great distance apart. The
itinerary gives forty stages in the whole journey, which were probably
adjusted artificially to the forty years' wandering. The twenty names
between Sinai and Zin are, for the most part, unknown. But the
second of them, Hazeroth, which is also the second station in J
(Num. xi. 35), is followed immediately by Paran in J (xii. 16), and is
one of several towns adjoining the 'Arabah (Dt. i. 1). The sixteenth,
BenS-ya'akan, which appears in Dt. x. 6 as Be'eroth-ben6-ya'akan ' the
wells of the sons of Ya'akan,' may have been the home of the Horite
tribe Ya'akan mentioned in 1 Chr. i. 42 ('Akan, Gen. xxxvi. 27), in
which case its locality must have been in, or near, Edom.
t All the lines of evidence, therefore, combine to place Siug^jn the
desert S. of Judah, now known as et-Tih, in close proximity to Kadesh
and Edom. Trumbull (p. 319) speaks of Kadesh as 'an encircled
fastness among the mountains.' It is true that none of the neigh-
bouring mountains are very high, but our impression of the great
height of Sinai is of course due to the wonders of the theophany
recorded in Ex. xix. ; there is no statement in the O.T. which makes it
necessary to think that it was a towering peak\

2. HOREB. The traditions which give the name Horeb to the
sacred mountain appear to place it not on the West, but on the East
of the Gulf of Akaha.

1 The possibility must be left open that, according to Wellhausen's conjecture,
Kadesh was originally the site of the legislation, and that the names Sinai and
Horeb were due to later tradition.

§ 6] GEOGRAPHY ct

It is to be noticed that while E relates events at Kadesh (Num. xiii.
2Sb, XX. lb, 14) and at Rephidim (Ex. xvii. 8), he does not connect
them in any way with Horeb. He connects Horeb with Midian (see
note on ii. 15). In iii. 1 Moses, when tending the flocks of Jethro the
priest of Midian, led them for pasturage ' behind,' i.e. West, of the
wilderness to Horeb. It has often been assumed that Jethro, with a
detached body of Midianites, had moved, for some unknown reason, to
the S. of the peninsula ; but the supposition is without evidence, and
is in itself very improbable. If, however, Jethro was living in Midian,
where he is found in ii. 15, and if Horeb was the modern Sinai, the
' wilderness ' must be the desert et-Tih ; and it is quite inconceivable
that Moses led the sheep to the west of that desert before moving
southwards.

Again, in xviii. 5 Jethro visited Moses at the mountain. This,
according to the traditional view, involved his travelling round the
northern end of the Gulf of Akaba and then southwards, the whole
length of the peninsula, with Zipporah and her sons. Moreover his
visit occurred just as the Israelites were about to leave the mountain
(see notes) ; but xviii. 27 says that ' he went his way into his own
land.' This clearly implies that he went by a different route from that
which the Israelites would take. If, however, his visit was paid in the
S. of the peninsula, his route homewards would, for a large portion, be
identical with that of the Israelites ; he could have travelled with
them as far as the northern point of the Gulf of Akaba. [The same
difficulty attaches to the traditional site of Sinai in J's narrative,
Num. X. 29 f.] Horeb must therefore be located at some point west, I
or south-west of Mi^cHan', on the east of the Gulf. And it is worthy of \
note that in modern maps a Jebel Harb is situated on the east of the
Gulf, a little south of lat. 28°.

Dt. i. 2 says that ' it is eleven days' journey from Horeb by way of
Mt Seir unto Kadesh-barnea'.' If Sinai is in the immediate vicinity
of Kadesh, this statement makes it impossible to identify Horeb with
it. Robinson travelled in 1838 from Jebel Musa, the traditional
Sinai, to Akaba, and thence to the neighbourhood of 'Ain Kadis in
exactly eleven days. But if Horeb be placed on the eastern side of
the Gulf, and not quite so far south as Jebel Musa, the journey to
Kadesh would be of the same length ; and the description in Dt,, ' by
way of Mt Seir,' or 'by the Mt Seir road,' would be at least as
suitable as on the traditional route.

In Dt. i. 19 Moses says that the route from Horeb to Kadesh was
through 'a great and terrible wilderness,' 'by way of (or to) the

cvi INTRODUCTION [§ 6

mountain of the Amorites.' The expression is of the same fonn as
' by way of Mt Seir ' in r. 2. D and E frequently employ the name
' Amorites ' as a general description of the native inhabitants of
Canaan on the west of the Jordan, but sometimes also more par-
ticularly for the peoples ruled by Sihon and 'Og on the east and
south-east of the 'Arabah (cf vv. 4, 44). And the expression 'by
way of (or to) the hill country of the Amorites ' would be perfectly
suitable to a route which passed round the northern end of the Gulf of
Akaba from its eastern side, and then struck N.W.

1 K. xix. 3, 8. Elijah went from Beersheba ' forty days and forty
nights unto Horeb the mount of God.' The forty days and nights
cannot be taken as a literal measure of time, shewing the length of the
journey ; for Beersheba is only 50 miles N. of Kadesh, and for a strong
man of the deserts this would hardly add two days' journey to the
eleven required between Kadesh and Horeb. But the expression implies
that he went away into wild desert regions, far from the haunts of
men. And this would be as true of the Arabian desert east of the
Gulf of Akaba as of the Sinaitic peninsula.

§ 7. The Historical Valrm of the Book of Exodus.

One of the most profoundly important features in the religious
thought of modern times is the growing realisation among Biblical
students that the nature and meaning of * Inspiration ' can be arrived
at, not by any preconceived ideas as to what it ought to mean, but by
a patient investigation of the books themselves. With regard to
prophecy we read that ' men spake from God, being carried along by
[an inspiration of] the Holy Spirit' (2 Pet. i. 21). If this is also true
in regard to narratives, it is right to ask how, and to what end, were
the writers * carried along ' ? And an answer is provided in 2 Tim. iii.
16 : * every divinely-inspired writing (Trao-a ypat^t-fj ^coTri/evcn-os) is also
profitable for teaching, for conviction, for correction, for discipline
which is in righteousness ; that the man of God may be equipped,
completely equipped for every good work.' In other words Scripture is
inspired in such a way as to possess a moral, ethical, spiritual value.
And it makes no claim to inspiration of any other kind ; nor does a
careful and reverent study of its contents lend any countenance to the
belief that its purpose, in God's hands, is other than spiritual. The
moral and religious value of the book of Exodus — which forms the
subject of the next section — is therefore entirely distinct from the
accuracy of its details in matters of history, geography or archaeology.

§ 7] HISTORICAL VALUE OF EXODUS cvii

And if it be found that many details of the narrative are certainly or'
probably unhistorical, the results of the enquiry will have merely a
secular interest, and will not affect the true character and purpose of
the writing. Biblical criticism by itself, as has been well said, is like
the analysis of fresh water : it leaves us thirsty. But that is no reason
for refusing to analyse.

The primary canon of sound historical criticism is that only
narratives contemporary, or nearly so, with the events related, and,
moreover, consistent with themselves, can claim to be literally exact
records. Now if it is ever right to speak of the ' assured results ' of
literary criticism, one of them is that Exodus was not written by
Moses. He nowhere claims to be the writer, and he is mentioned
throughout the narratives in the third person. If, as all the evidence
seems to shew, the earliest written records we possess date from the
9th or 8th century B.C., though it is probable that they, in turn, are
based upon some written records behind them, the narratives in their'
present form are some three or four centuries later than the events
described. And if large portions are to be assigned to post-exiHc
priestly writers, much of the book is at least two centuries later stiU.
Again, the most cursory examination of the contents reveals the fact
that they are often inconsistent, that the different literary strata have ^
preserved divergent, and frequently contradictory, traditions. The
records, then, are not literally exact : and it is the duty of the
historical student to attempt to trace the underlying basis of fact
on which the traditions have been built'.

In the Old Testament there are presented to us the varying
fortunes of a Semitic people, who found their way into Palestine,
and were strong enough to settle down in the country in defiance of
the native population. They partly conquered the natives, and partly
became united with them. But although the invaders must have been
greatly in the minority as regards numbers, they were knit together by
a strong national bond which made them formidable. At first they
were divided geographically into groups, but they gradually won their
way to a national and political unity. This national bond which
animated the Hebrews was the outcome of a firm religious belief which
was common to all the branches of the tribe — the belief that every
member of the tribe was under the protection of the same God,

^ As early as the 9th century a.d. the Jews themselves, under the influence of
Persian attacks on their faith, were beginning to criticise the chronology and eren
the theology of the O.T. See Gottheil, Some early Jewish Biblical Criticism, JBL
xiiii. 1—12.

cviii INTRODUCTION [§ 7

Yahweh. He, and no other deity, was their God ; and they, and no
other nation, were His people and His care. This community of belief
and worship was so deeply rooted that it remained firm through all the
vicissitudes of their history. It was at times combined with the
worship of the deities acknowledged by the native population with
whom they were intermingled; it was at times threatened with
destruction by persecution or by the captivity of the greater part of
the nation. But it triumphantly survived. At a comparatively early
stage it was evolved, in some minds, into the still higher principle of
monotheism ; Yahweh was not only the God whom the Hebrews
worshipped to the exclusion of all others, but He was realised to be
the one and only Deity who had any existence. ' Yahweh thy God is
one ' was the sublime truth to which they were led by the inspiration
of their teachers the prophets.

Now if it be asked from what source they gained their first united
belief in one Deity, which separated them from the surrounding
Semitic tribes, the analogy of other religions suggests the answer that
it probably resulted from the influence of some strong personality —
some teacher who was in advance of his time. The book of Exodus is,
therefore, in accordance with all probability in describing the movement
as having originated with Moses. The existence and character of the
Hebrew race require such a person as Moses to account for them.
But while it may be safely contended that Moses was a real person,
and that the denial of this is scarcely within the bounds of sober
criticism, it does not follow that all the details related of him are
literally true to history. In all times it has been the tendency to add^
to the original portraiture of a great figure. Exactness in the science
of history is a very modern product. Vague traditions of the founder
of the national religion were orally handed down, and at every repe-
tition of them some new feature would be added — some new virtue or
excellence would be ascribed to him, legendary details would gather
round his life. Prof. Driver' says of the patriarchs what is signally
true of Moses : ' the basis of the narratives in Genesisjsjn^fact j>_ogwto2;
oral tradition ; and that being so, we may expect them to display
the characteristics which popular oral tradition does in other cases.
They may well include a substantial historical nucleus ; but details
may be due to the involuntary action of popular invention or
imagination, operating during a long period of time ; characteristic
anecdotes, reflecting the feelings, and explaining the relations, of a

1 Art. « Jacob ' in DB ii. 534.

§ 7] HISTORICAL VALUE OF EXODUS cix

later age, may thus have become attached to the patriarchs ; phraseo-
logy and expression will nearly always be ascribed rightly to the
narrators who cast these traditions into their present literary shape.'

A. Moses is portrayed under three chief aspects : (1) the Leader,
(2) the Promoter of the religion of Yahweh, (3) the Lawgiver and
moral Teacher or Prophet.

1. Moses as Leader. The narratives in Genesis are entirely con-
sistent in regard to the fact of the migration of the family of Jacob
into Egypt. There is, however, a possibility that those who came to
Egypt consisted only of part of the Israelite clan. A weU-known
inscription on a stele of Merenptah, found by Prof Petrie at Thebes in
1896, describes the peace that ensued upon the king's conquests :
' The^ villages are again settled. He who prepares his harvest will eat
it. Ra has turned himself (favourably) to Egypt. He is born for the
purpose of avenging it, the king Merenptah. Chiefs are prostrate,
saying " Peace ! " Not one among the nine bows (the barbarians)
raises his head. Vanquished are the Tehennu (Libyans) ; the Khita
(Hittites) are pacified ; Pa-Kan 'ana (Canaan) is prisoner in every evil ;
Ashalni (Ashkelon) is carried away; Gezer is taken; Yenoam is
annihilated ; Ysiraal is desolated, its seed (or fi'uit) is not^ ; Charu
(Palestine) has become as widows for Egypt ; all lands together are
in peace. Everyone that was a marauder hath been subdued by the
king Merenptah, who gives life like the sun every day.' Ysiraal,
which has the determinative for 'men,' while all the other names
have the determinative for ' country,' and therefore refers to Israel not
as a land but as a tribe or people, is in close proximity to towns or
districts of Palestine. And Petrie and Maspero conjecture that they
were descendants of certain Israelites who had been left behind in
Canaan when the main body went to Egypt, or who had returned
thither after the famine^. But whether or not some Israelites remained

^ The translation is that given by Prof. Driver in Hogarth's Authority and
Archaeology, 62 f.

* M. Naville (Recueil de Travaux, xx. 32 — 37) renders it 'Israel is come to
nought : he has no more offspring,' i.e. the Israelites have departed from Egypt,
and none of them are left behind. M. Naville says, ' In the mouth of the king of
Egypt or of his official scribes, the departure of the Israelites could prove to be
nothing but their destruction.' But would the departure of a tribe of nomads into
the desert necessarily prove their destruction ? Prof. Kennett suggests to me that
the inscription may record the substance of a despatch from an official in Palestine,
who would presumably write in a Semitic language. If so, the people indicated by
Ysiraal might be not Israel but the natives of Yizre'e'l (Jezreel), in which case the
passage contains a play on the word zera' (' seed'). It may be noted that 'Israel '
resembled ' Jezreel ' in sound closely enough for Hosea (i. 4 f. ) to play on the two
names.

* See art. 'Asher' in Enc. Bibl. for some conjectures which have been made with
regard to the tribe of that name.

ex INTRODUCTION [§ 7

in or near Palestine, there is no sufficient reason for doubting the
Hebrew tradition of an emigration to Egypt.

Again, if the Israehtes obtained permission — as foreign tribes are
known to have done^ — to occupy pasture land within the Egyptian
frontier, there would be nothing surprising if some of them were
pressed into compulsory building labour ; for it was a common practice
to employ foreigners and prisoners in this manner. It is no objection
to this that the Israelites are not mentioned in inscriptions as
forming part of the corvee; an insignificant tribe might not be dis-
tinguished by the Eg)^tians from other foreigners. But in order to
rouse them, and knit them together, and persuade them to escape
from the country, a leader was necessary. If, therefore, it is an
historical fact that they were in Egypt, and partially enslaved, it is
more likely than not that the account of their deliverance by Moses
also has an historical basis. It is clear from inscriptions that
strenuous efforts were made to prevent slaves and foreigners from
escaping across the frontier. And the escape of the Israelites was
perhaps rendered easier by some succession of natural calamities
arising from an unusual overflow of the Nile. It is suggested on
pp. 43 — 6 that the plagues, which the Hebrew tradition in the course of
centuries pictured as ' miraculous ' judgements sent by Yahweh, had in
each case a natural foundation in fact. If Moses seized the opportunity
when the country was in distress, and discipline was relaxed, to lead
out the Israelites, it was the plagues that occasioned the exodus, and
not the exodus the plagues^.

In the narrative of the crossing of the sea the writers are in
complete agreement as to the fact ; but the divergence between the
accounts of P and JE as to the manner in which it was performed,
affords a remarkable instance of the tendency of oral tradition to
attach legendary details to the original occurrence. Nothing of real
value is gained by insisting that the deliverance at the sea was
' miraculous ' and not * natural.' If, according to the earlier form of
the story, God in His over-ruling providence deliberately employed a
natural phenomenon to facilitate the escape of the Israelites, His

^ Prof. Driver (Auth. and Arch. 59) cites an inscription of Merenptah's reign in
which an Egyptian officer reports that the Shasu, or nomad bands, of Atuma
(Edom) had been allowed to pass the castle at Thku(t), ' in order to obtain a
living for themselves and their cattle in the great estate of Pharaoh.'

2 The confused Greek and Egyptian traditions respecting Israel in Egypt and
the Exodus are preserved by the following writers : Hecataeus of Abdera (in Diod.
Sic. xl. 3), Manetho (in Jos. c. Ap. i. 14, 26 f. ; cf. Eus. Praep. Ev. x. 13),
Lysimachus of Alexandria (in Jos. c. Ap. i. 32), Chaeremon of Naukratis (in
Jos. c. Ap. i. 32), Diodorus Siculus, xxxiv. 1, Tacitus, Hist. v. 3 — 5.

§ 7] HISTORICAL VALUE OF EXODUS cxi

divine power is in no way enhanced by supposing that He contravened
His normal method of working. It is important to observe that the
more or less accurate Egyptian colouring given to the narrative by the
mention of the localities with which the Israelites were connected,
does not of itself prove that the narratives are historical. But if the
Israelites were in Goshen, and if they emerged into the desert, it is
perfectly possible that the account of the crossing of a piece of land
usually covered by water, in which all the narratives agree, is based
upon fact.

The same may be said of the places mentioned in the course of
their migration. If it is true that they did not take the N.E. route
through the Philistine country, their natural course would be along '
the eastward highway, towards the northern end of the Gulf of Akaba
(see § 6). Moreover there is no reason to doubt the tradition, in
which all the writers concur, that they found their way to a mountain
which had been sacred long before the time of the Exodus ; and Moses
only followed a practice which must have been common before his day,
and has been common among nomad tribes ever since, when he
induced the Israelites to make a haj, or religious pilgrimage, to a
weU-known sacred spot.

Between the departure from Egypt and the arrival at the sacred
mountain, six incidents are related — the sweetening of the waters, the
gift of manna, the gi.ft.,Qf Q.uails, the smiting Df the rock, the fight with
Amalek, and the visit of Jethro. Of these the last four are shewn, by
internal evidence, to belong to a period after the arrival at the mountain.
But the historicity of a battle with an Amalekite tribe, and of Jethro's
visit when he advised Moses to institute a change in the methods of
organization, need not be questioned, though many of the details in
the narratives are probably later accretions. With regard to the
miracles recorded in the other incidents, the remark made above will
apply. The traditions of miracles may very probably have had a
basis in 'natural' facts. And in these natural facts the really
wonderful element would consist in the over-ruling providence of
God, which, without reversing His ordinary methods of working, '
made natural phenomena to turn to His praise by the opportuneness
with which they occurred for the help and sustenance of the tribe
whom He had marked out for conspicuous service to the world.

It is thus evident that to dogmatize on the extent to which the
Exodus narratives are historically accurate is in the last degree pre-
carious. That Moses was not an individual, but stands for a tribe or
group of tribes, and that the narratives which centre round him as an

cxii INTRODUCTION [§ 7

individual are entirely legendary, is to the present writer unthinkable.
The minuteness of personal detail, the vivid picturesqueness of the
scenes described, the true touches of character, and the necessity of
accounting for the emergence of Israel from an elementary nomad
condition into that of an organized tribal community, are all on the
side of those who maintain that in its broad outlines the account of
Moses' leadership is historical. But as regards particular incidents
and details the decision in each case resolves itself into a balance of
probabilities. And it appears probable (1) that the ipsissima verba of
individuals are the work of the narrators, who, in perfect good faith,
after the manner of Thucydides and many another writer, put into
their mouths utterances suitable to the occasion, (2) that the narrators
enriched the narratives from their own imagination, and the narratives
were also expanded in the course of oral transmission, with many
details and touches of local colouring, and (3) that the traditions
acquired a miraculous element in the centuries that intervened between
the events and the times of the several writers.

2. Moses as the Promoter of the religion of Yahweh. Throughout
the Old Testament, with the exception of Ez. xl. — xlviii., the forms and
ceremonies of Yahweh-worship are represented either as originating
from the teaching of Moses, or as laid down by him with fresh and
binding emphasis. And the fact that every stage in the religious
evolution of Israel is traced to the initiative of one man, is a strong
argument in favour of the tradition that that man was an historical
person, and that he laid a religious foundation upon which the super-
structure could afterwards be built.

First it is to be noticed that J uses the name Yahweh from his very
first sentence, Gen. ii. 46, and onwards, and assumes that Yahweh was
known and worshipped by the ancestors of the race. And in Exodus
the expression ' Yahweh the God of the Hebrews ' is characteristic of
his writing, iii. 18, v. 3, vii. 16, ix. 1, 13, x. 3. But, in agreement with
E and P, he ascribes to Moses a new departure in Yahweh-worship
inaugurated at Sinai. E and P agree in relating that the name
Yahweh was a new revelation to Moses when he was about to deliver
Israel, and that he taught it to his countrymen in Egypt. And yet in
iii. 6 E represents Yahweh as saying to Moses, ' I am the God of thy
father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob\'
And in vi. 3 P states explicitly that God appeared unto Abraham,

^ Possibly, however, the latter clause is a later insertion, as in 15 f., iv. 6.

§ 7] HISTORICAL VALUE OF EXODUS cxiii

Isaac and Jacob, but He was not known to them by the name Yahweh.
All the sources, therefore, imply that Moses did not teach the Israelites
a totally new religion ; they had worshipped God from primitive times
in the primitive manner of Arabian nomads ; but he put before
them a new aspect of their religion, he gave a fresh impetus to
it by defining more clearly the relation in which they were to stand to
God ; He was to be in a peculiar sense their own God. And this new
relation between the Deity and His worshippers was embodied in the
name Yahweh. Whatever was the exact force which the name had for
them, there appears to be a firm historical basis underl)dng the traditions,
that by this teaching Moses induced the Israelites to feel that they
were henceforth in all their tribal branches one body, united in the
common worship of a single Deity. When we go further, and enquire
whence Moses derived his knowledge of the name Yahweh, we are
landed in the region of conjectures. Two points, however, are clear :
firstly that the God of the Israelites had, before Moses' time, beenv'
conceived of as dwelling on the sacred mountain (see note on iii. 1),
and secondly that He was worshipped by a branch of the Midianites ^
named the Kenites (Jud. i. 16, iv. 11), of whom Jethro was a priest
(Ex. iii. 1, xviii. 1). On the basis of these facts two conjectures have
been made. Stade, Budde and others have supposed that Moses .
learnt the name Yahweh from the Midianites when he was living
among them ; He was, therefore, a foreign God so far as the Israelites
were concerned ; and that, after they had heard His name for the first
time from Moses in Egypt, they journeyed to Horeb, and were there
admitted by Jethro into the Kenite worship by a sacrificial feast at
which Jethro officiated (xviii. 12). But it is hardly likely that the
Israelites enslaved in Egypt could have been so rapidly roused and
convinced by Moses' proclamation of an entirely new and foreign
Deity. And the action taken by Jethro in organizing the sacrificial
meal might easily arise from the fact that he was in his own territory,
and naturally acted as host towards the strangers who visited him.
The other conjecture, which can claim some plausibility, is that,
Yahweh was the God who was recognised by Moses' own tribe ; cf.
iii. 6 'the God of thy father,' xv. 2 'my father's God.' And Moses'
work would then consist in proclaiming as the God of the whole body
of Israel Him whose help a small portion of them had already
experienced. But the origin of His worship by Moses' tribe and
the Midianites remains quite unknown.

When the Israelites had arrived at the abode of Yahweh, it would
be natural to expect them solemnly to pledge themselves to His

M. h

cxiv INTRODUCTION [§ 7

worship. It is probable that the narrative in xxiv. 3 — 8, which relates
this, is based upon fact. The absence of priests, and the mention of
'young men' as the proper persons to slaughter the sacrificial victims
point to an early date for the passage (see p. Ixv.). The ceremony of
the sprinkling of blood both upon the altar (which represented the
presence of the Deity), and upon the worshippers, was probably a
survival from a far-off time when the god of a tribe was thought to be
of the same blood with his people, and this bond was periodically
renewed and strengthened by the material participation in the same
sacred blood of a victim \ But the Israelites were not a single tribe,
but a confederation of tribes which also included a ' mixed multitude.'
If, therefore, this primitive conception were really the germ of the
Israelite idea of sacrifice (which some writers doubt), it had long passed
away ; and the ceremony was simply the form in which the tribes
made their vow to worship Yahweh. And when Jethro the Kenite
appeared, at the end of the Horeb scenes (see note on xviii. 16), he
organized a sacrificial feast ' before God,' not in order to introduce the
Israelites to the Kenite worship, but solemnly to unite them with the
Kenites by vows of friendship and alliance, to which Yahweh, the
Deity whom they both worshipped, was witness.

But if Moses combined all the Israelites in the acknowledgement
of one God, did he (1) lay down any details of the cult, or (2) appoint
^ny sacred objects or paraphernalia of worship? (1) It may be
regarded as practically certain that Moses would inform the people
of the mode of worship required from them, much as the foreigners
in Samaria were taught ' the manner [the customary ritual] of the God
of the land' (2 K. xvii. 25 — 28). But this mode of worship must
have been one suited to migrating nomads, and not the more
developed forms which grew up after the settlement in Canaan. It
is, however, this more developed stage which appears in the laws on
worship preserved in JE (E, xx. 23 — 26, xxii. 29—31, xxiii. 10—19,
J, xxxiv. 17 — 26). In the first passage the multiplicity of altars seems
to imply a multiplicity of sanctuaries ; and the prohibition of hewn
stones and of steps, though very ancient as compared with the
injunctions for the elaborate priestly altar of xxvii. 1 — 8, appears to
belong to a time when there was some danger of the ancient customs
being violated, and when some skill in handicraft had been acquired,
xxii. 29 f. is concerned with the offering of firstfi-uits and firstlings.
The two subjects are closely connected, and probably both belong to

1 See Bob. Smith, ES^ 312—320, and Addenda.

§ 7] HISTORICAL VALUE OF EXODUS cxv

a time when the Israelites had entered upon agricultural pursuits. In
the deserts they could have no fruits or corn to offer. The sacrifice of
firstlings for a sacrificial meal seems to have been ancient and pre-
Mosaic (see p. 66), but not the offering of them as a stereotyped
tribute to God. Similarly the three annual pilgrimages enjoined in
xxiii. 14 f., 16 f., xxxiv. 18a, 22 f., cannot have been observed before
the arrival at Canaan. They marked stages in the harvest, and con-
sisted of processions to the local sanctuaries for feasting and dancing.
And to the same period belong the law of the fallow year (xxiii. 10 f.),
and in its present form the law of the Sabbath (12 f., xxxiv. 21).
There remain only xxii. 31; xxiii. 18 a = xxxiv. 25 a; xxiii. 18 6;
and xxiii. 196 = xxxiv. 26 6 (which are in juxtaposition in Dt. xiv. 21).
The purpose of the first of these is clearly to prevent the eating of
flesh from which the blood has not been properly drained. The
principle, though not the present form of the injunction, is probably
of great antiquity. The avoidance of leaven as a form of corruption
was probably ancient. And the prohibition of leaving fat until the
morning seems to belong to the same primitive circle of ideas as the
prohibition of eating flesh with the blood ; the fat, like the blood,
contained the life of the animal, and if left till the next day, when the
first stage of corruption would have begun, it would be regarded as
dead. The origin of the last prohibition is obscure. If it refers to
some form of Canaanite magic (see note) it must be post-Mosaic ; but
it may only be a primitive rule to safeguard against the possibility of
putrefaction (see art. 'Magic' in Enc. B., and Rob. Smith, RS^ 221),
or against the cutting off" of the supply of milk (see Addenda).

Of the cultus laws, therefore, preserved in the covenant code of
Israel, those which are demonstrably Mosaic are reduced to a vanishing
point. XX. 24 f., xxii. 31, and xxiii. 18 b point ultimately to very ancient
custom, perhaps also xxiii. 18 a, 19 6, and it is probable that the
observance of the Sabbath has its roots in a far-off" pre-Israelite age
(see note on pp. 121 f) ; but more than this cannot be said with
certainty. And the groundwork of the regulations for the Passover
(chs. xii., xiii.) seems to have been a primitive ceremony which was
almost certainly a pre-Mosaic institution. (See pp. 64 ff".) It is
worthy of note that Jeremiah, the prophet of inward and individual
religion, explicitly denies (vii. 22) that Yahweh gave the Israelites
any commands 'concerning burnt-off"erings or sacrifices' in the day
that He brought them out of the land of Egypt.

(2) From an historical point of view it is extremely unfortunate
that the insertion of P's ideal picture of the paraphernalia of worship

cxvi INTRODUCTION [§ 7

^ has swept away all descriptions which JE may have had except the
itwo fragments Num. x. 33—36 (J) and Ex. xxxiii. 7—11 (E). The
former assumes the manufacture of a sacred ark (the account of which
probably underlies Dt. x. 3), and the latter of a sacred tent. The
former shews that the presence of the ark was in some sense an
equivalent for the presence of Yahweh (cf. Num. xiv. 42 ff.) ; but no
early statement of its form or purpose has been preserved. The
latter relates that the tent was one which Moses could himself pitch,
perhaps, as we may suppose, with Joshua's help ; it must, therefore,
have been an ordinary Bedawin tent. And in it Moses used to attend,
to administer the sacred oracle to anyone who came to enquire of it.

3. Moses as Lawgiver and Teacher. The author of Dt. xxxiv. 10
expresses the reverent acknowledgement which the nation in his day
accorded to the moral and spiritual aspects of Moses' work : ' There
hath not arisen a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom
Yahweh knew face to face.' Compare xviii. 15 — 18, Acts iii. 22,
vii. 37. There is abundant justification for the belief that Moses gave
to Israel injunctions which were not merely ritual. It is arbitrary to
assume that the prophets of the 8th century and onwards, who
preached a high ethical morality, preached something entirely new.
It is true that in their early days, e.g. in the time of the Judges, the
character of the Hebrews was at a low ebb ; but the prophets always
held up a lofty ethical ideal as something which the nation had failed
to reach, and proclaimed that for this failure the sinful people were
answerable to a holy God who expected better fruit from them
(cf. Hos. iv. — vi., Am. v., vi., viii., Is. i., v., xxviii., Mic. ii., iii.). And
since human nature is alike in all ages, it can be safely assumed that
long before the prophets there were at least isolated men and women
more high-souled than tine masses around them, who strove to live up
to the light which they possessed. And as the national history of
Israel postulates a leader who shaped and unified the heterogeneous
elements enslaved in Egypt, and as their unanimous adherence to the
worship of a single Deity postulates a great personality who proclaimed
to them that worship and drew them as one body into the acceptance
of it, — so the ethical morality, which appears in the book of Exodus
quickened and intensified by the prophets, postulates a teacher in
advance of his time, who instilled into the nucleus of the nation the
germs of social justice, purity and honour. When Moses was leading
the tribes in the desert, and during the long stay at Kadesh, he would
have been below the standard of an ordinary sheikh if he had not given
decisions on social matters. His position as judge, or arbiter of

§ 7] HISTORICAL VALUE OF EXODUS cxvii

disputes, is supported both by intrinsic probability, and by the nar-
rative in Ex. xviii. And it was owing to his work of advising and
teaching in the sacred Tent that the title ' prophet ' attached to him
in later tradition (Dt. xxxiv. 10, quoted above, should be compared
with such passages as Ex. xxxiii. 11 a, Num. xii. 5 — 8).

We can thus study the codified laws ascribed to Moses with the
presupposition that the social life of Israel contained an element of
social morality, of which the germs were due to Moses.

But in the life of a nomad tribe the controlling factor is not a
cwpus of specific prescriptions, but the power of custom. An immoral
act is condemned because ' it is not wont^ so to be done ' (Gen.
xxxiv. 7, 2 S. xiii. 12). The stereotyping of custom in written codes
is the product of a comparatively late stage in national life. And all
the evidence seems to shew that Israel was no exception to the rule.
It may be confidently asserted that Moses would not commit to writing
a series of moral precepts ; his work would consist in moulding the
public opinion of the tribes over whom he was sheikh. His power was
the power of personal character. And the general result with regard
to the written moral and social laws in Exodus is the same as that
reached above with regard to the ritual laws of Yahweh-worship — i.e.
that while some elements are demonstrably ancient, it is impossible to \
say of any particular detail that it is certainly derived from Moses '
himself. If he introduced the whole of Israel to the religion of
Yahweh, he also planted in them the seeds of a moral goodness
inspired by the uniqueness of that religion. This is a glory which
our lack of detailed information cannot take from him^.

B. Aaron. By the side of Moses the narratives of the Pentateuch
place the figure of Aaron. But he stands on a very different footing.
The personality of Moses, as we have seen, is required by the existence
and character of the Hebrew race in Palestine ; but that of Aaron is not
required at all in the same way. The description of the sanctuary in
Ex. xxxiii. 7 — 11 makes no mention of him, and leaves no room for
him as priest. Moses is obviously chief priest through whom the
people receive divine instruction, and Joshua is his sole assistant.
The passage is assigned to E, which mentions Aaron indeed, but in
such a manner as to imply that he and Hur were elders or sheikhs
rather than priests (see xxiv. 14, xvii. 10 — 12). And in J Aaron

1 Not as E.V. ' ought not to be done.'

2 Peters, The Religion of Moses, JBL xx. 101 — 128, presents a useful survey of
the facts, though his arguments for the Mosaic origin of the Decalogue do not
seem to the present writer convincing.

cxviii INTRODUCTION [§ 7

occurs, in a similar capacity, in conjunction with Nadab and Abihu
and seventy of the elders of Israel (xxiv. 1, 2). In the narratives of
the plagues he plays no part in the small fragments preserved from E
(though his action may possibly be implied in Josh. xxiv. 5), while in
J he is introduced in a way that suggests that his name is a later
insertion (see also iv. 29). Thus the basis of fact which underlies the
Aaronic traditions is probably that he was, like Hur, an important
civil member of the Israelite body ; in Mic. vi. 4 he is mentioned
with Moses and Miriam as having taken a leading part in the Exodus.
But very little of real personal detail has been preserved to us. (See
pp. Ixiv. — Lxx., on the growth of the priestly traditions.) With the
final exaltation of Aaron, in post-exilic times, to the supreme position
of the ancestor of all priests is connected the description of the Taber-
nacle in chs. XXV. — xxxi., xxxv. — xl., of which the historicity is un-
hesitatingly denied by all who accept the main principles of historical
and literary criticism (see pp. Ixxix. — Ixxxii.)

We have seen then that the accounts of Moses as Leader, as
Promoter of the religion of Yahweh, and as moral Teacher, may claim
to rest upon a basis of historical fact, but that in very few details can
we be confident that we know accurately either his deeds or his words.
And while Aaron may have been an important sheikh, he was not a priest.
But though this leaves us with very little certain knowledge of either
Moses or Aaron, the historical value of the book is in no way ex-
hausted ; it is only transferred from the time of the events described
to the times of the writers who described them. There may very
possibly have been written documents behind J and E, but nothing is
known of their nature or extent. The gain which is indisputably ours
is a large knowledge of the days of the prophetical narrators. They
project into the past, as upon a screen, a luminous picture of their
own beliefs about God, their conceptions of His character and methods
of working, their own ethical and social standard, the religious in-
stitutions and ritual customs which, as the result of a long growth,
prevailed in their own day. The late priestly portions of Exodus are
a purely ideal expression of a spiritual longing, though even this
expression to some extent reveals existing conditions after the exile.
But the non-priestly portions are, in a very real sense, history ; they
form a contemporaneous illustrative commentary upon the events
related in 2 Kings and the utterances of the pre-exilic prophets.

8] RELIGIOUS VALUE OF EXODUS cxix

§ 8. TTie Religious Value of the Book of Exodus.

An attempt has been made in the preceding section to estimate
the extent to which the book is of value to the historian. The con-
clusions reached are of necessity somewhat vague. There must be a
large use of the word ' perhaps ' in dealing with a period so remote,
and with a book whose structure is so complicated, and which took so
long to grow. But when we pass from the historicity to estimate the
religious value of the book, we pass to firm ground ; we pass from
what is incidental to what is essential. An organism may rise through
a long and slow process of development, biologists may differ as to its
earliest or any of its subsequent stages ; but that need not prevent
them from being in complete agreement as to its functions and
capacities in its completely developed state.

The book of Exodus, together with the rest of the Bible, has.jt.
diyige,jjid^iLhumaiL-side.-.. Dr Ottley {Aspects of the Old Testament,
pp. 19 f.) draws a striking analogy between this two-fold aspect of
Scripture and the union of the Divine and Human in Christ : ' There
is then admittedly a human side to Scripture, and the condescension
which we witness in the Incarnation of the Son of God has left to the
human instruments of His will more than we had once supposed. He
has employed different types of mind and character to execute or
advance His purposes. In the recording of His acts and words He
has sanctioned the employment of literary methods which in a higher
stage of culture might be judged inappropriate. He has consecrated
individual peculiarities or special intellectual endowments to ends of
His own. The result is that to the critical eye Scripture wears an
ordinary and occasionally even humble exterior ; it is not free from
such incidental defects, limitations and errors as are incident to all
human composition ; but under this lowly form is concealed a special
divine presence. Here, as in the Incarnation, may be discerned the
self-unveiling of a divine Spirit, the operation of divine power, the
appeal of divine love.' The chief ambition, therefore, of the student
of Exodus must be fo trace something , of this unYeJlin^ of God, His
power and love, in the human collection of narratives, traditions, laws
and ritual details before him. And for this purpose, the realisation
that the book passed through various stages in its literary history is of
the utmost constructive value. Not only in successive books of the
Bible but in successive strata of one book, we see a spiritual develop-
ment corresponding to the literary development. The two earliest

cxx INTRODUCTION [§ 8

prophetical writers were allowed to reveal as much of the character of
God as could be known in their day. The additions made to the book
by later pre-exilic prophets exhibit a distinct advance in depth and
insight. The post-exilic priests, while they endorsed all the previous
revelation, concentrated their thoughts mainly upon a single aspect of
the Divine Being and His relations with His people.

1. The teaching of JE consists in the presentation of God's Person
jind attributes by means of a history of His actions. It is a continuous
illustration of the words ' I will be what I will be.' By His dealings
\rith His people, God slowly unfolded the meaning of His Name (see
note on iii. 14).

The writers start from the thought that in order to fulfil His
eternal design, Gmj cbnsp thftjqtinn of Tsrap.l from all other nations
to be His people. But He did not suddenly select a nation that was
exactly like all others, and suddenly make it fit for His purposes.
He had made long preparation beforehand ; He was known to their
fathers (ii. 24, iii. 6, 15 f., iv. 5, xv. 2, xviii. 4, xxxii. 13, xxxiii. 1). And
when the moment drew near at which the nation as a whole was to be
united in His worship, He provided the special preparation^ofsuJfering.
He allowed Israel to come into Egypt, and Jacob to sojourn in the
land of Ham ; He turned the heart of the Egyptians to hate His
people, to deal subtilly with His servants, in order that their cry and
their groaning might ascend to His ears, and that by their sufferings
they might be bound together with the sympathy of brothers in
affliction. But the preparation also included the fashioning^ of an
JMtrument for jlis purposes ; the circumstances of Moses' childhood,
and his long absence from Egypt, ending with the great revelation at
Horeb, equipped him for his work. And now all was ready, and Israel
became God's people, and Yahweh became ' the God of the Hebrews '
(iii. 18, V. 3, vii. 16, ix. 1, 13, x. 3), and rescued them with a mighty hand.
But before Israel could be admitted into full covenant relation with
their God, they had^jta.bejbe8ted^(xv. 25, xvi. 4, xx. 20), by dangers
(xiv.), privations (xv. 22 ff., xvi. Iff., xvii. Iff.), and war (xvii.
8 — 16), and taught that when they cried unto Yahweh in their trouble,
He delivered them out of their distress. Their behaviour under the
trial was not a good omen for the future, but God's patience and love
never wearied. When at last He had brought them to His own abode.
He gave tothem a visible sjgn of His presence and His majesty in
the Theophany, as He had before given it to Moses ; and He bound
them to Himself by a solemn covenant. And finally, although they
sinned against Him and broke the covenant, He again forgave ijifim

§ 8] RELIGIOUS TEACHING OF JE cxxi

and promised that His presence would go with them ; in spite of
everything He would still shew Himself to be all that He would be —
the Guide and Saviour of His people.

The picture of the Divine character which emerges in this history
is manifold. Standing at an early stage in the growth of religious
thought, the early writers, especially J, employed anthropomorphic
expressions with some frequency, though it is probable that they
did not always interpret them literally. Yahweh 'comes down'
(iii. 8, xix. 11, 18, 20, xxxiv. 5), He puts forth His hand (iii. 20,
XV. 6, 12, 16, cf. xxiv. 11), He 'met' Moses and 'sought to kill
him' (iv. 24), He 'took off' or 'bound' the chariot wheels of the
Egyptians (xiv. 25), the elders 'saw the God of Israel' (xxiv. 9,
11), He talked with Moses 'face to face' (xxxiii. 9, 11), Moses
could see the after parts of Him (23), and Yahweh passed by
before him (xxxiv. 6). These, however, are little more than surface
indications of more ancient modes of thought. Side by side with
them are seen deep and spiritual conceptions to which the divine
Spirit had led the prophets. The early writers did not dwell upon His
character and attributes in the abstract, but as they bore upon the
guidance and discipline of His people. He was the Creator, who from
of old appointed one man to be dumb, another deaf, and consequently
it was He who 'appointed a mouth' for Moses (iv. 11). He was
supreme in His power over nature ; this was shewn for His people's
sake by a series of wonders — the plagues, the crossing of the sea, the
sweetening of the water, the manna, and the water from the rock.
He thereby proved Himself greater than all other gods (xv. 11,
xviii. 11). And there were some intimations of the mysteriousness
of His_Being. Moses himself could not look upon His full glory
(xxxiii. 19 — 23), and both to Moses and to the people He could appear
only in a partial manifestation as the ' Angel ' (iii. 2, xiv. 19, xxiii.
20, 23, xxxii. 34, xxxiii. 2), but the 'Angel' was to be identified
with the fulness of His Being which could not be seen (xxiii. 21,
cf Is. Ixiii. 9, a reference to the Exodus). In His attitude towards
His people He shewed that perfect combination of justice and mercy
to which human rulers cannot attain. It is true that

'Earthly power doth then shew likest God's
When mercy seasons justice,'

because that is the highest that earthly power can reach ; but the
' attribute of Grod Himself ' is perfect (not seasoned) justice, side by
side with perfect mercy. He punished His people when they sinned

cxxii INTRODUCTION [§ 8

(xxxii. 35, xxxiii. 3), but He was, with all His severity, 'compas-
sionate and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy and
truth' (xxxiv. 6 f., of. xv. 13, xxxiii. 19). He was always ready to
'meet' His people in closest and most loving intimacy (xxxiii. 7 — 11),
and to listen to the intercessions of their leader (xxxiii. 12 — 17). He
guided them with tender care (xiii. 17 f., 21 f.), and fought for them
against their enemies (xiv. 14, 25, xvii. 8 — 16). And not the least
conspicuous aspect of His rule over them is seen in the varied laws
which He laid down for the control of their social and moral
life. He understood them so well that His laws, as collected in
the first instance by JE, were not a difficult body of precepts ; they
were suited to their early state of development ; they were a 7rat8ayo»yos
to lead them to something higher.

2. The later additions contribute little to the narrative of JE, but
they mark an advance in the ideas of God. A striking instance of the
spiritualising of the conceptions of His nature is seen in xx. 22 6.
Yahweh does not come down and speak from Sinai, but He speaks
from Heaven. And He is no longer the greatest of all gods, but
commands that other gods be not even named — their existence is not
to be recognised (xxiii. 13). And as being the only true_GQd, He is
'jealous' of His supreme prerogative (xx. 5, xxxiv. 14). A fresh
thought in His care for His people is that He heals_tligm of all
diseases (xv. 26, xxiii. 25 6, cf. Hos. xi. 3). A deeper aspect of His
dealings with Pharaoh is hinted at in ix. 16, of which S. Paul makes
use in his argument (Rom. ix. 17) — He allowed Pharaoh to 'stand,'
i.e. to remain undestroyed, in order to shew him [' in him,' Rom.] His
power, and to make His Name — His nature — known in all the earth.

Conversely there is an intensified realisation of the purpose for
which God cho^^^is peoBlej^ They are to be ' holy^men ' unto Him
(xxii. 31), i.e. completely separated from everything which will injure
their state of consecration to His service. And as an outward
sign and sjonbol of this ' separateness ' they are to destroy the enemies
of His religion and their objects of worship (xxiii. 24, 31 h — 33,
xxxiv. 11 — 16). To fail to do this, or to join in idolatrous worship,
is sin, for which Yahweh will wipe the sinner out of His 'book'
(xxxii. 32 f.). But the climax is reached in two passages in which
the thought of divine hve shines more clearly than ever before. In
iv. 22 Israel is God's_^80n, His firstborn, His nearest and dearest ; it
is akin to Hos. xi. 1, 4. And in xix. 3 6 — 6 is pictured the strong
tenderness of an eagle towards its young, carr3ang it safely to its eyrie,
as a symbol of the divine Father taking His children out of the reach

§ 8] RELIGIOUS TEACHING OF P cxxiii

of danger to His own abode (cf. Dt. xxxii. 11, Is. Ixiii. 9 b). Further,
the universality of His government is taught for the first time in the
words ' all the earth is Mine ' (5 b). But that very fact gives an
entirely new and glorious meaning to the choice of Israel. They are
not only a ' holy,' separated people, and a people that is a possession
more valuable to God than all other nations, but they are a ' kingdom
of priests ' — an organized community under the government of a King,
every member of which has a mediatorial office, to intercede for all
other men, and to minister to them in things pertaining to God. It is
the only statement in the book of the true divine mission of Israel.

3. The priestly writers, in the narrative portions, follow the same
ground as JE. The revelation of the name Yahweh, the choice of
Israel as His people, and the oath to their forefathers are all contained
in vi. 2 — 8. The plagues, and the crossing of the sea declare that
God punishes His enemies and rescues His people. And generally
speaking P accepts and endorses the spiritual teaching of the earlier
writings. But two thoughts rise into such bright prominence as almost
to throw everything else into the shade — or rather two complementary
aspects of one thought, i.e. the separateness, the ' holiness ' of His
people, and as the cause of it the permanent abiding of His holy
Presence in their midst. On p. Ixxxiv. it is shewn that the Tabernacle
and its worship were the product of religious contemplation and of
a longing for the visible presence of God, which pointed to, and was
only fulfilled in, the Incarnation. But the ideas may here be studied
more in detail. If Yahweh's presence was to be imagined in any sense
as objective, it could not be in human form ; religious conceptions had
advanced far beyond anthropomorphism. It took the material and yet
mysterious form of the intense light of Jire, which was described by the
word ' Glory.' Directly the sacred mountain was reached, Yahweh
revealed Himself; 'the glory of Yahweh abode on Mt Sinai... and the
appearance of the glory of Yahweh was like devouring fire ' (xxiv. 16f.).
And the account of Moses' converse with Him is an allegory which
contains the profoundest spiritual teaching. Man's soul, like his
body, is enormously influenced by its environment. The ' glory ' was
reflected upon Moses' face, and clung to him (xxxiv. 29 — 35). Moses
alone stood in a relation to God close and intimate enough for such a
transfiguration to be possible or bearable ; the people durst not gaze
even upon the reflexion. But Moses was the representative of his
nation, and the glory upon his face was a pledge and symbol of the
abiding of the divine glory upon the whole people.

But this ' abiding ' must not only be symbolized, it must be realised

cxxiv INTRODUCTION [§ 8

objectively ; God must dwell, tabernacle\ in their midst. And con-
sequently His place of dwelling must be, like David's temple,
'exceeding magnifical.' As Hooker says, 'Touching God Himself,
hath He anywhere revealed that it is His delight to dwell beggarly ?
And that He taketh no pleasure to be worshipped saving only in poor
cottages ?... Were it not also strange, if God should have made such
store of glorious creatures on earth, and leave them all to be consumed
in secular vanity, allowing none but the baser sort to be employed in
His own service ? To set forth the majesty of kings, His viceregents
in this world, the most gorgeous and rare treasures which the world
hath are produced. We think belike that He will accept what the
meanest of them would disdain.' (See Eccl. Pol. v. xv. 3 — 5.) It
is not indeed ' as though He needed anything.' The beauty of the
Tabernacle, and the beauty of worship in all churches in all ages, is
acceptable to Him, not because it adds anything to Him but to the
worshipper. It calls forth the spirit of self-sacrifice, the spirit of
giving rather than receiving, the outward expression of the devotion
of ' every man whose heart maketh him willing ' (Ex. xxv. 2).
Therein lay the whole difiference between this ideal worship of
Yahweh and the pagan worship of idols. Ruskin, though he treats
the erection of the Tabernacle as an historical fact, beautifully
expresses the underlying thought. He points out that against the
danger of idolatrous worship 'provision was not made in one way,
(to man's thoughts the simplest, the most natural, the most efi'ective,)
by withdrawing from the worship of the Divine Being whatever could
delight the sense, or shape the imagination, or limit the idea of Deity
to place. This one way God refused, demanding for Himself such
honours, and accepting for Himself such local dwelling as had been
paid and dedicated to idol gods by heathen worshippers. And for
what reason ? Was the glory of the tabernacle necessary to set
forth or image His divine glory to the minds of His people ? What !
purple or scarlet necessary, to the people who had seen the great
river of Egj^pt run scarlet to the sea under His condemnation?
What ! golden lamp and cherub necessary, for those who had seen
the fires of heaven falling like a mantle on Mount Sinai, and its
golden courts opened to receive their mortal lawgiver? What !
silver clasp and fillet necessary, when they had seen the silver
waves of the Red Sea clasp in their arched hoUows the corpses of

^ It was this that led to the Eabbiuic description of the ' glory ' by the term
Shekinah, derived from shdkan, ' to dwell ' or ' tabernacle.'

§ 8] RELIGIOUS TEACHING OF P cxxv

the horse and his rider? Nay — not so. There was but one reason,
and that an eternal one ; that as the covenant that He made with
men was accompanied with some external sign of its continuance, and
of His remembrance of it, so the acceptance of that covenant might
be marked and signified by men, in some external sign of their love
and obedience, and surrender of themselves and theirs to His will ;
and that their gratitude to Him and continual remembrance of Him,
might have at once their expression and their enduring testimony, in
the presentation to Him, not only of the fruits of the earth and the
tithe of time, but of all treasures of wisdom and beauty ; of the
thought that invents, and the hand that labours ; of wealth of wood,
and weight of stone ; of the strength of iron, and the light of gold.'
{Seven Lamps, The Lamp of Sacrifice, i. § 6.)

But at the same time that God must tabernacle in the midst of
Israel, His 'holiness,' His ' unapproachableness ' must be safeguarded. '•
Mediators were needed, whereby the divine influence might reach the
people. And so both the building itself, and the people, were arranged
on the principle of a descending scale of * holiness.' The ' most holy'
shrine contained the ' Glory ' ; it was approached by a ' holy ' place,
and that by an outer court. And the different degrees of sanctity
were marked by the different metals and coverings employed (see
pp. Ixxxv. f.). Again Aaron and Moses, who from different points of v^
view represented the nation, could enter into the ' most holy ' ; the
' holy place ' was frequented by the jtriests ; and in the outer court the
Leyites officiated. And once more, the arrangement of the camp bore
out the same idea. The tribes pitched their tents round the Taber-
nacle, but the Levites and the sons of Aaron formed an inner cordon
(Num. ii., iii.) 'that there be no wrath upon the congregation of the
children of Israel' (i. 53).

All the manifold details in the manufacture of the Tent, and its
hangings and furniture, the ' holy garments ' of Aaron and his sons,
and the elaborate ritual enjoined for their consecration, together with
the mass of ceremonies and sacrifices specified in Leviticus and the
priestly portions of Numbers, were the work of generations, but all
contributed to the great central thought, the magnificent ideal which
has yet to be realised in the Christian Church — a perfectly organized
Body, consecrated to the God whose Glory tabernacles in their midst.
From the Jewish nation, as such, the Glory is departed, but the hope
of the Christian Church rests upon the historic fact that the Word
tabernacled among men, and there were those who saw His Glory
(Jn. i. 14).

cxxvi INTRODUCTION [§ 8

4. Such, in broad outline, is the religious teaching of the book of
Exodus. Across every page of the record the divine Spirit writes * I
will be what I will be.' That is its whole content and inspiration.
Both before and after the book was revered as canonical scripture, its
history was revered, and referred to as the standard by which to
gauge the greatness of God's power, the severity of His justice, and
the depths of His love. This attitude is seen most strikingly in those
passages in which the events of the exodus and the wanderings are
passed under review, either in the form of a joyful thanksgiving, as
in Pss. cv., cxxxvi., or more often of a sorrowful confession of national
sins in the past and present, and of a warning from the ancient
examples of rebellious ingratitude, as in Neh. ix., Pss. Ixxviii., Ixxxi.,
evi., Ez. XX. The references to the fact of the exodus for the purpose
of impressing prophetic and spiritual teaching are very numerous —
Jud. ii. 1, 2, vi. 8—10, x. 11, 1 S. x. 18, 2 S. vii. 6, 23 f. (= 1 Ch. xvii.
5, 21 f.), 1 K. viii. 16 (=2 Ch. vi. 5), 51, 53, ix. 9, 2 K. xvii. 7, 35 f.,
xxi. 15, Ps. Ixxx. 8, Is. Hi. 4, Jer. ii. 6, vii. 22, 25, xi. 4, 7f., xvi. 14,
xxiii. 7, Hos. ii. 15, xi. 1, xii. 9, xiii. 4, 5, Am. ii. 10, iii. 1, ix. 7,
Mic. vii. 15, Hag. ii. 5, Dn. ix. 15'. The divine severity exhibited in
the plagues is recalled in 1 S. iv. 8, vi. 6, Ps. cxxxv. 8, 9, Jer. xxxii.
20, 21, Am. iv. 10 (?) ; and "the triumph over Yahweh's enemies at the
Red Sea in Nah. i. 4, Ps. Ixvi, 6, Ixxiv. 13 f., Ixxvii. 15 — 20, Ixxxix. 10,
cxiv. 3, Is. xi. 15 f., xliii. 16 f., Ii. 9 f., Ixiii. 11 — 13; in each of the
last four passages, the ancient deliverance is treated as an assurance of
a deliverance in the future. Moses frequently, and Aaron occasionally,
is mentioned by name in connexion with the history — 1 S. xii. 6, 8,
1 K. viii. 9, 1 Ch. xxi. 29, 2 Ch. i. 3, v. 10, Ps. xcix. 6, ciii. 7,
Jer. XV. 1, Mic. vi. 4 (including Miriam), Mai. iv. 4 ; and see Hos. xii. 13.
Passing on in the order of the narrative, the pillar of cloud is referred
to in Ps. xcix. 7, and affords a beautiful prophetic illustration of God's
protection of Zion in Is. iv. 5. The incidents at Meribah and Massah
supply the well-known warning against hardness of heart in Ps. xcv. 8
(see R.V.). The water from the rock is mentioned in Ps. cxiv. 8, and
the prophet of the Return employs it as a counterpart of the blessings
which will be vouchsafed to those that *go forth from Babylon,'
Is. xlviii. 20 f. The wonders of the Theophany lend themselves to
poetic treatment in Jud. v. 4f., Ps. Ixviii. 7 f. (cf v. 17), Hab. iii.

^ To these should perhaps be added Ez. iv. 4 — 6, where the 430 days of the
prophet's symbolic action furnish a parallel to the 430 years (Ex. xii. 40) of Israel's
bondage in Egypt.

§8] BIBLICAL REFERENCES cxxvii

3 — 6, in each case as an ideal accompaniment of an approach of
Yahweh to help and rescue His people. Appeal is made in Ps. 1. 5
to the covenant sacrifice, which put Israel into a special relation
with God. The law given at Sinai is referred to in 1 K. viii. 21,
2 Ch. V. 10 (tablets of stone), Jer. xxxiv. 13 f. (release of slaves),
Mai. iv. 4, and above all in Jer. xxxi. 32 where the prophet
draws his epoch-making contrast between the old covenant and a
new covenant of the heart. The raining down of manna is
perhaps alluded to in Ps. Ixviii. 9 (see Perowne). To actual words
of the book of Exodus there are very few references : Is. xii. 2,
Ps. cxviii. 14 echo the song of Moses at the sea ; in Ps. cxxxv. 4,
Mai. iii. 17 the word ' peculiar treasure ' {segullah) is perhaps derived
from Ex. xix. 5 ; the wonderful description of divine mercy in
Ex. xxxiv. 6 has affected several later passages — 2 Ch. xxx. 9, Neh. ix.
17, 31, Ps. Ixxxvi. 15, ciii. 8, cxi. 4, cxii. 4, cxlv. 8, Joel ii. 13,
Jon. iv. 2, Nah. i. 3 ; and compare Nah. i. 2 with Ex. xxxiv. 14. The
specifically priestly portions of Exodus are alluded to in a few late
writings and editorial additions : the roasting of the Passover with fire
'according to the ordinance,' 2 Ch. xxxv. 13 (cf. Ex. xii. 8); 'the
tabernacle of Yahweh which Moses made in the wilderness,' 1 Ch. xxi.
29 ; * the tent of meeting of God,' 2 Ch. i. 3 ; on 1 S. ii. 22 see p. 234 ;
the priesthood of Aaron ' to go up unto mine altar, to burn incense, to
wear an ephod before me,' 1 S. ii. 28 ; the anointing oil poured upon
Aaron, Ps. cxxxiii. 2 ; and the inscription ' Holiness to Yahweh ' which
in Ex. is placed upon the high priest's turban, is in Zech. xiv. 20 so
universal in the ideal Jerusalem that it is found on the very bells of
the horses and applicable to every pot in the city. For the passages
based on the list of stones in the ' breastplate ' see note on xxviii.
17—20.

5. The same phenomena are seen in the Apocrjrphal books.
Retrospects of the events in Egypt and the wanderings are found
in Jdth. V. (the moral of it is given in w. 17 f.), Wisd. x. 15 — 21, xi.
(Wisdom is regarded as equivalent to the divine providence which
guarded the Israelites), id. xvii. — xix. (a highly imaginative de-
scription of the sufferings of the ungodly Egyptians and the triumph
of the pious people of God). The fact of the exodus is referred to in
2 Esd. i. 7, ii. 1, xiv. 29, Est. xiii. 16, Bar. i. 19, ii. 11. Moses and
Aaron are praised among 'famous men' in Sir. xiv. 1 — 5, 6 — 22 (the
latter passage includes a detailed description of the Aaronic vestments).
The following references to events and other details in Exodus may be
noted : the institution of the Passover, 1 Esd. i. 6, 12 ; the plagues,

cxxviii INTRODUCTION [§ 8

2 Esd. XV. 11 ; the crossing of the sea, 2 Esd. i. 10, 13, 1 Mac. iv. 9 ;
Israel named God's 'firstborn,' Sir. xxxvi. 12; *I gave you Moses for
a leader and Aaron for a priest,' 2 Esd. i. 13 ; pillar of fire, id. v. 14 ;
Marah, id. v. 22 f. ; the revelation in the bush, the exodus and the
arrival at Sinai, 2 Esd. xiv. 3 f. ; manna and water, 2 Esd. i. 17 — 20 ;
quails, Wisd. xvi. 2 ; hornets, Wisd. xii. 8 (cf. Ex. xxiii. 28 — 30) ; the
theophany, 2 Esd. iii. 17 £ ; the covenant and the writing of the law,
Sir. xvii. 11 — 13, xxiv. 23, Bar. ii. 28 ; Moses' intercession, 2 Esd. vii.
36 (106) ; the Tabernacle, Wisd. ix. 8 ; the glory which descended upon
it, 2 Mac. ii. 8 ; the altar of burnt offering, 1 Esd. v. 49 ; the fifth
command in the decalogue, Tob. x. 12; the law of retaliation,
Sus. V. 62 ; and Ex. xxiii. 22 is quoted in 2 Mac. x. 26.

6. When Exodus is read in the light of the New Testament its
spiritual value is multiplied. We find, as S. Augustine says, that
' Novum Testamentum in Vetere latet^ Vetus in Novo patet ' — ' the
New Testament lies concealed in the Old, the Old stands revealed in
the New.' The references are of two kinds : those in which, as in the
case of the Old Testament and Apocryphal references, the writers recall
the language or. historical events of Exodus in their plain and literal
meaning to enforce or illustrate their argument ; and those in which
they apply to language or events a symbolical or allegorical inter-
pretation, shewing that Christianity was not something totally new,
fallen complete irom heaven, but a growth from the Old Covenant as a
plant from a seed.

{a) Of the former class are the historical retrospects by S. Stephen
(Acts vii. ; see vv. 17 — 41, 44), and S. Paul (Acts xiii. 17 f ), and the
enumeration of Old Testament heroes whose actions were the sign of
their faith (Heb. xi. ; see vv. 23 — 29). Our Lord referred to the words
of Ex. iii. 6 as supporting the truth of the Resurrection of the dead
(Mat. xxii. 32 = Mk. xii. 26, Lk. xx. 37), and S. Peter fi-om the same
passage derives the title ' the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of
Jacob, the God of our fathers' (Acts iii. 13). In Rom. ix. the
hardening of Pharaoh's heart plays an important part in S. Paul's
argument that God has an absolute right to do what He wills with
creatures of His own handiwork ; in the same connexion {v. 15) he
quotes Ex. xxxiii. 19. In 1 Cor. x. 7 he refers to the idolatry of the
golden bull as a warning. And in 2 Cor. viii. 15, in inculcating the
duty of almsgiving, he quotes Ex. xvi. 18 (regardless of its original
context) to illustrate the principle of 'equality.' Commands in the
Decalogue are cited in Mat. v. 21, 27, (?) 33, xv. 4 (=Mk. vii. 10),
xix. 18 f. (=Mk. X. 19, Lk. xviii. 20), Rom. vii. 7, xiii. 9, Eph. vi. 2f.,

§ 8] EXODUS IN THE N.T. cxxix

Jas. ii. 11; and words from the expansion of the fourth command are
echoed in Acts iv. 24, xiv. 15, Rev. x. 6, xiv. 7. The law of
retahation (Ex. xxi. 24) is dealt with in Mat. v. 38. The O.T.I
command did not give rein to the passion of revenge ; it checked it by!
keeping it within fixed limits. But Christ aimed at quenching the
least spark of it. The prohibition against cursing parents (Ex. xxi. 17) i
is referred to by our Lord (Mat. xv. 4 = Mk. vii. 10) ; and that against
cursing a ruler (Ex. xxii. 28) by S. Paul (Acts xxiii. 5). In accordance
with the law of the firstborn (Ex. xiii. 12) Jesus was presented in
the Temple (Lk. ii. 23).

(b) The symbolical and allegorical treatment of the book derives
much of its force from the ideas which New Testament writers
entertained with regard to the person and functions of Moses. The
acceptance by Christ and the apostles of the Mosaic authorship of the
Pentateuch has already been touched upon (pp. ix. — xi.). Not only,
however, was Moses considered to be the author of the Pentateuch, but
he was the Representative of the Old Covenant as Christ is of the New.
He was ' faithful in all His [God's] house as a servant ' (Heb. iii. 2 — 6),
i.e. he was entrusted by God with an influence which was to affect and
permeate not only his own generation but the whole of the Old Dis-
pensation. And when, after the Transfiguration, Moses and Elijah
vanished, and ' Jesus alone ' remained (Mt. xvii. 8, Mk. ix. 8, Lk. ix.
36), it helped the watching disciples ' to see that the Old Testament
being fulfilled in Christ is done away in Christ' (Plummer, DB iii.
808a). Jesus 'fulfilled' the Law by teaching that it was the spirit
and not the letter of it which is binding (see especially Mat. v.
17 — 48, xii. 1 — 8, xv. 1 — 9). S. Paul, chiefly in the epistles to the
Romans and Galatians, works out the relation of the Law to the
Gospel as only a Pharisee who had been lifted up to Christianity
could have done it. And S. Peter in his 1st epistle dwells upon the
truth that the Israel of old, with all its privileges and responsibilities,
finds its true development and fulfilment in the Christian Church.

But because Moses and his Dispensation stood in this relation to
Christ, the New Testament writers felt that his whole career afibrded
parallels to spiritual factors in the New Dispensation. The history of
the Old Israel repeats itself in that of the New. (To say this is, of
course, not to afiirm that the Old Testament writers had the slightest
idea that the events which they described were one day to receive a
spiritual fulfilment. The mind of God alone knew it, when He guided
the events and inspired the writings.) The series- gf Mosaic events
which are cited as affording points of comparison with things spiritual

cxxx INTRODUCTION [§ 8

form an extremely interesting study, since they cover so many of the
distinctive features of the New Dispensation, and illustrate in a
striking manner the essential unity of the ' Divine Library.'

{a) The Name under which God revealed Himself to Moses
(Ex. iii. 14) is, through the medium of the lxx o oSv, taken up and
given a fuller content in Rev. i. 4, 8, iv. 8, xi. 17, xvi. 5. See also
Jn. viii. 24, 28, 58, eyw ilfxi.

(6) The centre and mainspring of Christianity is the Incar-
nation, the dwelling of God's gloiy among men in the Person
of Jesus Christ. In 2 Cor. iii. 7 — 18 S. Paul refers to Ex. xxxiv.
29 — 35, arguing that the glory upon Moses' face', which accom-
panied his reception of the Law, was so great that the Israelites
could not bear to gaze upon it, although that Law was merely
a ministration of death, and of condemnation, and although the
glory on his face was transitory. Much more will the ministration
of the spirit, and of righteousness, be of surpassing glory. Again,
Moses realised that the glory on his face was transitory, and so he
could not boldly leave his face uncovered, lest the Israelites should
see the fading of the glory'*. And the veil which he wore still
lies, spiritually speaking, on the hearts of the Jewish nation,
which will not be removed till they ' turn to the Lord,' as Moses
used to remove it when he returned to the divine presence. But we
Christians can speak boldly, and with unveiled face can reflect the
glory of the Lord. If we are told that our gospel is obscure and ,
hidden by a veil, it is only so in the case of those who are spiritually
perishing. It is they who have been blinded by the ' god of this age,'
to prevent the glory of God, which is, in fact, the Incarnate Christ,
from dawning upon them. And in order to preach this gospel, God
has 'made us sufficient as ministers of a new covenant, not of the
letter but of the spirit ' (u 6) ; and those who accept our preaching
are as an epistle, written ' with the Spirit of the living God, not in
tables of stone, but in tables that are hearts of flesh' {v. 3).

(c) The Incarnation had its issue in the Passion ; Christ's deatji.
and the shedding of His blood procured atonement. This has its
counterpart in the Passoyer (1 Cor. v. 7 f. ; cf. Col. i. 14, Eph. i. 7
with Dr Armitage Robinson's note). And S. John (xix. 36) traces a
fulfilment of a particular detail (Ex. xii. 46) in the fact that no bone of
our Lord's body was broken.

^ His use of the narrative is rendered easier by the lxx, which renders y^
(' shone ') by deSS^arai and 8edo^a<rfiivri.

' This idea is not found in the original narrative ; see note.

§ 8] EXODUS m THE N.T. cxxxi

{d) Christ's sacrifice is no less clearly connected wWi the cove-
nant ceremony at Horeb (Ex. xxiv. 4—8). Our Lord explicitly refers
to it in the words of the institution of the Holy Eucharist (Mat. xxvi.
28 = Mk. xiv. 24, Lk. xxii. 20, 1 Cor. xi. 25 ; see also Heb. ix. 18—20,
and 1 Pet. i. 2 with Hort's note). In Heb. x. 29 a renegade Christian
is one who ' hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was
sanctified, an unholy thing.'

{e) Though pleading in Heaven, Christ is still present among men.
He is still Incarnate ; hence the existence of the Church which is His
Body. In Heb. xii. 18—24 the condition^of the Church under the
New Covenant is contrasted with that of the Israelites at Sinai. The
characteristics of the two covenants are terror and grace (cf. Keble's
Christian Year, Whitsunday).

(/) Sacramental incorporation into Christ's divine life had its
foreshadowing in the old Jewish Church ; all the Israelites were
'baptised into Moses in the cloud and in the sea' (1 Cor. x. 2).

{g) By the other great Sacrament, the divine life is fed and
nourished in the members of the Church. Our Lord teaches (Jn. vi.
30—35, 41 — 58) that it was really God, and not Moses, who gave
bread from heaven ; and that the manna was but the symbol of the
real 'bread from heaven.' (It is not here asserted that our Lord's
discourse had reference exclusively to the Sacrament of the Holy
Communion, which He was afterwards to institute ; but it must have
been impossible for the Evangelist — and it is impossible for us —
having heard the words spoken at the Last Supper, not to see in
the present passage their fullest and deepest application.)

And as Christ is the Bread of Life, so He is the "Water of Life.
In the mind of S. Paul the Israelites did not drink mere physical
water but spiritual (1 Cor. x. 3, 4). The Targ. of Onkelos on Num.
xxi. 17 ff. contains a legend according to which the well, mentioned in
that passage, followed the Israelites on their journeys over hill and
dale. S. Paul here refers to the legend, but combines with it an
allusion to the rock which produced water (Ex. xvii. 6, Num. xx. 11).
That rock, says S. Paul, is typical of Christ — 'the spiritual Rock
which followed them.'

{h) While the Israelites are the counterpart of the Christian
Church, their enemies who opposed Moses (cf. 2 Tim. iii. 8) afford
a parallel to those who obey— nnt the gngpfil. In Rev. viii. 5, 7, 8,
ix. 2—4, xi. 6, XV. 6—8, xvi. 2—4, 10, 13, 18, 21, the symbolism of
punishment is clearly based on the plagues of Egypt. And our
Lord's words about His power to cast out demons by the 'finger of

cxxxii INTRODUCTION [§ 8

God,' as contrasted with the methods of the Jewish exorcists (Lk. xi.
19 f.^), are perhaps an allusion to Moses and the magicians.

(?) On the other hand, those _who have been redeemed^rom the
slavery of sin can, like the Israelites rescued from Egypt^ 'sing the
song of Moses the servant of God ' (Rev. xv. 3), and their names will
not be blotted out of the book of life (iii. 5 ; cf. Ex. xxxii. 32 f.
and note).

(J) And when redeemed they can fulfil the high destiny purposed
for Israel (Ex. xix. 5 f.) — they become 'a royal priesthood, a holy
nation, a people that is a special possession' (1 Pet. ii. 9 (cf. v. 5),
Rev. i. 6, V. 10).

But besides the ideas connected with the life of Moses, there are
those which centre round the Tabernacle. The significance which the
symbolism appears to have had for the writers of the book of Exodus
has already been studied (pp. Ixxxvi. — xci.); but in the New Testament
we are in another world of thought. The ideas are strikingly free from
the material and intellectual analogies of Josephus and Philo and some
of the patristic writers. The principle of applying spiritual meanings
to the Tabernacle is acknowledged in Heb. viii. 5 by a reference to
Ex. XXV. 40. The heavenly pattern implies, for the writer of the
epistle, not merely a vision but a real heavenly counterpart — more
real indeed and more lasting than the earthly building which is its
vVo'Sciy/Att ('suggestive copy') and o-Kia ('shadow'); cf. Wisd. ix. 8,
' a copy of the holy Tabernacle which thou preparedst aforehand from
the beginning.' It is 'the real Tabernacle, which the Lord pitched,
not man ' (Heb. viii. 2) ; ' a greater and more perfect Tabernacle, not
made with hands' (ix. 11); a Tabernacle in which Christ and not
Aaron is the High Priest and Minister. The Mosaic Tabernacle was
a temporary figure (TrapafioXij) of no lasting value for atonement
(ix. 8 — 10). It was thus not merely, as in Josephus and Philo, a
microcosm—' an epitome of that which is presented on a larger scale
in the world of finite beings' — but an earthly analogy of something
spiritual, something which was 'not of this creation.' God, in order
to dwell among His people, dwelt in the Tabernacle. The Word,
which 'was God,' became Flesh in order to tabernacle among us
(Jn. i. 14); i.e. the Tabernacle corresponds to Christ's Humanity;
His body was the true Temple (Jn. ii. 19 — 21); in His Humanity,
perpetuated in His Body the Church (see below), 'dwelleth all the
Fulness of the Godhead bodily ' (Col. ii. 9, i. 19).

^ Mt. xii. 28 has « Spirit of God.'

§ 8] EXODUS IN THE N.T. cxxxiii

But in the Tabernacle there were two parts, the immediate presence
of God being shut off by the veil. So (Heb. ix. 24, x. 20) Christ
passed through His earthly life (symbolized by the Holy Place), and v
still bearing His Humanity entered 'into Heaven itself (the Most
Holy). This thought is specially connected, in Heb. ix., x., with the
ritual of the day of Atonement (see art. ' Day of Atonement ' in DGG i.).
The author of the epistle implies (ix. 2 — 5) that he could speak in
detail of the meaning of the Tabernacle furniture, but that the dis-
cussion of them would be disproportionately long. The briefness of
his passing reference to them would suggest to his readers that the
symbolical meanings which he could attach to them were of secondary
importance compared with his main theme. In Rev. iv. 5 the vision
of the ' seven lamps burning before the throne ' is based on the lamp-
stand which stood near the entrance into the Most Holy Place. In
xi. 19 the 'ark of His covenant,' the symbol of the divine presence, is
seen in ' the Temple of God that is in heaven.' And in xv. 5 this
Temple is called ' the Temple of the Tabernacle of the testimony in
heaven.'

Again, a further deep and mysterious truth is taught in the New
Testament. The Body of Christ still finds on earth a concrete
representation in His Church ; the Church is ' the extension and /
perpetuation of the Incarnation in the world' ' (cf. Eph. iv. 15 f., v. 23,
29 f., Col. i. 18, 24, ii. 9, 19). At present the representation is incomplete
and potential, because tliough Christ has passed to His glory the
'revealing of the sons of God' is yet future (Rom. viii. 19). But
when the Church in union with Him is glorified (I Jn. iii. 2), and
the ' spiritual house ' is completely built up (1 Pet. ii. 5), then the
saints 'who tabernacle in heaven' become, in fullest reality, 'His
Tabernacle' (Rev. xiii. 6), so that the ideal of Ezekiel and the priestly
writers is consummated (xxi. 3).

^ Bp Gore, Bampton Lectures on The Incarnation, p. 219.

INDEX OF SCRIPTURAL PASSAGES.

The following list comprises the canonical and apocryphal passages (outside
the Hexateuch) in which reference is made to the contents or the wording of
the book of Exodus, together with all the New Testament passages cited in
the Introduction.

Ps.

PAGE

Jud.

ii. 1 f.

cxxvi

V. 4

vL 8—10

X. 11

1 Sam.

ii. 22

cxxvii

)»

iv. 8

cxxvi

vi. 6

X. 18

xii. 6, 8

2 Sam.

vii. 6

23 f.

1 Kings viii. 9

16, 51f.

cxxvii

ix. 9

cxxvi

2 Kings

xvii. 7, 35f.

xxi. 15

iChr.

i. 3

cxxvii

xvii. 5, 21 f.

cxxvi

xxi. 29

cxxvi f.

2Chr.

i. 3

cxxvi

V. 10

cxxvi f.

vi. 5

cxxvi

XXX. 9

cxxvii

XXXV. 13

Neh.

ix.

cxxvi

ix. 17—31

cxxvii

Ps.

1.5

Ixvi. 6

cxxvi

Ixviii. 7f., 17

cxxvii

Ixxiv. 13 f.

cxxvi

Is.

Jer.

Ixxvil 15—20

cxxvi

Ixxviii.

Ixxx. 8

Ixxxi.

Ixxxvi.

cxxvii

Ixxxix.

cxxvi

xcv. 8

xcix. 6

ciii. 7

cxxvii

cv.

cxxvi

cvi.

)}

cxi. 4

cxxvii

cxii. 4

cxiv. 3

cxxvi

cxviii.

cxxvii

cxxxiii

cxxxv.

8f.

cxxvi

cxxxvi.

cxlv. 8

cxxvii

iv. 5

cxxvi

xi. lof.

xii. 2

cxxvii

xliii. 16f.

cxxvi

xlviii. 20f.

Ii. 9f.

lii. 4

Ixiii. 1]

—13

ii. 6

vii. 22,

>»

INDEX OF SCRIPTURAL PASSAGES cxixv

PAGE

Jer,

xi. 4, 7f.

cxxvi

Est.

xiii. 16

cxxvii

XV. 1

Wisd.

ix. 8

cxxviii

xvi. 14

X. 15—21

cxxvii

xxiii. 7

xi.

xxxi. 32

cxxvii

xii. 8

cxxviii

xxxii. 20 f.

cxxvi

xvi. 2

xxxiv. 13f.

cxxvii

xvii. — xix.

cxxvii

Ez.

iv. 4—6

cxxvi n.

Sir.

xvii. 11—13

cxxviii

XX.

cxxvi

xxiv. 23

Dan.

ix. 15

xxxvi. 12

Hos.

ii. 15

xiv. 1—5

cxxvii

xi. 1

6—22

xii. 9

Bar.

i. 19

)

ii. 11

>»

xiii. 4f.

cxxviii

Joel

ii. 13

cxxvii

Sus.

V. 62

Am.

ii. 10

cxxvi

1 Mac.

iv. 9

>»

iii. 1

2 Mac.

ii. 8

iv. 10

X. 26

IX. t

>»

Jon.

iv. 2

cxxvii

Matt.

V. 21, 27, 33

cxxviii

Mic.
Nah.

vi. 4
vii. 15
i. 2f.
4

cxxvi

))
cxxvii
cxxvi

17—48
viii 4

10
xii. 1—8

28
XV. 4

1—9
xvii. 8
xix. 8

cxxix

Hab.
Hag.
Zech.
Mai.

iii. 3—6
ii. 5
xiv. 20
iii. 17
iv. 4

cxxvii

»
cxxvi, cxxvii

cxxix
cxxxii n.
cxxviii, cxxix
cxxix

1 Esd.

v. 49

cxxviii

18 f.

cxxviii

vi. 6, 12

cxxvii

xxii 32

2Esd.

i. 7

xxiii 2

10,13

cxxviii

xxiv. 36

13, 14

xxvi 28

cxxxi

17—20

Mk.

i44

22 f.

^T. 6

ii. 1

cxxvii

vii. 10

X, cxxviii f.

iii. 17 f.

cxxviii

ix. 8

cxxix

vii 36 (106)

X. 3, 5

xiv. 3 f.

cxxviii

cxxvii

xii 26

X, cxxviii

XV. 11

cxxviii

xiii 32

Tob.

X. 12

xiv. 24

cxxxi

Jdth.

V. 17 f.

cxxvii

Lk.

ii. 23

cxxix

cxxxvi INDEX OF SCRIPTURAL PASSAGES

PAGE

Lk.

ii. 52

Col.

ii. 9

cxxxii

V. 14

9, 19

cxxxiii

ix. 36

cxxix

2 Tim.

iii. 8

cxxxi

xi. 19

cxxxii

cvi

xvi. 29, 31

Tit

iii. 5

xviii, 20

cxxviii

Heb.

iii. 2—6

cxxix

XX. 37

X, cxxviii

viii. 2

axxxi

xxii. 20

cxxxi

Jn.

i. 14

cxxv, cxxxii

ix. 2

xci

ii. 19—21

cxxxii

2—5

cxxxiii

V. 45—47

8—10

cxxxi

vi. 30—35

cxxx

41—58

18—20

vii. 19, 22 f.

cxxxiii

viii. 24, 28, 58

cxxx

X. 20

xix. 36

xi. 23-29

cxxviii

Acts

iii. 13

cxxviii

xii. 18—24

cxxxi

cxvi

Ja&

ii. 11

cxxix

iv. 24

cxxix

1 Pet.

i. 2

cxxxi

vii. 17—41, 44

cxxviii

cxvi

ii. 5

cxxxiii

xiii. 17 f.

cxxviii

5,9

cxxxii

xiv. 15

cxxix

2 Pet

i. 21

cvi

xxiiL 5

1 Jn.

iii. 2

cxxxiii

Rom.

vii. 7

cxxviii

Rev.

i. 4,8

cxxx

viii. 19

cxxxiii

cxxxii

ix. 15

cxxviii

iii. 5

cxxii

iv. 5

cxxxiii

xiii. 9

cxxviii

cxxx

1 Cor.

V. 7£

cxxx

V. 10

cxxxii

X. 2

cxxxi

viii. 5,7 f.

cxxxi

3,4

ix. 2—4

cxxviii

X. 6

cxxix

xi. 25

cxxxi

xL 6

cxxxi

2 Cor.

iii. 7—18

cxxx

viii. 15

cxxviii

cxxxiii

Gal.

iv. 25

xiiL 6

Bph.

i. 7

cxxx

xiv. 7

cxxix

iv. 15 £

cxxxiii

XV. 3

cxxxii

V. 23

cxxxiii

29 f.

6—8

cxxxi

vi2f.

cxxviii

xvi 5

cxxx

Phil

ii 7

2—4, 10

cxxxi

Col.

L 4

cxxx

13, 18, 21

cxxxii

xxi3

cxxxiii

18,24

cxxxiii

THE BOOK OF EXODUS.

PAET I.

ISRAEL IN EGYPT. THE EXODUS. THE JOURNEY
TO THE SACRED MOUNTAIN.

CHAPTERS L— XVIII.

The book of Exodus carries on the narrative of the fortunes of the chosen
people after the death of Joseph, opening with a description of the Israelite
oppression in Egypt. The first half of the book is familiar to all who read the
Bible. The vivid accounts of the oppression, of Moses' infancy and his flight
into Midian, his divine call which meant so much to Israel, the plagues, the
exodus, and the events which are related during the journey to the sacred
mountain, have been stamped upon the minds of Jews and Christians from
their childhood. They form a drama of thrilling interest, in which each
successive writer who contributed to the composite whole felt deeply his
responsibility as a religious teacher. Each of them as he wrote 'set God
always before him.' So that the result is not a bare chronicle — a skeleton
made up of the dry bones of historical facts. In the long course of ancient
oral traditions the bones had come together, and had been covered with the
flesh and skin of artistic narrative in which orientals excel ; but from the
moment that these narratives were employed by prophetical writers as a
vehicle of religious truth, the divine Spirit came into them, and they lived
and still live, as a record of the action of God in moulding a people prepared
for Himself

Chapter I.
Pharaoh's efforts to crttsh the Israelites.

The chapter describes the condition of the Israelites in Egypt from which
Moses was soon to rescue them. The reigning Pharaoh took steps to crush
them, partly by hard building labour, and partly by commanding the death
of all their male infants. The narrative lends itself readily to devotional
treatment. The exodus was to the Hebrews of subsequent ages a type of
divine salvation, and to Christians it has always been a type of redemption
from the slavery of sin. And the command, issued at the time of Moses' birth,
to kill the male infants, forms a striking parallel to the similai' command of
Herod at the time when the Saviour whom Moses foreshadowed was bora.

M. 1

2 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [i. 1-7

I. 1 Now these are the names of the sons of Israel, which P
came into Egypt ; every man and his household came with Jacob.
2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah ; 3 Issachar, Zebulun, and
Benjamin ; 4 Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher. 5 And all the
souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls :
and Joseph was in Egypt already. | 6 And Joseph died, and all J
his brethren, and all that generation. | 7 And the children of P
Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied,
and waxed exceeding mighty ; and the land was filled with them.

I. 1 — 7. A brief introduction, summarising previous events
which led up to the oppression.

1. so'm of Israel. Both 'Israel^' and 'sons of Israel' are found
as the name of the tribe and nation as it evolved in history (see v. 7).
The latter title was explained in the national traditions by tracing the
descent of the whole people to an ancestor who had received the
privileged name (Gen. xxxii. 28).

2 — 4. The sons of each mother are placed together ; Leah : Reuben
— Zebulun. Rachel : Benjamin. Bilhah : Dan, Naphtali. Zilpah :
Gad, Asher. The two concubines follow the two wives.

5. Seventy was the traditional number; cf Dt. x. 22. The names
in the list of Gen. xlvi. 8 — 27 make a total of 70 if Dinah be excluded.
But since Er and Onan died in Canaan (v. 12), and Joseph and his
sons were aheady in Eg5^t, a later priestly writer thought that they
ought not to be included among those who went to Egypt with Jacob ;
he therefore made their total 66, including Dinah, and then inconsist-
ently added Jacob himself, Joseph and his sons, to make up the 70.
In Num. xxvi. there is a list of Jacob's descendants which includes the
sons and grandsons of Ephraim and Manasseh ; and this led the lxx in
Gen. xlvi. 27 to include the three grandsons and two great-grandsons
of Joseph, making the total 75. So the lxx in the present passage ;
and this is followed in S. Stephen's speech, Acts vii. 14.

7. the children of Israel. The Heb. is the same as that of the
rendering 'the sons of Israel' in v. 1. The expression must originally
have implied a tribal kinship rather than a national or political unity.
The beginnings of a national unity were due to the work of Moses.
The question whether all the Israelite clans went to Egypt and took
part in the exodus is touched upon on p. cix.

increased abundantly/. Lit. 'swarmed'; cf Gen. i. 20, R.V. marg,

the land. In Gen. xlvii. 11 (P) Jacob and his sons settle in 'the
land of Rameses,' i.e. in the territory in which Ramses II afterwards
built cities and frequently resided. It is apparently equivalent to 'the

^ The name Israel is used in Mesha's inscription (the Moabite Stone), lines 5, 7 ;
and in an inscription of Shalmaneser II it occurs in the form Sir'lai with reference
to Ahab (GOT. i. 184, 6). On the stele of Merenptah see p. cix.

1. 8-1 1] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 3

8 Now there arose a new king over Egypt, which knew not J
Joseph. 9 And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of
the children of Israel are ^more and mightier than we : 10 come,
let us deal wisely with them ; lest they multiply, and it come
to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they also join them-
selves unto our enemies, and fight against us, and get them up
out of the land. 11 Therefore they did set over them task-

^ Or, too many and too mighty for u«

land of Goshen' in which, according to J, the Israelites lived. 'The
land ' is thus not the whole of Egypt, but the portion assigned to them
in the eastern part of the Delta.

8. knew not; had not known. The expression *a new king'
instead of 'another king' seems to imply a new dynasty, i.e. the 19th.
See note following ii. 22.

9. too many and too mighty for us, as R.V. marg. It is
probable that 'the children of Israel' represented, in Ramses' mind,
the whole mass of foreign prisoners and slaves who were transported to
the Nile valley during the campaigns of his long reign. In xii. 38
these foreigners are called 'a mixed multitude.' Brugsch {Egypt under
the Pharaohs, ed. 2, p. 301) says that the prisoners of Ramses' reign
added to the descendants of the foreigners brought to Egypt after
former wars 'certainly amounted to a third, and probably still more,
of all the families of Egypt.'

10. deal wisely. In Acts vii. 19 S. Stephen adapts the lxx
rendering of the word (R.V. 'dealt subtilly').

they also join themselves. The Egyptian sovereigns always felt
that this danger was imminent. Enemies such as the Hittites, the
Palestinian tribes, \h&shasu or^robbet-hands of the Arabian peninsula,
and wild hordes from the coasts of~~Asia Minor were constantly
threatening ; and the most strenuous efforts were made by Egyptian
officials to prevent fugitives from leaving the country. (See Driver in
Hogarth's Authority and Archaeology, pp. 57, 60.) "it. '

11. taskmasters ; gang-overseers. The expression occurs here
only ; but the ' labour-gang ' {mas) is frequently spoken of Solomon,
whose reign was affected by Egyptian influence, levied men for building
labour, 1 K. v. 14 f. (Heb. 28 f ).

Pharaoh. Heb. Par'oh. Hebrew appears to have been the only
language of ancient times which adopted this Egyptian word. In
Egypt Pr-o, ' great house,' was originally used of the royal palace
or estates. But during the Middle Kingdom (12th to 16th dynasty)
it stood metaphorically for the king's majesty, 'something in the
manner of the Sublime Porte ' (Driver on Gen. xii. 15) ; and in the
New Kingdom it became at once personal, and was soon a common
term for the king. From the 22nd dynasty and onwards it is prefixed
to the king's name — e.g. ' Pharaoh Necho.'

1—2

4 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [i. 11-15

masters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for J
Pharaoh store cities, Pithom and Raamses. 12 But the more
they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and the more they
spread abroad. And they ^were grieved because of the children
of Israel. | 13 And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to P
serve with rigour : | 14 and they made their lives bitter with hard J
service, in mortar and in brick, and in all manner of service in
the field, | all their service, wherein they made them serve with BF^
rigour.

15 And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, E
of which the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of .

^ Or, abhorred

stoi'e cities. Such cities are mentioned in Solomon's reign, in
connexion with labour-gangs (1 K. ix. 19), and in that of Je-
hoshaphat (2 Ch. xvii. 12), The Heb. word miskenoth is uncertain.
Brugsch's explanation 'Temple-cities,' connected with an Eg. word
Mesket, ' shrine,' is not generally accepted. The root-meaning appears
to be 'to be useful' (in Is. xxii. 15 Shebna is called 'this servitor' or
' steward,' soken, R.V. ' treasurer ') ; hence ' cities of useful things — or
places' may mean 'cities containing magazines.' LXX, Tg.*'^'- wrongly
have ' fortified cities,' though no doubt store cities were fortified.

Pithom. Eg. Pi-Tum, ' the House of Tum.' On this and Raamses
see Intr. pp. xciii. f., and Addenda. LXX adds ' and On which is the
city of the sun' (i.e. Heliopolis). But the buildings at Heliopolis,
so far as can be learnt from inscriptions, were the work of Ramses'
predecessor, Seti 1.

12. they spread abroad. The word implies ' breaking out beyond
limits and restraints.' It is characteristic of J.

were grieved ; felt a sickening dread. Used of Moab, Num. xxii. 3
(R.V. ' were distressed ').

13. rigom-. v. 14. Lev. xxv. 43, 46, 53 (all P), Ez. xxxiv. 4 f.

14. On the making of bricks see v. 7.

service in the field. This would include the gathering of straw
and stubble for brick-making, but probably also various forms of
agricultural labour.

all their service &c. These words are in the accusative case ; and
the clause, which hangs very loosely with the rest of the verse, seems
to be a later expansion.

15. Hebrew. The word is sometimes explained as 'one who
comes from the other side Qebher) of the Euphrates,' referring to the
migration of Abraham (cf. Jos. xxiv. 2 f.). But it may in fact have
been first used in Canaan, and may refer to the crossing of the Jordan.
If so, its use here is an anachronism. The origin of the term is,
however, quite doubtful. See art. 'Hebrew' in DB ii.

I. t5-«] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 5

the other Puah : 16 and he said, When ye do the office of a J^
midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the birth-
stool ; if it be a son, then ye shall kill him ; but if it be a
daughter, then she shall live. 17 But the midwives feared God,
and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved
the men children alive. 18 And the king of Egypt called for
the midwives, and said unto them, Why have ye done this thing,
and have saved the men children alive ? 19 And the midwives
said unto Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not as the
Egyptian women ; for they are lively, and are delivered ere the
midwife come unto them. 20 And God dealt ^ell with the
midwives : | and the people multiplied, and waxed very mighty. | J
21 And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that E
he made them houses. | 22 And Pharaoh charged all his people, J

The office of midwife would probably be performed in many cases
by relations or friends ; cf. 1 S. iv. 20. But the fact that there were
only two whose office was recognised implies that the writer oi'm, 15 — 21
did not think of the Hebrews as very numerous.

to the Hebrew midwives. Josephus {Ant. ii. ix. 2) assumes that
they were Egyptian women. Perhaps, with the change of a vowel
point, we should read 'to the midwives of the Hebrew women.' Of
the names Shiphrah^ and Pu'ah nothing is known. It is possible
that they are Hebraized forms of Egyptian words, or even Hebrew
words. Semitic formations in proper names were common during the
18th— 20th dynasties.

19. This may record a real fact. The hardiness of a nomad
race, wliich afterwards enabled them to overcome the more civilised
Canaanites, probably rendered them physically superior to the Egyptians.

21. he made them houses, i.e. granted them many children and
descendants ; cf 2 S. vii. 11, 1 K. ii. 24 ; and Gen. xvi. 2, R.V. marg.
'Them^' must refer to the midwives, not to the 'people' of v. 20.

22. the river. The Heb. word is used almost exclusively of the
Nile*. It occurs 22 times in'Ex. (JE), and the plural is twice used of
the Nile streams or canals (vii. 19, viii. 5 (I), both P). The earliest
Eg. name for the Nile was Ha'pi. But the descriptive name 'iotr
or 'iotr'o, ' the great river ' (Ptolemy 6 /u,eya? Trorafios), came into use
in the period of the Middle Kingdom. This was modified as 'io'r-'o,

^ Lxx Se7r(/»w/9a = Zipporah ; cf. ii. 21. Pu'ah appears as a man's name in
Jud. X. 1. See art. ' Puah ' in DB iv.

^ The word is mascuUne ; but that is found not infrequently with feminine
nouns in the plural.

3 Is. xxxiii. 21 watercourses (R.V. ' streams '), Job xxviii. 10 perh. ' shafts ' of a
mine (R.V. ' channels '), Dan. xii. 5 ff. of the Tigris.

6 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [i. 32—11. 3

saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into ^the river, and J
every daughter ye shall save alive.

II. 1 And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took E
to wife a daughter of Levi. 2 And the woman conceived, and
bare a son : and when she saw him that he was a goodly child,
she hid him three months. 3 And when she could not longer

1 See Gen. xli. 1.

and appears in Heb. as if or, Ass. JaruHu. The Greek name NeiXo?,
which is not found in Heb., was perhaps formed from the Heb. nahal,
'stream' or 'wady.' For other large rivers, especially the Euphrates^
Heb. uses nahdr, Ass. naru.

Chapter H. 1—22.

The birth of Moses. His /light to Midian.

II. 1. the daughter of Levi, i.e. who was of the tribe of Levi.
The form of the expression, if the text is correct, implies that her name
had been previously mentioned \ The names of Moses' parents have
been preserved only in P. In Num. xxvi. 59 we read 'the name of
Amram's wife was Yochdbed daughter of Levi... and she bare unto
Amram Aaron and Moses, and Miriam their sister.' In Ex. vi. 20
Yoch^bed is Amram's aunt, and their children are Aaron and Moses.
And Aaron is three years older than Moses (vii. 7). But the wording
of the present passage {w. 1, 2) clearly implies that Moses was the
first child born after the marriage ; and yet, in the narrative which
follows, he has a sister old enough to take care of him. The proba-
bility suggests itself that she was a child of Amram by a former
marriage. See also Ex. xv. 20 (E). It is scarcely possible that the
name Yoch^bed could have fallen out accidentally from the present
passage. If, in E's tradition, Yoch^bed was the mother of Aaron and
Miriam, and if another name originally stood here as that of Moses'
mother, it was very likely that a harmonist would strike it out.

2. that he was goodly, i.e. a fine, healthy child, lxx a'o-Tctos
(so Heb. xi. 23, Acts vii. 20) is even used of Eglon, Jud. iii. 17.
Josephus {Ant. iL.ix. 6) declares that Moses was so tall and beautiful
as an infant, that passers-by left their occupations to stand and gaze
at him. Heb. xi. 23 follows lxx in assigning the actions in v. 26 to
both the parents.

3. an ark. The word {tehhdh) is the same as that used for

^ It is not impossible that the difficulty should be avoided by reading n33D riDN
(•one of the daughters of) for T\'2 DN ('the daughter of); the former is
supported by the lxx tSiv dvyaripuv.

11. 3-5] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 7

hide him, she took for him an ark of ^bulrushes, and daubed it E
with 2 slime and with pitch ; and she put the child therein, and
laid it in the flags by the river's brink. 4 And his sister stood
afar off, to know what would be done to him. 5 And the
daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river ; and her

^ That is, papyrus. ^ That is, bitumen.

Noah's ark (Gen. vi. — ix.)\ and is possibly of Egyptian or Ass3Tian
origin. The ark in the tabernacle is 'aron.

bulrushes. Heb. gome', a water-plant (perhaps derived from a root
denoting ' to swallow ' or ' imbibe,' but it is possibly an Eg. loan-
word) ; the Nile rush or papyrus, which was common in Lower Egypt,
but is not found there at the present day (Tristram, N^at. Hist, of
the 'Bible, p. 433). It was used for writing material, mats, sails, cloth,
baskets and light boats or canoes. 'Vessels of gdme'\ are mentioned
in Is. xviii. 2 ; and the word occurs as a general term for * sedge' in
Is. XXXV. 7, Job viii. 1 1 f

slime; bitumen. Heb. hemdr. Gen. xi. 3, xiv. 10. It was
the ordinary native word, for which kopher (Ass. kupru) is used in
Gen. vi. 14. See Driver on the latter passage, and art. ' Bitumen ' in
Enc. B.

flags. Heb. suph, lxx IA.05, a wide term which included several
kinds of fresh- water weeds by the Nile {v. 5, Is. xix. 6) ; it also stands,
poetically, for sea weeds (Jon. ii. 5 [6]). For the name yam sitph,
'sea of reeds,' cf on xiii. 18. Some explain the word as equivalent
to Eg. twji, but it may have been a Semitic word borrowed by the
Egyptians. An undoubtedly Eg. word for the same species of plant
is ahu, Gen. xli. 2, 18.

A similar story is told of the infancy of the ancient Assyrian king
Sargon I : ' My lowly mother conceived me, in secret she gave me
birth. She placed me in a basket of rushes, with iddl (bitumen or
naphtha) my door she closed. She gave me to the river which was
not over me [overwhelmed me not]. The river carried me ; to Akki
the irrigator it brought me. Akki the irrigator... took me up; Akki
the irrigator as his own son reared me.' {Cun. Inscr. of West Asia,
vol. iii. plate 4, no. 7.)

4. his sister. See on v. 1.
stood; took her stand*.

5. the daughter of Pha/raoh. An inscription on the temple at
Abydos says that Ramses II had 60 sons and 59 daughters. Besides many
concubines he had four lawful wives, one of whom, Maat-neferu-Ra, a

1 LXX ffl^is or dyj^ri here; but in Gen. vi. — ix. Ki/3wro's, which is also the
rendering of 'aron.

* The anomalous form 3-^DFll should be read (with Sam.) l-Vinfll.

8 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [ii. 5-10

maidens walked along by the river side ; and she saw the ark E
among the flags, and sent her handmaid to fetch it. 6 And she
opened it, and saw the child : and, behold, the babe wept. And
she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews'
children. 7 Then said his sister to Pharaoh's daughter, Shall I
go and call thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may
nurse the child for thee? 8 And Pharaoh's daughter said to
her. Go. And the maid went and called the child's mother.

9 And Pharaoh's daughter said unto her, Take this child away,
and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the
woman took the child, and nursed it. 10 And the child grew,
and she brought him unto Pharaoh's daughter, and he became

Kheta princess, bore him a daughter Meri. Euseb. {Praep. Ev. ix. 27^
names the princess of the Biblical story Mcppis. Joseph. {Ant. 11. ix. 5)
calls her ©ipfxovOis, which may be another form of the same name.

walked ; were walking. While the princess bathed, her
maidens kept walking on the bank, to give warning of any danger
or interruption. It was not till the princess was in the water that
the ark, carefully concealed from the bank, would become visible
to her.

to fetch it. Heb. 'and she fetched it.' But a slight change of
vowel points gives the rendering of R.V., which is preferable.

6. the babe wept; a weeping boy.

7. t/iat she nwiy suckle tlie child.

8. the maid\ the damsel; not the handmaid of v. 5, but
Miriam.

9. / will give. The pronoun is emphatic ; ' I myself will be
responsible for your wages.'

10. he became a son to her. From this grew the Jewish tra-
dition that 'he was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians,'
Acts vii. 22. Josephus also says that ' he was educated with great
care.' Heb. xi. 24 says that Moses 'refused to be called a son of
a Pharaoh's daughter,' i.e. when he went away to Midian. See
Westcott, Hebrews, on the passage.

Moses. The derivation of the name is still quite uncertain.

(a) The Heb. form Mosheh is a participle from a root Mashah
= 'draw out.' Cf. 2 S. xxii. 17 = Ps. xviii. 16 (17). This is the explana-
tion adopted by the narrator. But an active participle in the masc.
gender could not possibly give the required meaning. And moreover
it is highly improbable that an Egyptian princess adopting a child as
her son, even though a Hebrew, would give him a Hebrew name.

(b) In Lxx, N.T., Josephus and Philo the normal form is Mojuot??
(Vulg. Moyses). And many modem writers have referred it to two
Coptic words, mo 'water' and use 'saved.' An ancient Eg. name,

II. IO-I5] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 9

her son. And she called his name ^ Moses, and said, Because E
I ^drew him out of the water.

1 1 And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown J
up, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their
burdens : and he saw an Egj'ptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his
brethren. 12 And he looked this way and that way, and when
he saw that there was no man, he smote the Egyptian, and hidL AiT3/3^
him in the sand. 13 And he went out the second day, and, "* *• *
behold, two men of the Hebrews strove together : and he said
to him that did the wrong, Wherefore smitest thou thy fellow ?
14 And he said. Who made thee a prince and a judge over us ?
thinkest thou to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian ? And
Moses feared, and said. Surely the thing is known. 15 Now
when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. But

^ Heb. Mosheh. ^ Heb. mashah, to draw out.

however, with this meaning would be formed quite differently,
uza-n-mou. (c) A more plausible explanation connects it with the
Eg. mes or mesu, ' child.' This was frequently combined with names
of deities, e.g. Thoth-mes, Aa-mes, Ra-messu. And an official of the
reign of Merenptah is named Mes on a stele at Aswan (Petrie, Hist.
of Egypt, iii. 106). ' Moses ' may therefore simply mean ' child,' or
it may be an abbreviation of a name from which the name of a deity
has fallen out\ Hebrew prophetic writers might even purposely have
omitted the name of a heathen deity. The derivation from mesu^ is the
best yet offered ; but it cannot be considered certain.

11. in those days. This is J's very indefinite opening to his
account of Moses. The word for 'grown up' is the same as in
V. 10 ('grew'), but with a somewhat different force.

14. The Hebrew whom Moses had protected had gratefully spread
the report of his action among the other Hebrews. Before 'the
Egyptian ' lxx has ' yesterday ' ; so Acts vii. 28.

15. this thing, i.e. the death of the Egyptian. Joseph. {Ant. ii.
x., xi.) records a tradition that Moses led the Eg)^tian armies against
the Ethiopians, and won Tharbis, the daughter of the Ethiopian king,
as his wife. Pharaoh, in jealousy at his success, sought to kill him ;
and for that reason Moses fled to Midian.

1 As e.g. Jacob and Joseph are probably abbreviations of Jacob-el and Joseph-el.
See art, ' Jacob ' in DB.

2 The objection that the vowel in the Eg. word is short, while that in Mosheh
is long, and that the Eg. sibilant is different from that in the Heb. word, is not
of great weight. Such alterations would easily arise in the popular transformation
of the word into a Heb. form. See Driver's note on ' Esau,' Gen. xxv. 25.

10 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [ii. 15, 16

Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of J
Midian : and he sat down by a well. 16 Now the priest of
Midian had seven daughters : and they came and drew water,

This tradition probably arose out of Num. xii, 1, to explain his
marriage with 'a Cushite woman.'

Midian. The form MaStaju, in lxx and Acts vii. 29 (Vulg. Madian)
is probably more correct. Cf. Mapia/x, for Miriam.

From Gen. xxv. 1 — 6 (J) we learn that the Midianites were distant
blood relations of the Hebrews (Midian being represented as a son
of Abraham by a concubine Keturah), and that they dwelt to the E.
of them. Moreover two of the 'sons of Midian' (i.e. M. tribes)
— 'Ephah\ 'Epher — were in late times reckoned as genealogically
connected with Judah (1 Ch. ii. 46 f., iv. 17), which implies that
they were geographically adjacent to them, and had been, to a
certain extent, absorbed by them. In Jud. i. 16 the descendants of
Moses' father-in-law (not 'brother-in-law' KV.) are called Kenites,
and are closely associated with the tribe of Judah. And in Num. xxii.
4, xxiv. 20 f., Moab, Amalek and Midian are adjacent. Biblical
references, therefore, place them on the S.E. of Judah. And this
is borne out by later statements. Ptolemy (vi. vii. 2) mentions
MoScava on the Arabian coast, E. of the Gulf of 'Akaba ; and
travellers in Arabia speak of Madyan, about 75 miles S. of Elath (see
Burton, The gold mines of Midian, and The land of Midian revisited).

The Midianites appear, as is often the case with Bedawin tribes,
in various capacities ; as merchantmen (Gen. xxxvii. 28 a), as
shepherds (here, and cf Is. Ix. 6), and as troublesome and warlike
raiders (Jud. vi., vii.). It may have been the latter account which gave
rise to the conception of them as Israel's bitterest enemies (Num. xxv.
6 — 9, xxxi. 1 — 12). The holy war which P relates in Num. xxxi. finds
later counterparts in Jewish and Christian writers who speak of * the
troops of Midian ' as symbolical of the spiritual enemy.

and he sat down. This is expressed in Heb. by the same word as
the preceding ' and dwelt I' It suggests that J's narrative is composed
of more than one previously existing story.

16. seven daughters. The duty of tending flocks is to-day, among
the Bedawin of the Sinaitic peninsula, largely performed by young
unmarried women, even sheikhs' daughters taking part in it.

the troughs. Gen. xxx. 38, 41 f (R.V. 'gutters'). Receptacles,
probably of stone, standing near the well. Wells were often covered
with heavy stone slabs, which needed two or three men to move them ;
so that flocks were usually watered at fixed times in the day (E.
Robinson, BR i. 490. Cf Gen. xxxix. 3, 8).

1 Identified by Fr. Delitzsch with the HayapS. of the cuneiform inscriptions,
closely connected with Tema (cf. KAT^ 58).

^ LXX tries to minimise the awkwardness by inserting after MoStd/u the words
{K6(iv Si eh y^v Maduxfx ; and Pesh. similarly.

II. i6-2i] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 11

and filled the troughs to water their father's flock. 17 And the J
shepherds came and drove them away : but Moses stood up and
helped them, and watered their flock. 18 And when they came
to Reuel their father, he said. How is it that ye are come so soon
to-day ? 19 And they said. An Egyptian delivered us out of the
hand of the shepherds, and moreover he drew water for us, and
watered the flock. 20 And he said unto his daughters. And
where is he ? why is it that ye have left the man ? call him, that
he may eat bread. 21 And Moses was content to dwell with the

17. The shepherds wanted to water their own flocks first.

18. Reuel. The mention of Reuel as the father-in-law of Moses
(u 21) creates difficulties. In E he is uniformly called Jethro (iii. 1,
iv. 18 [v.* Jether], xviii. 1, 2, 5, 6, 9, 10, 12). But Num. x. 29 (J)
speaks of 'Hobab the son of Reuel the Midianite Moses' father-in-
law,' where it is uncertain whether Moses' father-in-law is Hobab or
Reuel. The revisers understand it to be Reuel, in agreement with the
present passage. But this forces them in Jud. i. 16, iv. 11, to render
the same word {Jiothen) 'brother-in-law' as applied to Hobab. It is
true that in Aramaic and Arabic the cognate word can be used loosely
to describe a wife's male relations ; but there is no evidence that it is
ever so employed in Hebrew; and it would be strange to find the
father and the brother of the same man's wife described by the same
term. Moreover the present passage seems to imply that the priest
of Midian had no sons. It is probable that the name was originally
absent from this passage (it is not mentioned in v. 16 ^ where it might
have been expected), and that ' Reuel ' was a later insertion by one
who misunderstood Num. x. 29.

Jethro (E) and Hobab (J) will then be the names of Moses' father-
in-law, and Reuel is Hobab's father I The suggestion that the words
'Hobab the^son of have accidentally fallen out before 'Reuel' is
extremely improbable.

19. An Egyptian. His clothes, and perhaps his accent, would be
I^ptian.

he actually drew water for us. The Heb. idiom expresses the
surprise which they had felt at the kindness of his action. Moses
and Jacob (Gen. xxix. 10) drew water for women, but a slave (Gen.
xxiv. 19 f.) allowed a woman to draw for him.

21. was content to dwell. Lxx 'dwelt^'

^ LXX inserts '\o66p twice in v. 16, and some mss substitute it for "PayovriX in
this verse.

2 Mohammedan tradition identifies Sho'aib (probably a corruption of Hobab),
a prophet sent to the Midianites, with Moses' father-in-law (Lane's Kuran,
p. 47 n.).

3 KarifiKiffd-r]. By a misunderstanding of this, Symm. has wpKiae Si Muv^^y, ' and
he made Moses swear [to dwell with the man],' which appears in the Vulg. as ' and
Moses sware (juravit) to dwell with him.'

12 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [n. ir, «

man : and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter. 22 And she J
bare a son, and he called his name Gershom : for he said, I have
been ^a sojourner in a strange land.

1 Heb. Ger.

Zipporah. The name means 'a bird,' probably a little bird,
a sparrow. It is the fem. of Zippor, the name of Balak's father
(Num. xxii. 2). It may point to a primitive totemistic belief \ The
ancient names would remain in families, long after the beliefs had
died out. It is noticeable that the Midianite chiefs in Jud. vii. 25
had animal names, Oreb (raven) and Zeeb (wolf).

22. Gershom. The popular explanation given in the narrative is
concerned only with the first syllable ger, 'a sojourner.' Lxx spells it
Trjpcrdfji., as though it were ger sham, 'a sojourner there.' A similar
name Girshu or Garshu is found in Sinaitic inscriptions. Jud. xviii. 30
states that a 'son,' or descendant, of Gershom became the first of a
line of priests at Dan (see Moore, p. 402)1

The 18th dynasty had been strong and vigorous, a period of military
activity and development. The introduction of horses and chariots into Egypt
produced new methods of warfare. The magnificence of the royal power was
enormously increased by foreign conquests, by the amassing of treasure and
the increase of slave labour. The country was again, as in the early dynasties,
filled with oflScials and favourites of the king, who became a new nobility
in close alliance with a powerful priesthood. But the strength and security
of the country contained within it the seeds of decay, and the rulers of the
19th dynasty proved themselves weak, apathetic and incapable. The name
of the Pharaoh under whom Joseph rose to power cannot be determined.
But if Ramses II, as is probable, was the Pharaoh of the oppression. Joseph's
period of activity may, by a backward reckoning, be placed under one of the
later Hyksos {Hyk-shasu, ' prince of the Shasu ' or spoilers, i.e. desert hordes).
The expression in Ex. i. 8, ' a new king which had not known Joseph,' appears
to imply the rise of a new dynasty. The first king of the 19th dynasty,
Ramses I, reigned only two years. His successor ^SgJtiJL was one of the best
kings of the dynasty. He pacified Nubia, made an expedition into Syria,
formed a treaty with the Hittites, and repelled the piratical hordes which
began to appear from the Mediterranean coast and islands. His reign,
however, on the whole was peaceful, and was marked by the construction of

1 That is a belief that an individual, or a tribe, or the males or the females of a
tribe, are actually descended from some material object, mostly an animal or a
vegetable, and therefore stand in a peculiar and vital connexion with every animal
or vegetable of the same class. The totem is the whole class ; and the man who
belongs to a totem may not destroy or injure a single animal or vegetable in the
class. A fetich, on the other hand, is a single object, often inanimate. See Frazer,
Totemism^. W. Rob. Smith, Bel. Sem.^ 124 ff.

■■' The mention in xviii. 3 of a second son Eliezer has led to the addition
of a gloss here in lxx : ' and the name of the second he called Eliezer ; for the
God of my fathers (was) my help, and delivered me from the hand of Pharaoh. '

EGYPTIAN HISTORY 13

colossal monuments at Karnak and Abydos. His date is doubtful; Petrie
conjectures c. 1326 — 1300. He was succeeded by a sonRamsgsJ Ramessu ) JI, ..
who is famous chiefly because his inordinate vanity led him to record his
own doings so fully. He became king at about the age of 18, and reigned
76 years (c. 1300 — 1234). After a twenty years' struggle with the Hittites
(including the great battle of ?^adesh), in which neither side was strong enough
to gain the mastery, he formed an alliance with them. His foreign rule was
far from secure, and extended only to the Lebanon. He built a series of forts
across the desert for the purpose of controlling Phoenicia and Palestine, and
strengthened several towns in the Delta. The remainder of his reign was
chiefly devoted to building operations ; he erected many temples, and restored
many more. In the case of the latter he did not hesitate to erase from the
inscriptions the names of the original founders, and to replace them by his
own. It is in this connexion that the value of the statement in Ex. i. 1 1 hes.
The site of Raamses has not been identified^ ; but since the shortness of the
reign of Ramses I allowed little time for extensive building, and since the
attaching of his own name to towns or buildings which he had founded,
restored or enlarged, is in keeping with the character of Ramses II, and borne
out by numerous inscriptions, the probability is great that the Hebrew tradition
preserved the record of an actual fact. And it is further supported by
M. Naville's discoveries at Pi-Tum (Pithom), where the name of Ramses
figures largely (see p. xciii.). The long period of peace had the worst eflfects
upon the country. Egypt remained untroubled for a while, living on the
credit [of past wars ; but she gradually weakened, while her enemies grew
stronger. Ramses II had more than 100 children, of whom the 13th or 14th
son J^greijptah succeeded him. The decay of the royal power led, in his
fifth year, to a serious invasion by the Libyans, allied with hordes from the
Mediterranean coasts such as had troubled Egypt in the reign of Seti 1.
The inscriptions, however, boast of a splendid victory over them. Beyond
this very little is known about his reign, which lasted some 20 years (c. 1234 —
1214). There is no evidence of the fact that Merenptah was the Pharaoh of
the Exodus, except the two passages, Ex. ii. 23, iv. 19, which appear to imply
that the immediate successor of the Pharaoh of the oppression was on the
throne when Moses returned to Egypt ; and the expression in the former
passage ' in [the course of] those many days ' seems to preserve a reference to
the long reign of Ramses II. Petrie calculates the chronology as follows :
' As the actual records of the book of Judges, when discriminated into regions
{S.B.A. xviii. 246), give only about 120 years for that period, we reach back
from Saul, 1053—1040 B.C., 120 years to 1173 for the entry into Palestine;
this keeps clear of the last campaign of Ramessu III in 1187 B.C., and would
bring the Exodus to 1213 B.C., which would thus fall at the end of the reign
of Merenptah,' But the chronology of the book of Judges is still an unsolved
problem (see Moore, pp. xxxvii. — xliii., and Konig, art 'Judges' in DB\ and
cannot be used as a basis for calculations. Two further details in Merenptah's
reign are worthy of notice. A report of an oJBScial on the Syrian frontier in
the eighth year of the reign states that a tribe of Bedawin from (?) Edom had

^ See, however, Addenda. </'

14 THE BOOK OF EXODUS

received permission to pass the fortress of Thku towards the 'pools of
King Merenptah which are in Thku, that they may obtain food for themselves
and for their cattle in the field of the Pharaoh, who is the gracious sun in
every land.' This shews that Semitic tribes were being received into Egypt
only a few years before the Exodus. Whether the Egyptians were 'welcoming'
them, as Petrie puts it {Hist, of Egypt, iii. 115), is perhaps doubtful. The
desert hordes may have given so much trouble that it was politic to pacify
them by concessions. And the presence of these Semitic Bedawin infesting
the frontier may have led to the desire to oppress the Israelites, as represented
in the Biblical narrative, in order to lessen the danger of a united rebellion.
To the assignment of the Exodus to this reign, some think there is a fatal
objection in the words of the Song of Triumph over the Libyans, in which the
people of Israel are mentioned, in conjunction with districts of Palestine, as
conquered by Merenptah ; but see p. cix., where the words are quoted.

Certain scholars have lately hazarded the suggestion that the Israelites as
a body were never in Egypt, but that Mizraim (the Hebrew name for Egypt)
should, throughout the Exodus narratives, be read as Muzri, a district in
Arabia \ South of Judah, which is mentioned frequently in Ass. inscriptions.
But though the theory may very possibly be correct as regards some
narratives (e.g. Gen. xvi. 1, 3, xxi. 9, 21), as applied to the histories of Joseph
and Moses it creates more diflBculties than it solves. Amongst others it
requires us to suppose that all the Egyptian colouring of the narrative, the
frequent mention of the Pharaoh, and the explicit references to Raamses,
Succoth, Pithom and other places, are the work of imaginative writers who
wished to render the sojourn in Egypt plausible. The diflBculty of the
supposition is increased when it is remembered that the Egyptian colouring
is found independently in both the early narratives J and E. It involves
theories as to literary history and methods in Israel which cannot commend
themselves until they are supported by much stronger evidence than is at
present adduced for them. It has been plausibly suggested by Mr Johns that
the use of the name Muzri in the inscriptions is due to the fact that Muzri
(Egypt) had previously exercised influence, if not suzerainty, over various
localities in N. Arabia, and that they had since retained the name.

Chapter II. 23—111.

The call of Moses.

In feeding his father-in-law's sheep by Mt Horeb, Moses was attracted by
the sight of a bush which appeared to blaze with a fiery light but was not
consumed. On approaching it he received his call to deliver Israel, and was
taught to know his God under a new name. He was bidden to teach the
name to his kinsmen in Egypt, and to demand from Pharaoh their release.
Few passages in the Old Testament stand on a higher plane of thought than this.
God's revelation of His own character by means of a name hitherto unknown

^ The inscriptions contain references to two districts of this name, one in
K. Arabia and the other in Cappadocia. See KAT^, Index, s.v. ' Musri'; Enc. B.
art • Mizraim,' ' Moses,' §§ 4, 6.

II. .3—111. i] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 15

marks an epoch in the history not only of Israel but of mankind. Whatever view
may be taken of the historical value to be attached to the incident of the
burning bush, the religious value of the narrative is unimpaired. The divine
name ' I am that I am,' and what it meant for Israel, is discussed in the note
on V. 14, and on p. 21, The passage also teaches that God hears the cry ot\
His people, and Himself takes the initiative in their rescue ; by grace are they j
saved. And when the man chosen as His instrument for their deliverance
is diflSdent of his powers, he receives the answer which everyone who tries to
do work for others in God's name may take for himself — ' certainly I will be
with thee.'

23 And it came to pass in the course of those many days, J
that the king of Egypt died : | and the children of Israel sighed P
by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came
up unto God by reason of the bondage. 24 And God heard
their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham,
with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25 And God saw the children of
Israel, and God took knowledge of them.

III. 1 Now Moses was keeping the flock of Jethro his father E
in law, the priest of Midian : and he led the flock to the back of

II. 23. those many days. Ramses II reigned 67 years. The
statement in vii. 7 (P) scarcely agrees with this. Moses must have
been more than 12 or 13 years of age when he slew the Egyptian, fled,
and married Zipporah.

It is probable that 23 a was originally followed by iv. 19, 20 a,
24 — 26 ; see analysis, p. xiii.

24. his covenant. See note at the end of ch. xxiv.

with Abraham &c. Abraham, Gen. xii. 2 f., xiii. 14 — 17, xv. 4 — 21,
xvii. 1 — 14, xxii. 16 — 18. Isaac, xvii. 19 f., xxvi. 2 — 5. Jacob, xxviii.
13—15, XXXV. 11 f., xlvi. 3f.

25. and God knew. Cf. iii. 7, Gen. xviii. 21, Jos. xxii. 22,
Jer. xxix. 23, Hos. v. 3, Nah. i. 7, Ps. i. 6, xxxvii. 18, Ixxiii. 11,
and especially Ps. cxxxix.

III. 1. behind the wilderness, i.e. to the. West of it; cf.
Jud. xviii. 12. The East was always 'in front' (Jud. xvi. 3), the
North on 'the left' (Ez. xvi. 46), the South on 'the right' (1 S.
xxiii. 19). The wilderness was the tract of country W. and S.W. of
Midian, reaching to the Eastern shore of the Gulf of Akaba;
see p. cv.

At the approach of summer the Bedawin move to higher ground,
where the pastures on the mountain slopes remain green and fresh
longer (Burckhardt, Syria, p. 789).

the mountain of God. The expression denotes a mountain which
was conceived to be God's habitual dwelling place. The ' holy ground'
(v. 5) ' does not become holy because God has appeared to Moses. On

16 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [iii. 1-4

the wilderness, and came to the mountain of God, unto Horeb. | E
2 And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of J
fire out of the midst of a bush : and he looked, and, behold, the
bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. 3 And
Moses said, I will turn aside now, and see this great sight, why
the bush is not burnt. 4 And when the Lord saw that he turned
aside to see, | God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, E

the contrary, the theophany takes place there because it is holy
ground. In xix. 4, when Yahweh at Sinai says that He has brought
the Israelites unto Himself, the meaning is that He has brought them
to the Mount of God ; and long after the establishment of the Hebrews
in Canaan, poets and prophets describe Yahweh, when He comes to
help His people, as marching from Sinai in thunder-cloud and storm.
This point of view, which in the Old Testament appears only as an
occasional survival of primitive thought, corresponds to the ordinary
ideas of Semitic heathenism' (W. R. Smith, ES'^ 117 f.).

IRorebis a name employed by E in xvii. 6, xxxiii. 6, and nine times
by p. ^ Elsewhere it occurs in 1 K. viii. 9, xix. 8, 2 Ch. v. 10, Ps. cvi. 19,
Mai iv. 4 (iii. 22), The word denotes waste desert land, and may
have been applied to a considerable tract of wild country. ^Sinai^^on
the other hand, which is used by J and P, appears to be a name
for quite a different locality. See pp. cii. — cvi.

2. the angel of Yahweh. This is Yahweh Himself, but in the
form of a particular manifestation of presence and power. Acts vii. 35.
Compare xxxii. 34 with xxxiii. 14 ; and see note on xxiii. 20.

a hush^. A thorn bush, perhaps blackberry. See «. 6.

the hush was burning... was not being consumed. It was a
frequent conception among the ancients that the divine presence
shewed itself by an appearance of fire. Cf Homer, Od. xix. 39 f

In patristic writers the thought is met with more than once that "
the revelation of God in the bush was a type of His revelation under
conditions of humanity in the Incarnation (Greg. Nyss. de Vita
Moysvi ; Theodoret, Quaest. in Ex.). Keble, Christian Yem-, 5th S.
in Lent, finds in the burning bush a symbol of the Jewish race, burnt
by the divine wrath ; yet ' God will not quench nor stay them quite.'
' A hopeless faith, a homeless race, Yet seeking the most lioly place,
And owning the true bliss.'

4a. And Yahweh saw...4i. And God called. The two
halves of the verse are not syntactically connected, as in R.V. The
variation in the divine title suggests that they are derived from
different sources.

^ A very unnecessary suggestion has been made by some writers that in these
verses and Dt. xxxiii. 16 '3^D (Sinai) should be read for ri3D (bush), v. 46, where
the word occurs, appears to be the work of E, who never elsewhere uses the name
Sinai.

III. 4-8] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 17

and said, Moses, Moses. And he said. Here am I. | 5 And \iG E J
said, Draw not nigh hither : put off thy shoes from off thy feet,
for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. | 6 Moreover E
he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the
God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face ;
for he was afraid to look upon God. | 7 And the Lord said, I J
have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt,
and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters ; for I
know their sorrows ; 8 and I am come down to deliver them out
of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that
land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk
and honey ; unto the place of the Canaanite, | and the Hittite, and R^

4 h. the bush. E has not yet mentioned it ; and the Heb. idiom
allows of the rendering a bush.

5. put off thy sandals. Cf. Jos. v. 15. The custom of re-
moving the sandals on approaching a sacred spot probably arose from
the desire to protect the place from dirt, and so from pollution. It
has long been a wide-spread practice in the East, both in Semitic
and other nations (cf. Justin M. Apol. i. 62). The Samaritans do it
to-day at their sacred spot on Mt Gerizim (Robinson, BU iii. 320),
and it is compulsory in every Mohammedan mosque.

6. These words are used by our Lord (Mk. xii. 26 = Lk. xx. 37)
to prove to the Sadducees, who clung to the letter of the Law, the
truth of the resurrection of the dead. The words ' I am the God, &c. '
are true for all time. They imply a personal relation between God
and man which carries with it the germ of eternal life. He is the God
of the living, not of the dead ; therefore Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
are living. S. Luke (not S. Mark) represents our Lord as making
Moses the author of the passage ; see pp. ix. — xi. In both gospels the
words are said to occur eirt tou (ti7s) (Sdrov, 'in the passage (or
section) which contains the incident of " the bush." '

7. their taskmasters ; their oppressors ; v. 6, 10, 13. Not the
same expression as in i. 11.

8. / am coine down. One of the favourite anthropomorphisms of
J ; cf. xix. 11, 18, 20, Gen. xi. 5, 7.

honey. Probably includes not only the honey of bees, but also
syrups made from various fruits, like the modem dibs (the same word
as the Heb. debhash) — chiefly grape juice, a very sweet dark brown
syrup 'used in Palestine by all classes wherever vineyards are found,
as a condiment to their food' (DB ii. 32^; Enc. B. ii. 2015;
Thomson, L. and B. i. 279).

the Canaanite, A general term (in J) for the native inhabitants
of Canaan, for which E uses 'Amorite.' The remaining names are
probably a Dt. expansion; cf v. 17. lxx in both passages adds a

M. 2

18 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [iii. 8-14

the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the W
Jebusite. | 9 And now, behold, the cry of the children of j^
Israel is come unto me : moreover I have seen the oppression
wherewith the Egyptians oppress them. 10 Come now therefore,
and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth
my people the children of Israel out of Egypt. 11 And Moses
said mito God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and
that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt ?
12 And he said. Certainly I will be with thee ; and this shall be
the token unto thee, that I have sent thee : when thou hast
brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon
this mountain. 13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I
come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them. The
God of your fathers hath sent me unto you ; and they shall say
to me. What is his name ? what shall I say unto them? 14 And
God said unto Moses, ^i am that i am : and he said, Thus shalt

1 Or, I AM, BECAUSE I AM Or, I AM WHO AM
Or, I WILL BE THAT I WILL BE

seventh name 'Girgashites.' Of. xiii. 5, xxiii. 23, 28, xxxiii. 2,
xxxiv. 11. See Driver on Dt. vii. 1.

11. Moses' humble diffidence finds a noble parallel in Jeremiah's
shrinking from his difficult life-work (i. 6) ; and cf. Jud. vi. 15,
1 K. iii. 7. In each case God's servant was taught, like S. Paul,
that the divine strength could be made perfect in weakness. See
on iv. 13.

12. / will be with thee. The same encouragement was given to
Moses' successor (Jos. i. 5).

the token unto thee. No other sign is given to Moses for his
encouragement. His belief in his own divine mission would be
justified and strengthened by his return, with the IsraeUtes, to
this very same mountain of God.

14. Whatever may have been the primitive origin of the name
Yahweh, which was possibly connected with nature-worship, no trace
appears in the Bible of any conception other than that which is here
suggested by the philological connexion with the verb 'ehyeh, ' 1 will
be.' The writer seems to have striven to express the thought that the
Divine name revealed to Moses was a- sugiming up of the ent.irp. Divine
j^rapter and attributes. These could not be fully understood by any
one generation of Israelites, and so God would continually manifest all
that He would be to His people. The name contains infinite possi-
bilities of adaptation. He shewed Himself a deliverer in Egypt,
a protector in the desert; all the acts of providential mercy by
which He made it possible for them to enter Canaan and take firm
root there, all His guidance of their national development, all His, ^'
discipline and punishments, were so many fi:esh revelations of the

III. 14-18] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 19

thou say unto the children of Israel, ^i am hath sent me unto E
you. I 15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou R^^
say unto the children of Israel, ^The Lord, the God of your
fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of
Jacob, hath sent me unto you : this is my name for ever, and
this is my memorial unto all generations, | 16 Go, and gather*/
the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The Lord,
the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and
of Jacob, hath appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited
you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt: 17 and I have
said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the
land of the Canaanite, | and the Hittite, and the Amorite, and R^
the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite, | unto a land J
flowing with milk and honey. 18 And they shall hearken to

^ Or, I WILL BE Heb. Ehyeh. ^ Heb. Jehovah, from the same root as Ehyeh.

meaning of His name — occasions on which He 'caused His name
to be remembered ' (xx. 24). And further, the circumstances of their
natiftnaLJife gradually widened and deepened their religious ideas.
The ethical teachings of the prophets emphasized His moral^ pujily ;
their Messianic expectations, the fulfilment of which continually
receded into the future, became more spiritualised and the functions
of the Messiah became more complex, until the supreme manifestation
was vouchsafed in Him in whom dwelt all the Fulness of God, which
not only surpassed the conceptions of Israel, but even now has to
be gradually apprehended, as the Divine Man continues His self-
manifestation through the Holy Spirit in His Body the Church.
(See Additional Note.)

15. mi/ memorial, i.e. that by which I am remembered ; nearly
equivalent to ' My name ' ; cf. Hos. xii. 6. The two words occur in
combination in Is. xxvi. 8, Ps. cxxxv. 13.

16. The command is fulfilled in iv. 29—31.

elders, i.e. Sheikhs. When the Israelites reached Palestine, the
governing body of each township consisted of * elders ' ; cf. Jos. xx. 4,
Jud. viii. 14, Ruth iv. 2. But in JE they are represented as already
in existence in Egypt and in the desert (iv. 29, xix. 7, xxiv. 1, 14,
Num. xi. 16). The wisdom and experience of old age was originally
that which gave men authority in the tribe. Compare the Fepovres
of Homer, the 7rp€o-/8cis at Sparta, the Patres and Senatus at Rome.
(See Driver on Dt. xix. 12.)

paid attention to you and to that which is done to you.
The Heb. verb denotes a careful and watchful interest, and is
applicable both to persons and^thingfr. Cf. 1 Sam. xv. 2.

17. the Canaanite... &c. See on v. 8.

2—2

20 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [iii. 18-2.

thy voice : and thou shalt come, thou and the elders of Israel, J
unto the king of Egypt, and ye shall say unto him. The Lord,
the God of the Hebrews, hath met with us : and now let us go,
we pray thee, three days' journey into the wilderness, that we
may sacrifice to the Lord our God. | 19 And I know that the W^
king of Egypt will not give you leave to go, no^ not by a mighty
hand. 20 And I will put forth my hand, and smite Egypt with
all my wonders which I will do in the midst thereof : and after
that he will let you go. | 21 And I will give this people favour E
in the sight of the Egyptians : and it shall come to pass,
that, when ye go, ye shall not go empty : 22 but every

18. the God of the Hebrews, v. 3, vii. 16, ix. 1, 13, x. 3
(all J) ; a phrase expressive not of monotheism but of monolatry.
Yahweh was the God of the Hebrews as distinct from the gods of the
Egyptians.

hath met with us. God had not met with the elders as He had
with Moses ; but Moses represented the whole people. Cf Heb. iii.
2 — 5, where he is not only a servant in God's house (i.e. God's people),
but also represents the house itself.

that we may sacrifice. As their God had met them in some out-
ward manifestation, they felt bound to shew their recognition of the
fact by making Him an offering.

The ' three days' journey ' (a favourite expression in J) to some
Semitic shrine^ in the desert was evidently only a prelude to further
demands. They could not for a moment expect that Pharaoh would
allow it. Contrast vi. 11 (P), where the demand for the complete
release is made at once.

19. no, not by a mighty hand. This appears to mean ' not even
in consequence of the mighty powers which Yahweh would put forth.'
But Pharaoh, though he resisted Yahweh for a time, yielded at length
to the last plague, as indeed is foretold in 20 b. The dehverance from
Egypt by a 'mighty hand' (cf. vi. 1, xiii. 9, xxxii. 11) is a favourite
theme in Dt. (iii. 24, iv. 34, vi. 21, vii. 8, 19, ix. 26, xi. 2, xxvi. 8,
xxxiv. 12), and is echoed elsewhere (Ps. cxxxvi. 12, Jer. xxxii. 21,
Dan. ix. 15); but the expression ^not by a mighty hand' is unique,
and probably corrupt. Perhaps read except by a mighty hand,
with Lxxl

22. every woman shall ask. See on xii. 36.

her that sojowrneth. According to E, the Israelites lived among

^ There were probably several such, where wandering tribes would assemble for
religious observances. Sinai, whether placed in the North or the South of the
peninsula, would be a journey of much more than three days.

2 iav Atr) = K^ DN for N*?!. Sam. N^H • will he not [do it] by a mighty hand ? '
is awkward. ~

III. 12] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 21

woman shall ask of her neighbour, and of her that sojourn- E
eth in her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and
raiment : and ye shall put them upon your sons, and
upon your daughters ; and ye shall spoil the Egyptians.

the Egyptians, not separate in Goshen. The sojourners would be
either Egyptian friends staying as visitors, or possibly female slaves or
hired servants. Cf. Job xix. 15.

jewels ; articles : a general term including jewels, vessels and
furniture.

iii. 14. On the Name Yahweh.

I am that I am. This and the marginal renderings are all grammatically
possible : also ' / am wont to he that which [or He who^ I am, wont to be.'
Whatever the exact rendering should be, the expression is intended by the
writer to stand for an explanation of the name of Israel's God Yahweh. In
the parallel passage (vi. 2 f. P) the name is given vnthout explanation.

(a) It is probable that the n^jme Yahweh was not new to Moses or the
Israelites. An entirely new name would have meant to them an entirely n^w
god. It is extremely milikely that the name is of Babylonian origin. If the
supposed traces of it in Babylonian literature are genuine, they only point to
the introduction of foreign (i.e. Western Semitic) cults. Some maintain that
the name is found as an element in early N. Syrian proper names, e.g. lau-bi'di
(also called Ilu-bi'di ; cf. the two names Jeho-iakim and El-iakim applied to
the same person), Azr-iau. See KAT^ 23 ff., KAT^ 465—468. Pinches in
PSBA XV. 1, pp. 1 — 13. But this only implies that the naqje became known
to ggmitic tribes other than the , Israelites. On the suggestions that Moses
learnt it from J^thrp the Kenite priest, or that it was a name venerated by
certain Israelite tribes who did not undergo serfdom in Egypt, whether the
Rachel tribes or Moses' own tribe of Levi, it is not necessary to dwell here ;
see Intr. § 7. But it is a plausible supposition that Moses bound the various
Israelite tribes into a closer unity by leading them to accept a deity who had
previously been known in the region of Sinai, and perhaps recognised by only
a small number of tribes or clans. «^.'0?'? '^'^^ *12^^>

(&) The ultimate etymology of the name is quite' uncertain. The primary
meaning of hawah was perhaps 'jo fall ' (cf. Job xxxvii. 6 h^we\ ? 'fall thou'),
which is found also iXL^^rsi^ic. Hence some explain 'Yahweh' as 'He who
causes rain or lightning to_ii3lI' ; or 'He who causes to fall (overthrows) by
lightning,' i.e. the Dggtro^r. In this case Yahweh in primitive Semitic times
would be somewhat equivalent to the Ass. Adad or Ramman. The same
meaning is reached with the simple Kal voice of the verb, 'He who falls,
or crashes down,' or from an Arab, hawa, ' He who blows.' It is quite possible
that the name Yahweh may in the far past have had a_ghysiirail meaning, and
have been a product of nature-worship.

(c) But, as Prof. Driver {Genesis, p. 409) says, ' In regard to both Yahweh,
and also 'Blohim, 'Bl, it must be remembered that what is of real importance
is not the ultimate etymology of the words, but what they came actually to
denote.' But though Hebrew writings tell us much as to the character and
attributes of the Being whom they are used in the Old Testament to denote,

22 THE BOOK OF EXODUS

yet the exact meaning which the writer of Ex. iii. 14 attached to the nanie
Yahweh is far from clear.

Yahweh may be considered as (a) the Hiphil (caiisative) imjperf , or (5) the
ordinary Kal imperf. of hawah\ ' to be.' From the primary meaning ' to fall '
might come that oifcdl out, happen, he.

(a) would express 'He who causes to be' — either the Creator, or the
Life:gijer (Kuenen, Schrader), or 'He who brings to pass' (cf. 1 K. xiii. 32),
the Performer of Hjs promises (Ewald, Marti). But an objection to this is
• *f^' that the Hiphil of niH is found only in late Syriac.

4»'****^ (6) A word of the form Yahweh would resemble such names as Isaac
(Yizhak), Jacob (Ya'%obh), Jephthah (Yiphtah)- The Hebrew imperfect
denotes either habitual action or future action (Driver, Hebrew Tenses,
§§ 30 — 36). The name 'He who is' represents to modem thought the
conception of an absolute existence — the unchangeable, self-consistent, abso-
lutely existing One. l^ 6 wv. Cf Apoc. i. 4, 8, xi. 17, xvi. 5. Grace. Ven.
ovTWTTii. And this has been adopted by many writers both in ancient and
modem times.

But the early Hebrgw mind was essentially praciJQaL not metaphysical
A. B. Davidson {DB ii. 199''') says that the verb 'does not mean "to be"
essentially or ontologically, but phenoBftgnalJy.' He explains it as follows :
' it seems evident that in the view of the writer ^ehyeh and yahweh are the
same : that God is 'ehyeh, " I will be," when speaking of Himself, and yahweh,
"he will be," when spoken of by others. What He will be is leftunexpressed —
He will be with them, helper, strengthener, deliverer^ ; the word is explained
by the ' I will be with thee ' of v. 12.

Driver {Stud. Bibl. i. 1 flF.) interprets it to mean * He will approve Himself —
give evidence of being — assert His being.' So, very similarly, Delitzsch.

Of these interpretations Davidson's is the most attractive. The passage
receives a simple and beautiful explanation if the expression ' I will be what
I will be ' is taken as an instance of the idem per idem idiom, which a speaker
employs wheij^^h^jdoesjiot wkh tojbe^ (cf. Dt. i. 46, xxix. 16, 1 Sam.

xxiii. 13, 2 Sam. xv. 20, 2 K. viii. 1 cited by Driver on the first passage). Moses
asked for God's name, i.e. for a description of His nature and character (cf.
Gen. xxxii. 29, Jud. xiii. 17 f.); and he was taught that it was impossible to learn
this all at once. God would be what He would from time to time prove
to be ; each age would discover fresh attributes of His Being*.

^ Hawah is the normal form in Aramaic and Syriao. But in the Heb. Bible it
has been preserved only in six passages : Gen. xxvii. 29 (some foreign influence
seems to have been at work, the word Hin being followed by the unique form "lO^
which recurs in v. 37 only), Is. xvi. 4 (it may be a Moabite form), Job xxxvii. 6
(perhaps due to Arabic influence), Neh. vi. 6, Eccl. ii. 22, xi. 3 (Aramaisms.
Bnt in the latter passage prob. read Nin with lxx). It is not impossible, as
Kennett suggests, that the narrator of the present passage, who belonged to
N. Israel where Aramaean influence was strong, regarded the word Yahweh as
Aramaic ; cf. Dt. xxvi. 5, where an ancestor of an Israelite is described as an
Aramaean.

'^ Several other interpretations have been offered : ' I am who I am ' — i.e. it
matters not to you to know (Le Clerc, Lagarde). ' [My Name is] I am, because
I am' (Wellhausen). 'I am who I am' — i.e. he who is unnameable and inex-
plicable (Dillmann).

IV. 1-4] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 23

The pronunciation Yahweh, on which these interpretations are based, is
borne out by the abbreviated form -ydhu, with which many proper names
are composed, and the still shorter form Yah (Ex. xv. 2, xvii. 16)\ In
Samaritan poetry nin* rhymes with words ending in -eh-, and Theodoret
{Quaest. in Exod.) states that the Samaritans pronounced it 'Ia^«. Clem.
Al. {Strom, v. vi. 34) attests the form 'laoval or 'laovi; and the presence
of the five vowels led to their use in various combinations in Jewish-Egyptian
magic formulae. In Latin mss Jeve occurs, attesting an e in the second syllable.

The pronunciation Jghovah is an impossible hybrid, first used, so far as is
known, by Petrus Galatinus in^l5J^A.D. The Jews had long treated the Name
as too sacred to be uttered, in consequence of Ex. xx. 7 ; and to the conso-
nants JHVH were attached the vowels of 'Adonai (' Lord ') ; or where JHVH
was immediately followed by 'Adonai, the vowels of 'Elohlm. The former
occurs 6518 times in the Bible, the latter 305.

Instead of the Divine Name the word HasJishem (' the Name ') was often
used (cf. Lv. xxiv. 11).

The following English works contain all that is important to know on the
subject: Art. 'Names' (Kautzsch) in Enc. B., 'God' (Davidson) in DB,
Driver {Studia Bihlica, Oxf. 1885 ; and Genesis, Excursus I), Spurrell {Notes
on the Heh text of Genesis, Excursus), BDB, s.v. nin', 217 — 219.

Chapter IV.

Sigms given to Moses hy which to persuade the Israelites;
Aaron to help him; their return.

IV. 1 And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they J
will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice : for they
will say. The Lord hath not appeared unto thee. 2 And
the Lord said unto him. What is that in thine hand? And
he said, A rod. 3 And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he
cast it on the ground, and it became a ^serpent ; and Moses fled
from before it. 4 And the Lord said unto Moses, Put forth

^ Heb. nahash.

IV. 1. Moses takes up Yahweh's words in iii. 18 and ventures
to contradict them. The fear of men overrides the fear of God.

2. A rod; a staff. The shepherd's staff or crook which Moses
carried.

3 — 5. Only one sign is to be performed with the staff ; in u 17 (E)
more than one. In vii. 8 — 12 (P) the sign is performed, not before the
Israelites, but in Pharaoh's court ; and the word rendered * serpent ' is
diflferent.

4. The insertion of the parentheses here and in v, 7 is somewhat
awkward, and may be due to condensation of the original narrative.

1 In an Aramaic papyrus a pr. name "•"nniT* {' Yah my glory') occurs (PSBA
1903, p. 208J.

24 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [lY. 4-10

thine hand, and take it by the tail : (and he put forth his hand, J
and laid hold of it, and it became a rod in his hand:) 5 that they
may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers, the God of
Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared
unto thee. 6 And the Lord said furthermore unto him, Put
now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his
bosom : and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous,
as white as snow, v 7 And he said, Put thine hand into thy bosom
again. (And he put his hand into his bosom again ; and when
he took it out of his bosom, behold, it was turned again as his
othe7' flesh.) 8 And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe
thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will
believe the voice of the latter sign. 9 And it shall come to pass,
if they will not believe even these two signs, neither hearken
unto thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river,
and pour it upon the dry land : and the water which thou takest
out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land. 10 And
Moses said unto the Lord, Oh Lord, I am not ^eloquent, neither
heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant : for I

^ Heb. a man of words.

6. as snow. Cf. Num. xii. 10, 2 K. v. 27.

This may have been the origin of the tradition combated by
Josephus (Ant. in. xi. 4) that Moses was a leper who led out of
Egypt a large number of those who suffered from the same malady,
Egyptians and Hebrews together (see c. Ap. i. 26, 32, 34, where the
tradition is cited, in different forms, from Manetho, Chaeremon and
Lysimachus).

8. the voice. The purport, the lesson conveyed by the sign,

9. In vii. 14 — 25 (E and P) this sign is not performed before the
Israelites, but is the first of the plagues.

10. Oh Lord; I pray thee my Lord. The word is "Adonai,'
not Yahweh. The particle of entreaty^ always followed by * my Lord,'
is used in addressing both God (v. 13, Jos. vii. 8, Jud. vi. 15, xiii. 8)
and men (Gen. xhii. 20, Num. xii. 11, 1 K. iii. 17, 26).

hsretofore, nor since &c. A free rendering of the Heb. idiom ^.
In spite of the present passage S. Stephen (Acts vii. 22), Josephus and

^ Strictly a substantive, ' a petition.'

' Lit. 'Jjoth-^aterday and the third day and from the time of thy speaking.'
TND usually occurs with a finite verb ; with a substantive, Ps. Ixxvi. 8 (7), Ruth ii. 7 ;
only here with an infinitive.

IT. i<^i4] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 25

am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue. 11 And the LotxdJ
said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth ? or who maketh a
man dumb, or deaf, or seeing, or blind ? is it not I the Lord ?
12 Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach
thee what thou shalt speak. | 13 And he said. Oh Lord, send, I R"^
pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send. 14 And
the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses, and he said,
Is there not Aaron thy brother the Levite ? I know that he can

Philo represent Moses as eloquent, according to the later Jewish
traditions.

11. Who hath appointed a mouth for man P or who
appointeth ^ a man dumb &c. It is difficult to express the exact
force of the words. It is not merely that God renders a man dumb &c.
when He pleases, but that He ' places ' in the world a dumb man or
deaf &c., according to a divine predetermination. ■>

Theodoret (Quaest. in Ex.) asks, ' When the God of all things used
Moses as His minister, why did He form him a man of stammering
speech and slow of tongue ? ' And his answer is, ' Because this
displayed all the more His divine power. For just as He chose
fishermen and tax-gatherers and cobblers to be preachers of truth
and teachers of piety, so by means of a weak voice and slow tongue
He put to shame the wise men of Egypt.' See 1 Cor. i. 26 — ii. 5.

seeing. Lit. ' open-eyed ' ; xxiii. 8 t. All the four adjectives, or
verbal nouns, are of the same form, one which is frequently found with
the connotation of fault or defect (Ges. K. § 84 b, d). But it is
strange to meet, in this group, with a word denoting a virtue or
excellence — the only such word formed in this manner from the Piel
(intensive) voice of the verb. It is therefore probable that npsj
' open-eyed ' should be read noa ' lame.' Lame and blind occur closely I
connected in several passages : Lev. xxi. 18, Dt. xv. 21, 2 S. v. 6, 8,
Jer. xxxi. 8, Mai. i. 8, Job xxix. 15.

13. Oh Lord. The expression is the same as in v. 10, which
contains J's account of Moses' diffidence ; iii. 11 is that of E, and now
in this verse it is again related by a compiler. Having before him the
two preceding accounts, he represents Yahweh as being angry with
Moses for his reiterated resistance to encouragement. But this view
of Moses' action was a mistaken one if the accounts are really parallel
statements from different sources.

him whbm^ thou wilt send ; i.e. anyone but myself.

14. Moses, like Barak (Jud, iv. 9), is deprived of the glory of being
the sole instrument of Israel's deliverance.

Awron thy brother. See on ii. 1.

1 D1B'> for D^E^* is unique in the O.T.

' For the suppression of the pronoun in n^BTl "Vl cf. Ps. Ixxxi. 6, cxli. 9.

26 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [iv. 14-^

speak well. And also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee : R^^
and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart. 15 And
thou shalt speak unto him, and put the words in his mouth : and
I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you
what ye shall do. 16 And he shall be thy spokesman unto the
people : and it shall come to pass, that he shall be to thee a
mouth, and thou shalt be to him as God. | 17 And thou shalt E
take in thine hand this rod, wherewith thou shalt do the signs.

18 And Moses went and returned to ^Jethro his father
in law, and said unto him. Let me go, I pray thee, and return
unto my brethren which are in Egypt, and see whether they be
yet alive. And Jethro said to Moses, Go in peace. | 19 And the J
Lord said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return into Egypt : for all
the men are dead which sought thy life. 20 And Moses took his

^ Heb. Jether.

the Lemte. To tell Moses to what tribe his own brother (or half-
brother) belonged would be quite superfluous. ' Levite ' evidently
does not mean 'descendant from the tribal ancestor Levi,' The
whole history of the Levites tends to shew that — whatever its original
[derivation — the term came to be used as an official title for one who
had received the training of a priest, regardless of the tribe of which
<he was a member by birth. The present passage appears to be a later
insertion, dating from a time when the ancestry of every member of
the priestly profession was traced to Levi, but earlier than the time
when a 'Levite' had become inferior to a 'priest.' See pp. Ixvi. — Ixx.
and ZATW 1906, 201—230.

that he can speak well ; that he will certainly speak. He will
be quite ready to act as spokesman.

16. as God. A human representative of divine power and
authority (cf. Ps. Ixxxii. 1, 6), or perhaps the human instrument
inspired by the divine Agent; cf. Aesch. Etim. 15 — 19.

17. this staff. In v. 20 it is called ' the stafi" of God,' i.e. appa-
rently a staff given to Moses by God. This mysterious nature of the
staff is not recognised by J {v. 2),

18. Jethro. Heb. Jether, a form of the name not found elsewhere ;
a similar variety is seen in Geshem and Gashmu (Neh. vi. 1 f., 6).

whether they be yet alive. This seems to bear out E's representation
in i. 15 — 20 a, 21 that the Israelites were few in number when Moses
was in Egypt. , *

19. 20. These verses, to the words 'land of Egypt,' should
probably foUow ii. 23a; see analysis. Matt. ii. 20 affords an interesting
parallel to v. 19, and is perhaps a conscious reminiscence of it.

his sons. Mention has hitherto been made of one son only (ii. 22) ;
and w. 24 — 26 certainly seem to imply that Moses was travelling with

IV. ao-75] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 27

wife and his sons, and set them upon an ass, and he returned to J
the land of Egypt : | and Moses took the rod of God in his hand. | E
21 And the Lord said unto Moses, When thou goest back into U^^
Egypt, see that thou do before Pharaoh all the wonders which I
have put in thine hand : but I will ^harden his heart, and he will
not let the people go. 22 And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh,
Thus saith the Lord, Israel is my son, my firstborn : 23 and I
have said unto thee. Let my son go, that he may serve me ; and
thou hast refused to let him go : behold, I will slay thy son, thy
firstborn. | 24 And it came to pass on the way at the lodging J
place, that the Lord met him, and sought to kill him. 25 Then
Zipporah took a flint, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and
^cast it at his feet ; and she said. Surely a bridegroom of blood

^ Heb. make strong. ^ Heb. made it touch.

his only son. The plural ' sons ' must be the work of a harmonizer, in
consequence of the mention of two sons in xviii. 5 f

22. my firstborn. One for whom God feels the deep love that a
father feels for his firstborn. Jer. xxxi. 9 of Ephraim, Ps. Ixxxix.
26 f. (27 f ) of the Davidic king ; see also Hos. xi. 1, Wisd. xviii. 13,
Col. i. 15, 18, Heb. i. 6. In the days when Yahweh was considered to
be the God of Israel alone, His firstborn was also His only son. But
when the principle of true monotheism was learnt, the title was realised
to mean the firstborn among the nations, all of whom could be per-
mitted to acknowledge the divine Fatherhood ; so that through Israel
Yahweh might ' bring many sons unto glory.'

23. The verse probably belongs to the time immediately preceding
the last plague (see analysis).

24 — 26 should probably be placed (together with 19, 20 a) after
ii. 23 a (see analysis). The incident will then fall soon after Moses
left Midian.

The narrative in these three verses appears, fi"om its contents, to
be one of the oldest portions of the Bible. Its antiquity is shewn by
the use of the flint knife, and by the part which circumcision plays
according to the belief of the actors.

24. sought to kill him. A primitive anthropomorphic way of
saying that Moses fell dangerously iU.

25. cast it at his feet ; made it touch^ his feet. The usual
periphrasis for the pudenda.

bridegroom. Heb. hdthdn, a marriage relative, a son-in-law, cor-
responding to the participial form hothen, a father-in-law. Both words
are derived fi:om a root which in Arab, signifies 'to circumcise' — a
fact which has a special bearing on the present story. See addit. note.
LXX preserves a different form of the latter part of the verse : ' and

^ Theod. Symm. Vg. ' she touched.'

28 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [iv. ^5-31

art thou to me. 26 So he let him alone. Then she said, ^A J
bridegroom of blood art thou, because of the circumcision.

27 And the Lord said to Aaron, Go into the wilderness to JE
meet Moses. And he went, and met him in the mountain of
God, and kissed him. 28 And Moses told Aaron all the words
of the Lord wherewith he had sent him, and all the signs
wherewith he had charged him. | 29 And Moses and Aaron J
went and gathered together all the elders of the children of
Israel : 30 and Aaron spake all the words which the Lord had
spoken unto Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people.
31 And the people believed : and when they heard that the

^ Or, A bridegroom of blood in regard of the circumcision

she fell at [his] feet and said, The blood of my child's circumcision is
stayed.'

26. So he let him alone. Zipporah's action appeased Yahweh,
and He allowed Moses to recover.

Then she said.... The account is so fragmentary that it is diflScult
to see the force of the word ' then.' The sentence seems to contain
the narrator's explanation of Zipporah's words : She said ' a hdthdn of
blood' with reference to the act of circumcision which she had just
performed.

27, 28. The continuation of 17, 18.

27. tJie mountain of God, i.e. Horeb, where God had previously
appeared to him (see on iii. 1).

29 — 31. The fulfilment of the commands in iii. 16, iv. 2 — 9.

29. And Moses and Aaron went ; And Moses went [and
Aaron]. There is much evidence to support the view, now held by a
large consensus of critics, that Aaron did not originally hold in the J
narrative the leading position which is assigned to him in E, but
that a harmonizer has, throughout the story of the deliverance,
introduced Aaron into the narrative of J, making, in some cases,
but not in all, the small grammatical changes that were necessary.
Here and in viii. 12 (Heb. 8) 'and Aaron ' is added after a s'ingular
verb which originally belonged to Moses alone. This arrangement of
words is, indeed, not without parallel ; but there are other indications
pointing the same way. In viii. 25 Pharaoh called for ' Moses and
Aaron,' but in v. 30 only Moses went out from his presence ; similarly
in X. 3, 6 and 16, 18. It is to be noticed further that with one exception
Aaron, in J's narrative, takes absolutely no part either in speaking
to Pharaoh or in bringing the plagues : his name is inserted as being
in Moses' company, but he remains a mere name. The one exception
is the present passage — 'and Aaron spake... and did the signs' (v. 30).
His introduction into the narrative causes a serious difficulty, for
Yahweh never commanded him to do the signs ; ' and [he] did the
signs' clearly refers to Moses.

IV. 3i] CIRCUMCISION 29

Lord had visited the children of Israel, and that he had seen J
their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped.

31. and when they heard. Lxx l\a.fyt] - inotr''l (' and they rejoiced ')
for lyotf^i , which was perhaps the original reading.

Additional Note on Circumcision.

The rite of circumcision was by no means confined to the Hebrews. Edom,
Ammon and Moab were all circumcised (Jer. ix. 25). The Egyptians practised
it at least as early as the period of the Israelite oppression, and indeed in the
4th dynasty (3998—3721 Petrie). See Ebers, Aeg. und Biich. Hoses', i. 283,
Erman, Life in Ancient Egypt, 32 f., 539 ; cf. also Josh. v. 9. The ceremony
belonged, and still belongs, to widely remote peoples — Arabians and Colchians
in Asia, Abyssinians and some other tribes in Africa, certain Polynesian tribes,
and some in New South Wales and in North and South America (Ploss, Das Kind
in Brauche u. Sitte der V"6lker(^\ i. 342 £). The Babylonians and Assyrians
were the principal Semitic peoples who did n.ot_ practise it ; and profound
contempt was felt in Palestine for the ' uncircumcised Philistine' (1 Sam. xvii,
26, 36, 2 Sam. i. 20). This wide dififusion shews that the custom is of extrjeme
antiquity. _Westermarck {History qf Human Marriage, 201 — 206) maintains
tKat its origin was not religious. At any rate it became a religious custom at
a very early date. In many primitive nations the members of a tribe had
a special mark, e.g. tattooing, cutting off a finger joint, filing or chiselling out
of teeth, and other forms of mutilation ; and among these must be reckoned
circumcision. It either was originally, or came to be, of the_nature^ofa_blood-i
^tering, Everyone who bore this mark was a worshipper of a common deity ;
and those who intermarried with the tribe would adopt the same mark
(cf. Gen. ixxiv.). In most cases the ceremony was performed when a youth
reached the age of manhood. It brought him into full possession of tribal
privileges, and in particular it gave Eim the right to marry. At this point .
the story of Moses becomes clearer. Moses had, apparently, not been cir-'^
cumcised previously to his marriage; and his sudden illness is ascribed to
Yahweh's anger at the omission. By circumcising the infant instead of Moses,
and touching Moses with the blood, Zipporah symbolically brought her husband
into the state which Yahweh was supposed to require^; he became a
'bridegroom of blood.' (For a somewhat different view of the passage see
H. P. Smith in JBL, vol. xxv. (1906), Pt 1, where he cites parallels for the
sacredness and special virtue attaching to the blood of circumcision.)

It is possible that this story (which is of course far older than Gen. xvii.)
was considered as relating the origin of infant circumcision. But W. R. Smith
{Rel. Sem."^ 328) shews that the practice of circumcising infants would, at an
early stage, arise naturally. He states generally, what is true in particular of
circumcision, that when a rite 'loses its political significance and becomes

1 It is perhaps fanciful to explain the unique plural n?-1D [v. 26) of this double
circumcision, actual in the case of the child and symbolical in the case of Moses.

30 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [v. 1-3

poraif rdigioai, it i^not ncgciwify that it should be deferred to the age of
fiin manliood ; indeed the Bataral teodencj of picas parents will be to dedicate
their child as earij as poesiUe to the god wiio is to be his protector tiiroagfa
life.' Gen. xriL 10 — 14, 24 — 27 (P) correcUy represents an ajxdent practice,
in relating that Abraham sealed a corenant with God by circumcising himself
and Ids sons and serrants, Ishmael beii^ 13 years old and Isaac eight days.
And on this was baaed the lat» Jewirii ngnfaitioD of circmncision on tixe
eighth day. From the religious tribal aqiect of the rite, the role naturally arose
that no one who was uncircumcised mig^ partake of the Passover (Ex. xiL 44,
48 P)l Ko neation is made of dremncision in the older Hebrew laws, and
the prophets befive the exile laid no stresB on the ceremony as being any part
of tme rig^iteoasneas. It is mentioned in Dt x. 16, xxx. 6, Jer. It. 4, iz. 26 (25)
only to emphasize the importance of being circumcised in heart. This thought
seems to have arisen firom the idea of ceremonial cleanness which had attached
itself to the riteL Compare the expressions 'uncircumcised lips' (Ex. vi
12; »\ 'hearts' (Lew. xxn. 41, Bt xKr. 7), 'ear' (Jer. vL lOX 'heart and
ears'(AetsTiL51> Seealso Rom. E 29, CoL ii 11.

The subject may be studied in art ' Circumcision ' in DB and Enc Bibl^
Schecfater, Studies in Judaism, p. 343, ZATW 1886, 13-5 ff., AJSL 1906,
249£, W. B. Smith, ReL SemJ 328, Herod, ii. 36, 37, Philo, De Cirmmc. ii 210
(MangeyX

In the early years of the Christian Church it became a burning question
wliedier Gentile oonTiois shoold be drcnmdsed, and the question was decided
in the n^atira Tlie passages which deal with the subject are Acts zr. 1 — 29,
XXL 21, Rom. ii 25— iv. 12, 1 Cor. rii 19, GaL v. 2—1-2, vi 1-2—16, Phii iii 3,
CoLiiLlL

Chapter V.— VL 1.

The tmguioeessful demand to Pharaoh.

V. 1 And afterward Moees and Aaron came, and said B
unto Pharaoh, Thns saith the Lord, the God of Israel, Let
my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the
wilderness. 2 And Pharaoh said. Who Is the Lord, that I
should hearken unto his voice to let Israel go ? I know not the
LOBD, and moreover I will not let Israel go. | 3 And they said, J
He God of the Hebrews hath met with us : let us go, we pray

V. L a feast \ Heb. hag, i.e. a pilgrimage for worship at a
ghiine, where pilgrims took part in processions, (kneing and feasting.
The Arab, haj \& still used of the pilgrimage to Mecca : hag is al«)
found in Sabaean inscriptions. After the arrival in Palestine sach
pilgrimages were obeerved at the local sanctuaries three times in the
year. £^ zxiiL 14 £

3. with the fword, Le. by sending armies against us. The
Israelites in Goshen were liable to attach from des^ tribes.

V. 3-7] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 31

thee, three days' journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice unto J
the Lord our God ; lest he fall upon us with pestilence, or with
the sword. | 4 And the king of Egypt said unto them, Where- ^
fore do ye, Moses and Aaron, loose the people from their works ?
get you unto your burdens. | 5 And Pharaoh said. Behold, the J
people of the land are now many, and ye make them rest from
their burdens. 6 And the same day Pharaoh commanded the
taskmasters of the people, and their officers, saying, 7 Ye shall
no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore :

4. get you unto your burdens. Pharaoli knew nothing of Moses
and Aaron, and thought they had left their labours to present their
petition. Brugsch {Egypt under the Pharaohs, p. 300) shews that?
Ramses II was frequently waylaid by private persons who had grievances. \

5. The taslonasters (or 'oppressors,' w. 10, 13, iii. 7) were
Egyptians appointed by Pharaoh ; the * officers ' were Israelites in
subordinate positions of authority over their fellow-countrymen, and
appointed {v. 14) by the taskmasters.

The word 'officers,' shofrlm, is from a root which, in Ass. Aram.
Arab. Syr., means primarily 'to set, or arrange, in order,' and hence
* to write ' ; it is here rendered ' scribes ' in lxx and Pesh. The
shofrlm were minor officials whose duties of general superintendence
probably included that of keeping written accounts of the work done,
and of marking the daily attendance of the labourers. When used in
a military connexion they would be ' muster officers ' ; cf. the sopher
of Jud. V. 14. The two words are combined in 2 Chr. xxvi. 11.
See a fuller note in Driver, Deut. p. 17.

6. The process of brick-making is illustrated in Egyptian wall-
pictures, of which the most famous is that at Thebes which represents
(as the accompanying inscription states) ' captives brought by the
king for work on the temple of Amon.'

The black Nile mud was dug up, and carried in baskets to the
moulding ground ; sometimes sand was mixed with it, and tibu (Heb.
tebhen), i.e. chopped straw and chaff. The tibu bound the mud closely
together and prevented it from cracking. This mixture was brought
to the required consistency by means of water, and poured into a
wooden mould or framed The frame being then lifted up, an oblong
heap of mud was left to dry in the sun. The moulding ground would
be filled with rows of such heaps. Bricks of sun-dried mud were
used in Babylonia and Egypt for every kind of building — even for,
some of the smaller pyramids. Burnt bricks were rare, and in Egypt j
are not found till the Roman period.

It is possible that the sympathies of the writer made him exag-
gerate the hardships to which the Hebrews were subjected. The tibu

1 An illustration of an Egyptian mould of the 18th dynasty is given in art.
'Brick' in DB.

32 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [v. 7-14

let them go and gather straw for themselves. 8 And the tale J
of the bricks, which they did make heretofore, ye shall lay upon
them ; ye shall not diminish aught thereof : for they be idle ;
therefore they cry, saying, Let us go and sacrifice to our God.
9 Let heavier work be laid upon the men, that they may labour
therein ; and let them not regard lying words. 10 And the
taskmasters of the people went out, and their officers, and they
spake to the people, saying. Thus saith Pharaoh, I will not give
you straw. 11 Go yourselves, get you straw where ye can find
it : for nought of your work shall be diminished. 12 So the
people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt
to gather stubble for straw. 13 And the taskmasters were
urgent, saying. Fulfil your works, your daily tasks, as when
there was straw. 14 And the officers of the children of Israel,

was valuable fodder, and if, in any year, it were rather scarce, it would
be very expensive to supply it for brick-making. Bricks were often
made with waste stubble, or with no vegetable binding at all. The
gathering of stubble would increase the work, but it was at least a
common occurrence. Apart from the hardships attaching to all slavery,
Num. xi. 5 shews that the Hebrews were on the whole well treated.

8. the tale ; an archaism ; the weight or amount, xxx, 37
(R.V. 'composition'), Ez. xlv. 11, 2 Chr. xxiv. 13. A shorter form
is used in -y. 18.

9. heavier ; heavy, Pharaoh expresses a general principle, that
if the Israelites are treated leniently they will grow idle and rebellious.

lahow therein : lit. ' do therein ' — a doubtful expression. For
IK'y^ Lxx Sam, Pesh. read '\W\ which occurs in the following clause.
Render ' that they may attend to it, and not attend to lying words.'
Cf Gen. iv, 4, 5, Is, xvii, 7, 8.

10. went out. It is improbable that the taskmasters, and
stiU more the subordinate Israelite officials, went into Pharaoh's
presence. The command would reach them through the superinten-
dent of the whole building operations. It is likely, therefore, that
the LXX is right in reading •">V>fJl ' and they were urgent,' the
verb of which the participle is used in v. 13.

11. for nought... In the present position of the sentence the
word ' for ' does not supply a logical sequence. If the clause is not
due to later expansion, it should perhaps be transposed to follow v. 13.

13. your daily tasks ; a day's quota each day. v. 19, xvi. 4,
Lev, xxiii. 37.

14. yotir task; your prescribed portion, diflferent from the
word in -y, 13. It is used for a prescribed portion of food in Gen, xlvii.
22 (J), Prov. xxxi. 15 (R.V. 'task').

V. 14-"] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 33

which Pharaoh's taskmasters had set over them, were beaten, J
^and demanded. Wherefore have ye not fulfilled your task both
yesterday and to-day, in making brick as heretofore ? 15 Then
the ofiicers of the children of Israel came and cried unto
Pharaoh, saying. Wherefore dealest thou thus with thy servants?
16 There is no straw given unto thy servants, and they say to
us, Make brick : and, behold, thy servants are beaten ; but the
fault is in thine own people. 17 But he said. Ye are idle, ye
are idle : therefore ye say, Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.
18 Go therefore now, and work ; for there shall no straw be given
you, yet shall ye deliver the tale of bricks. 19 And the officers
of the children of Israel did see that they ^were in evil case,
when it was said, Ye shall not minish aught from your bricks,
yowr daily tasks. 20 And they met Moses and Aaron, who
stood in the way, as they came forth from Pharaoh : 21 and
they said unto them. The Lord look upon you, and judge ;
because ye have made our savour to be abhorred in the eyes
of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in
their hand to slay us. 22 And Moses returned unto the Lord,

^ Heb. saying. * Or, were set on mischief, when they said

16. the fault is in thine own people. This rendering cannot be
legitimately drawn from the Hebrew ; nor is it true to fact, for
Pharaoh was to blame, not his people. The text as it stands
(^ipv nNCni) is untranslateable. Read either ^^y*? riNpni 'and
thou shalt sin against thy people' (with lxx Pesh.), or "^^V riK^n no-1
' and what is the sin of thy people ? ' (Dillm.)^

19. when it was said, lit. in saying, i.e. in being obliged to
say. The Israelite officers were compelled to give the stern order
to their fellow-countrymen, and felt the position acutely.

20. who stood in the way; stationing themselves to meet
them. It was the officers who took their stand to waylay Moses
and Aaron.

21. made our savour to be abhorred; the English idiom would
be 'Ye have brought us into bad odour with.' Gen. xxxiv. 30,
1 Sam. xiii. 4, xxvii. 12, 2 Sam. x. 6, xvi. 21.

their hand; probably read his hand, with lxx Sam.

22. returned; the expression is beautiful in its simplicity,
implying his constant communion with Yahweh.

^ Symm. read "^tpV JIN^ni. ' but the fault is with thee.' This has the advantage
of altering only the vowel points. But it is unlikely that the enslaved Israelites
would say such a thing to Pharaoh.

M. 3

.34 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [v. «-vl 3

and said, Lord, wherefore hast thou evil entreated this people ? J
why is it that thou hast sent me? 23 For since I came to
Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he hath evil entreated this
people ; neither hast thou delivered thy people at alL
VI. 1 And the Lord said unto Moses, Now shalt thou see
what I will do to Pharaoh : for by a strong hand shall he let
them go, and by a strong hand shall he drive them out of
his land.

2 And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I amP
JEHOVAH : 3 and I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and
unto Jacob, as ^God Almighty, but ^by my name jehovah

1 Heb. El Shaddai. 2 Or, as to

VI. 1. hy a strong hand, i.e. in consequence of the working
of a mighty power. See on iii. 19. The confidence that help will
be given at the darkest hour of need is well expressed in the Jewish
proverb 'When the tale of bricks is doubled, then comes Moses.'

Chapter VL 2— VIL 7.

The call of Moses ; the families of Revhen, Simeon and
Levi; Aaron to he Moses' helper.

The narrative travels again over the period covered by ii. 23 — vi. 1.
The priestly writer, however, makes no mention of Midian, and
appears to hold that the Divine revelation to Moses was made in
Egypt. Cf V. 28.

VI. 2. / am Yahweh. A formula very frequent in the Holiness
legislation (Driver, LOT^, p. 49). Here, however, it is not a mere
formula, but a specific statement, parallel to iii, 14, revealing the
Name for the first time.

3. The marginal renderings are all to be preferred. In the last
clause, however, lxx reads ^J?^"!''"!, < and my name Yahweh I did not
make known to them ' — which is simpler.

God Almighty. Heb. 'El Shaddai. See addit. note.

A signal instance of the gradual way in which God leads his people
into a fuller understanding of His word is afforded by the fact that it
is only in the last 150 years that the attention of students has been
arrested by these verses. How is it that though God here says that
up to this point His name Yahweh has not been known, yet in the
book of Genesis the patriarchs appear to know it well and use it freely ?
The question cannot be answered except by tlie recognition that
varying traditions have been incorporated from different sources.

VI. 3-9l THE BOOK OF EXODUS 35

I was not ^known to them. 4 And I have also established my P
covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the
land of their sojournings, wherein they sojourned. 5 And more-
over I have heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom
the Egyptians keep in bondage ; and I have remembered my
covenant. 6 Wherefore say unto the childi-en of Israel, I am
Jehovah, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of
the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and
I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great
judgements : 7 and I will take you to me for a people, and
I will be to you a God : and ye shall know that I am Jehovah
your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of
the Egyptians. 8 And I will bring you in unto the land, con-
cerning which I lifted up my hand to give it to Abraham, to
Isaac, and to Jacob ; and I will give it you for an heritage :
I am Jehovah. 9 And Moses spake so unto the children of
Israel : but they hearkened not unto Moses for ^anguish of
spirit, and for cruel bondage.

^ Or, made known ^ Or, impatience Heb. shortness of spirit.

A useful account of the early stages of Old Testament criticism is
given in The Hexateuch (ed. by Carpenter and Battersby), vol. i. ch. v.

4. And I also established. This was Yahweli's second reason
for appearing to the patriarchs, the first being to reveal Himsel i as El
Shaddai. P makes the covenant with Abraham the basis of the whole
subsequent history.

The expression 'establish a covenant' is peculiar to P (except
Ez. xvi. 60, 62) who never uses the ordinary mD ^ cut a covenant.'
(See note at the end of ch. xxiv.)

sojournings. They had been living as gerim, new comers with no
ancestral rights in the land.

6. / am Yahweh. Repeat to the people the revelation you have
just received.

redeem. The word 7X3 occurs not infrequently with the meaning
* deliver,' with no thought of a price paid. It is used of the exodus
in XV. 13, Ps. Ixxiv. 2, Ixxvii. 15 (16), Ixxviii. 35, cvi. 10 ; of the second
exodus, the return from Babylon, frequently in Is. xli. and onwards ;
and generally of deliverance from death, oppression, &c. And similarly
the synonymous mo 'ransom.' See Westcott, Hebrews, pp. 295 ff.,
on Xvrpov and its cognates.

8, To lift the hand is a gesture accompanying an oath. xvii. 16,
Gen. xiv. 22, Num. xiv. 30, Dt. xxxii. 40. Cf. Virg. Aen. xii. 196 :
'tenditque ad sidera dextram.'

/ am Yahweh, The expression is here a mere formula ; see on v. 2.

3—2

36 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [vi. ia-20

10 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 11 Go in, speak P
unto ^Pharaoh king of Egypt, that he let the children of Israel
go out of his land. 12 And Moses spake before the Lord,
saying, Behold, the children of Israel have not hearkened unto
me ; how then shall Pharaoh hear me, who am of uncircum-
cised lips? | 13 And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto^^
Aaron, and gave them a charge unto the children of Israel, and
unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the children of Israel out
of the land of Egypt.

14 These are the heads of their fathers' houses : the sons of
Reuben the firstborn of Israel ; Hanoch, and Pallu, Hezron,
and Carmi : these are the families of Reuben. 15 And the
sons of Simeon ; Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and
Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanitish woman : these are
the families of Simeon. 16 And these are the names of the
sons of Levi according to their generations ; Gershon, and
Kohath, and Merari : and the years of the life of Levi were an
hundred thirty and seven years. 17 The sons of Gershon ; Libni
and Shimei, according to their families. 18 And the sons of
Kohath ; Amram, and Izhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel : and the
years of the life of Kohath were an hundred thirty and three
years. 19 And the sons of Merari ; Mahli and Mushi. These
are the families of the Levites according to their generations.
20 And Amram took him Jochebed his father's sister to wife ;
and she bare him Aaron and Moses : and the years of the life

12. uncircumcised lips. See note after iv, 31.

14 — 27. The list of names purports to contain the chiefs of
the families whom Moses brought out of Egypt. The writer follows
the order of i. 2, Gen. xxxv. 23 as far as Levi, but this tribe usurps all
his interest, and he proceeds to give a genealogical tree of Moses and
Aaron, who appear as great-grandsons of Levi through Amram and
Kohath ; he also gives the names of the rest of the ^^ohathite clan,
and of Aaron's sons, and one grandson Phinehas. The selection of
names is dominated by Moses and the family of Aaron.

14. fathers' houses ; a technical expression for 'families' or 'clans' ;
cf. xii. 3. It occurs 79 times in P and Chr.

15. The Shaul branch of the Simeonites had an admixture of
Canaanite blood, as was the case with the family of Judah ; see
Gen. xxxviii. 2 and Driver's note.

20, Jochebed. See note on ii. 1.

VI. .o-vii. i] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 37

of Amram were an hundred and thirty and seven years. 21 And R
the sons of Izhar ; Korah, and Nepheg, and Zichri. 22 And
the sons of Uzziel ; Mishael, and Elzaphan, and Sithri. 23 And
Aaron took him Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab, the
sister of Nahshon, to wife ; and she bare him Nadab and Abihu,
Eleazar and Ithamar. 24 And the sons of Korah ; Assir, and
Elkanah, and Abiasaph ; these are the families of the Korahites.
25 And Eleazar Aaron's son took him one of the daughters of
Putiel to wife ; and she bare him Phinehas. These are the
heads of the fathers' houses of the Levites according to their
families. 26 These are that Aaron and Moses, to whom the
Lord said, Bring out the children of Israel from the land of
Egypt according to their hosts. 27 These are they which spake
to Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring out the children of Israel
from Egypt : these are that Moses and Aaron.

28 And it came to pass on the day when the Lord spake
unto Moses in the land of Egypt, 29 that the Lord spake
unto Moses, saying, I am the Lord : speak thou unto Pharaoh
king of Egypt all that I speak unto thee. 30 And Moses said
before the Lord, Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips, and how
shall Pharaoh hearken unto me ? | VII. 1 And the Lord said P

23. Nahshon, a descendant in the fifth generation from Judah
(1 Chr. ii. 10), and a prince of Judah (Num. i. 7, ii. 3 al.), an
ancestor of David (1 Chr. ii. 11, Ruth iv. 20) and of Jesus (Mt. i. 4,
Lk. iii. 32).

Nadab and Abihu. See note on xxiv. 1 (J). The names of Aaron's
four sons occur in xxviii. 1, Lev. x. 1, 6, Num. iii. 4, xxvi. 60 (all P).
In the priestly traditions the two former died for offering strange fire,
and the two latter, Eleazar and Ithamar, became chiefs of Levitical
families, Eleazar succeeding his father as high priest.

25. Putiel. Probably formed by adding El (God) to an Egyptian
word. On the analogy of Potipherah (Petepre) it will mean 'He
whom El hath given.' Cf. Pedubaste (wnich appears in an inscription
of Asshur-bani-pal as Putubasti), Petisis, Petosiris.

Phinehas. The name is thought to be of Egyptian origin, 'the
child of dark complexion.' See art. 'Phinehas' §2, in Enc. B.

26. Aaron precedes Moses, as having been the principal name in
the foregoing list ; in the following verse the usual order is employed.

28 — 30. A compiler, after the interposed list of names, resumes
the narrative by repeating the substance of -iw. 2 — 12.

VII. 1. a god to Pharaoh. In iv. 16 (E) Moses is to be as a
god to Aaron. ^

38 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [vil 1-7

unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh : and P
Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet. 2 Thou shalt speak
all that I command thee : and Aaron thy brother shall speak
< unto Pharaoh, that he let the children of Israel go out of his
land. 3 And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and multiply my
signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt. 4 But Pharaoh will
not hearken unto you, and I will lay my hand upon Egypt, and
bring forth my hosts, my people the children of Israel, out of
the land of Egypt by great judgements. 5 And the Egyptians
shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch forth mine hand
upon Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among
them. 6 And Moses and Aaron did so ; as the Lord commanded
them, so did they. 7 And Moses was fourscore years old, and
Aaron fourscore and three years old, when they spake unto
Pharaoh.

2. Thm shalt speak, i.e. to Aaron, lxx adds avrw.

6. The form of the sentence, especially the addition ' so did they,'
is peculiarly characteristic of P.

7. See note on ii. 1.

Additional Note.
Eloah, Elohim, El, Shaddai.

'Eloah occurs 51 times as a name of God. It is an ancient form occurring
in Dt. xxxii. 15, 17, Ps. xviii. 32 ; aud on the basis of these it is used as an
archaism in later poetry (41 times in Job), once in late prose of an elevated
character, Neh. ix. 17. It is used of lieathea.gods six times in late passages ^
It is either the original singular from which the far commoner plural 'Mohlm
was formed, or more probably (Nestle, Baethgen) a singular inferred from
the plural form. The corresponding forms in Aram. Syr. and Arab, are 'eldh,
^(dahd, and Hldh^; and it occurs in Sabaean and other S. Arabian inscriptions
(D. H. Miiller, Orient. Congress, Leiden, 1883).

^Elohim occurs 2570 times, with or without the article ('llloah never has
the article). The plural seems to be the plural of majesty or dignity (as

1 ' In Aram., Arab, and Eth. it occurs only in proper names — often in Aram. ,
rarely in Arab, and Eth. ; chiefly in the half-Aramaic, half- Arabic, Nabataean
inscriptions of 1 cent. b.c. — 3 cent. a.d. In the time of Mohammed ^El was an
unknown word to the Arabs. Comp. the Biblical names from places E. or S.E. of
Palestine, the Aramaean Kemu'el, Bethu'el (Gen. xxii. 21, 22), Elyada' (1 K. xi. 23),
and Hazael; Ishmael and Adbe'el (Gen. xxv. 13) ; the Midianite Elda'ah (xxv. 4)
and Re'u'el (Ex. ii. 18) ; and the Edomite Eliphaz, Ee'u'el, Mehetab'el and Magdi'el
(Gen. xxxvi. 4, 39, 43).' Driver, Genesis, p. 403.

* ^AUah is *ildh with the article, a contraction of al-'ildh.

DIVINE NAMES 39

in 'Ad5nim 'Lord,' 'Master'), and with very few exceptions it is used with
a singular verb or adjective. It is, however, frequently a real plural when
employed to denote heatlignjleities. Its derivation is quite uncertain. Lane
{Arab. Lexic. p. 82) suggests that it is derived from an old Bedawin word
'cdiha, 'to go to and fro in fear,' which is followed by the preposition 'to,'
with the meaning ' to^betaJLe. oneself to a person for protectimi.' Cf Hos. iii. 5
;>« nnp-l, R.V. ' and shall come with fear unto' 'Elohim {'Moah) might then
mean .Qge_to whom men flee for help or protection. Less probably 'an
object of fear'; cf. Gen. xxxi. 42, 53 'the Fear^ of Isaac.' There is a cognate
form waliha ' to fear ' ; Kautzsch, however, suggests that both this and 'aliha
are denominatives from 'ilah. Ewald assumes a root rOH {'alah), a by-form
of rha, to which he assigns the meaning 'be strong.' But both root and
meaning are purely conjectural. Dillmann and Nestle hold that 'Elohlm is a
form expanded from ^El, on the analogy of ^dmdhoth (from ^dmah) ' maidens,'
and the Syr. shemdhdn 'names.' It is an objection to the theory, how-
ever, that all these are feminine forms.

'El occurs as a divine appellative 217 times — sometimes with the article.
It is also frequent in the composition of proper names — e.g. Israel, Bethel,
Elijah, Elisha. It is found chiefly in poetry (most frequently in the Psalms,
Job and Isaiah, but occasionally in other prophets and in poetical passages in
the historical books), but also, rarely, in prose, and that prose of the more
elevated type, and mostly with some epithet attached to it, as 'God most
High' (Gen. xiv. 18, 19, 20, 22), 'God everlasting' (xxi. 33). The forms 'El
(and 'Elon) in Phoen. and Ilu in Ass. are the ordinary words for 'God' in those
languages. In S. Arabian dialects it is very common in proper names, but by
itself is not so common as 'ildh.

'El occurs in Exodus (excluding proper names) as follows :

HK' ha ' God Almighty,' vi. 3.

"ha 'my God,' xv. 3. (The plural of heathen gods occurs in ??. 11.)

K3p Sk ' a jealous God,' xx. 5, xxxiv. 14 b (in v.^ "iriK hn ' another ffod ').

pjni Dim h^ ' a merciful and jealous God,' xxxiv. 6.

Passages from other books are cited by Driver, Genesis, p. 403.

The derivation of 'El is no less obscure than that of 'Eloah {'Elohim).
They are not necessarily from the same root, as the first syllable of the latter
word might suggest to an English reader. The following are the more note-
worthy of the derivations which have been proposed :

(a) It is derived from blX,^ as "^V 'witness' from Tiy, and DD 'dead'
from niO. On the strength of such an expression as H"" ?S? K** 'it is in the
power of my hand ' (Gen. xxxi. 29, Dt. xxviii. 32 al.), the root is held to signify
'be strongj'^iid 'El is 'the strong one.' It is rendered la-^vgos 19 times in
Lxx, which is the regular rendering in Aq. and is often found in Symm. Theod.
This has for some time been the favourite derivation. The only objection to it
is that the word sometimes appears with a short e as in such names as
l|7l?*/'.^ 'Elimelech, IjnpK 'Blhanan. But it is probable that the long vowel in

^ A different word, Heb. inS.

40 THE BOOK OF EXODUS

'El and similar words is only artificial, and is the result of contraction from a
form ^awil or 'ayil which contained the consonant 1 or *.

(h) The same philological difficulty besets the derivation from_?\{i= ' to be
in front,' by which ^El is given the meaning either of 'Leader' (Noldeke) or
' Protector — Tutelary deitv.' The word occurs in the construct state = ' leader '
in Bz. xxxi. 1 1, and xxxii. 21 (but text doubtful) ; but the e is never shortened.
The more usual form is ''S^K (Ex. xv. 15, Bz. xvii. 13).

{d) Lagarde, deriving it also from n7?<. connects it with the preposition
/X 'to' — i.e. 'He towards whom one strives^)iCtQ .\yjhom one attaches oneself^
But 'such an origin of the name would be no doubt conceivable on the basis
of pure and strict monotheism ; it is, however, inconceivable if ilu, d, originally
served to denote any god whatever, and even a demon or local divinity'
(Kautzsch, art. 'Names' in Enc. B.).

No_solutian, therefore, is certainly right. 'We must rest content with
the knowledge that there were two Semitic words, Hldh and il{u\ both of un-
certain etymology, but both undoubtedly denoting 'God,' and both probably
existing already side by side before the diflferent Semitic peoples had begun to
separate from their common home : in after times, some of the Semitic peoples
preferred one of the two synonyms, while others preferred the other ; in one or
two cases both remained in use, though they were not in practice used quite
indiscriminately ' (Driver, p. 404).

Shaddai. The word occurs in the compound form ^ElShaddai in Ex. vi. 3,
Gen. xvii. 1, xxviii. 3, xxxv. 11, xliii. 14, xlviii. 3, xlix. 25, Ez. x. 5 ; by itself it
is found 40 times^ Probably the only pre-exilic occurrences are in the poetical
passages Gen. xlix. 25", Num. xxiv. 4, 16. (In Gen, xliii. 14 Shaddai is probably
a late insertion, lxx has 6 6f6s fiov.)

(a) The Rabbinic explanation that Shaddai ^^"^^ (for H. ■|B'^?) 'He who
is sufficient,' is quite untenable. It appears in [o] Uavos, Aq. Sym. Theod., and
LXX Job xxi. 15, xxxi. 2, xl. 2, Ruth i. 20 1, and (cod. A) Ez. i. 24.

(6) The only Heb. root from which Shaddai could be formed is ^lig
(shadad) 'destroy,' ' lay waste ' ; cf Jud. v. 27, Is. xv. 1, xxxiii. 1. R.V. in
these passages renders respectively ' dead ' (mg. ' overpowered '), ' laid waste,'
and ' spoiled.' And the substantive shodh denotes ' destruction,' ' devastation.'
Cf. Is. li. 19. Shaddai 'destructive ' (?) might thus have been, in primitive
times, a storaa^godj^eenote on Yahweh, p. 21). If, however, this be the true
derivation, the idea conveyed by it was unknown to the Hebrew writers, for

^ Num. xxiv. 4, 16, Pa. Ixviii. 14 (Heb. 15), xci, 1, Is. xiii. 6= Joel i. 15, Ez. i. 24,
Bath i. 20, 21, and 31 times in Job (Yahweh only in xii. 9, but text doubtful). The
writer of Job, laying the scene of his drama in the age of the patriarchs, follows
the tradition of P, according to which the name Yahweh was unknown before the
time of Moses. To these occurrences add the pr. nanjes (all in P) Zuri-shaddai,
'S. is my rock' (Num. i. 6), 'Ammi -shaddai, ' S. is my father's kinsman' (v. 12),
and Shaddai-'ur, ' S. is a flame,' if Shedfi'ur in v. 5 should be so vocalised;
cf. Gray, Heb. Pr. Namet, p. 196 f. (Driver, p. 404, footn. 6.)

» Bead "IB' ^Nl for "K' HNI.

VII. 8-io] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 41

in none of the passages in which the word occurs is the thought of a
'Destroyer' suitable, except Is. xiii. 6 (=Joel i. 15), where the writer was
influenced by the desire to produce an assonance — shodh mishshaddai. It is
probable that the Masoretic punctuation is due to the foregoing Rabbinic
explanation, and that the d should not be doubled.

(c) W. R. Smith suggests a derivation from the root Nlty (shada') 'to
pour,' which is found in Aram. Shaddai would then be thel' rajn^od.'

(d) Another explanation connects it with Ass. shqd4 'mountain.'
The word occurs in inscriptions of Sargon and Asshur-bani-pal as an
epithet of the gods Bel and Asshur; and proper names occur such as
Bel-shadAa, Marduk-shadua, ' Bel— Marduk— is my mountain.' If this be the
true derivation, the Heb. word may originally have taken one of two forms —
either Shadl ' my mountain ' (on the analog}' of ''IK' ' my field '), or Shdda
'a mountain' (on the analogy of the archaic 'TK' 'a field,' and perhaps the
pr. name Sarai).

{e) There is the further possibility that the termination ai may mark an
abbrevjation from a longer fprm of the worti. (Such abbreviations are common
in late Heb., which is coloured by Aramaic influence, but are also found in
early Canaanitish names preserved in inscriptions^.) If this be the case, the
original form of Shaddai is entirely lost.

8 And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, P
9 When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying, Shew a wonder
for you : then thou shalt say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and
cast it down before Pharaoh, that it become a ^serpent. 10 And
Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so, as the
Lord had commanded : and Aaron cast down his rod before
Pharaoh and before his servants, and it became a serpent.

^ Heb. tannin, any large reptile ; and so in w. 10, 12.

Chapter VIL 8—13.
The sign of Aaron's rod.

VII. 9. thy rod. In the narratives of P the rod is, throughout,
wielded by Aaron at Moses' command ; in those of E by Moses himself
This incident has its parallel in that of iv. 2 — 4, but the differences
are very noticeable. The only feature which they have in common is
that a rod became a living creature.

serpent ; reptile. So in w. 10, 12. The word is elsewhere
rendered 'dragon,' lxx SpaKwv, Dt. xxxii. 33, Ps. xci. 13. Contrast
V. 15, iv. 3, ndhdsh, the ordinary word for 'serpent.'

1 M. Lidzbarski, Ephemeris fiir Semitische Epigraphik, Band ii. Heft i.
pp. 13—17.

42 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [vil 11-13

1 1 Then Pharaoh also called for the wise men and the sorcerers : P
and they also, the ^magicians of Egypt, did in like manner with
their ^enchantments. 12 For they cast down every man his
rod, and they became serpents : but Aaron's rod swallowed up
their rods. 13 And Pharaoh's heart ^was hardened, and he
hearkened not unto them ; as the Lord had spoken.

* See Gen. xli. 8, ^ Or, secret arts ^ Heb. was strong.

11. magicians. Gen. xli. 8, 24 (E), Ex. vii. 22, viii. 18 f., ix. 11
(all P). Used of the magicians of Babylon, Dan. ii. 2. Formed from
a root meaning ' cut ' or ' engrave \' it would denote engravers or
writers of hieroglyphics. But in the Bible it always has the derived
sense of one possessing occult knowledge. Jewish tradition recorded
the names of two of the magicians — ^Jannes and Jambres (2 Tim. iii. 8,
Eus. Praep. Ev. ix. 8). See Thackeray, Melation of St Paul to
contemporary Jewish thought, pp. 215 — 222.

The sign performed with the rod is the converse of a magical trick
mentioned by Herodotus, Lucan, Pliny and others, which consisted of
rendering snakes rigid like rods. It was performed by the African
Psyllae, and has been seen by modern travellers. Dr A. Macalister
(art. ' Plagues of Eg3^t ' in DB) says that he has ' seen both a snake
and a crocodile thrown by hypnotism into the condition of rigidity in
which they could be held up as rods by the tip of the tail.'

Chapter VH. 14— XI. 10.

The first nine 'plagues, and the preparation for departure.

The plagues are different in character from the signs previously recorded.
The latter had for their objectJ;o convince the Israelites and Pharaoh that
Moses' mission was endued with divine authority ; but the plagues were of the
nature of judgements or pmiishments for Pharaoh's stubborn refusal to allow
them to depart ; and further they were signal exhibitions of Yahweh's power —
' that thou mayest know — that the Egyptians may know — that I am Yahweh.'
The latter aspect of them is dwelt upon in Rom. ix. 14 — 24, to shew, by His
treatment of Pharaoh, God's absolute right to do what He will with the
creatures of His own handiwork. The fonner is taken as the basis of the
imageiy in the visions of the trumpets and the bowls in the Apoc. : Water
tmned into blood, viii. 8 f , xvi. 3 f. Frogs, xvi. 13. Boils, xvi. 2. Hail and
fire, lightnings and thunders, viii. 7, xvL 17 f. Locusts, ix. 1 — 11. Darkness,
viii. 12, xvi. 10. The plagues are referred to in Wisd. xvii. — xix., and epi-
tomized in Ps. Ixxviii. 44—51 (nos. 1, 3, 2, 8, 7, 5, 10) and cv. 28—36 (nos. 9, 1,
2, 4, 3, 7, 8, 10). In the former Psalm the district which suffered is named

^ A subst. from the same root is used for a 'graving tool' (xxxii. 4), and a
'etiluB' for scratching on a tablet (Is. viii. 1).

THE PLAGUES 43

*the field of Zoan,' i.e. Tanis. But this is not to be taken as an exact state-
ment of the locality. The name is employed — as being that of one of the
great cities — in poetical parallelism with 'the land of Egypt.' Cf. Is. xix. 11, 13,
where the ' princes of Zoan ' are mentioned in parallelism with the ' counsellors
of Pharaoh,' and with the ' princes of Noph ' (Memphis), xxx. 4.

The stories of the plagues demand study from three points of view :
1. Their literary history. 2. The relation of the several plagues to natural
phenomenal 3. Their religious significance.

1. This has been dealt with in the analysis, pp. xv.— xvii^ The facts there
noted render it probable that the original account of JE contained eight, and
not ten, plagues. The third and fourth are insect pests, and must probably be
considered duplicates from P and J respectively ; and the same must be said
of the fifth and sixth— murrain (J) and boils (P). Additional evidence for
this is supplied by the consideration of their natural features (see below). Of
the eight plagues in JB, elements from J are found in all, and from B in the
first, and in the last four.

2. Few of the recent forms of development in religious thought are more
significant than that by which an approach has been made towards a truer
perception of the relation in which 'religion' stands to 'science.' Time was
when thinkers of the highest intellect and education allocated one portion of
human thought to ' religion ' as its exclusive domain, and another to ' science.'
They were as rivals in adjacent kingdoms, neither of which might transgress
each other's boundaries. And this mutual opposition was helped by the;
tendency to make ' religion ' equivalent at all points to ' faith in the impossible,' j
while ' science ' was ' knowledge of ascertained facts.' On each side were ex- 1
ponents who gloried in these respective definitions. The results produced
upon the study of the Bible were disastrous. The plagues of Bgypt, for
example, were either miracles, portents, superhimian acts of God which faith
must accept vdthout reasoning — or they were purely natural phenomena.
Religious people held the conclusion to which the Egyptian magicians came,
that they were the working of the ' Finger of God ' ; scientific people held that
such a conclusion was as primitive as the magicians themselves. But this
hostility is now rapidly passing away, as it is being more clearly recognised
that yepgion embraces science. as the greater includes thfi-less; that nothing-
can lie outside the activity of the Infinite God ; and therefore that to point
out a connexion between some of the miracles of Scripture and natural
phenomena, does not eliminate from them the divine element; it rather;
transfigures an unreasoning 'faith in the impossible' into ^ faith which'
recognises the Finger of God in everything, the providence of God in every
event of national and individual hfe. Thus the following study of the plagues
may claim to be entirely constructive. It seeks to destroy nothing, but aims
at shewing that the divine power of God worked in Egypt by means of a
wonderful series of natural phenomena,; and the religious instinct of the
Hebrew narrators unerringly seized upon these as signs of God's favour to the
Israelites and of punishment to their oppressors. This religious conviction
led, as time went on, to accretions and amplifications, and the stories, in the

1 On this subject reference should be made to art. ' Plagues of Egypt ' in DB,
by MacaUster.

4.A

44 THE BOOK OF EXODUS

courae of frequent and triumphant repetitions, acquired more and more of
what is popularly called ' miracle.' The earliest stage at which they emerge
into writing is in J. In the small remains of E's narrative the wonders have
increased, while in P they are greatly multiplied.

1st Plague. If the analysis on p. xvi. is correct, the 1st plague consisted in
the smiting of the river by Yahweh, and the consequent death of the fish
(vii. 17 a, 18, 21 a, 24, 25) ; this necessitated the obtaining of water by digging
in the neighbourhood of the river. It seems probable that iji J's narrative
nothing was said .of^ bloodj but that is introduced in the next stage of
the developing tradition preserved in Jl. («w. 15, 17 6, 20 6). In this
narrative the marvel is performed not diBQctly by Yahweh in the ordinary
course of nature, but through Moses' won(dt|r-working staflF, and the river
is turned to blood. Two suggestions have been made as to the natural
phenomena which might give rise to the story. When the Nile rises
• in the third week in Jijne, its waters become discoloured from fragments of
vegetable matter ; it is at first green, and, as the river lises to its height in
August, gradually changes to a dull ochreous ted. This is confirmed by many
travellers, and some also speak of the offensive exhalations emitted at the later
■ stage. Other writers refer to the not uncommon phenomenon of the reddening
of water by enormous quantities of minute organisms. Whatever may have
been the exact natural cause or causes, the divine providence arranged that
the waters should be discoloured and should emit a foetid odour which killed
the fish — in Hebrew language, Yahweh smote the river ; and the belief grew
up that the river was turned to blood. The ease with which such a belief
could arise is illustrated in 2 K. iii. 23 ^ The final stage in the amplification
of the story is found in P (viL 19, 20 to 'commanded,' 21 6, 22), in which all
the waters of Egypt in rivers, streams and pools, in vessels of wood and of
stone, are turned to blood.

2nd Plague. From whatever cause the river became foetid and dis-
coloured, in the mass of organic matter which would be collected animal life
would also be present in great quantities. And this would be the condition
eminently suited to the rapid multiplication of frogs. In J^ Yahweh foretells
that He will Himself smite Egypt with frogs ; and He will do so in the
ordinary coiu^e of nature — 'the river shall swarm with frogs.' In^P, Aaron
(as usual) is bidden by Moses to bring the plague by stretching out the staff".
A further poetical amplification occurs in Ps. Ixxviii. 45, where the frogs are
said to have 'destroyed' the Egyptians. Plagues of frogs were far from /
unknown in ancient times, and are reported by Pliny, Orosius, Aelian,
Diodorus and Appian ; the latter describes the pestilential effects of the
decomposing bodies, which drove the people of Antareia from their homes
{de rebus lUyricis, 4). Haggard ( Under Crescent and Star, p. 279) tells of a
plague of frogs in the upper Nile valley in modem times. September is the
month in which frogs are most plentiful in Egypt.

3rd and Uh Plagues. The mass of frogs collected in heaps (viii. 14) would

inevitably lead to the breeding of innumerable flies and other i^^cts. In

,J_(»c. 20 — 32) Yahweh Himself sends swarms of flies {'drobh, a word perhaps

denoting a mixed multitude of insects). In P. (»». 16 — 19) Aaron, at Moses'

^ Perhaps, however, the Moabites took the colour of the water to be rather an
omen of blood.

THE PLAGUES 45

bidding, stretched out the staff, and * all the dust of the earth became kinnvm,'
stinging gnats or mosquitoes. These are specially common in Egypt about
October. The larvae live in the pools caused by the Nile inundation, and when
the waters recede and the pools dry up, the insects come to matmity. The
plague is thus seen to follow the normal coimse of nature. But there is no
evidence that the kinnlm and the mixed mass of insects could, from natural
causes, appear in succession. P particularises the earlier account. In
Ps. cv. 31 the ^drohh and the kinnlm are coupled together, the latter being
placed last ; and Ps. Ixxviii. 45 omits the kinnlm altogether.

5th and Qth Plagues. The pestilential effect of the decomposing bodies
of the frogs has been already mentioned ; and bacteriological research shews
that some insects, especially mosquitoes, are a great factor in the spread of
disease. Thus the cattle-diseas^/ux. 1 — 7 J) is amply accounted for. In the
narrative of the preceding plague, J^relates that Goshen enjoyed a complete
immunity from the insects. We may suppose that the direction of the wind,
or other natural causes, prevented the insects from entering the Israelites'
territory. But if the insects spread the disease, the statement that the
murrain did not touch the cattle in Goshen is also explained. P, on the
other hand, departs from natural causes (ix. 8 — 12). Moses and Aaron
were bidden to fling into the air handfuls of fine ashes or soot, and it should
become boils on man and beast. Writers on Egypt speak of cattle plagues
which last for months, and are very fatal ; such a plague in 1842 a.d. lasted
nine months, and killed 40,000 oxen.

1th Plague. Thus far the plagues have followed one another in a natural
sequence, the series resulting, in all probability, from an unusually large mass
of decaying vegetable matter suspended in the M^aters of the Nile during the
time of its inundation. But at this point a new series begins with a destructive
thunderstorm, accompanied by hail (ix. 13 — 35). Such storms are rgre in?
Egypt, but are not without example. Those which have been reported in
modem times have occurred about January. Now the plague occurred at
a j)oint of time which is defined in ©». 31 T":"* the barley was in the ear, and
the flax was in bud, but the wheat and the vetch... were not grown up' ; and
all the available evidence as to the ripening of crops in Egypt tends to shew
that this state of things would normally occur about the middle of January.
Thus the cattle plague had lasted about two months and a half (Nov. to the
middle of Jan.), and the first five plagues (reckoning 3, 4 and 5, 6 as duplicates)
occupied a period of about five months.

%th Plague. The atmospheric conditions which resulted in the storm also
led to other plagues. A strong East wind arose, and brought a dense mass of
locusts (x. 3 &— 11, 13 &, 146, 15 a J). In E (»». 12, 13 a, 14 a) Moses brings the
plague, as usual, by lifting up the staff. Plagues of locusts are uncommon in'
Egypt, but have frequently been reported in Syria ; and in both ancient and ,
modem times the swarms have been observed to come from the East. The
lightness and fragility of the locusts render them helpless before a wind
(cf. Ps. cix. 23). And when the wind shifted to the West, they were
completely swept away into the Red Sea {m. 15 c— 19 J).

^th Plague. Only a fragment of J's narrative has here been preserved
(x. 24 — 26, 28 f.), which relates the effect of the plague upon Pharaoh. B, as

46 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [vii. 14, 15

before, says that it followed the lifting of the staflF by Moses (»». 21 — 23, 27).
But it is not improbable that it was a further consequence of the West wind.
Dr A. Macalister writes : ' The condition of darkness referred to is strikingly
like that brought about by the severer form of the electrical Mind hamsir^.
This is a S. or S.W. wind that is so named because it is liable to blow during
the 25 days before and the 25 days after the vernal equinox {hamsin = 5(y).
It is often not so much a storm or violent wind as an oppressive hot blast
charged with so much sand and fine dust that the air is darkened. It causes a
blackness equal to_the.worato£Lond.QU.fQgs, while the air is so hot and full of
dust that respiration is impeded.... Denon says that it sometimes travels as
a narrow stream,^ so that one part of the land is light while the rest is dark
( Voyage dans VEgypte, Paris, 1802, p. 286).' And he adds that three days is
not an uncommon duration for the hamsin.

\Oth Plague. Malignant epidemics have at all times been the scourge of
Bible lands ; and it is worthy of note that many authorities state that pesti-
lence is often worst at the time of the hamsin wind. But in the Hebrew
narratives, in which only the firstborn are smitten, all thought of a 'natural' '
occurrence has passed away. The plague was a just retribution for Pharaoh's
attempt to destroy the firstborn of the Israelites (i. 22).

3. The religious teaching which underlies the stories of the plagues is
manifold. The lifting of Moses' staff to bring the plagues, and his successive

I entreaties for their removal, teach the efficacy of prayer. If S. James (v. 16 f)
could remind his readers that Elijah ' prayed earnestly that it might not rain,
and it rained not,' and could deduce from this that ' the supplication of a
righteous man availeth much in its working,' we can similarly learn from the
action of Moses that prayer is not out of place or unavailing in cases where
natural laws can be co-ordinated and guided by God to bring about the wished-
for result. And from whatever point of view the plagues are regarded, the

1 . same great facts shine through the narratives : — Yahweh is supreme in power
over the world which He made, the truth which led Job to abhor himself and
repent in dust and ashes ; He has an absolute right, if He so wills, to punish
Pharaoh in order to shew forth in him His power ; and He does so because
Pharaoh is impenitent, and consequently ' fitted for destruction ' (cf Rom. ix.
17, 22), for Yahweh is a God that hates sin; and if a man hardens his heart,
the result will be as inevitable as results in the natural world — so inevitable
that it may truly be said that Yahweh hardens His heart (Ex. ix. 12, x. 1, 20,

5 27, xi. 10) ; moreover tjie sin of Pharaoh, and so of any other man, may
entail sufferings upon many innocent human beings and animals ; and, finally,
'Yahweh is mindful of His own,' and delivers them from 'the noisome

ik - pestilence,' ' the pestilence that walketh in darkness ' and ' the destruction
that wasteth at noonday,' so that ' no plague can come nigh their dwelling'
(Ps. xci.).

14 And the Lord said unto Moses, Pharaoh's heart is J
Stubborn, he refuseth to let the people go. | 15 Get thee unto JE!

1 Heb. heavy.

VII. 14 — 25. The plague of the Nile waters.

viL 15-20] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 47

Pharaoh in the moraing ; lo, he goeth out unto the water ; and E
thou shalt stand by the river's brink to meet him ; and the
rod which was turned to a ^serpent shalt thou take in thine
hand. | 16 And thou shalt say unto him, The Lord, the God of J
the Hebrews, hath sent me unto thee, saying, Let my people go,
that they may serve me in the wilderness : and, behold, hitherto
thou hast not hearkened. 17 Thus saith the Lord, In this thou
shalt know that I am the Lord : | behold, I will smite with the E
rod that is in mine hand upon the waters which are in the river,
and they shall be turned to blood. | 18 And the fish that is in J
the river shall die, and the river shall stink ; and the Egyptians
shall loathe to drink water from the river. | 19 And the Lord P
said unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch out
thine hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, over
their ^streams, and over their pools, and over all their ponds of
water, that they may become blood ; and there shall be blood
throughout aU the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood and
in vessels of stone. 20 And Moses and Aaron did so, as the

^ See ch. iv. 3. * Or, canals

15. Pharaoh's object in going to the river is not stated. It
may have been to offer worship to the river-god. See Maspero,
Hymne au Nile^.

17. / will smite &c. These are the words of Moses, in con-
tinuation of V. 15 (E), the previous half verse being from J. The
interweaving of the narratives makes it appear as though Yahweh
spoke of Himself as wielding the staiF.

18. shall loathe ; sliall v^eary themselves, i.e. in their efforts
to get drinkable water. Cf. v, 24. The word occurs in Gen. xix. 11,
Jer. ix. 5 al.

19. rivers, the natural arms of the Nile ; streams, the artificial
canals dug for purposes of irrigation ; pools, formed by the inundation
of the river. Cf viii. 5 [Heb. Ij, Is. xiv. 23, xh. 18.

all their ponds of water, lit. * every gathering of their waters '
(Gen. i. 10, Lev. xi. 36, Is. xxii. 11) — a general expression for all
cisterns, reservoirs, &c., in which the Nile water was collected
throughout the country.

wood... stone. Earthenware vessels are not mentioned ; and several
writers note that it is only in earthenware that the discoloured Nile
waters can be made and kept clear. But it is improbable that this

1 Paris, 1868. The text and a French translation are given on pp. 18 — 21.
The hymn praises the river as the sustainer of life, and prays that its inundation
may duly take place.

48 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [vii. 20-viiL 3

Lord commanded ; and he lifted up the rod, and smote the P
waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in
the sight of his servants ; | and all the waters that were in the E
river were turned to blood. | 21 And the fish that was in the J
river died ; and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not
drink water from the river ; | and the blood was throughout all P
the land of Egypt. 22 And the magicians of Egypt did in like
manner with their enchantments : and Pharaoh's heart ^was
hardened, and he hearkened not unto them ; as the Lord had
spoken. | 23 And Pharaoh turned and went into his house, E
neither did he ^lay even this to heart. | 24 And all the Egyptians J
digged round about the river for water to drink ; for they could
not drink of the water of the river. 25 And seven days were
fulfilled, after that the Lord had smitten the river.

VIII. 1 And the Lord spake unto Moses, Go in unto [9.^-
Pharaoh, and say unto him. Thus saith the Lord, Let my people in *
go, that they may serve me. 2 And if thou refuse to let them ^^^'-^
go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs : 3 and the

^ Heb. was strong. ^ Heb. set his heart even to this.

intentional accuracy is to be ascribed to P, who clearly wished to
relate that every drop of water in Egypt became actual blood, which
could not be rectified by any process of filtering.

22. If all_the water in Egypt was turned to blood by the action
of Aaron, what was left for the magicians to do ? The sanie..difficulty
is felt in viii. 7, 18. The opposition of the magicians appears to be
repeated mechanically from v. 11 as a formula. This is a marked
characteristic of the style of P. It has been suggested that the plague
lasted only a short time, and that, when it ceased, the magicians
produced it again. But the wording of the narrative does not suggest
this ; and it is scarcely conceivable that any Egyptian would prolong
the discomfort and thirst fi:om which the whole country would be
suffering. Theodoret {Qtiaest. in Ex.) is reduced to the explanation
that they fetched water from the sea, in order to shew that they could
perform the miracle.

25. In no other instance is the interval between the plagues
mentioned; it is probable that the frogs appeared about a month
later ; see note above. Perhaps, therefore, some verses have been
lost which related the removal of the plague at Moses' intercession,
after it had lasted a week.

VIII. 1 — 15. The plague of frogs.

3 (|^Heb. vii. 28). ovens {tannur^ ; a portable earthenware stove,
consistmg of -a jar about 3 ft. in height, narrowing towards the top

VIII. 3-io] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 49

river shall swarm with frogs, which shall go up and come J
into thine house, and into thy bedchamber, and upon thy
bed, and into the house of thy servants, and upon thy people,
and into thine ovens, and into thy kneadingtroughs : 4 and
the frogs shall come up both upon thee, and upon thy people,
and upon all thy servants. | 5 And the Lord said unto Moses, P
Say unto Aaron, Stretch forth thine hand with thy rod over [9.^-
the rivers, over the ^streams, and over the pools, and cause in '
frogs to come up upon the land of Egypt. 6 And Aaron ^^^-^
stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt ; and the frogs
came up, and covered the land of Egypt. 7 And the magicians
did in like manner with their enchantments, and brought up
frogs upon the land of Egypt. | 8 Then Pharaoh called for J
Moses and Aaron, and said, Intreat the Lord, that he take
away the frogs from me, and from my people ; and I will let the
people go, that they may sacrifice unto the Lord. 9 And Moses
said unto Pharaoh, Have thou this glory over me : against what
time shall I intreat for thee, and for thy servants, and for thy
people, that the frogs be destroyed from thee and thy houses,
and remain in the river only? 10 And he said. Against to-
morrow. And he said. Be it according to thy word : that thou

^ Or, canals

like a truncated cone. According to the present practice the bread
is inserted within the stove, the blackened sides of which are previously
wiped clean. But Egyptian monuments represent cakes as being applied
to the outside of the stove. See illustrations in Benzinger's Arch. 86 f.

kneadingtroughs {mish'ereth) ; a shallow wooden bowl, in which
flour or barley meal was mixed with water and kneaded into dough.
See art. ' Bread ' in Enc. B. and DB.

7 (Heb. 3). It is difficult to attach a definite meaning to this
statement. How could it be made clear that the magicians produced
frogs other than those which swarmed out of the river in consequence
of Aaron's action? See vii. 22.

9 (Heb. 5). Hate thou this glory over me. This might mean —
Ask something which you think is too wonderful for me to accomplish,
i.e. to fix the time at which the frogs are to be removed (Tg-Onk.
Rashi). But it seems rather to be a polite form of address to the king
— Do thyself the honour (sc. of saying) for what time / shall
intreat &c. lxx ra^ai Trpos ftc 'command me' (so Vg. Pesh.) gives
the general sense. The word, however, usually means 'to boast"
(Jud. vii. 2), and the text is perhaps corrupt.

60 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [viii. lo-is

mayest know that there is none like unto the Lord our God. J
11 And the frogs shall depart from thee, and from thy houses,
and from thy servants, and from thy people ; they shall remain
in the river only. 12 And Moses and Aaron went out from
Pharaoh : and Moses cried unto the Lord concerning the frogs
^ which he had brought upon Pharaoh. 13 And the Lord did
according to the word of Moses ; and the frogs died out of the
houses, out of the courts, and out of the fields. 14 And they
gathered them together in heaps : and the land stank. 15 But
when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he ^hardened his
heart, | and hearkened not unto them ; as the Lord had spoken. P

16 And the Lord said unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch
out thy rod, and smite the dust of the earth, that it may become
^lice throughout all the land of Egypt. 17 And they did so ;
and Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod, and smote the
dust of the earth, and there were lice upon man, and upon
beast ; all the dust of the earth became lice throughout all
the land of Egypt. 18 And the magicians did so with their

1 Or, as he had appointed unto Pharaoh ^ Heb. made heavy.

* Or, sandflies Or, fl^as

12 (Heb. 8). And Moses went out, and Aaron. The verb
l)eing in the singular, the later addition ' and Aaron ' is easily
recognised. See on iv. 29.

brought upon PJiaraoh ; appointed for Pharaoh, as a sign or
punishment. Cf. Gen. iv. 15. R.V. mg. 'as he had appointed' refers
to Moses as the subject of the verb — ' as he had promised or agreed in
his words to Pharaoh ' in -jw. 10 f^

14 (Heb. 10). in heaps. Heb. 'heaps, heaps,' expressing either a
large number, or distribution. Cf. Jud. xv. 16, Gen. xiv. 10, Mk. vi. 40.

16 — 19. The plague of mosquitoes.

16 (Heb. 12). lice. Heb. kinnim^. Ps. cv. 31, and probably
Is. li. 6 1. The word is used in later Heb. for ' maggots ' and
especially ' lice.' But that the Mnnlm ' were not lice in the ordinary
sense of the word is shewn by their attacking beasts as well as men,
for none of these specimens of human pediculi will live and multiply
freely on animals ' (Macalister) ; moreover lice are not naturally
generated in dust. The word probably denotes ' gnats ' or mos-
quitoes. LXX cr/cvi^es.

18 (Heb. 14). See notes on v. 7 (3), vii. 22.

^ LXX irepl ToO opifffwO tQv paTpaxt^f, <«w ira^aro [ry] ^apad — 'as Ph. had
appointed.'

^ Ennaa suggests that it is a Hebraized form of an Egyptian word (ZDMQ xlvi.
p. 116, cf. 1. p. 627).

VIII. 18-24] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 51

enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not : and there P
were lice upon man, and upon beast. 19 Then the magicians
said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of God : and Pharaoh's
heart ^was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them ; as the
Lord had spoken.

20 And the Lord said unto Moses, Rise up early in the J
morning, and stand before Pharaoh ; lo, he cometh forth to
the water ; and say unto him. Thus saith the Lord, Let my
people go, that they may serve me. 21 Else, if thou wilt not
let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies upon thee,
and upon thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thy
houses : and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms
of flies, and also the ground whereon they are. 22 And I will
^ver in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell,
that no swarms of flies shall be there ; to the end thou mayest
know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth. 23 And
I will 2put a division between my people and thy people : by
to-morrow shall this sign be. 24 And the Lord did so ; and

^ Heb. was strong. ^ Or, set a sign of deliverance Heb. set redemption.

19 (Heb. 15). the finger of God. xxxi. 18, Dt. ix. 10,
Ps. viii. 3 (4), Lk. xi. 19. They recognised superhuman action, but
they did not acknowledge Yahweh.

20 — 32. The plague of^ies.

20 (Heb. 16). See note on vir 15.

21 (Heb. 17). / will send^ swarms of files, ^drohh, a collective
singular, from a root which appears to mean *to mix.' It expresses
the idea either of incessant involved motion in a dense swarm, or
more probably of a large number of varieties of insects. Vg. omne
muscarum gemis. Aq. (Ps. Ixxviii. 45) Tra/i/nt/cros.

22 (Heb. 18). sever\ ix. 4, xi. 7. r/'i--i

23 (Heb. 19). a division. This is the rendering of lxx SmotoXtj,
so Pesh. Vg. But the present Heb. text has nnj) ' a redemption.' It

should perhaps be read ^75 <a severance' or 'separation,' a subst.
connected with the verb used in v. 22 (18).

24 (Heb. 20). and into all the land of Egypt. This should be
connected with the preceding clauses^.

1 The Hiphil (causative voice) is used only of God sending famine, trouble &c.
as a punishment ; Lev. xxvi. 22, 2 K. xv. 37, Am. viii. 11, Ez. xiv. 13 f.

^ LXX irapado^aa-u, ' I will make wonderful,' confuses it with another root N?S,
with which, however, it is sometimes interchanged,

' LXX, Pesh., Sam. supply ' and ' at the beginning of the foil, clause.

4—2

52 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [viii. H-32

there came grievous swarms of flies into the house of Pharaoh, J
and into his servants' houses : and in all the land of Egypt the
land was ^corrupted by reason of the swarms of flies. 25 And
Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron, and said. Go ye, sacrifice
to your God in the land. 26 And Moses said. It is not meet so
to do ; for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to
the Lord our God : lo, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the
Egyptians before their eyes, and will they not stone us ? 27 We
will go three days' journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to
the Lord our God, as he shall command us. 28 And Pharaoh
said, I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the Lord your
God in the wilderness ; only ye shall not go very far away :
intreat for me. 29 And Moses said, Behold, I go out from thee,
and I will intreat the Lord that the swarms of flies may depart
from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, to-
morrow : only let not Pharaoh deal deceitfully any more in not
letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord. 30 And Moses
went out from Pharaoh, and intreated the Lord. 31 And the
Lord did according to the word of Moses ; and he removed the
swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his
people ; there remained not one. 32 And Pharaoh ^hardened
his heart this time also, and he did not let the people go.

^ Or, destroyed * Heb. made heavy.

corrupted ; rained : a vague expression describing the terrible
nature of the plague. Wisd. xvi. 9 understands it of the death of
the Egyptians by the bites of the flies.

26 (Heb. 22). the abomination. The word is frequently employed
to describe heathen practices which are displeasing to God ; elsewhere
Gen. xliii. 32, xlvi. 34, in both cases of people or practices displeasing
to the Egj^tians. In a Phoenician inscription ' the abomination of
Ashtoreth ' occurs with reference to the violation of a tomb ; see
Driver, Samuel, p. xxvi. The Eg3^tians religiously abstained from
sacrificing certain animals which the Israelites sacrificed freely — as the
cow, which was sacred to Isis, the bull to Apis (unless the priest
pronounced it 'pure,' i.e. free from sacred marks, and with no black
hairs), the sheep at Thebes, and goats at Mendes (Herod, ii. 38, 41 f.,
46 ; see Wiedemann, Herodots zweites Buck, 180 — 183, 187 f.). The
' abomination ' here refers to the act of sacrificing, though it is used by
metathesis for the victims.

27 (Heb. 23). The Israelites were about to become, for the first
time, united in the worship of the one God Yahweh ; and tEe^mct
methods of sacrifice to Him had not yet been laid down ; cf. x. 26.

IX. r-ir] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 63

IX. 1 Then the Lord said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh, J
and tell him, Thus saith the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, Let
my people go, that they may serve me. 2 For if thou refuse to
let them go, and wilt hold them still, 3 behold, the hand of the
Lord is upon thy cattle which is in the field, upon the horses,
upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the herds, and upon the ^\C\
flocks : there shall he a very grievous murrain. 4 And the Lord
shall sever between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt :
and there shall nothing die of all that belongeth to the children
of Israel. 5 And the Lord appointed a set time, saying, To-
morrow the Lord shall do this thing in the land. 6 And the
Lord did that thing on the morrow, and all the cattle of Egypt
died : but of the cattle of the children of Israel died not one.
7 And Pharaoh sent, and, behold, there was not so much as one
of the cattle of the Israelites dead. But the heart of Pharaoh
was ^stubborn, and he did not let the people go.

8 And the Lord said unto Moses and unto Aaron, Take to P
you handfuls of ^ashes of the furnace, and let Moses sprinkle it
toward the heaven in the sight of Pharaoh. 9 And it shall become
small dust over all the land of Egypt, and shall be a boil breaking
forth with blains upon man and upon beast, throughout all the
land of Egypt. 10 And they took ashes of the furnace, and ^
stood before Pharaoh ; and Moses sprinkled it up toward heaven ;
and it became a boil breaking forth with blains upon man and
upon beast. 11 And the magicians could not stand before Moses
because of the boils ; for the boils were upon the magicians, and

1 Heb. heavy. ^ Or, soot

IX. 1 — 12. The cattle plague and the boils.

8. ashes. The word, which occurs only in this narrative, seems
to be derived from a root denoting ' breathe,' ' exhale,' This would
imply something lighter than ashes, such as soot which could be
wafted about, or exhaled from a kiln.

of the furnace ; of a kiln for lime or pottery ; v. 10, xix. 18,
Gen. xix. 28 t.

9. a boil. A general term for ulcers and sores — the 'botch of
Egypt' (Dt. xxviii. 27, 35), the malady of Hezekiah (2 K. xx. 7
= Is. xxxviii. 21), and of Job (ii. 7). In the present case it developed
in the form of blisters or pustules, lxx IA/ct; ^XuktiScs dva^iovcrai
suggests small-pox. See art. ' Medicine ' in DB iii.

n-^-if

54 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [ix. 11-17

upon all the Egyptians. 12 And the Lord ^hardened the heart P
of Pharaoh, and he hearkened not unto them ; as the Lord had
spoken unto Moses.

13 And the Lord said unto Moses, Rise up early in the J
morning, and stand before Pharaoh, and say unto him. Thus
saith the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that
they may serve me. 14 For I will this time send all my plagues
upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people ;
that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all the
earth. 15 For now I had put forth my hand, and smitten thee
and thy people with pestilence, and thou hadst beencut off from
the earth : 16 but in very deed for this cause have I made thee
to stand, for to shew thee my power, and that my name may be
declared throughout all the earth. 17 As yet exaltest thou

^ Heb. made strong.

13 — 35. The hail and thunder storm.

14. upon thine heart. The expression is strange in parallelism
with ' servants ' and ' people,' and the text may be corrupt. Baentsch

suggests ^1 n.f?< for ^|? 7^ — 'all these my plagues upon thee' ; cf. x. 1.

16. made thee to stand, i.e. allowed thee to remain alive ^,
instead of destroying thee at once by means of the last plague. This
was for two purposes, ' to make thee see my power,' and that by a
continued succession of marvels men may ' relate my name [i.e. my
fame and greatness] in all the earth.' In Rom. ix. 17 S. Paul gives,
in two respects, a different force to the words: 1st, 'For this very
purpose I raised thee up' (i^yctpd ae^ instead of lxx Surrjprjdrjs)
expresses the thought that God called Pharaoh up as an actor on
the stage of history (cf lxx Hab. i. 6, Zech. xi. 16, Jer. xxvii. 41) ;
2nd, 'that I might shew jra thee my power' agrees with the lxx in
Exod. 'S. Paul by slightly changing the language generalizes the
statement and applies the words to the whole appearance of Pharaoh
in the field of history. Just as the career of Moses exhibits the
Divine mercy, so the career of Pharaoh exhibits the Divine severity,
and in both cases the absolute sovereignty of God is vindicated'
(Sanday and Headlam, p. 255 ; see the whole note).

17. exaltest thou thyself. The verb signifies 'to heap up' a

1 For this use of the Hiphil of the word cf. 1 K. xv. 4 (R.V. 'establish')
and for the intransitive (Kal) Ps. cii. 26 (R.V. 'endure'). Is. Ixvi. 22 (R.V.
' remain '), Jer. xxxii. 14 (R.V. ' continue ').

^ Perhaps, however, this is only S. Paul's equivalent for the Aram. nD^'*p
which occurs in the Targum in the present passage ; in which case i^iiyeipa has the
same force as the Heb. This is suggested to me by Prof. Eennett.

IX. I7-CS7] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 55

thyself against my people, that thou wilt not let them go?*/
18 Behold, to-morrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very
grievous hail, such as hath not been in Egypt since the day it
was founded even until now. | 19 Now therefore send, hasten in R'^
thy cattle and all that thou hast in the field ; for every man and
beast which shall be found in the field, and shall not be brought
home, the hail shall come down upon them, and they shall die.

20 He that feared the word of the Lord among the servants of
Pharaoh made his servants and his cattle flee into the houses :

21 and he that regarded not the word of the Lord left his
servants and his cattle in the field.

22 And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch forth thine hand E
toward heaven, that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt,
upon man, and upon beast, and upon every herb of the field,
throughout the land of Egypt. 23 And Moses stretched forth
his rod toward heaven : and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and
fire ran down unto the earth ; | and the Lord rained hail upon J
the land of Egypt. | 24 So there was hail, and fire ^mingled with E
the hail, | very grievous, such as had not been in all the land J
of Egypt since it became a nation. | 25 And the hail smote E
throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both
man and beast ; | and the hail smote every herb of the field, and J
brake every tree of the field. 26 Only in the land of Goshen,
where the children of Israel were, was there no haiL 27 And

^ Or, flashing continually amidst

highway or mound. It occurs with a moral force in Prov. iv. 8.
The reflexive form used here is found only in Ecclus. xxxix. 24, xl. 28.

22. thine hand, sc. with the rod ; see foil, verse.

24. mingled. Ez. i. 4 t- R.V. marg. expresses substantially the
force of the word, but its exact meaning is doubtful. It is a reflexive
(Hithpael) participle from a root signifying 'to take,' 'fetch' or ' carry
off".' The following explanations have been off"ered : (1) ' appearing
incessantly,' each flash as it were taking hold of the last one (Dillm.) ;
(2) ' infolding itself (Gesen. and Ez. i. 4 A.V., R.V.), i.e. a conglomerate
mass of fire ; (3) forked or zigzag lightning (A. B. Davidson). Perhaps
the nearest equivalent is darting in the midst of the hail — each
flash ' taking itself off"/ vanishing as quickly as it appeared \

^ The Greek translators were quite uncertain : lxx <p\iyil^oy (so Tg-Onk. Pesh.).
Aq. cvvava\ap.§av6fievov. Symm. e>'eiXot;/ue;'o>'.

56 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [ix. n-33

Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto J
them, I have sinned this time : the Lord is righteous, and I and
my people are wicked. 28 Intreat the Lord ; for there hath been
enough of tMse ^mighty thunderings and hail; and I will let you
go, and ye shall stay no longer. 29 And Moses said unto him,
As soon as I am gone out of the city, I will spread abroad my
hands unto the Lord ; the thunders shall cease, neither shall
there be any more hail ; that thou mayest know that the earth is
the Lord's. 30 But as for thee and thy servants, I know that
ye will not ^^ fear the Lord God. 31 And the flax and the
barley were smitten : for the barley was in the ear, and the flax
^was boiled. 32 But the wheat and the spelt were not smitten:
for they were not grown up. 33 And Moses went out of the city
from Pharaoh, and spread abroad his hands unto the Lord : and
the thunders and hail ceased, and the rain was not poured upon

^ Heb. voices (or thunderings) of God. ^ Or, was in bloom

27. Pharaoh is in no sense penitent ; he only feels that he has
gone one step too far in defying the power of a foreign deity, and
he must propitiate him by declaring himself and his people beaten.
Yahweh is the righteous one— i.e. He has vindicated His power,
and I and my people are the wicked ones — i.e. we have been proved
to be the weakest.

30. Yahweh God. An uncommon expression ; in the Hexateuch
it occurs only in Gen. ii. 4 h — iii. 24. lxx omits Yahweh.

31, 32. These w. assign the plague to a point of time about the
middle of January ; see p. 45.

flax. Only here used of the growing plant. Flax in Egypt flowers
in February or esirly in March.

barley took the place occupied by oats in Europe and America;
it was employed to make a coarse bread eaten by the poor (Jud. vii. 13,
2 K. iv. 42, Jn. vi. 9), and the chopped stalks formed provender for
beasts (1 K. iv. 28). Barley harvest in Egypt began early in March
or at the end of Februaiy. In Palestine it was later.

was in the ear. Lit. * was ear ' (abtb), Lev. ii. 14. See on xiii. 4.

was boiled ; was in bud. Lit. 'was bud' (gibh'dl). See W. R. Smith,
Journal qf Phil. xii. 299 f. ' The English word boll (originally some-
thing swollen) is a seed vessel, a pod ; hence ' was boiled ' (= * was in
seed') expresses a further stage of growth than the Heb. warrants'
(Hastings, BB i. 310).

spelt. Is. xxviii. 25, Ez. iv. 9 t. A.V. ' rye ' ; but rye is not sown
in Bible lands. The kussemeth was a plant somewhat similar to the
lentil. Jerome vicia, i.e. vetch, which is probably the best rendering.

were not grown up. Heb. 'were concealed,' i.e. beneath the soil.

IX. 33-x. 6] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 57

the earth- 34 And when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the J
hail and the thunders were ceased, he sinned yet more, and
^hardened his heart, he and his servants. | 35 And the heart oi E
Pharaoh ^was hardened, and he did not let the children of Israel
go ; as the Lord had spoken by Moses.

X. 1 And the Lord said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh : | J
for I have hardened his heart, and the heart of his servants, R^
that I might shew these my signs in the midst of them : 2 and
that thou mayest tell in the ears of thy son, and of thy son's son,
^what things I have wrought upon Egypt, and my signs which I
have done among them ; that ye may know that I am the Lord. |
3 And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and said unto J
him. Thus saith the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, How long
wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before me ? let my people go,
that they may serve me. 4 Else, if thou refuse to let my people
go, behold, to-morrow will I bring locusts into thy border :
5 and they shall cover the face of the earth, that one shall
not be able to see the earth : and they shall eat the residue
of that which is escaped, which remaineth unto you from
the hail, and shall eat every tree which groweth for you out
of the field : 6 and thy houses shall be filled, and the houses of
all thy servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians ; as neither
thy fathers nor thy fathers' fathers have seen, since the day that
they were upon the earth unto this day. And he turned, and

^ Heb. made heavy. ^ Heb. was strong.

' Or, how I have mocked the Egyptians

X. 1 — 20. The plague of lociisfs.

2. that thou mayest tell. The singular refers not to Moses but to
all Israel, in the style of Deuteronomy, where ' thou ' and * ye ' are (as
here) used interchangeably.

what things I have wrought upon ; how I have made a toy of.
The word denotes ' to occupy or divert oneself by wanton or ruthless
treatment of another.' It is an anthropomorphism which is not con-|
sonant with the higher Christian conceptions of God. Num. xxii. 29, »
Jud. xix. 25, 1 S. vi. 6, xxxi. 4=1 Chr. x. 4, Jer. xxxviii. 19 f.

4. locusts. Heb. 'arheh; the commonest of the nine words
employed in the O.T. to denote various species of the locust type ;
it is derived from a root signifying 'to multiply.' See Driver, Joel
and Amos, Excursus on locusts, pp. 82 flf.

68 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [x. 6-12

went out from '.Pharaoh. 7 And Pharaoh's servants said unto J
him, How long shall this man be a snare unto us ? let the men
go, that they may serve the Lord their God : knowest thou not
yet that Egypt is destroyed? 8 And Moses and Aaron were
brought again unto Pharaoh : and he said unto them, Go, serve
the Lord your God : but who are they that shall go ? 9 And
Moses said. We will go with our young and with our old, with
our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our
herds will we go ; for we must hold a feast unto the Lord.
10 And he said unto them, So be the Lord with you, as I will
let you go, and your little ones : look to it ; for evil is ^before
you. 11 Not so : go now ye that are men, and serve the Lord ;
for that is what ye desire. And they were driven out from
Pharaoh's presence.

12 And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand B
over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come up
upon the land of Egypt, and eat every herb of the land, even all

1 Or, what ye purpose Heb. before your face.

7. a snare. An instrument of destruction. The Egyptians felt
themselves as helpless as birds in Moses' hands.

let the men go. The expression is perhaps contemptuous ; or it is
merely equivalent to the pronoun ' them ' ; it can hardly mean ' men '
as distinct from women and children, for a different word (jfbhdrim)
is employed for that, m v. 11.

8. who are they. The Heb. ' who and who ' is expressive, implying
that he expected an answer naming certain selected individuals.

10. so he Yahweh...&c, It is a sarcastic exclamation, wishing
for Yahweh's blessing upon them in proportion to the probabihty of
his letting them go.

and yov/r little ones. Apparently an expression which included the
wives and other women in their families. Cf Gen. xliii. 8.

efdl is before you, i.e. ye have an evil purpose in view, in making
this demand.

11. Pharaoh supposed that for offering a sacrifice, only men could
be required ; and since that which they desired was to ' serve (perform
a service to) Yahweh,' they might do so. The retention of their
wives, children and animals would of course ensure their return to
Egypt.

12. Jor the locusts. Heb. ' with the locust ' is difficult. Perhaps
read n|'}Nn N3ni, 'and bring the locust^.'

1 Lxx ;ca2 dj/a/Sijrw dxp/s, as though n|")N NITI , which is also possible.

X. I.-22] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 69

that the hail hath left. 13 And Moses stretched forth his rod E
over the land of Egypt, | and the Lord brought an east wind J
upon the land all that day, and all the night ; and when it was
morning, the east wind brought the locusts. | 14 And the locusts E
went up over all the land of Egypt, | and rested in all the borders J
of Egypt ; very grievous were they ; before them there were no
such locusts as they, neither after them shall be such. 15 For
they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was
darkened ; | and they did eat every herb of the land, and all the E
fruit of the trees which the hail had left : | and there remained J
not any green thing, either tree or herb of the field, through all
the land of Egypt. 16 Then Pharaoh called for Moses and
Aaron in haste ; and he said, I have sinned against the Lord your
God, and against you, 17 Now therefore forgive, I pray thee,
my sin only this once, and intreat the Lord your God, that he
may take away from me this death only. 18 And he went out
from Pharaoh, and intreated the Lord. 19 And the Lord turned
an exceeding strong west wind, which took up the locusts, and
drove them into the Red Sea ; there remained not one locust in
all the border of Egypt. | 20 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's E
heart, and he did not let the children of Israel go.

21 And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand
toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of
Eg5Tpt, ^even darkness which may be felt. 22 And Moses

^ Heb. made strong. ^ Or, bo that men shall grope in darkness

13. A wind is mentioned as Yahweh's instrument in xiv. 21,
Num. xi. 31 (both J).

had brought the locusts. When they awoke in the morning, they
found the land already covered with them.

19. Swarms of locusts driven into the sea have frequently been
noticed ; cf. Pliny xi. 35, ' gregatim sublatae vento in maria aut
stagna decidunt'; and see Joel ii. 20 with Driver's note.

JRed Sea. See on xiii. 18.

21—29. The darkness.

21. even darkness which may he felt. Lit. ' so that one may feel
darkness.' The English word ' feel ' can be applied to any kind of
sensation, but the Heb. word denotes ' to feel with groping hands '
(cf Gen. xxvii. 12, xxxi. 34, 37, Dt. xxviii. 29). The text and the
margin both contain part of the idea, which is well expressed by the
Lxx il/r]\a<f>rp-ov cr kotos. Cf Milton, Par. Lost, i. 63, ' No light, but
rather darkness visible.'

60 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [x. «-xi. r

stretched forth his hand toward heaven ; and there was a thick E
darkness in all the land of Egypt three days ; 23 they saw not one
another, neither rose any from his place for three days : but all
the children of Israel had light in their dwellings. | 24 And J"
Pharaoh called unto Moses, and said, Go ye, serve the Lord ;
only let your flocks and your herds be stayed : let your little ones
also go with you. 25 And Moses said, Thou must also give
into our hand sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice
unto the Lord our God. 26 Our cattle also shall go with us ;
there shall not an hoof be left behind ; for thereof must we take
to serve the Lord our God ; and we know not with what we
must serve the Lord, until we come thither. | 27 But the Lord E
^hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let them go. |
28 And Pharaoh said unto him, Get thee from me, take heed J
to thyself, see my face no more ; for in the day thou seest my
face thou shalt die. 29 And Moses said. Thou hast spoken
well ; I will see thy face again no more.

XI. 1 And the Lord said unto Moses, Yet one plague more E

^ Heb. made strong.

On the account of this plague is based the remarkable description
in Wisd. xvii.

22. thick darkness, lxx o-kotos yvo«^os ^v'eXXa, which accords
well with the suggestion that the darkness was due to the hamsin
wind ; see p. 46.

25. It is nowhere stated that Pharaoh gave them animals, but
his words ' bless me also ' (xii. 32) may imply that he did something to
propitiate Moses' God.

sacrifices and burnt offerings. See on xx. 24.

that we may sacrifice. Heb. ' do ' or ' make.' The word originally
denoted 'to prepare' or 'provide' the victim (1 K. xviii. 23, 25 f),
and then 'to make' an offering. It also acquired the meaning 'to
observe' or 'celebrate' a festival — xxxi. 16 (Sabbath), xxxiv. 22,
Dt. xvi. 10 (F. of Weeks), 13 (F. of Booths). The Greek equivalent,
TToieiv, appears with the latter meaning in Matt. xxvi. 18.

29. The scene is continued in xi. 4 — 8, in which Moses gives his
final warning before leaving Pharaoh's presence for the last time ;
see p. xvii.

Chapter XI.

Preparations for departure. The warning of the last plague.

XI. 1. when he shall let you go &c. The punctuation adopted
in the margin is preferable \

1 The text, however, is doubtful, the adverbial use of the subst. TvPH ia difficult

' T T

(occurring only in Gen. xviii. 21, where the text is similarly questionable). Perhaps

XL i-io] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 61

will I bring upon Pharaoh, and upon Egypt ; afterwards he will E
let you go hence : ^when he shall let you go, he shall surely
thrust you out hence altogether. 2 Speak now in the ears of
the people, and let them ask every man of his neighbour, and
every woman of her neighbour, jewels of silver, and jewels of
gold. 3 And the Lord gave the people favour in the sight
of the Egyptians. Moreover the man Moses was very great
in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh's servants,
and in the sight of the people.

4 And Moses said, Thus saith the Lord, About midnight J
will I go out into the midst of Egypt : 5 and all the firstborn
in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh
that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the
maidservant that is behind the mill ; and all the firstborn of
cattle. 6 And there shall be a great cry throughout all the
land of Egypt, such as there hath been none like it, nor shall
be like it any more. 7 But against any of the children of
Israel shall not a dog ^move his tongue, against man or beast :
that ye may know how that the Lord doth put a difference
between the Egyptians and Israel 8 And all these thy servants
shall come down unto me, and bow down themselves unto me,
saying. Get thee out, and all the people that follow thee : and
after that I will go out. And he went out from Pharaoh in
hot anger.

9 And the Lord said unto Moses, Pharaoh will not hearken R^^
unto you : that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of
Egypt. 10 And Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before
Pharaoh : and the Lord ^hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he did
not let the children of Israel go out of his land.

* Or, when he shall let you go altogether, he shall utterly thrust you out hence
^ Heb. whet. ^ Heb. made strong.

3. the man Moses. Cf. Num. xii. 3 (E). ^

7. move. Heb. 'sharpen,' 'whet' (as marg,). Jos. x. 21.

read nj>'2 with the same meaning, or !D3p3, 'all of you,' as suggested by Pesh.
(lxx ciy raPTl).

62 THE BOOK OF EXODUS

Chapter XII.^— XIII. 16.

The Passover; the Festival of Unleavened Cakes;
the last plague a/nd the Exodus.

This section is of importance as illustrating the manner in which not a few
of the traditions of the Hebrews reached their present form. It is noticeable
that there is no trace of E's handiwork in the regulations which it contains.
It can with confidence be assigned — apart from Deuteronomic additions — to
J and P. E has preserved no record of the Passover.^ With regard to the
P. of Unleavened Cakes_(JI/a?|;o<^), and the dedication of firstborn and first-
lings, E has regulations in xxii. 29 f. [xxiii. 18 i.\ but gives no hint that either
observance was connected with the Exodus ; they simply form a part of the
i legislation at Horeb. It is probable that the Passover was a primitive
celebration, dating from a period earlier than Moses (see below), as did
also the custom of dedicating firstborn and firstlings ; and, on the other
hand, that the P. of Mazzoth and the dedication of firstfruits belong to
the time after the Israelites had entered Canaan. If E had been preserved
alone, there would be nothing to conflict with this view. But the religious
teachers whose work is represented in J struck out a new Une of thought.
As they meditated on the great story of the Exodus, and recalled each
detail with pious thankfulness, there seemed to oflFer themselves certain
points of comparison between the religious customs of their day and the
events which formed the wonderful crisis in the history of their nation.
fThe primitive ceremony by which their early ancestors used to propitiate
\ God was coupled in their minds with the chiefest of all occasions on which
I Yahweh shewed His mercy, in sparing the firstborn of their race when
He poured His wrath upon the firstborn and firstUngs of the Egyptians.
The custom of dedicating firstborn and firstlings recalled, in a striking manner,
the same event. (Note that the offering of firstfruits, which in xxii. 29 f ,
xxiii 18 £ is closely coupled with the offering of firstborn and firstUngs,
offered no parallelism with the Exodus, and does not appear in chs. xii., xiii.)
And once more : in meditating on the meaning and possible origin of the
* P. of Mazzoth, they remembered that at the same great historical crisis their
i forefathers were obliged to depart from Egypt in such haste that they could
not leaven their dough. Prom these imaginative parallels it was but a step,
as years went on, to connect the three religious customs expUcitly with the
narrative of the Exodus : and when men's sons asked them from time to time
What mean ye by this service ? the answers were gradually formed which now
appear in the chapters before us.

The Passover.

The history and meaning of the Passover must be studied under two quite
distinct aspects — (1) its significance to Israel during the period covered by our
written records, (2) its probable origin and primitive significance.

^ In an interesting article in the JQR (vol. v. 420 — 468) Dr Biichler deals with
the triennial arrangement of the ancient Jewish lectionary. Ex. xii. was read at
the beginning of the second year's course.

THE PASSOVER 63

1. It is dealt with in the following passages of the O.T. : Ex. xii. 21 — 27
(J for the most part), xxxiv. 25 (J), Dt. xvi. 1 — 8, Lev. xxiii. 5 (H), Bx. xii.
1—13, 43—49, Num. ix. 1—14, xxviii. 16, Jos. v. 10 (all P), Ez. xlr. 21—25,
2 K. xxiii. 21—23, 2 Chr. xxx., xxxv. 1—9, Ezr. vi. 19 f.

E, as has been said above, has no reference to it ; Ex. xxiii. 18 probably
refers not to the Passover but to animal sacrifices in general.

In Ex. xxxiv. 25 the Passover is called a hag^ or pilgrimage — the word
being otherwise confined with few exceptions^ to the three annual pilgrimages,
P. of Mazzoth, F. of Weeks and F. of Ingathering. This has led many
writers to think that ' the Passover ' is a later insertion, applying specifically
to the great and unique festival the general injxmction of xxiii. 18, and
dating from a time when the Passover and the F. of Mazzoth had become
blended into one festival, as is the case in Dt. This supposition is very
probably correct, although the designation of the Passover as a hag seems
to date from very primitive days (see below). The passage, as it stands, lays
down that in the Passover, as in other animal sacrifices, every care must be
taken to avoid putrefaction, either in the flesh, or (in the form of leaven) in
the bread which was eaten at the sacrificial meal.

In xii. 21 f. the victims are animals from the flock {^dn\ which would
include goats as well as sheep ; and nothing is said as to age or sex. The
pouring out of the animal's blood is taken for granted. A bunch of hyssop is
to be dipped in the blood which is in the bason, and smeared on the door-
posts and lintel, in order that the destroyer may not enter the house, but that
when Yahweh passes through {^dbhar) to destroy the firstborn of Egypt, He
may pass by {pdsal} ^al) the houses marked with blood. The eating of the i
flesh is taken for granted, the whole emphasis being laid on the blood t
ceremony. The hour of the ceremony is not stated, but 22 b implies that it
is in the evening.

In Dt. (xvi. 1 — 8) a great change has come over the festival. It is to be
observed in the month Abib as a memorial of the deliverance from Egypt.
It appears to be blended with the F. of Mazzoth, forming a seven days'
festival. The flesh is to be 'boiled 2' (a word which, however, may merely mean
' cooked ' as opposed to raw ; see Driver), and eaten with unleavened cakes,
' even the bread of affliction,' as a memorial of the 'trepidation' with which the
Israelites left Egypt. Above all, the celebration loses its domestic character ;
nothing is said of the door-post ceremony, and the animals are to be killed
only at the one central sanctuary, in the evening, the time of the departure
from Egypt.

In Ez. xlv. 21 — 25 the Passover is blended, as in Dt., with the F. of Mazzoth,
forming a seven days' festival. There is no statement as to the kind of animal
that is to be offered, and no mention of any private celebration. It is part of
the prophet's ideal scheme for the restored nation, a sacrifice offered by ' the
prince ' for himself and the community.

In the 'Law of Holiness' (Lev. xxiii. 5), which has close affinities with

^ Ex. xxxii. 5, Jud. xxi. 19 (if this was not the F. of Ingathering), 1 K. xii. 32 f.
2 Boiling appears to have oeen the usual method of cooking sacrificial flesh
down to the exile (cf. 1 Sam. ii. 13 f., Ez. xlvi. 19—24).

64 THE BOOK OF EXODUS

Ezekiel (see LOT^ 147 ff.), the Passover is merely enumerated with the other
feasts, and is stated to be the opening feast of the year, held in the evening of
the 14th day of the first montL

Jn P (Ex. xii. 1 — 13, 43—49) is reached the final stage in the elaboration of
the festival, where it again becomes a home celebration. The ordinances of
J, with the exception of the hyssop and the bason, are incorporated, but with
numerous additions ; and the whole reads like an attempt to produce an ideal
scheme, based upon ancient material. The new^details are as follows : the
animal (sheep or goat) is to be a year old, and perfect; it is to be selected on
the 10th day of the first month and guarded ; more than one family may unite
to make a sufiicient number to consume the animal at one meal ; it may not be
eaten raw or boiled \ but it must be roasted, and kept entire — head, legs and
inwards; it is to be eaten with bitter herbs (as in Dt); all remnants must be
burnt the same night; the people must eat it with staves in their hands and
girded and shod as though ready for a journey 2. The command, in 43 — 49, that
only the circumcised may eat it, emphasizes the idea of a covenant between God
and His people. In Num. ix. 1 — 14 an additional law is laid down, that those
who are ceremonially unclean, or who are absent on a jouraey, may eat it one
month later, i.e. on the 14th day of the second month ; and a threat is added
(which is absent from Ex. xii.) that anyone who is neither unclean nor on a
journey, and who fails to obseiTe the festival, ' shall be cut off from his people.'
(On this expression see Gray, in loc.)

The passages cited above from Jos., 2 K., 2 Chr., Ezra relate instances of
the celebration of the Passover. In the prophets, except Ezekiel, there are no
certain references to the festival; possible allusions occur in Hos. xii. 9 (10),
Is. XXX. 29, but both are doubtful.

The later details of the Passover, ^uch as obtained in actual practice in
N.T. times, varied considerably from those found in the O.T. In one important
particular they conformed more closely to Dt than to P, the sacrificial
character of the rite at the one sanctuary again coming into prominence.
The chief authorities for this period are Mishna, Pesahim, Jubilees ch. xlix.
See Edersheim, The Temple, its Ministry and Services, and articles in DB,
Enc. Bibl. and Enc. Brit.

2. The religious historians of the Hebrews connected the Passover with
the Exodus. But there are indications that its origin lay behind the Exodus
in a far-oflf past. And though we here enter upon a region of inference and
deduction, a truer and larger view will be gained of God's methods in dealing
with His people when it is seen that the Passover was a primitive institution,
engrained in the earlier life of Israel, and that their religious geniiis, by Divine
inspiration, took it up and transformed it into something greater and
deeper.

It is noticeable that in xii. 21 'the Passover' is abruptly introduced as
something already well known; and that the Israelites had repeatedly asked

^ See preceding footnote.

* This need not imply that they were to eat it standing. There is no command
to that effect in the O.T., and in our Lord's time those who partook of the feast
reclined as at an ordinary meal.

THE PASSOVER 65

permission from Pharaoh to separate themselves three days' journey, for the
purpose of holding a pilgrimage and of oflFering sacrifice (iii. 18, v. 1, vii. 16,.
viii 27, X. 9). It woidd seem, therefore, that they made an annual festival,!
which had come down to them from their fathers, the reason — or thej
ostensible reason — for leaving Egypt. Moreover Pharaoh does not appear to '
have seen anything strange in the request ; he merely refused to grant it. If,
then, the Passover was a very early nomad institution, the original meaning of
it must be sought partly from the ritual details, and partly from the customs
of Arabian nomads of the present day, who are very tenacious of ancient
traditions and habits.

The navne is unfortimately of little help. Its Heb. form is pesah. In
xii. 13, 23, 27 a verb (pdsah) is employed, apparently with the meaning 'to
pass,' followed by the preposition 'al, ' over ' or ' by.' This verb is found else-
where only in Is. xxxi. 5 — ' as flying birds so will Yahweh of Hosts shield
Jerusalem, shielding and delivering, passing (HiDS) and rescuing.' In these
passages the rendering 'to spare' would be appropriate. But that that would
be a secondary, and not the primary, significance is probably shewn by the
pr. name Tiphsah (1 K. iv. 24 [v, 4]), the Greek Thapsacus, — if the town, which
stood upon the Euphrates, was so named because it stood by a ford ^ where the
river could be passed over.

On the other hand a root formed of the same letters frequently connotes
'lameness ' or 'limping.' The adjective pisseah (HDS) 'lame' is fairly common,
and the verb is found three times in the O.T. : 2 S, iv. 4 (R.V. ' became lame'),
1 K. xviii. 21 ('halt'), and v. 26 ('leaped,' better 'limped' mg.). The latter
passage describes the limping movement of the priests as they danced round
the altar. It is possible, but somewhat unlikely, that the meaning ' pass over '
was derived through the thought of 'leaping' from that of 'limping.' It is
safer to treat the two roots as distinct.

It is, however, far from improbable that the name pesah is a corruption of
an earlier word from a diflferent root. It might, for instance, have been
originally connected with the Ass. pasdhu, ' to progitiate ' or, perhaps better,
' to be propitiated ' or ' soothed.' If this Ass. root were preserved in Heb. only
in the primitive name of the festival, the original meaning might easily be lost,
and the word become assimilated in sound to the well-known pdsaJjt,, ' to Ump,'
which was used for a sacred dance. The substantive having taken the form
pesah, the corresponding verb in Ex. xii. could be coined to represent the
current ideas of the festival, and thence be used in Is. xxxi. 5. But this is of
course conjectural, and no safe conclusions as to the meaning of pesah can be
drawn from its derivation.

In early Semitic rehgion the thought which dominated all acts of
worship was the desire to remain on good terms with the tribal deity (see
W. R Smith, RS^ 254 — 265) ; and it may safely be assumed that if the Passover
was a primitive custom, this must have been its raison d'etre. Again, all the
evidence tends to shew that it was celebrated in the spring. And this finds

1 Lagarde, however, doubts this (Bild. d. Nom. 131), and it cannot be regarded
as certain.

M. 5

66 THE BOOK OF EXODUS

parallels in many other nations. Wellhausen {Proleg. 94 f.) and W. R. Smith
{RS^ 227 f., 465) compare it with the annual Arabian sacrifices {^atdir) in the
month Bajab. The 'atdir would form a still closer parallel to the Passover if
it were certain that they were identical with the fara^ (firstUngs), but this is
doubtful. Moore (Enc. B. 4186) refers to spring sacrifices among the Syrians
at Hierapolis and Harran, and to the sacredness of the month Nisan as
evidenced by Nabataean and Palmyrene inscriptions. Thus the object of the
rite appears to have been that the worshippers might ensure the friendliness
and favour of the tribal deity at the important period when nature was
reviving, animals were being born, and man looked forward to a fresh year full
of unknown possibilities of success or misfortune.

But as to the method by which the rite obtained the favour of the deity,
and the results which were expected to be gained by it, there is a wide
divergence of opinion. Each line of treatment starts from some feature in
the celebration as recorded in the O.T. The following are the principal
suggestions :

1. The Passover was the sacrifice of the firstborn. The dedication of
the firstborn is closely connected with it in Ex. xiii. 11 ff., Dt. xv. 19, xvi. 1 — 8.
This alone, it is said, explains the last plague ; because Pharaoh prevented the
Israelites from offering their firstlings, Yahweh took from the Egyptians their
firstborn. And for this explanation, which is adopted by a large number of
modern writers, there is much to be said. It is true that the offering of
firstlings was in no sense considered as a compulsory tribute due to Yahweh ;
among the Arabian nomads no tribute is ever paid by a tribe either to its own
chief or to its God (see RS^ 458 — 462). The sacrifice of an animal was never
a mere gift to the deity ; it always carried with it a sacred meal, in which the
deity partook of certain portions of the animal — the blood and the intestinal
fat — and the worshippers the remainder. In ancient days animals were never
slaughtered except for sacrifice, and conversely no animal sacrifice was offered
except for the purpose of a meal in which the deity and the worshippers
shared. When the Hebrews settled down to agricultural life in Canaan, the
custom arose (perhaps learnt from the Canaanites) of offering the firstfruits
of the crop ; and this offering hardened into a regular impost or tribute which
was handed over to the deity or his priests, and in which the worshipper had
no shared The reason for the choice of firstlings, in preference to other
animals, as the spring offering, is explained by W. R. Smith {RS^ 463 ff.) to be
due to the peculiar holiness attaching to the firstborn of men or animals.
'Neither in the case of children, nor in that of cattle, did the congenital
holiness of the firstborn originally imply that they must be sacrificed or given
to the deity on the altar, but only that if sacrifice was to be made they were
the best and fittest, because the holiest, victims.'

2. But the slaughter of firstlings at the vernal equinox for a sacred feast
with the deity does not exhaust the significance of the Passover rite, because
it takes no account of the unique ceremony of smearing the door-posts and
lintel with blood. It has been suggested that this was for the purpose of

^ The suggestion is quite improbable that the offering of firstlings was a later
extension of the practice of offering firstfruits (Benzinger, Enc. B. 3594).

THE PASSOVER 67

bringing the worshippers into such close relations with the deity by a blood
covenant, that no plague or pestilence might attack their dwellings; see
T. 3 &, and Jubil. xlix. 15 : 'and no plague shall come upon them in this year
to kill and destroy them, if they observe the Passover at its season according
to its ordinance.' Thus, that which in primitive days was intended as a
precaution against all plagues becomes in the Exodus narrative (xii. 23 h) a
precaution against the particular plague directed against the firstborn. This
is adopted by Kayser-Marti, AT. TlieoU 37 f., and in Enc. B. by Benzinger.
The idea embodied in the door-post ceremony is thus similar to that un-
derlying the sacrificial feast — the desire to gain the favour of the deity ; but
the object is more definite— to keep away plague from the houses or tents.
See also the third note in the Addenda.

3. Others see a piacular or atoning value in the blood ceremony, involving
the thought of pm-ification from past oflFences against the deity. Ewald and
Dillmann point to the fact that hyssop is employed elsewhere in connexion
with ceremonies of purification (Lev. xiv. 6, 49 ff.. Num. xix. 6 ; cf. Ps. li. 7 (9)).
But it is open to question whether this does not imply too advanced a stage of
religious thought to allow of its being regarded as the original idea of the
ceremony.

It is perhaps impossible to decide which features in the rite were absolutely
the earliest. The feast in which deity and worshippers partake, and the
marking of the door-posts or tent-i)oles with blood as a precaution against
plague, are both entirely in accord with primitive Semitic custom. All that
can be said is that by the time the Israelites were in Egypt, the Passover
ceremonies had come to include both ; and perhaps also they had by that
time been invested with a piacular value.

An ingenious explanation of a diflferent kind is oflFered by Trumbull {The
Threshold Covenant, 203 flf.). He collects instances which shew that among
many peoples an animal is sacrificed, and its blood shed upon the threshold
and smeared upon the door-posts, as a welcome to a specially honoured guest,
or to a bride and bridegroom in marriage. This he claims to be the only
explanation which takes account of the word pesah and the verb pasafy.
He also points out that saph can denote not only a bason, but also a threshold
(cf. 2 K. xii. 9 (10) and freq.), whether as hollowed out by the tread of feet, or
(as he thinks) purposely, to form a receptacle for blood. According to this
view, Yahweh did not 'pass over' the houses marked with blood, but as an
honoured Guest 'crossed over' the threshold. Trumbull presses the idea in
somewhat fanciful detail, suggesting that Yahweh crossed the threshold as
the Bridegroom, and was thus married to His people. But if the thought could
be retained of the Guest entering the house in order to partake of the
covenant feast, and thereby preventing the entrance of the destroyer, it would
be an illuminating explanation of the ceremony. This attractive theory,
however, cannot be regarded as established. Tnimbull gives no instances of
the performance of the threshold ceremony for an invisible, divine Guest.
And in any case his view is entirely dei)endent upon a narrowly defined
meaning of the doubtful verb pdsah.

No study of the Passover would be complete which did not take account
of S. Paul's words in 1 Cor. v. 7, ' our paschal Victim also hath been slain, even

5—2

68 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xii. 1-4

Christ.' This is not the place to work out the thought in detail. But it is
one of the fundamental factors in the growth of Christianity out of the
Hebrew germ that in the highest act of Christian worship all the main features
in the Passover are taken up and receive their full and eternal significance.
The Firstborn, the chosen ' Lamb of God,' without blemish, slain once for all,
is continually offered; the feast is continually spread through which the
faithful partaker enters anew into vital union with God ; and the atoning
virtue of ' the Blood of the Lamb ' is continually effectual for the salvation of
every heart upon which it is sprinkled.

XII. 1 And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron in the P
land of Egypt, saying, 2 This month shall be unto you the
beginning of months : it shall be the first month of the year to
you. 3 Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying,
In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every
man a ^lamb, according to their fathers' houses, a lamb for an
household : 4 and if the household be too little for a lamb,

1 Or, Ud

XII. 1—13. ThePasswer.

2. This month. The word hodesh denotes primarily the 'new
moon,' by which the months were reckoned : and in other Semitic
languages this meaning is retained. It was an innovation of the
Hebrews to use it as equivalent to yerah, 'month.'

the beginning of months. The Hebrews had two methods of
reckoning the year. According to one method the year began in
the autumn, at the close of the harvest. The harvest festival is
placed 'at the going out of the year' (xxiii. 16 E), and 'at the
revolution of the year ' (xxxiv. 22 J). But the stages in the harvest
being the dominant interest to an agricultural people, the year was
felt to enter upon a fresh beginning when the first ripe ears of com
appeared. And thus the first day of the month of the fresh ears
('dblb) was in some sense a New Year's day. That this practice was
in existence before the exile is implied by the use of the expression
■ ' the return of the year ' (2 S. xi. 1, 1 K. xx. 22, 26) for the time when
royal campaigns could be resumed — i.e. the spring. After the exile
the autumn era, owing to Babylonian influence, was abandoned, and
the change to the spring era was complete. Thus throughout P, the
month Abib (March — April) is 'the beginning of months.' The
Babylonian name Nisan was adopted in post-exilic times, as being
practically equivalent to Abib. Neh. ii. 1, Est. iii. 7. See further
on xiii. 4.

3. a lamb. The actual word here used (seh) is the general term
for a sheep or goat (not ' kid ' mg.), though v. 5 shews that a young
animal is meant. The distinctive term for ' lamb ' (kebhes) occurs in
V. 5b (KV. 'sheep'), xxix. 38 ff.

4. According to later custom, ten persons was the required
minimum (Jos. BJ vi. ix. 3).

XII. 4-8] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 69

then shall he and his neighbour next unto his house take one P
according to the number of the souls ; according to every
man's eating ye shall make your count for the lamb. 5 Your
lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year : ye
shall take it from the sheep, or from the goats : 6 and ye shall
keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month : and
the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it
^at even. 7 And they shall take of the blood, and put it
on the two side posts and on the lintel, upon the houses
wherein they shall eat it. 8 And they shall eat the flesh in

^ Heb. between the two evenings.

every man's eating. Women and children, for example, would
require less than grown men ; cf. xvi. 18.

5. without blemish ; perfect. See the general sacrificial regula-
tions in Lev. xxii. 17 — 25.

a male. As in the case of a burnt-off"ering, Lev. i. 3, 10. For a
sin- or thank-offering either sex might be used.

of the first year ; a year old, i.e. an animal that had been born
the previous spring. Contrast the regulation for the off'ering of the
firstborn (xxii. 30 (29) E) and the late specific regulation for offerings
by fire (Lev. 'xxii. 27). D7 a*}^ •? V ^

6. ye shall keep it up ; it shall be kept (or guarded) by you.

at even. The Heb. word is dual in form, which gives rise toU;he
marg. rendering ; and the writer seems to shew that he so understood
it by his use of the preposition ' between.' The expression is explained
by Dillmann and others to mean within the space of time froirL an
hour before sunset to an hour after it. But it is probable thai the
form ^arbayim (like 'ifrushalayim (Jerusalem), zoh°rayim (mid-day),
and others; is only an extended form of a sing, 'arbdm. I» Ilev.
xxiii. 5 LXX has ava fiicrov Twv kcnnpiviav^, but elsewher^^rrpos ccTTrepav
(here, xvi. 12, Num. ix. 3, 11, xxviii. 4, 8), or to SeiXivov (E:^'xxix, 39,
41). The meaning is, therefore, * within, t.Hfe ^period fi-om; suuilgt to f
darij,' as it was understood by the Samaiitans, Karaites an3~Saifliuiees. :
(^the other hand the Ph^risjges and the Talm^dists held it to derftte ^
from the^}i(;)nr of tl^e ij^nn's ^P-^'-bjift jintil jts setting, (cf. Jos BJ. VI.
ix. 3, Pesah. v. 1, Jubil. xlix.).

7. The door represented the whole house (cf. xxi. 6), as a gate
represented the whole city (1 K. viii. 37).

8. unleavened cakes. Heb. mazzoth ; flat circular cakes about
an inch thick and a span in diameter. Leaven was a symbol of
corruption (see Mat. xvi. 6, Mk. viii. 15, Lk. xii. 1, 1 Cor. v. 6ff.).
This idea is also found in classical writers ; cf the use of fermentum,

^ The bald literalness of the rendering suggests that Aquila's rendering has
found its way into the Lxx. In Num. ix. 5, where lxx does not contain the
expression, this rendering is supplied in one ms. See Field, Hexapla.

70 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xii. 8-n

that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread ; with bitter P
herbs they shall eat it. 9 Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all
with water, but roast with fire ; its head with its legs and
with the inwards thereof. 10 And ye shall let nothing of it
remain until the morning ; but that which remaineth of it until
the morning ye shall burn with fire. 11 And thus shall ye eat

Persius i. 24. The prohibition of leaven was probably derived from
very early ritual custom.

Mazzoth were also required with the ritual of the 'peace-offering '
(Lev. ii. 4f, vii. 12), with the 'peace-offering' of a Nazirite (Num.
vi. 15, 17, 19), and at the consecration of priests (Ex. xxix. 2, 23,
Lev. viii. 2, 26). In Lev. ii. 11 it is laid down that no meal-offering
may be made by burning leaven or honey.

hitter Iwrbs. lxx TriKpiSes. Pliny (xix. 38) describes the picris as
a very bitter kind of lettuce ; Vg. lactuca agrestis. Others iak& it to
be the wild endive (cichorium). Both plants are indigenous in Egypt
and Syria, appearing in^lSTarch — April. Pesahim ii. 6 allows the use
of five different herbs, of which these are two.

9. raw. The object of the prohibition was to prevent the eating
of the blood (Gen. ix. 4, Lev. vii. 26 f, xvii. ll£). The blood being
regarded as the seat of the vital principle or the soul {nephesh), it was
too sacred and mysterious to be used as human food ; it must be
offered to God before the flesh could be eaten. In early times when
all slaughter was for the purpose of sacrifice this dedication of the
blood was a matter of course ; see 1 S. xiv. 32, 34. But when the Dt.
legislation confined all worship to the central sanctuary, and slaughter
was necessarily authorised for domestic purposes, it was still expressly
enacted that the blood of the animal should be allowed to flow away.
See Dt. xii. 15 f , and Driver's note ; W. R. Smith, RS"" 234 f ,
OTJC 249 f

sodden, i.e. boiled. The reason for the command to roast, and
not to boil, has been variously explained, and perhaps more than one
idea contributed to it: (1) to bring the flesh into contact with a foreign
substance such as water, might be considered a defilement ; (2) it
would be difiicult to boil a whole lamb in any ordinary utensil,
without cutting it into parts, or breaking its bones (cf. v. 46) ;
(3) it was prohibited, in the case of animals offered by fire, to eat
the intestinal fat (xxix. 13, 22, Lev. iii. 3 — 5, iv. 8 ff., vii. 22—25 ;
see BS^ 379 f ) ; so in the present case the inwards are to be roasted,
in order that the intestinal fat may drip down and be burnt in the fire.
The flesh is evidently to be roasted on a spit and not in an oven.

10. In a hot climate the meat would very quickly become corrupt ;
cf. Lev. vii. 15 — 17.

11. There is nothing to shew that the writer intended these
regulations to apply only to the Egjrptian Passover; and by the
Samaritans they are to this day observed as binding. But among

xiL 11-17] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 71

it ; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your P
staff in your hand : and ye shall eat it in haste : it is the
Lord's passover. 12 For I will go through the land of Egypt
in that night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of
Egypt, both man and beast ; and against all the gods of Egypt
I will execute judgements : I am the Lord. 13 And the blood
shaU be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are :
and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and there
shall no plague, be upon you ^to destroy you, when I smite the
land of Egypt. 14 And this day shall be unto you for a
memorial, and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord : throughout
your generations ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for
ever. 15 Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread ; even the
first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses : for whoso-
ever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh
day, that soul shall be cut off" from Israel. 16 And in the
first day there shall be to you an holy convocation, and in the
seventh day an holy convocation ; no manner of work shall be
done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only
may be done of you. 17 And ye shall observe the feast of

^ Or, for a destroyer

the Jews 'the Passover of Egjrpt' or 'the first Passover' was dis-
tinguished from ' the Passover of [all] generations ' or ' the second ' or
'the little Passover,' and many of the details here laid down were
omitted, while others were added.

in haste ; in trepidation. The word denotes hurrying in fear or
panic. Dt. xvi. 3, Is. lii. 12 f.

12. in that night ; this night.

13. / will pass over you. By the coinage of the word Passover in
the English Bible, the play on the verb pdsah and the subst. pesah
is reproduced. See introd. note.

14 — 20. The Festival of Unleavened Calces {Mazzoth).

14. this day, i.e. the first of the seven days' festival (see foil, v.),
as representing the whole week. The festival was quite distinct from
the Passover, on which mazzoth were eaten, though it immediately
followed it. This is clearly shewn in Lev. xxiii. 5, 6.

15. unleavened cakes. Leaven was forbidden in all sacrifices
(xxiii. 18 E, xxxiv. 25 J, Lev. ii. 11, vi. 17 (10) P) with the exception
of a peace-offering (Lev. vii. 13 P) and the wave-loaves at Pentecost
(Lev. xxiii. 17 H), but in neither of these was it offered on the altar.
Am. iv. 5 shews that leaven was used more widely in the N. kingdom,
but the prophet appears to disapprove of its use.

n THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xii. v,-^^

unleavened bread ; for in this selfsame day have I brought P
your hosts out of the land of Egypt : therefore shall ye observe
this day throughout your generations by an ordinance for ever.
18 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at
even, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth
day of the month at even. 19 Seven days shall there be no
leaven found in your houses : for whosoever eateth that which
is leavened, that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of
Israel, whether he be a sojourner, or one that is born in the
land. 20 Ye shall eat nothing leavened ; in all your habita-
tions shall ye eat unleavened bread.

21 Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said J
unto them, ^Draw out, and take you ^ lambs according to your
families, and kill the passover. 22 And ye shall take a bunch
of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and
strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that
is in the bason ; and none of you shall go out of the door of

1 Or, Go forth ^ Or, kids

19. a sojourner. Heb. ger. ' A man of another tribe or district,
who, coming to sojourn in a place where he was not strengthened by
the presence of his own kin, put himself under the protection of a clan
or of a powerful chief (W. K Smith, BS' 75 flf.)

one tJuxt is born in the land, i.e. a true-blooded Israelite. The word
'ezrdh, ' a native,' is confined to H and P except in Jos. viii. 33 (D),
and always in contrast to ger except in Lev. xxiii. 42.

21—28. Tks Passover.

21. Draw out. This probably refers to the usual action of a
shepherd or shearer, who catches the leg of the sheep with his crook
and draws it out from the flock. The rendering in the marg. 'go
forth' (lxx Vg. Targ-Onk.) can be illustrated by Jud. iv. 6, v. 14
(probably), xx. 37, Job xxi. 33 t, where it denotes ' march forth in
line,' ' deploy.' But that meaning is scarcely suitable here.

the passover. The word is introduced abruptly, with the article,
as an institution already well known (see introd. note).

22. hyssop. One of the many species of marjoram which grow
wild ; it is found in clefts of rocks and chinks of walls (I K. iv. 33),
and has several straight leafy stalks growing from one head, which
would form a convenient brush for sprinkling. It was employed in
the purification of a recovered leper (Lev. xiv. 4, 6, 49, 51 f.), and of
a man defiled by contact with a dead body (Num. xix. 6, 18).

the blood that is in the bason. Since the ceremony was already
well known, these and perhaps other unrecorded details were taken for

XII. 22-3^] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 73

his house until the morning. 23 For the Lord will pass J
through to smite the Egyptians ; and when he seeth the blood
upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the Lord will pass
over the door, and will not suifer the destroyer to come in unto
your houses to smite you. | 24 And ye shall observe this thing P
for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever. | 25 And BP
it shall come to pass, when ye be come to the land which the
Lord will give you, according as he hath promised, that ye shall
keep this service. 26 And it shall come to pass, when your
children shall say unto you. What mean ye by this service?
27 that ye shall say. It is the sacrifice of the Lord's passover,
^who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt,
when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. | And J
the people bowed the head and woi-shipped. | 28 And the P
children of Israel went and did so ; as the Lord had com-
manded Moses and Aaron, so did they.

29 And it came to pass at midnight, that the Lord smote J
all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of
Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive
that was in the dungeon ; and all the firstborn of cattle.

30 And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants,
and all the Egyptians ; and there was a great cry in Egypt ;
for there was not a house where there was not one dead.

31 And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said. Rise
up, get you forth from among my people, both ye and the
children of Israel ; and go, serve the Lord, as ye have said.

32 Take both your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and

^ Or, for that he passed

granted, lxx irapa rqv Ovpav understands saph (bason) in the sense of
' threshold.' See introd. note.

23. pass over. See introd. note.

the destroyer. Cf. 2 S. xxiv. 16. He is a personal manifestation of
Yahweh's power, but in no sense distinct from Yahweh Himself
(v. 27, xi. 4).

29 — 42. The death of the firstborn and the departure from Egypt.

29. the captive. In the Hebrew this is a masculine word which
is not found elsewhere in the O.T. lxx has the feminine, which would
form a more complete parallel with xi. 5.

32. a/nd bless me also. Pharaoh's words seem to shew that he
expected the Israelites to return after the sacrifice. They are to go

H THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xii. 3^-37

be gone ; and bless me also. 33 And the Egyptians were J
urgent upon the people, to send them out of the land in haste ;
for they said, We be all dead men. 34 And the people took
their dough before it was leavened, their kneadingtroughs being
bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders. | 35 And thejE^
children of Israel did according to the word of Moses ; and they
asked of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and
raiment : 36 and the Lord gave the people favour in the sight
of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked.
And they spoiled the Egyptians.

37 And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to J

and do service to their God in order to gain His favour ; and he hopes
that they will have no lasting feelings of hostility against him, but
will obtain favour for him also at the same time. See note on x. 25.

35, 36. The Israelites acted in obedience to the command in
iii. 21 f. (E). The verses as rendered in the R.V. imply that they had
some time in which they could ask for ornaments and clothing from
their Egyptian neighbours, whereas in w. 33, 34 they were hurried out
of the country in extreme haste. It is possible to obviate the difficulty
by rendering ' the children of Israel had done according to the word of
Moses... and Yahweh had given &c. ' ; but this does not remove the
necessity of assigning 33 f. and 35 i. to different sources.

A good example of patristic allegorical exegesis is afforded by
Augustine {de doctr. Christ, ch. xl.), who follows the thought of
Origen's Ep. to Gregory. The following is an abstract of his remarks :
The Egyptians had not only idols and heavy burdens, but also silver
and gold of which they did not make good use. And God commanded
the Israelites to take their silver and their gold from them in order to
use it for a good purpose. In the same way, the heathen have not
only false superstitions and heavy burdens of unnecessary toil, which
Christians, when they go out from fellowship with them under
Christ's leadership, ought to abhor; but they also have liberal
instruction and excellent precepts of morality, and even some truths
with regard to the only God. They did not create these truths, but
' dug them out of the mines of God's providence which are scattered
everywhere ' ; and since they are ' prostituting them to the worship
of devils,' the Christian ought to take them from them. Augustine,
however, recognises that such allegorizing represents only his private
opinion, for he adds, ' And this I say without prejudice to any other
interpretation which may be as good or better.'

Keble adopts the thought in the Christian Year, 3rd Sunday in
Lent.

37. Barneses to Succoth. Both towns have been identified with
some certainty; see pp. xciii. f., and Addenda.

XII. 37-4i] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 76

Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot that were men, J
beside children. 38 And a mixed multitude went up also with
them ; and flocks, and herds, even very much cattle. 39 And
they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they brought
forth out of Egypt, for it was not leavened ; because they were
thrust out of Egypt, and could not tarry, neither had they
prepared for themselves any victual. | 40 Now the sojourning R^
of the children of Israel, which they sojourned in Egypt, was
four hundred and thirty years. 41 And it came to pass at the

about six hundred ihmisand. Cf. Num. xi. 21. This included all
the males who could march. The ' children,' among whom the women .
seem to be included (cf. x. 10), would ride on beasts. But the number'^
is surprisingly large ; and it is a round number, for which the exact
figures are supplied by P in xxxviii. 26, Num. i. 46, as 603,550,
exclusive of Levites who are reckoned as 8,580 (Num. iv. 48). At
the end of the journeyings, the numbers, after the plague at Baal-
Peor, were 601,730, and the Levites 23,000 (Num. xxvi. 51, 62).
Including women and children the numbers at the Exodus thusj
amount to between one and two millions. Not only is it impos- ^
sible to suppose that they could have been so multiplied from 70
persons in 430 years (or, according to another reckoning, four
generations), but the territory of Goshen could not have contained
them. FHnders Petrie {Expositor, Aug. 1905, and more fully in
Hesearches in Sinai, pp. 207 — 17) explains the thousands' as
'families', and the 'hundreds' as tne actual number" of the people.
He understands a ' lamily ' as the occupants of a tent, including all
children of any age, ' besides herdsmen and hangers-on of the " mixed
multitude." ' But, welcome as an explanation of the difficulty would
be, it is doubtful if Prof Petrie supplies it. In taking the ' thousands '
to stand for occupants of tents, he disregards the fact that both in the
present passage and in Num. the census was concerned only with the
fighting men 'from twenty years old and upward' (Num. i. 3, 18).
And a study of such passages as Jud. vi. 15, 1 S. x. 19, 21, Mic. v. 2,
seems to shew that 'eleph, * thousand,' when not used as a numeral,
denoted a larger unit than a single household. It was a clan, or at
least comprised several branches of kinsmen within a clan.

38. a great mixed company. Cf. Neh. xiii. 3. They must have
been non-Israelites, and would comprise, 1st, Egyptians, with whom the
Israelites may to a small extent have intermarried (Lev. xxiv. 10),
2nd, Semites of various tribes from the desert frontiers, and, 3rd, otiier
foreigners who, as prisoners, had been united with the Israelites in
building labour (see on i. 9). They are mentioned in Num. xi. 4, and
alluded to in Dt. xxix. 11, Jos. viii. 35.

40. four hundred and thirty years. This is in substantial agree-
ment with the 400 of Gen. xv. 13. In Gen. xv. 16 the 400 years is

76 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xii. 41, 4^

end of four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it E^
came to pass, that all the hosts of the Lord went out from the
land of Egypt 42 It is ^a night to be much observed unto the
Lord for bringing them out from the land of Egypt : ^this is
that night of the Lord, to be much observed of all the children
of Israel throughout their generations.

^ Or, a night of watching unto the LORD
2 Or, this same night is a night of watching unto the LORD for all d;c.

equivalent to four generations, which is also the calculation of Ex. vi.
14 — 27. According to P the period of the patriarchs' sojourn in
Canaan amounted to 215 years, giving 645 years irom Abraham to the
Exodus. Driver {Genesis, xxviii. flf.) shews that if Hammurabi is the
Amraphel of Gen. xiv. 1, and if, further, the role assigned to Abraham
in that chapter is, at least substantially, historical, Abraham's date is
fixed at c. 2250 B.C. The Israelites will then, according to P, have
gone into Egypt c. 2035, and the Exodus occurred c. 1605. But
according to Ussher's date for Solomon, 1014 — 975 (it ought probably
to be 40 or 50 years later), the Biblical date for the Exodus, calculated
from 1 K. vi. 1, is 1491 B.C. It is impossible, therefore, to uphold both
the Biblical chronology and the identity of Amraphel and Hammurabi.
Many scholars, however, doubt this identity. But although there are
no exact data by which to fix the time when Abraham came to Canaan,
P's chronology is discredited partly by the great length of life which he
ascribes to the patriarchs, and partly by the fact that his dates appear
to be arrived at by an artificial system of computation. (This tendency
is seen also in the later history. See Moore, Judges, xxxvii. — xliii.)
On the other hand, if Merenptah was the Pharaoh of the Exodus,
the Biblical date is earlier than that obtained from contemporary
inscriptions ; and Prof. Sayce places the Exodus in c. 1213 B.C. More-
over the traditions as to the chronology are rendered still more
uncertain by the statement in the lxx in the present passage that
' the sojourning of the children of Israel which they sojourned in the
land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan\ was 430 [some MSS 435]
years' ; i.e. the period of the sojourning in Egypt is exactly half the
length assigned to it in the Heb. text. This tradition (which was
probably an attempt to lessen the difficulty of the ' four generations ')
IS followed in Gal. iii. 17 and Jos. Ant. 11. xv. 2.

41. the selfsame day. A peculiar idiom ; lit. the 'bone,' i.e. the
substance, of the day — the day itself It is confined to P in the Hex.
and to Ezek. (ii. 3, xxiv. 2). Cf. 'the heaven itself (Ex. xxiv. 10),
' his full strength ' (Job xxi. 23).

42. a night to be much observed : so Vg. * nox observabilis.' But
the LXX Trpoa-KfivXaKij suggests the better rendering ' a night of vigil,'
i.e. a night on which men should keep vigil.

^ Similarly the Sam. ' the sojourning of the children of Israel and their fathers,
which they sojourned in the land of Canaan and in the land of Egypt....'

XII. 43-48] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 11

43 And the Lord said unto Moses and Aaron, This is the P
ordinance of the passover : there shall no alien eat thereof :
44 but every man's servant that is bought for money, when thou
hast circumcised him, then shall he eat thereof. 45 A sojourner
and an hired servant shall not eat thereof. 46 In one house
shall it be eaten ; thou shalt not carry forth aught of the flesh
abroad out of the house ; neither shall ye break a bone thereof
47 AH the congregation of Israel shall ^keep it. 48 And when
a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the passover
to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him
come near and keep it ; and he shall be as one that is bom

1 Heb. da it.

43 — 51. The Passover.

44. bought for money. Gen. xvii. 12 f., 23, 27 t.

45. sojov/rner (foshdbh), only in H and P ; a non-Israelite tem-
porarily staying in the country and dependent upon his host for
kindness and protection. He, and the hired servant whose connexion
with an Israelite would likewise be temporary, were excluded from
Israelite privileges. But the privileges might, on the other hand, be
extended to the ge'r (v. 48 ' stranger '), whose residence, if temporary,
was of longer duration. See on v. 19.

46. Though the next-door neighbour might share in the lamb, no
portion of the flesh might be carried out to his house. The thoughts
of unity is thus emphasized in the partaking of the undivided lamb \
(cf 1 Cor. X. 17). The neighbour, however, is not (in the P legislation)
forbidden to return to his house the same night ; contrast v. 22 (J).

and a bone ye shall not break in it. This is generally regarded
as the source of the quotation in Jn. xix. 36 : octtovv ov trvvrpL/SijcreTat
avTov. But the verb is there passive', which is found also in Ps. xxxiv.
20 [xxxiii. 21]. S. John's quotation may have been shaped by a reminis-
cence of both passages, and both have their spiritual application in
connexion with Christ, who was at once the Paschal Lamb and the
'righteous man.'

47. shall keep it ; shall offer it. See next v.

48. will keep a passover ; or, better, will offer a passover
[victim]. Cf V. 21, Dt. xvi. 2, 5f. See on x. 25.

let him come near. The priestly writer here betrays himself The
expression must mean that the worshipper is to come near to the
Temple at Jerusalem, where the lambs were killed and offered, and
their blood sprinkled at the base of the altar. The verb is frequently

1 liXx* has ffvvTpi\p€TaL, •which might possibly be due to a Christian scribe who
had S. John's passage in his mind ; but it is simpler to suppose it to be an itacism
for ffvrrplypeTe.

78 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xii. 48-xiii. 5

in the land : but no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof. P
49 One law shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto the
stranger that sojourneth among you. 50 Thus did aU the
children of Israel ; as the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron,
so did they. | 51 And it came to pass the selfsame day, that^^
the Lord did bring the children of Israel out of the land of
Egypt by their hosts.

XIII. 1 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 2 Sanctify P
unto me all the firstborn, whatsoever openeth the womb among
the children of Israel, both of man and of beast : it is mine.

3 And Moses said unto the people, | Remember this day, in Jh
which ye came out from Egypt, out of the house of ^bondage ;
for by strength of hand the Lord brought you out from this
place : there shall no leavened bread be eaten. | 4 This day J
ye go forth in the month Abib. | 5 And it shall be when the R^
Lord shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanite, and the
Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite,
which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee, a land flowing
with milk and honey, that thou shalt keep this service in this

^ Heb. bondmen

used in connexion with the altar and the tabernacle ; xl. 32, Lev. ix.
5, 7, 8, xxi. 17 f., Num. xvi. 40 [xvii. 5]. Cf. Ez. xl. 46, xlv. 4.

XIII. 1,2. Dedication of firsthom and firstlings. P treats the
subject more fully in Num. ill. 11 — 13, 40 — 45, xviii. 15 — 18. See
pp. xli. f.

3 — 10. Festival of Mazzoth. See on xxiii. 15 and pp. xliii. f.

4. ye are going forth. The Exodus is about to take place,
whereas the tenses in v. 3 represent it as already past. See analysis,
p. xviii.

Abib, the month of the ripening ears (subsequently the 1st month;
see on xii. 2). Three others of the old Canaanite names of months
have been preserved : Ziv, the month of flowers, 1 K. vi. 1 (the 2nd
month); 'l^thdnlm, the month of continually flowing streams,
1 K. viii. 2 (the 7th month) ; BUI, the meaning of which is unknown,
1 K. vi. 38 (the 8th month). The two latter are also found in
Phoenician inscriptions. During the exile the months were distinguished
merely by numerals, as in parts of Jer. Ez. and Kings, and in Hag.
Zech. Prom the time of the exile the new Babylonian names begin to
find a place in the Jewish calendar : Nisan (March — April), Sivan
(May— June), Elul (Aug.— Sept.), Kislev (Nov.— Dec), Tebeth (Dec-
Jan.), Shebat (Jan. — Feb.), and Adar (Feo. — March) appear in the Old
Testament. ' See art. ' Time ' in DB iv. 765.

XIII. 5-15] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 79

month. I 6 Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, and in R^J ^""s*-
the seventh day shall be a feast to the Lord. 7 Unleavened
bread shall be eaten throughout the seven days ; and there
shall no leavened bread be seen with thee, neither shall there V/iH
be leaven seen with thee, in all thy borders. | 8 And thou shalt RP
tell thy son in that day, saying, It is because of that which the
Lord did for me when I came forth out of Egypt. 9 And it
shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for a
memorial between thine eyes, that the law of the Lord may
be in thy mouth : for with a strong hand hath the Lord
brought thee out of Egypt. | 10 Thou shalt therefore keep this J
ordinance in its season from year to year.

11 And it shall be when the Lord shall bring thee into the
land of the Canaanite, as he sware unto thee and to thy fathers,
and shall give it thee, 12 that thou shalt ^.setja^art unto the , J^ -J
Lord all that openeth the womb, and every firstling which thou
hast that cometh of a beast ; the males shall be the Lord's.
13 And every firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a •^^•^
^lamb ; and if thou wilt not redeem it, then thou shalt break
its neck : and all the firstborn of man among thy sons shalt
thou redeem, j 14 And it shall be when thy son asketh thee in R^
time to come, saying. What is this ? that thou shalt say unto
him, By strength of hand the Lord brought us out from Egypt,
from the house of ^bondage : 15 and it came to pass, when

^ Heb. cause to pass over. " Or, kid * Heb. bondmen,

8. thou skalt tell, lxx dvayycXcTs. There is perhaps a conscious
analogy of thought in the KarayycXXeTe of 1 Cor. xi. 26.

9. See note on v. 16.
11 — 16. Firstlings.

13. break its neck, xxxiv. 20, Dt. xxi. 4, 6, Is. Ixvi. 3t. It
has been suggested that the ass is mentioned only as a typical instance
of an unclean animal. But there is evidence to shew that among some
branches of Semites the ass had a peculiar sacredness attaching to it,
somewhat in the form of a taboo (W. R, Smith, BS^ 463, 468). lxx
represents a milder regulation ; in the present passage it has Xurpwo-g,
and in xxxiv. 20 ti/a^v 8wo-cis\ But in Dt. I.e. it renders veupoKoirdv,
and in Is. I.e. aTroKTcwcuv.

1 Possibly reading inpiyi for inQ*Ti;i.

80 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xiil 15-17

Pharaoh ^ would hardly let us go, that the Lord slew all the R^
firstborn m the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man, and
the firstborn of beast : therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all that
openeth the womb, being males ; but all the firstborn of my
sons I redeem. 16 And it shall be for a sign upon thine hand,
and for frontlets between thine eyes : for by strength of hand
the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt.

17 And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people E
go, that God led them not by the way of the land of the
Philistines, although that was near ; for God said. Lest per-
adventure the people repent when they see war, and they

^ Or, hardened himself against letting us go

15. would hardly let m go. More literally 'made a difl&culty
about letting us go.' The marg. rendering is very improbable.

16. Jrontlets. Dt. vi. 8, xi. 18 t. The later Jews understood
the words literally, and wore 'phylacteries' (safety-amulets) or tephilUn
('prayers') on the forehead and on the arm. These are still worn
daily at morning prayer, except on Sabbaths and festivals. See art.
' Phylacteries ' in DB iii. Verse 9 and the present passage are parallel
injunctions of a Deuteronomic character referring respectively to
Mazzoth and the dedication of firstlings ; and ' frontlet ' is, therefore,
evidently intended to be figurative, and equivalent to 'memorial.'
Compare similar figurative expressions in Prov. i. 9, iii. 3, vi. 21, vii. 3.
It is doubtful whether the injunctions in Dt. are to be considered
figurative or not. The parallelism with Ex. strongly favours the view
that they are. See, however, Driver on Dt. vi. 8.

Chapter XIIL 17—22.

The first stage in the journey.

Xm. 17. the land of the Philistines. This description appears
to be proleptic, describing the tract afterwards occupied by the Philis-
tines. The mention of them in Gen. xxi. 32, 34, xxvi. 1, 8, 14f., 18 is
almost certainly an anachronism. They are described as immigrants
fi-om Caphtor (probably Crete), Am. ix. 7, Jer. xlvii. 4. They are
probably to be identified (M. Miiller, Maspero, Sayce) with the Purasati
or Pulsata, one of a group of piratical tribes irom the coasts of Asia
Minor or the Aegean islands, who raided Egypt in the time of
Ramses III, after the Exodus (see Driver in Hogarth's Authority
and Archaeology, p. 46).

because that was near. Grod led them not by that route, as might
have been expected because of its nearness. The verse expresses, with
a grand simpHcity, the writer's belief in the guiding providence of
God.

XIII. i7-2i] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 81

return to Egypt : 18 but God led the people about, by the way E tX t)2

of the wilderness by the Red Sea : and the children of Israel

went up armed out of the land of Egypt. 19 And Moses took ryi Mft\y\

the bones of Joseph with him : for he had straitly sworn the ' '*• "''

children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you ; and ye

shall carry up my bones away hence with you. | 20 And they P

took their journey from Succoth, and encamped in Etham,

in the edge of the wilderness. | 21 And the Lord went before J

them by day in a pillar of cloud, to lead them the way ; and*i3"S ^Wf^a

18. the wilderness, the uncultivated tract of country on the East
of Egypt, but West of the Red Sea.

the Red Sea. Heb. Yam Suph, 'Sea of reeds.'. The word 8uph
(apart from this geographical namef nowhere denotes 'sea-weed'
except in the poetical passage, Jon. ii. 5 [6]. See note on ii. 3. And
the name Yam Suph appears originally to have belonged to the fresh-
water lake lying immediately to the N. of the sea, and thence was
extended to the whole of the Red Sea. See p. xcvii.

The English name is obscure. It goes back, through the Vulg., to
the LXX 17 ipvOpa OdXaaa-a. It was known to classical writers, but
Berosus and Herodotus applied it to the whole Indian Ocean and
Persian Gulf. The name has been! explained by the corals within
its waters, by the colour of the Edomite and Arabian Mountains
bordering its coasts, or by the glow of the sky reflected in it. But it
remains as uncertain to us as it was to the Greeks.

armed ; in army array. The word hamushlm (which is perhaps
connected with the numeral hdmesh, ' five ') appears to describe not the
bearing of weapons but the order and arrangement of a body of troops
as though divided into five parts. Num. xxxii. 17 (prob.), Jos. i. 14,
iv. 12, Jud. vii. 11 t.

20. Etham ; perhaps a Hebraized form of the Egyptian ^tem,
' fortress.' See pp. xciv. f

21. It is interesting to notice the varying conceptions, in the
Pentateuch, of the cloud as an indication of the Divine Presence.

In J, Yahweh led the people continuously by moving in front of
them in a column of cloud by day and fire by night. This ' departed
not' (v. 22), presumably, until Canaan was reached. See xiv. 19, 24,
Num. xiv. 14\ A cloud also accompanied the theophany at Sinai, and
Yahweh descended in it and talked with Moses, xxxiv. 5.

In E, the fiery appearance of the cloud is not mentioned, and
the cloud was not a guide, going in front of the people. It came down
from time to time, and stood at the door of the ' tent of meeting,' which
was pitched outside the camp: xxxiii. 7 — 11 (where the tenses are
frequentative). Num. xi. 25, xii. 5, 10, Dt. xxxi. 15.

1 The clause ' and thy cloud standeth over them,' and x. 34, appear to be due
to a redactor.

M. 6

82 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xiii. .i-xiv. »

by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light ; that they might J
go by day and by night : 22 ^the pillar of cloud by day, and
the pillar of fire by night, departed not from before the people.

XIV. 1 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 2 Speak P
unto the children of Israel, that they turn back and encamp
before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, before Baal-

^ Or, he took not away the pillar of cloud by day, nor the (&c.

A cloud also, as in J, appeared on the mountain, xix, 9, 16.

Dt. i. 33 refers to the narrative of J ; and iv. 11, v. 22 (19), to the
cloud on the mountain.

In P, the conception starts from the appearance of a cloud
enveloping the glorious Presence of Yahweh on Mt Sinai, Ex. xxiv.
16 — 18. It did not appear in the camp until the completion of the
Dwelling, when it covered the building, while the glory of Yahweh
filled it. At night it had a fiery appearance. Its presence, covering
the Dwelling, was permanent till the journeys were over (xl. 34 — 38,
Num. ix. 15 f). It gave the signal for moving the camp by rising
above the Dwelling (Num. ix. 17 — 23, x. 11 f ). Thus P agrees with E
in relating its appearance only after the erection of the tent, and with
J in describing its fiery appearance by night. But in other respects it
differs from both. See also Ex. xvi. 10 (which belongs to a period after
the completion of the tent), Num. xvi. 42.

It is not impossible that the traditions of a guiding cloud may have
had a natural basis. The custom is frequently noted in early times of
carrying braziers containing burning wood at the head of an army or
caravan, and the fire indicated, by night, the hne of march. Curtius
relates it of Alexander's march through Babylonia (v. ii. 7), and of
the Persians generally (in. iii. 9)\ In modern times travellers speak
of it in Arabian caravans, and in Palestine. See Harmer, Observations^
ii. 278 ; Frazer, Golden Bough^^\ i. 305. But, as so often, a natural
\ custom or phenomenon rises, in the Hebrew tradition, to a beautiful
and spiritual conception, of which all thought of the origin is lost.

Later references are found in Ps. Ixxviii. 14, cv. 39, Wisd. x. 17 ;
and further spiritual application is made of it in Is. iv. 5, 1 Cor. x. 1 f
Possibly, also, it suggested our Lord's words in Jn. viii. 12 : ' I am the
Light of the world ; he ihaX followeth me shall not walk in darkness.'

Chapter XIV.
The crossing of the water.

XIV. 2. Although the situation of the spot is described with
such exactness, the names afford little help towards its identification.
But the crossing was probably effected not at the northern point of
the sea but at the southern point of a lake which lay immediately to
the N. of it. See pp. xcv. f

^ See, for other references, Dillmann's note on the present passage.

XIV. 2-8] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 83

zephon : over against it shall ye encamp by the sea. 3 And P
Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are entangled
in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in. 4 And I will
^harden Pharaoh's heart, and he shall follow after them ; and
I will get me honour upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host ;
and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord. And they
did so. I 5 And it was told the king of Egypt that the people J
were fled : and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was
changed towards the people, and they said. What is this we
have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us ? 6 And
he made ready his ^chariot, and took his people with him : |
7 and he took six hundred chosen chariots, | and all the JE! J
chariots of Egypt, | and captains over all of them. | 8 And the ^ P

^ Heb. make strong. \fi>>^ ^ O'^i chariots

3. They are entangled; they are perplexed. Joel i. 18 (of cattle),
Est. iii. 15 (of a city) t.

4. get me honour upon Pharaoh ; ct. v. 11. The expression is not,
of itself, equivalent to a statement that Pharaoh was drowned. In w.
6 — 8 it is said that he followed after the Israelites with his hosts ; but
neither in this chapter, nor in the song which follows, is his death
actually spoken of The only definite statement in the O.T. is in a
very late Psalm (cxxxvi. 15). At the same time it cannot be denied
that the narrative of Exodus seems to imply that Pharaoh went into
the water with his army and perished. This finds no trace of support in
Egyptian monuments ; and it is difficult to escape from the impression J
that the Heb. narrative was heightened and idealized in the course of
centuries of oral repetition, representing that a righteous retribution
fell on the persecuting king. This impression is strengthened, if the
Pharaoh was Merenptah, by the fact that his mummy was discovered
by Loret in 1898 in a side-chamber of the tomb of Amenhotep IP.
Still it is not impossible that his body was afterwards found, and buried"/^
with funeral honours, and it is more than probable that all reference
to the catastrophe would be suppressed in the monuments. The
question must remain doubtful, unless further excavations bring to
light a definite record as to the place or manner of his death.

7. captains. Heb. shaUshim. The word seems to be connected with
the numeral ' three l] Lxx tpio-tott/s. Among the Assyrians (at least in
the case of the ¥mg and high officials), the Kheta and the Hebrews

1 It was at first thought to be the body of Khu-en-aten (Amenophis IV). But
the priests of Amen would be very unUkely to preserve the body of their great
religious enemy, who had tried to substitute the worship of Aten for that of Amen.
And when the rough scrawl of a scribe found upon it was better understood, it was
proved to be the body of Merenptah (W. Groff in Becueil de Travaux Egypt, et
Assyr. xx. 224, xxii. 136, xxiii. 32—38).

6—2

84 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xiv. 8-13

Lord ^hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he P
pursued after the children of Israel : for the children of Israel
went out with an high hand. 9 And the Egyptians pursued
after them, | all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and R^
his horsemen, and his army, | and overtook them encamping P
by the sea, beside Pi-hahiroth, before Baal-zephon. | 10 And JE
when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up
their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them ;
and they were sore afraid : | and the children of Israel cried B
out unto the Lord. | 11 And they said unto Moses, Because*/
there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away
to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus
with us, to bring us forth out of Egypt? 12 Is not this the ^
word that we spake unto thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone'J'-"^ '
that we may serve the Egyptians ? For it were better for us
to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilder-
ness. 13 And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand
still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for

^ Heb, Tfiade strong.

(cf. Benzinger, Arch. 359) it was customary for each chariot to be
manned by three men ; one held the reins, another a large shield, and
the third fought. But an Egyptian war-chariot carried only tj^Q, the
fighter wielding his own shield (Erman, Life in Ancient Egypt, 547 i.\
If, therefore, the word shdUsh is connected with shdlosh ('three'),
as applied to an Egyptian it is strictly an archaeological error.
But even among the Hebrews it came to be used loosely for an
officer in close attendance on a king (2 K. vii. 2, 17, 19, ix. 25, x.
25, XV. 25). In the royal court during the Ramesside dynasty
chariot- officers held a very high place, and were for the most part
men of scholarly education. Various grades are mentioned, 'chief ■
charioteers of his Majesty/ ' superintendent of the horses,' and * chiefs
of the stables' (Erman, I.e.).

8. with an high hand. Num. xv. 30, xxxiii. 3 (both P).
Contrast 5 a (J).

9. all the horses... his army. In the Heb. this clause is inserted
very awkwardly after ' by the sea.' It seems to be a later expansion.

10. 11. Origen (in Ev. Joan. vi. 44) remarks, in reference to 1 Cor.
X. If., that the baptism of the Israelites into Moses in the sea had
' something bitter and salty in it, while they were still afraid of the
enemy and were crying to the Lord and to Moses.' But baptism into
Jesus 'in the sweet and drinkable river' has many properties more
extraordinary than the other baptism.

XIV. 13-20] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 86

you to-day : ^for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to-day, ye J
shall see them again no more for ever. 14 The Lord shall
fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.

15 And the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou E
unto me ? | speak unto the children of Israel, that they go P
forward | 16 And lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine E
hand over the sea, and divide it : | and the children of Israel P ^;\^rT
shall go into the midst of the sea on dry ground. 17 And I,
behold, I will ^harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they
shaU go in after them : and I will get me honour upon Pharaoh,
and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.
18 And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when
I have gotten me honour upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and
upon his horsemen. | 19 And the angel of God, which went E
before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them ; |
and the pillar of cloud removed from before them, and stood J
behind them : | 20 and it came between the camp of Egypt and JE
the camp of Israel ; and there was the cloud and the darkness,)
yet^^ave it Jight_b^ night : and the one came not near the other

^ Or, for whereas ye have seen the Egyptians to-day ^ Heb. make strong.

15. Moses' appeal to Yahweh has perhaps been lost ; but it may
be implied in 10 6.

19 b. E does not state that the Angel of God moved in a cloud.
See on xiii. 21. On the 'Angel' see note on xxiii. 20.

20. yet gave it light by night ; and it lit up the night. The
subject of the verb cannot be the cloud of the preceding clause ; the
intervening words ' and the darkness ' forbid this. The subject must
be 'the pillar of cloud' in 19 6\ Thus the narrative of J runs, 'and
the pillar of cloud removed from before them, and stood behind them,
cmd lit up the night! The Egyptians would not dare to approach the
Israelites with such a strange and awful phenomenon barring the way.

But great difficulty is caused by the intervening clause, ' and there
was the cloud and the darkness,' which is probably ^corrupt. An
explanation which follows the lines of Targ-Onk. and Pesh. has coloured '
the R.V., and is adopted boldly in the A.V., that the pillar of cloudy
was dark on the Egyptian side, but shining on that of the Israelites.
But such an haggadic explanation is not warranted by the Heb. text,
and fails to explain the article ' the darkness.' A possible solution is
suggested by Jos. xxiv. 7 (E). Joshua there says, ' And when they'

^ Lxx curiously has koX SirjXBef 97 viJ^, which is probably a gloss.
^ i.e. your fathers ; perh. read ' ye cried.'

86 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xiv. 20-24

all the night. | 21 And Moses stretched out his hand over the JEP
sea ; | and the Lord caused the sea to go hack by a strong east J
wind all the night, and made the sea dry land, | and the waters P
were divided. 22 And the children of Israel went into the
midst of the sea upon the dry ground : and the waters were
a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. 23 And
the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them into the midst
of the sea, all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. |
24 And it came to pass in the morning watch, that the Lord J
looked forth upon the host of the Egyptians through the pillar

cried unto Yahweh, He put thick darkness (^?^^, yvo'^os) between you
.and the Egyptians.' Independently, then, of the present clause, we
I know that E originally recorded a darkness between the two camps.
And the passage before us may well be the statement to which Joshua
refers, lxx here runs kol iyevero (tkoto's koX yv6(f>o<;, 'and there was
darkness and thick darkness,' which was perhaps the original form
of the sentence^ ; cf x. 22 (E), koX iyevero o-kotos yv6<f>o^.

and the one came not near the other. This has generally been
understood to refer to the two hostile armies. But comparison
with X. 22 f suggests that the expression is analogous to ' they saw
not one another' in that passage. Thus J relates that the shining
cloud stood between the camps, while E (who does not speak of a
cloud) says that the Angel of God caused a darkness so thick that
£nfi-jaaG- could not approach_another,

Other proposed emendations are given by Dillmann on the passage ;
pp. 164 f

21. ea^t wind. Cf x. 13. By the driving back of the water, a
broad strip of ground was left bare. The wind was probably from the
south-east, Heb. having no terms to describe the intermediate points of
the compass. See p. xcviii.

22. the waters were a wall. P adopts the haggadic interpretation
of the incident, involving a portent, or ' miracle ' in the popular accep-
tation of the term. God is represented as working in a manner
opposed to the normal course of nature*. This diverges from the
earlier account, which records an event more consonant with God's
usual method of action.

24. the morning watch. The Hebrews divided the night into
three watches of four hours each. The morning watch was 2 — 6 a.m.
Cf 1 S. xi. 11, Jud. vii. 19, Mat. xiv. 25, Lk. xii. 38.

Yahweh looked forth. One of the vivid anthropomorphisms which

^ On the analogy of x. 22 this would represent n^BNI "^g^PI ^n^l.
' Lange feels the difficulty so much that he is forced to speak of the double wall
of water as a symbolic description.

XIV..4-30] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 87

of fire and of cloud, and discomfited the host of the Egyptians. J Qfii n
25 And he Hook oflf their chariot wheels, ^that they drave them
heavily : so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face
of Israel ; for the Lord fighteth for them against the Egyptians.

26 And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand P
over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the
Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.
27 And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, | and J
the sea returned to its f strength when the morning appeared;
and the Egyptians fled against it ; and the Lord * overthrew
the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. | 28 And the waters P
returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, even all
the host of Pharaoh that went in after them into the sea ; |
there remained not so much as one of them. | 29 But the JW
children of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the
sea ; and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand,
and on their left. | 30 Thus the Lord saved Israel that day out J

^ Some ancient versions read, hownd. "^ Or, and made them to drive

^ Or, wonted flow * Heb. sJiook off.

abound in J ; Yahweh is enveloped in the cloud. His looking forth is
possibly to be explained of fiery flashes proceeding from the cloud.

discomfited ; threw into confusion, or panic, at the sight of Him.

25. he took off. But if the wheels were broken off, the Egjqptians
could not drive them at all. The marg. gives the reading of Sam.
("ibt^^i) and lxx {Ka\ a-wiZyja-ev), he bound, which is preferable. The
wheels began ^stick fast in the loose wet ground.

tJuit they drave them ; and he made them to move, the
object of the verb being the Egyptian army. The same verb is used
in X. 13 ('brought'), Gen. xxxi, 26 ('carried away'), Dt, iv. 27,
xxviii. 37 ('lead away').

Let us flee &c. Some think (e.g. Wellhausen) that the passage
implies a battle between the Israelites and the Egyptians.

27. to its strength ; to its steady flow. The water reached again
its ordinary level : the expression does not imply a great volume of
water.

fled against it. The water, having been driven back by a south-
east wind, returned from the north-west, so that the Eg3^tians, in
trying to escape in the direction fi-om which they had come, met at an
angle the full force of the returning flow. xv. 10 assumes that it was
a wind which caused the water to return.

overthrew; shook ofi*, as in the margin. A vivid touch, which
is quoted in Ps. cxxxvi. 15. Cf Neh. v. 13.

88 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xir. 30, 3^

of the hand of the Egyptians ; and Israel saw the Egyptians J
dead upon the sea shore. | 31 And Israel saw the great ^work BP
which the Lord did upon the Egyptians, and the people feared
the Lord : and they believed in the Lord, and in his servant
Moses.

^ Heb. hand.

31. arid in his servant Moses. They heartily accepted his leader-
ship from that moment, with all that it might involve for them. Cf.
the striking expression in 1 Cor. x. 2 : they ' were all baptised into
Moses in the cloud and in the sea,' — an expression framed on the
analogy of 'baptised into Christ' (cf Rom. vi. 3).

Chapter XV. 1—21.

The Song of Praise.

In beauty of style, forceful and nervous language, and poetic skill, this
song is unsurpassed. It stands as one of the finest specimens of Hebrew
lyric poetry. It is often known as the ' Song of Moses,' but it is clear that it
was^ot, as a whole, a work of the Mosaic age, for m. 13 — 17 picture the
journey of the Israelites to Canaan, the terror of the surrounding nations, and
the establishment of the sanctuary at Zion, as past history. These verses,
therefore, cannot be earlier than Solomon. Some writers (Ewald, Delitzsch,
Dillmann) find a Mosaic kernel in 1 &— 3 : others (Strack, Driver) in 1 &— 11,
18. But with the exception of 1 b, the song conveys the impression of being
a imity. Tliis, however, is an impression depending upon individual feeling,
and is too subjective to warrant a decision. The question suggests itself
whether the song is dependent upon the narrative in ch. xiv. or vice versa ;
and examination shews that the former is the case. In v. 8 are combined
both the wind from the narrative of J, and the wall of water from that of P ;
in ». 4 ' his chosen captains ' seems to be a fusion of the two expressions of
J in xiv. 7, ' chosen chariots ' and ' captains over all of them ' ; and the words
ascribed to the enemy in ». 9 read like a poetical amplification, rather than
the original source, of the language of xiv. 3, 4 a.

Moreover if v. 1 is rightly assigned to J, and 20, 21 to E, it is strange that
the latter writer should have preserved the opening stanza of the song in
a form verbally identical with J's version (with the exception of the first wordX
but not a single word of the remainder.

A further reason for assigning vv. 2—18 to a late date is supplied by the
style and vocabulary, (a) The style is the reverse of archaic. Not only do
the lines run with a smooth sweep of sound, but signs are evident of elaborate
and careful composition. Hebrew poetry, as is well known, is not produced
by a strict combination of syllables of a given number and length, as in Greek
and Latin ; it depends on the rise and fall of the voice — on stress and beat.
In vv. 2 — 5 the lines contain thrge Jj^ate, va^;^ied by cadences of two beats :
but throughout the rest of the poem, a rhythmic system of ^j^J)eate is

XV. i] THE SONG OF PRAISE 89

consistently maintained ^ Further, there are several instances of what is
known as 'synthetic parallelism,' which marks the most elevated style of
poetry (see Kirkpatrick, Psalms, vol. i. ch. vi.), e.g. 2 &, 4, 6, 11, 13, 16 6;
and the whole song is composed of js^jrej[J3llyJi9,laiicedjilAuses. There is none
of the rugged obscurity which marks early poems, such as those in Gen. xlix.,
Dt. xxxiii., Jud. v. (6) The vocabulary points to a late date. The song
contains numerous words and expressions which are found in Jeremiah,
Ezekiel and some of the later Psalms, but which are almost or entirely absent
from earlier writings. The following are the more noticeable: v. 2 Yah;
' song ' {zimrdth) ; ' I will exalt him ' {anwehu) ; ». 5 ' depths ' {m^zoloth) ;
V. 8 ' floods ' (participle noz^tlm); 'were condensed'; 'the heart of the sea';
». 9 'I will draw {'drlk) my sword'; w. 10 'as lead'; v. n 'the established
place' {mdkdn, R.V. 'the place').

The exact date of the song cannot, of course, be fixed. Some writers ^
jjlace it as late as 450 B.C., and find in it grammatical forms due to Aramaic
influence ; but the presence of anything distinctively Aramaic is doubtful
The expression 'Thou shalt bring them in ' {v. 17), which follows the retrospect
in 13 — 16, seems to refer to an ^e vent still future. The exodus from Egypt
was felt by the Jews to be an event only paralleled in kind and in importance
by the return from Babylon. And the contents, style and language of the
song are best explained by supposing that a writer of the exile draws
encouragement from the ancient deliverance of his people, and looks forward
with certainty to seeing the people of Yahweh once again brought in to the
mountain of His inheritance and to the sanctuary which His hands had
established. The picture of the march, and of the terror of the surrounding
nations finds a remarkable parallel in Ps. Ixviii. See also Is. xliii. 16, 17,
xlviii. 21, li. 9 — 11, lii. 4, 5, Ixiii. 11 — 14, in each of which passages the events
of the Exodus are made a ground of hope for deliverance from Babylon.

A fine English rendering of the scene, and partly of the song itself, will be
found in Milman's dramatic poem The Fall of Jerusalem, pp. 62 — 65.

XV. 1 Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this J^
song unto the Lord, and spake, saying,

I will sing unto the Lord, for he ^hath triumphed gloriously :
The horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.

^ Or, is highly exalted

XV. 1. he hath highly exalted himself. The verb is rare.
V. 21, Ez. xlvii. 5 (of rising waters), Job viii. 11 (of growing plants),
X. 16 (of the proud lifting of a man's head) t.

the horse and his rider ; the horse and his charioteer*. It is very

^ Harper {American Joum. of Sem. Lang. xx. 150 — 158) notes various suggestions
which have been made as to the rhythm and the division into stanzas, and suggests
a scheme of his own, accompanied by critical notes.

2 e.g. Bender, ZATW, 1903, pp. 1—48.

* Perhaps the pronoun should be omitted (with lxx S-Hex. Hier.), and the
words should be rendered 'horse and charioteer,' or, with a change of vowel
points, 'horse and chariot.'

90 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xv. a-6

2 ^The Lord is my strength and song,
And he is become my salvation :
This is my God, and I will praise him ;
My father's God, and I will exalt him.

3 The Lord is a man of war :
The Lord is his name.

4 Pharaoh's chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea :
And his chosen captains are sunk in the Red Sea.

rtjtis 5 The deeps cover them :

They went down into the depths like a stone.
6 Thy right hand, 0 Lord, is glorious in power.
Thy right hand, 0 Lord, dasheth in pieces the enemy.

1 Heb. Jah.

doubtful if the ancient Egyptians rode on horses ; they are uniformly
depicted as driving in chariots.

2. The Lord. Yah, a poetical abbreviation of Yahweh (see on
iii. 14). Besides the citations of this passage in Is. xii. 2, Ps. cxviii. 14,
the form occurs in xvii. 16, Is. xxvi. 4, xxxviii. 11, Cant. viii. 6 (probably),
and frequently in late Psalms, especially in the exclamation Hallelu-
Ydk

and song. The Heb. zimrdtk^ must be rendered 'a song.' But
probably zimrdthl, my song, should be read.

he is become to me a salvation, i.e. a source of safety, or deliverance
from defeat ; hence a source of ' victory.' In the early stages of
Israelitish thought, the word never rises beyond deliverance from
temporal defeat or calamity. Later Messianic expecTations projected
the thought of deliverance and victory to a glorious future, but they
were still of the nature of material blessings. From the time of the
exile, with the deepened sense of the sinfulness of sin in the individual,
the conception of salvation gradually became more spiritual. And
finally in the N.T. it was seen to involve an inward deliverance from
sin, which, though it will be consummated in the future, can be
experienced also in the present life. See art. 'Salvation,' DB iv.

/ will praise him ; lit. I will beautify, or adorn, him. The word
is unique in Bibl. Heb.^

3. Yahweh is a man of war. Cf Ps. xxiv. 8.

5. covered them. The verb is in the imperfect tense, and graphi-
cally describes the sinking of one chariot after another, as the water
gradually overwhelmed them.

^ Cf. npnj, Ps. xvi. 6, nJK^, Ps. cxxxii. 4, and other instances given in
Ges.-K. § 80 g.

' Harper suggests -iniiN (from a root 113 'to swell'), 'I will exalt, or
magnify, him.'

XV. 7-15] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 91

7 And in the greatness of thine excellency thou overthrowest Psaim

them that rise up against thee :
Thou sendest forth thy wrath, it consumeth them as stubble.

8 And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were piled up,
The floods stood upright as an heap ;

The deeps were congealed in the heart of the sea.

9 The enemy said,

I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil :

My lust shall be satisfied upon them ;

I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.

10 Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them :
They sank as lead in the mighty waters.

11 Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods ?
Who is like thee, glorious in holiness.

Fearful in praises, doing wonders ?

12 Thou stretchedst out thy right hand,
The earth swallowed them.

13 Thou in thy mercy hast led the people which thou hast

redeemed :
Thou hast guided them in thy strength to thy holy habita-
tion.

14 The peoples have heard, they tremble :

Pangs have taken hold on the inhabitants of Philistia.

15 Then were the dukes of Edom amazed ;

7. excellency \ exaltation. From the same root as the verb
in V. 1.

8. congealed^ i.e. solidified. The word does not necessarily imply
freezing ; it denotes the thickening of undisturbed wine (Zeph. i, 12),
and the curdling of cheese (Job x. 10).

9. my lust ; my desire. Lit. 'soul.'

11. in praises, i.e. in praiseworthy acts. Of. Ps. Ixviii. 4, Is. Ix. 6,
Ixiii. 7.

12. the earth swallowed them. This has no literary connexion
with the narrative either of J or P in ch. xiv. ; it is a poetical
description of an overwhelming destruction.

14. Philistia {Pelesheth). The name occurs only in late poetry.
Joel iii. (iv.) 4, Is. xiv. 29, 31, Ps. Ix. 8 (10) = cviii. 9 (10), Ixxxiii. 7 (8),
Ixxxvii. 4 +.

15. dukes ('allUph) ; chiefs of a family or clan. See Driver on
Gen. xxxvi. 15 (P).

92 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xt. 15-18

The ^mighty men of Moab, trembling taketh hold upon Ps/llm

them :
All the inhabitants of Canaan are melted away»— a-^^ ^

16 Terror and dread falleth upon them ;

By the greatness of thine arm they are_a§^§till^as a stone ;

Till thy people pass over, O Lord,

Till the people pass over which thou hast ^purchased.

17 Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain

of thine inheritance,
The place, 0 Lord, which thou hast made for thee to

dwell in,
The sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have established.

18 The Lord shall reign for ever and ever.

^ Heb. rams. ^ Heb. gotten.

the mighty men ; the leaders. Heb. ' rams,' a metaphor for
strong leaders. Ez. xvii. 13, xxxi. 11, xxxii. 21 [2 K. xxiv. 15 keri]f.
Similar metaphors are found in Is. xiv. 9, Zech. x. 3, Ps. Ixviii. 30.
It is possible that ' ram ' (^ayil) was a recognised title, or name of
office, in Moab, as 'alluph appears to have been in Edom. 2 K. iii. 4
perhaps lends colour to this.

16. pass over ; pass by. A general term covering the movements
of the Israelites till the end of the wanderings. It cannot refer to
the crossing of the Red Sea, or (Targ-Onk.) to the crossing of the
Jordan.

purchased. Acquired as a possession, generally, but not always,
by purchase. In the application of the term to God's deliverance of
His people (as in Is. xi. 11, Ps. Ixxiv. 2), all thought of a price paid is
lost. The word is even used of God creating the world (Gen. xiv. 19, 22)
and Israel (Dt. xxxii. 6). The same is true of the word 'redeem'
(cf vi. 6). See Westcott, Hebrews, pp. 295 ff., and Hort on 1 Pet.
i. 19. And the converse thought is expressed by the word 'sell'; see
Dt. xxxii. 30, Jud. ii. 14, 1 Sam. xii. 9, and especially Ps. xliv. 12 (13).

17. the mountain of thine inheritance, i.e. the hilly country (of
Palestine) which is thine inheritance. The idea of the land as
Yahweh's inheritance is specially characteristic of Jeremiah, ii. 7,
xii. 8, 9, xvi. 18, 1. 11; cf Ps. Ixxix. 1.

the place... &,G. Render, 'the established place for thee to dwell
in which thou hast made, 0 Yahweh.' In the writer's thoughts the
whole of Palestine is concentrated in the city of Jerusalem. 'The
established place' is virtually, though not strictly, in apposition to
the foregoing phrase ; it describes something smaller and more defined
than the whole country.

the sanctuary .. .8ic. Again in virtual apposition to 'the established
place.' The country and the city are concentrated, and find their

XV. i9-m] the book of exodus 93

19 For the horses of Pharaoh went in with his chariots and R^
with his horsemen into the sea, and the Lord brought again
the waters of the sea upon them ; but the children of Israel
walked on dry land in the midst of the sea. | 20 And Miriam E
the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand ;
and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with
dances. 21 And Miriam answered them.

Sing ye to the Lord, for he ^hath triumphed gloriously ;

The horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.

22 And Moses led Israel onward from the Red Sea, and J
they went out into the wilderness of Shur ; and they went

^ Or, is highly exalted

truest meaning in the Temple. The vmter thus reaches the spiritual
conception of Ps. xcii. 13 — of God's people as trees planted in the
house of Yahweh, and flourishing in the courts of their God.

19. A redactor explains the significance of the song. His ex-
pression 'the waters of the sea' does not occur in the narrative
of ch. xiv.

20. the prophetess, i.e. one endowed with the gift of song, as
Deborah, Jud. iv. 4. (In later times it denoted one who gave oracular
answers from God, as Huldah, 2 K. xxii, 14.) Tlie description would
lose its force if Miriam merely repeated a song composed by Moses.
It is E's account of the song which J in 'y. 1 ascribes to Moses.

the sister of Aaron. See on ii. 1.

21. answered them ; sang to them^ while they danced.

Chapter XV. 22—27.
Mardh and Elim.

The Israelites appear to have followed the ordinary haj route,
Eastward across the desert to the Northern point of the Gulf of Akaba.
See pp. xcviii. f ^ These verses are the only record we possess of their
route between tne crossing of the water and the arrival at the neigh-
bourhood of Sinai.

XV. 22. Shur; called Etham in Num. xxxiii. 8 (P). See
pp. xciv, f. Shur is mentioned in Gen. xvi. 7, xx. I, xxv. 18 (where
it is said to be ' in front of — i.e. East of — Egypt ' ; cf. 1 S. xr. 7),
1 S. xxvii. 8.

^ The pronoun is masc. as frequently with fern, plurals. Ges.-K. § 135 o.

94 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xt. .2-n

three days in the wilderness, and found no water. 23 And J
when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters
of Marah, for they were bitter : therefore the name of it was
called 1 Marah. 24 And the people murmured against Moses,
saying, What shall we drink ? 25 And he cried unto the Lord ;
and the Lord shewed him a tree, and he cast it into the waters,
and the waters were made sweet. | There he made for them a E
statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them ; | 26 and W*
he said. If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the
Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his eyes, and
wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes,
I will put none of the diseases upon thee, which I have put
upon the Egyptians : for I am the Lord that healeth thee.

27 And they came to Elim, where were twelve springs of «7
water, and threescore and ten palm trees : and they encamped
there by the waters.

1 That is, Bitterness.

23. Marah. The writer probably thought of the word as the
fern, of the adjective ' bitter ' ; the subst. (see marg.) occurs only in
Pro v. xiv. 10.

24. the people mwmv/red. The records of the constant mur-
murings of the people afford strong evidence for the historic truthfulness
of the narratives of the wanderings. A purely ideal picture of the
chosen people would have omitted them. They also serve to display
the wonderful personality of Moses, who could control, pacify and
lead such a collection of rude nomad tribes. The murmurings and
rebellions are related in Ex. xiv. 11, 12, xv. 24, xvi. 2, 3, xvii. 3,
xxxii. 1 — 4, 25, Num. xi. 4 — 6, xii. 1, 2, xiv. 2, 3, xvi., xx. 2 — 5,
xxi. 4, 5. They are referred to in Dt. i. 27, Ps. Ixxviii. 17—20, 40 — 42,
xcv. 8—11, cvi. 25, 1 Cor. x. 10, Heb. iii.

25. There he made for him, i.e. God made for the people, who
must have been previously mentioned as a collective unity in some
words now lost.

he proved them ; xvi. 4, xx. 20. See analysis, p. xxi.

26. diseases. A reference to the plagues, xxiii. 25 (R),
1 K. viii. 37 = 2 Chr. vi. 28 t.

healeth) cf. Ps. ciii. 3, cvii. 20. The present verse was used in
Rabbinic times as a charm for the healing of wounds.

27. Elim, i.e. * terebinths' ; but the name may imply the presence
of other prominent and lofty trees. ^EUm and ^Eloth are both plurals
of 'Eldh, and all the three names were probably employed for the same
place, at the North of the Gulf of Akaba. See pp. xcix. f.

xvi. 1-6] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 95

Chapter XVI.

The Mcmna and the Quails.

The literary phenomena of the chapter are discussed in the analysis, and
the conclusion is reached that JE recorded the gift of manna at this point.
In Num. xi. J relates that the people had by that time grown weary of the
manna, and murmured for flesh, whereupon quails were sent. P probably had
there a parallel story of quails ; but a compiler put it back to stand in the
position which it occupies in the present chapter, combining it with P's story
of the manna. This chapter was thus made similar to Num. xi., in that each
contains mention of quails and manna in juxtaposition.

XVI. 1 And they took their journey from Elim, and all the P
congregation of the children of Israel came unto the wilderness
of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day
of the second month after their departing out of the land of
Egypt. 2 And the whole congregation of the children of Israel
murmured against Moses and against Aaron in the wilderness :
3 and the children of Israel said unto them. Would that we
had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when
we sat by the flesh pots, when we did eat bread to the full ;
for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this
whole assembly with hunger. | 4 Then said the Lord unto E
Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you ; and the
people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that
I may prpxe them, whether they wiU walk in my law, or no. |
5 And it shall come to pass on the sixth day, that they shall P
prepare that which they bring in, and it shall be twice as much
as they gather daily. 6 And Moses and Aaron said unto all the

XVI. 1. wilderness of Sin ; see p. xcix. Num. xxxiii. 10 records,
between Elim and the arrival at Sinai, an encampment ' by yam suph,^
i.e. on the Gulf of Akaba.

3. The words imply that their condition in Egypt had been
tolerably comfortable.

4. And Yahweh said. There is no connexion with the pre-
ceding verse.

a day's portion every day. The thought, if not the language, of
this passage probably underlies the petition in the Lord's Prayer —
' Give us this day our daily bread.' See Taylor, Sayings of the Jewish
Fathers, ed. 2, pp. 178 — 186. On the assignment of the verse to E
see p. xxi.

prove them ; see xv. 25.

6. Moses tells the people God's words before he has himself

96 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xti. 6-13

children of Israel, At even, then ye shaU know that the Lord P
hath brought you out from the land of Egypt : 7 and in the
morning, then ye shall see the glory of the Lord ; for that he
heareth your murmurings against the Lord : and what are we,
that ye murmur against us ? | 8 And Moses said, This shall he, Rf
when the Lord shall give you in the evening flesh to eat, and
in the morning bread to the full ; for that the Lord heareth
your murmurings which ye murmur against him : and what are
we ? your murmurings are not against us, but against the Lord.j
9 And Moses said unto Aaron, Say unto all the congregation P
of the children of Israel, Come near before the Lord : for he
hath heard your murmurings. 10 And it came to pass, as
Aaron spake unto the whole congregation of the children of
Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and, behold, the
glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. > 1 1 And the Lord
spake unto Moses, saying, 12 I have heard the murmurings of
the children of Israel : speak unto them, saying, ^At even ye
shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread ;
and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God. 13 And it

* Heb. Between the two evenings.

received them from God in v. 12. m. 9 — 12 must originally have
preceded w. 6 — 8.

7. for that he heareth. The glory of Yahweh would be shewn by
the fact that He hears and grants their murmuring wish.

8. This shall he. R.V. supplies these words to produce a complete
sentence. But the verse, as added by the compiler (see anal. p. xxii,),
is incomplete ; he resumes the construction of the second clause of the
preceding verse : ^ And Moses said. For that Yahweh giveth you...
&c.,' and concludes with what is practically a duplicate of 7 h, c.

9. Come near before Yahweh, i.e. to the door of the Tent. Jhi|§
verse, together with 10, 33 f., shews that the narrative belongs to the
period after the Tent was erected at Sinai.

10. tmvard the wilderness. This is not in accordance with P's
conception of the cloud, which appeared over the Tent in the midst of
the camp. Moreover the Israelites were in the wilderness at the time.
It was probably an intentional correction, either by the compiler, or
(Dillm.) by the later scribes; the words should be read toward the
Dwelling (pB>Dn for nmon) ; cf. Num. xvi. 42 (Heb. xvii. 7). The
corrector was content to leave untouched the allusions to the existence
of the Tent, but the actual mention of it could not be admitted before
its erection at Sinai. The correction was earlier than the lxx, which
has rrjv tprifjLov.

12. At even ; see on xii. 6.

13. It is remarkable that nothing is said of the Israelites using,

XVI. 13-15] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 97

came to pass at even, that the quails came up, and covered P li^ <
the camp : and in the morning the dew lay romid about the *! a A
camp. 14 And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, —
upon the face of the wilderness a small ^ round thing, small as '^^ 7
the hoar frost on the ground. | 15 And when the children of ^
Israel saw it, they said one to another, ^What is it? for they
wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them. It is the

^ Or, flake ■■ '' ■ ^ Or, It is manna Heb. Man hu.

or taking any notice of, the quails. And the article, ^tke quails,'
shews that in the original form of the story quails had previously been
mentioned. Only a fragment of the narrative has survived, owing to
its amalgamation with the manna story (see analysis, p. xxii.).

Quails are frequently met with in the Sinaitic peninsula. They
move northwards in spring in immense numbers, flying close to the
ground. When wearied with flight they drop, and are easily netted.
They were salted and stored as food by the ancient Egyptians (Herod, ii.
77). There is no need to suppose that the birds of the narrative were
cranes (Stanley).

J's narrative in Num. xi. is much fuller, and describes the scene in
the camp when the birds were brought by an east wind, and the plague
which followed. The plague was probably caused by the fact that
their numbers were so great that they were not properly cured; the
bodies would quickly putrefy under a hot sun. See Gray on Num. xi.,
and art. ' Quails ' in JSnc. B. The gift of the quails is mentioned in
Ps. cv. 40, Wisd. xvi. 2, xix. 12. Cf Ps. Ixxviii. 27.

14. The manna is pictured as having fallen in the night with the
dew, and when the dew evaporated, tlie flakes of manna were left on
the ground.

a small round thing ; a fine scale-like thing : lit. ' a fine thing,
scaled oif.' Cognate words in Aram, denote 'potsherd,' 'scurf and
' scale ' (of fish). The adj. ' fine ' describes something reduced to small
particles by grinding or pulverisation ; cf xxx. 36, xxxii. 20.

15. What is it ? Man hu\ lxx ti eo-rt touto ; This rendering \»-| ft 1^
has been generally accepted ; but it is strange to find the Israelites

using the Aramaic form of the pronoun {man), and not the Hebrew
(mdh). It is possible that man maybe a Hebrew corruption of an; •
Egj^tian word mennu (Ebers, Brugsch), denoting some natural exuda-
tion from trees. If so, the words will mean ' they said one to another,
It is man', for they wist not what it was^' ; i.e. they called it by the
name of a well-known substance, because they did not know its real
nature — that it was something new and miraculous. The Engl, form
'manna' in w. 31, 33, 35 is 'due to the lxx fxawa in Num. xi.

1 In cod. F a corrector has superscribed the words mo" o.vt6 (Field, Hex. in he.).

2 The words ' for they wist not what it was ' may possibly be a gloss by someone
who sought an etymology for man in the Aramaic pronoun.

M. 7

98 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xvi. 15-19

bread which the Lord hath given you to eat. | 16 This is the E P
thing which the Lord hath commanded, Gather ye of it every
man according to his eating ; an omer a head, according to
the number of your persons, shall ye take it, every man for
them which are in his tent. 17 And the children of Israel
did so, and gathered some more, some less. 18 And ^hen)
they did mete it with an omer, he that gathered much had
nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack ; they "V pin
gathered every man according to his eating. 19 And Moses

Various suggestions for the identification of the substance will be
found in art. 'Manna' in DB and Enc. B., e.g. an exudation from
the tamarisk or tdrfd tree ; or from the Camel's Thorn ; a species of
oak honey ; or an edible lichen of a dry and insipid taste. The latter
Vould perhaps correspond best to the description of it. Currelly (in
Petrie's Researches in Sinai, 230 f ) suggests that it was snow. But
whether the phenomenon had a natural origin or not, the Biblical
writers treat it as entirely miraculous. It did not appear on the
Sabbath, but a double quantity fell on Friday. It remained fresh
if kept through Friday night, but putrefied if kept through any other
night in the week. Although it could be ground, beaten, boiled or *
baked (Num. xi. 8), yet it volatilised, if left, in the heat of the sun.
And finally, the daily provision for the Israelites, at an omer per head,
must have exceeded 300 tons.

18, And when they did mete it ; and they measured it, i.e. at
the time that they collected it, taking care not to gather more or less
than an omer per head. R.V. seems to imply that they measured it
afterwards, and found that however much or little they had gathered,
the manna had diminished or increased miraculously to the required
amount for each.

he that gathered much ; i.e. he that had a large household, and
therefore gathered many omers.

had nothing over... had no lack] caused no surplus... caused no
lack [to himself] ; he did not gather more, or less, than he ought.

according to his eating. With the above explanation, this expres-
sion is not at variance with the command to gather an omer per head.
See the use of the same expression in xii. 4.

In 2 Cor. viii. 15 S. Paul adopts words from this verse in begging
the Corinthians to be liberal in their almsgiving for the poor Christians
in Jerusalem. He tells his readers that he has no wish that they
should have distress in order that others should have relief ; he desires
an equal balance, that they should, at the present time, supply out of
their abundance the needs of their poorer brethren ; but that, if
occasion should arise, the Judaean Christians should contribute to
the needs of the Corinthians — ' as it is written, " He that gathered
much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack." '

XVI. i9-3i] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 99

said unto them, Let no man leave of it till the morning. P
20 Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses ; but some
of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and
stank: and Moses was wroth with them. 21 And they gathered -^ «
it morning by morning, every man according to his eating : and
when the sun waxed hot, it melted. | 22 And it came to pass, R^
that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two
omers for each one : and all the rulers of the congregation came
and told Moses. 23 And he said unto them. This is that which
the Lord hath spoken. To-morrow is a solenin rest, a holy sab- ■ ^■•^ -
bath unto the Lord : bake that which ye will bake, and seethe
that which ye will seethe ; and all that remaineth over lay up '
for you to be kept until the morning. 24 And they laid it up
till the morning, as Moses bade : and it did not stink, neither
was there any worm therein. 25 And Moses said. Eat that
to-day ; for to-day is a sabbath unto the Lord : to-day ye shall
not find it in the field. 26 Six days ye shall gather it ; but on
the seventh day is the sabbath, in it there shall be none.
27 And it came to pass on the seventh day, that there went out
some of the people for to gather, and they found none. 28 And
the Lord said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my
commandments and my laws ? 29 See, for that the Lord hath
given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day
the bread of two days ; abide ye every man in his place, let no
man go out of his place on the seventh day. 30 So the people
rested on the seventh day. | 31 And the house of Israel called P

22 — 30. The manna is not to be gathered on the Sabbath.

22. twice as much bread, two omers ; twice the [prescribed]
omer. This section on the Sabbath seems to be due to a later writer,
who understood v. 18 as describing a miracle. On Friday a further
miracle occurred ; each man, after gathering his prescribed amount,
found that his portion had mysteriously doubled itself. And the
princes of the congregation naturally went to inform Moses, and to
seek an explanation of the portent.

23. a solemn rest ; a complete rest ; shabhdthdn, a late
strengthened form of 'sabbath.' xxxi. 15, xxxv. 2, Lev. xvi. 31,
xxiii. 3, 24, 32, 39, xxv. 4, 5 1.

26. the sabbath ; a sabbath-rest. See on xx. 10.
29. every man where he is (cf. x. 23). In the following clause,
* his place ' is a different word.

7—2

100 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xvi. 31-xvii. i

the name thereof ^ Manna : and it was like coriander seed, P
white ; and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.
32 And Moses said, This is the thing which the Lord hath
commanded. Let an omerful of it be kept for your generations ;
that they may see the bread wherewith I fed you in the wilder-
ness, when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt 33 And
Moses said unto Aaron, Take a pot, and put an omerful of
manna therein, and lay it up before the Lord, to be kept for
your generations. 34 As the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron
laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept. 35 And the
children of Israel did eat the manna forty years, until they came
to a land inhabited ; they did eat the manna, until they came
unto the borders of the land of Canaan. 36 Now an omer is
the tenth part of an ephah.

XVII. 1 And all the congregation of the children of Israel

^ Heb. Man.

31 — 36. The continuation of the narrative in 13 h — 21.

31. The description seems to be that of the coriander frmt,
which is about the size of a peppercorn.

white. In Num. xi. 7 it is said to be of the colour of bdellium,
i.e. pale yellow. Jos. {Ant. in. i. 6), though retaining the comparison
with bdellium, says that the people would have mistaken the manna
for snow, had not Moses told them it was food — a statement evidently
based on the 'hoar frost' of v. 14.

wafers made with honey. Num. xi. 8 ' a dainty prepared with oil.'

34. before the Testimony (or Witness), i.e. in front of the ark
which held the Testimony. The same abbreviated expression occurs
in xxvii. 21, xxx. 6, 36, Lev. xvi. 13, xxiv. 3, Num. xvii. 4 (19), 10 (25).
' The Testimony ' is the solemn divine charge comprised in the Ten
Words, XXV. 16, 21, xxxi. 18, xxxii. 15, xxxiv. 29, xl. 20. The words
shew that the narrative belongs to the period after the stay at Sinai.
See w. 9, 10.

36. An 'ephdh was a dry measure, equivalent to bath a liquid
measure. (Ezek. xlv. 11, 14.) The bath-'ephdh measured, in O.T.
times, 65 imperial pints. But when it became advisable to coordinate
the Hebrew measurements with the Greek, it was made equivalent to
the Attic tierprj-nj^ (Jn. ii. 6, E.V. 'firkin'), i.e. 71-28 pints. The
^omer contained a little more than a bushel, and an 'ephdh about
11 bushels.

Chapter XVII. 1—7.

Meribah-Massah.

XVII. L M^hidim. The locality has not been identified. See
p. civ.

ivii. r-7] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 101

journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, by their ^journeys, P
according to the commandment of the Lord, and pitched in
Rephidim : j and there was no water for the people to drink. E
2 Wherefore the people strove with Moses, and said, Give us
water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them. Why
strive ye with me ? | wherefore do ye tempt the Lord ? 3 And J
the people thirsted there for water ; and the people murmured
against Moses, and said. Wherefore hast thou brought us up
out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with
thirst ? j 4 And Moses cried unto the Lord, saying. What shall E
I do unto this people ? they be almost ready to stone me. 5 And
the Lord said unto Moses, Pass on before the people, and take
with thee of the elders of Israel ; and thy rod, wherewith thou
smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go. 6 Behold, I will
stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb ; and thou
shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that
the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the
elders of Israel. | 7 And he called the name of the place ^Massah, | J
and ^Meribah, because of the striving of the children of Israel, | E

^ Or, stages ^ That is, Tempting, or, Proving. ^ That is, Chiding, or, Strife.

2. The double question 'Why strive ye...?' 'Why tempt ye...?'
is due to the amalgamation of two narratives, and corresponds to the
double name Meribah-Massah {v. 7). See analysis, p. xxiii. The
striving and tempting are referred to in Ps. xcv. 8, 9, which is quoted
in Heb. iii. 8, 9.

4. to stone me. Cf. 1 S. xxx. 6.

5. and go. *, The name of the place to which he was to go has
fallen out (cf. Gen. xxxi. 25a), since 'there' in v. 6 has nothing to
refer to.

6. In Num. xx. is found another narrative of the striking of the
rock, placed at Kadesh, near the borders of Canaan ; and the name
Meribdh is explained («. 13), as here, by the incident. (See pp. cii. f.)'
The Targ. of Onkelos on Num. xxi. 17 ff. contains a legend according
to which the well, mentioned in that passage, followed the Israelites on
their journeys. S. Paul (1 Cor. x. 4) refers to the legend, at the same
time alluding to the rock which produced water, the rock being t3rpical
of Christ. See Thackeray, The Rel. of St Paul to contemp. Jewish
thought, pp. 205 — 11.

7. Meribah. It is unfortunate that the Revisers have admitted
' chiding ' into the margin. The subst. is formed from the same root
as the word ' striving ' in the following clause, and the verb * strove '
and 'strive' in v. 2.

102 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xvii. 7-1 1

and because they tempted the Lord, saying, Is the Lord J
among us, or not ?

8 Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim. E
9 And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, -(^
fight with Amalek : to-morrow I will stand on the top of the hill
with the rod of God in mine hand. 10 So Joshua did as Moses
had said to him, and fought with Amalek : and Moses, Aaron,
and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 1 1 And it came to pass,
when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed : and when he

w. 8—16.
T}\£, Battle with the Amalekites.

8. ^Amalek. A predatory tribe, resembling the modern Bedawin.
The difficulty of supposing them to have appeared as far South as, the
traditional locality of Sipajis discussed on p. civ. From Num. xiii, 29,
xiv. 25, 43, 45, we learn that they were closely associated with Pale^s-
^^^^LlLtribeSj^and lived on the S. and S.W. of JudaK near K^bsh, in
the desert now known as et-Tih. This is supported by 1 S. xv. 6f.,
XXX. ; and Gen. xiv. 7 expressly locates them at En-mishpat or
Kadesh, and couples them with the Amorites ; see also Gen. xxxvi. 12
(with Driver's note).

9. Joshua. He is mentioned as a well-known person, without
explanation, and as a full-grown warrior ; whereas in xxiv. 13,
xxxiii. 11 he is introduced to the reader as a young man, Moses'
private servant. Moses is too old and feeble to lead the army in
person. The narrative evidently belongs to a period — not at the
beginning, but — towards the end of the Israelites' journeyings.

tlm Mil. One of the heights near Kadesh. Of Num. xiv. 40, 44 f.

10. Hur. He is elsewhere mentioned only in xxiv. 14 (E) ; he
was apparently a chief, and perhaps a kinsman of Moses. J^iA^Ant.
III. ii. 4) speaks of him as the husband of Miriam, and identifies him
with the grandfather of Bezaleel (xxxi. 2, xxxv. 30, 1 Ch. ii. 19 f, 50,
2 Ch. i._ 5). Hur was the name of a Midianite chief (Num. xxxi, 8,
Jos. xiii. 21 (P)), and of a Jew after the exile (Neh. iii. 9). The name
*"iin occurs in Nabataean and Sinaitic inscriptions. Some have con-
nected it with the name of the Egyptian sun-god Horus ; but there is
no evidence for this, though some of the Israelite names are probably
of Egyptian etymology ; e.g. Moses (ii. 10), Putiel and Phinehas (vi. 25).

11. Moses raised his hand with the divinely given staff (9 h\ and
also stretched out the other hand (12). The scene has often been
regarded as t5^ical of the power of prayer ; cf Cowper's h)man (' What
various hindrances we meet'),

'When Moses stood with arms spread wide,
Success was found on Israel's side:
But when through weariness they fail'd,
That moment Amalek prevail'd.'

xvii. 11-15] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 103

let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses' hands were E
heavy ; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he
sat thereon ; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one
on the one side, and the other on the other side ; and his hands
were steady until the going down of the sun. 13 And Joshua
^discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the
sword. 14 And the Lord said unto Moses, Write this for a
memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua :
^that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from
under heaven. 15 And Moses built an altar, and called the name

1 Heb. prostrated. . 'k-ts*' ^ Or, for

13. discomfited; weakened \ Job xiv. 10, Is. xiv. 12 1. The
subst. 'weakness' occurs in xxxii. 18, and the adj. in Joel iii. (iv.) 10.

14. Write this. Moses probably learnt some form of writing
when he was brought up in Egypt. Cf. xxiv. 4, xxxiv. 27, Num. xxxiii.
2, Dt. xxxi. 9, 22, 24. The beginnings of Hebrew writing camiot be
traced. Some think that the Heb. alphabet was derived from the
angient Egyptian hieratic script ; others assign to it an Assyrian origin ;
at any rate it dates from a period long before the Exodus. But the
earhest known specimens of Heb. writing are inscriptions on two bowls
of bronze, apparently carried to Cyprus as part of the spoils from a
temple on Mt Lebanon. The earher of these probably belongs to the
beginning of the 10th cent, B.C., i.e. a little later than the reign of
Solomon ; and the later one is nearly contemporaneous with the
inscription of Mesha on the ' Moabite Stone,' belonging to the middle
of the 9th cent. The script is also found in the (?) 8th cent, in the
'Siloam inscription.' See art. 'Alphabet,' BB i. 72 f

rehearse it. Lit. 'place it.' Joshua must learn the words of the
record, in order to hand it on to the next generation, when Moses was
dead.

for / will utterly wipe out.... Moses was to record, not the
words 'I will utterly... &c.,' but the splendid victory vouchsafed by
Yahweh.

15. The erection of the altar is in accordance with the principle
expressed in xx. 24. Yahweh had ' caused His Name to be remembered '
by the victory. Until the Deuteronomic legislation confined all
sacrifice to the central sanctuary, the erection of altars was a frequent
act of piety, and is related in the case of Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob,
Joshua, Gideon, Samuel, Saul, David, Solomon, and others.

Yahweh-nissi, 'Yahweh is my banner.' The name Yahweh is
the sacred emblem under which we rally and fight. Hoc Signo
vincemus. Cf Ps. xx. 5, 7.

1 In the Kal voice the verb signifies ' to be weak.' Probably the Hiphil B'Jpil
should be read.

104 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xvii. 15-xviii. 3

of it ^ Jehovah-nissi : 16 and he said, ^The Lord hath sworn : E
the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to
generation.

XVIII. 1 Now Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses' father
in law, heard of all that God had done for Moses, and for Israel
his people, | how that the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt. R^^
2 And Jethro, Moses' father in law, took Zipporah, Moses' wife,
after he had sent her away, 3 and her two sons ; of which the
name of the one was Gershom ; for he said, I have been ^a

1 That is, The LORD is my banner. ^ Or, Because there is a hand against the
throne of tlie LORD Heb. A hand is lifted up upon the throne of Jah. ' Heb.

Ger. See ch. ii. 22.

16. The Lord hath sworn. A very terse form of oath (introduced
by kt, the particle of asseveration), which may have been frequently
employed in ancient days — i/ddh 'al kes Yah. The alliteration formed
by the first and the last word is characteristic of popular sayings and
proverbs. The four words denote a hand on the throne of Yah. The
expression * lift up the hand ' as a form of oath is found in vi. 8,
Gen. xiv. 22, Num. xiv. 30, Ps. cvi. 26 al. The words may therefore
be rendered, not as in R.V. but, I [or We] lift up a hand to the
throne of Yah. And the oath is one of unceasing hostility to
Amalek — ' Yahweh [in the person of His people] will have war...&c.'

The terseness of the oath causes an abbreviation of '^P? (kisse), the
usual word for 'throne,' into D3 (^kes)^. This is supported, though
entirely misread, by the lxx iv x«pi Kpv(j>ata = n^P? ">!?

Chapter XVIII.
Jethro visits Moses at the mountain.

XVIII. 1. Jethro. See on ii. 18.

2. after he had sent her away ; after her dismissal. This can
only mean * after Moses had sent her back to Midian when he returned
to Egypt,' — unless the words refer to some tradition about Zipporah
which is now lost. Verses 2 — 4 seem to be a later addition, with the
object of reconciling ii. 22, iv. 20, 25 (J) with E's statement in v. 5.
See analysis, pp. xxiii. f.

On the names Zipporah and Gershom see ii. 21 f

1 The emendation nes ('banner'), adopted by several writers, is unnecessary,
and gives a poor sense. Moreover if nes had been the original reading, the
connexion with Yahweh-nissi would have been so obvious, that a scribe would
have been most unlikely to alter it to the unique kes. On the other hand the
possibility cannot be denied that the whole phrase is a corruption of quite a
different sentence, in which nes may originally have stood; perhaps it was an
explanation of nissi.

XVIII. 3-1 r] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 105

sojourner in a strange land : 4 and the name of the other was R^'
^Eliezer ; for he said, The God of my father was my help, and
delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh : | 5 and Jethro, Moses' E
father in law, came with his sons and his wife unto Moses into
the wilderness where he was encamped, at the mount of God :
6 and he said unto Moses, I thy father in law Jethro am come unto
thee, and thy wife, and her two sons with her. | 7 And Moses JE
went out to meet his father in law, and did obeisance, and
kissed him ; and they asked each other of their welfare ; and
they came into the tent. 8 And Moses told his father in law
all that the Lord had done unto Pharaoh and to the Egyptians
for Israel's sake, all the travail that had come upon them by the
way, and how the Lord delivered them. 9 And Jethro rejoiced
for all the goodness which the Lord had done to Israel, in that he
had delivered them out of the hand of the Egyptians. 10 And
Jethro said. Blessed be the Lord, who hath delivered you out
of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of Pharaoh ; |
who hath delivered the people fi'om under the hand of the R
Egyptians. | 11 Now I know that the Lord is greater than all«7^

^ Heb. El, God, and ezer, help.

4. 'EU'ezer. 'My God is a help\' He is mentioned elsewhere
only in a chronicler's list of names, where he has an only son Rehabiah
(1 Chr. xxiii. 15, 17, xxvi, 25). It is noteworthy that the very similar
names 'El'azar ('God hath helped') and Gershon are given in P
(vi. 23, 16f.) to Aaron's third son and to Levi's eldest son respectively.
Priestly descent was traced from Levi, sometimes through Moses and
sometimes through Aaron. See Introd. pp. Ixvii. f.

the sword of Pharaoh. The expression is not found elsewhere.

LXX Ik ;(€ipos $.

5. where he was encamped. The encampment at the mountain
does not take place till xix. 2 ; the present position of the narrative is,
therefore, premature. See also v. 16.

6. I... am come. The true text (with lxx Sam. Pesh.) is probably
'Behold thy father-in-law is come' (JiJO for ^^^*) ; ^and the opening
'and he said' must be either understood impersonally, 'and it was
said,' or altered to 'and they said' (""P^*!) ; cf. Gen. xlviii. 1.

10^. who hath delivered... 8ic. A doublet of the preceding half
verse ; the clause is omitted in lxx.

^ In the explanation which follows (' was my help ') the construction ^"ITJ/S ,
•in the capacity of my help,' may be compared with ^'IK' ?N3, vi. 3 (Ges.-K.
§ 119 i).

106 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xviii. 11-.6

^ gods : yea, in the thing wherein they dealt proudly against them. | JE

12 And Jethro, Moses' father in law, took a burnt offering E
and sacrifices for God : and Aaron came, and all the elders of
Israel, to eat bread with Moses' father in law before God.

13 And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge
the people : and the people stood about Moses from the
morning unto the evening. 14 And when Moses' father in law
saw all that he did to the people, he said. What is this thing .
that thou doest to the people ? why sittest thou thyself alone,
and all the people stand about thee from morning unto even ?
15 And Moses said unto his father in law, Because the people
come unto me to inquire of God : 16 when they have a matter,
they come unto me ; and I judge between a man and his neigh-
bour, and I make them know the statutes of God, and his laws.

11. yea, in the thing] for in the thing.... The end of the
sentence has been accidentally lost (cf. xix. 25, Gen. iv. 8) ; ' He
saved them,' or something similar, must be supplied. God made
use of their very pride and defiance to bring about the salvation
of Israel ; cf. Ps. Lxxvi. 10 a. This was signally true at the Red Sea,
but also at the Exodus.

^*\ they dealt proudly^. The subject might grammatically be ' the

^ gods,' whom Jethro would think of as having a real existence, and

as defying the power of Israel's God ; but the words ' against them,'

i.e. against the Israelites (' the people,' v. 10), shew that the subject

must be the Egyptians.

12. Aaron came, and all the elders. Aaron appears to be himself
an elder, not a priest ; cf xxiv. 14.

to eat bread. It was a solemn sacrificial meal. ' Bread ' is
equivalent to a 'meal,' and sacrificial victims would form part of
the food.

before God, i.e. at the sanctuary. See v. 16.

13. The modem Bedawin sheikh combines the offices of leader in
war, and arbitrator in disputes, and is the general head in all tribal
concerns.

Palmer (Desert of the Exodus, i. 87) says that each tribe has three
sheikhs, an appeal being possible from the chief sheikh to the other
two. Aaron and Hur may have stood in that relation to Moses.

16. statutes {hukklm) were definite rules, stereotyped and per-
manent ; laws (toroth) were ' directions ' or ' pronouncements ' delivered
as special circumstances required them (see p. 183). The present
passage must belong to the period after Moses received the divine

^ Lit. 'boiled up.' The Kal is found only in Jer. 1. 29; the Hiphil in
Ex. zxi. 14 al.

XVIII. 17-^3] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 107

17 And Moses' father in law said unto him, The thing that thou E
doest is not good. 18 Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou,
and this people that is with thee : for the thing is too heavy for
thee ; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone. 19 Hearken
now unto my voice, I will give thee counsel, and God be with
thee : be thou for the people to God-ward, and bring thou the
causes unto God : 20 and thou shalt teach them the statutes \ ^
and the laws, and shalt shew them the way wherein they must
walk, and the work that they must do. 21 Moreover thou shalt ^

provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of "(VY
truth, hating unjust gain ; and place such over them, to be
rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and
rulers of tens : 22 and let them judge the people at all seasons :
and it shall be, that every great matter they shall bring unto
thee, but every small matter they shall judge themselves : so
shall it be easier for thyself, and they shall bear the burden
with thee. 23 If thou shalt do this thing, and God com-
mand thee so, then thou shalt be able to endure, and all this

statutes on the mountain. And this is apparently the position in
which J placed Hobab's visit (Num. x. 29 — 32). The expression
'before God' {v. 12) points to the same conclusion.

19. and God be with thee. This perhaps means 'provided
that God sanctions what I advise.' Of. v. 23. But the words should
probably be rendered that Ood may be with thee.

to God-ward. Lit. 'in front of God,' representing Him to the
people, and the people to Him. Of xxviii. 12, Gal. iii. 19. Social
injustice was a crying evil in Israel throughout its history ; and the
high status and responsibilities of a judge, as the divine representative,
are declared in Ps. Ixxxii.

20. the work ; the action. What they must do in any particular
case which they brought before him.

21. able men. Lit. men of might or valour. It generally denotes
soldiers, but the word is here extended to include mental and moral
efficiency ; cf Gen. xlvii. 6, 1 K. i. 42, 52 ; and of women Prov. xii. 4,
xxxi. 10, Ruth iii. 11.

The elaborate organization suggested by Jethro is an ideal never
reached in any nation. In Num. xi. 16 f., 24 f. Moses chose 70 elders
to assist him, whereas if Israel numbered 600,000 (see on xii. 37) the
required number of rulers would be 78,600.

22. so shall it be easier \ and make it lighter.

23. shall go to their place. They would be able to obtain
decisions at their own homes.

108 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xtiii. 23-27

people also shall go to their place in peace. 24 So Moses ^
hearkened to the voice of his father in law, and did all that
he had said. 25 And Moses chose able men out of all Israel,
and made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands,
rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. 26 And
they judged the people at all seasons : the hard causes they
brought unto Moses, but every small matter they judged
themselves. 27 And Moses let his father in law depart ;
and he went his way into his own land.

24. Origen {Horn, in Ex.) calls attention to the fact that
Christians can sometimes learn from the heathen, as Moses learnt
from a non-Israelite. And similarly Augustine {de doctr. Christ.
prolog. § 7), who makes the fine remark, 'For Moses knew that a
wise plan, in whatever mind it might originate, was to he ascribed not
to the man who devised it, but to Him who is the Truth, the
unchangeable God.' The wise plan devised by Jethro has never
become antiquated. The statesman-like principle of decentralization —
the delegation of responsibility — is as important to-day as in the time
of Moses.

27. In Num. x. 29 — 32 after Hobab's refusal to accompany them,
Moses again pressed him. The narrative is incomplete, Hobab's final
decision not being related ; but from Jud. i. 16 it may be inferred that
he consented to go with them.

PAET II.

LAWS GIVEN AT THE SACRED MOUNTAIN, AND
NARRATIVES CONNECTED WITH THEIR DELIVERY.

CHAPTERS XIX.— XL.

Chapter XIX.
The a/rrival at the Sacred Mowntain, and the Theophany.

The arriTal at Sinai-Horeb marks the greatest of all turning points in Israel's
history. We reach what was the kernel and core of the nation's life — the
covenant by which all the tribes were united in allegiance to one God, and the
laws — ritual, social and moral — upon which the covenant was based. It was
a very small nation, a mere collection of nomad clans. And when they
reached Canaan, they occupied, in their most prosperous days, a territory
which was never larger than 100 x 150 miles, roughly equivalent in area to'
tlie counties of Lancashire and Yorkshire. But their supreme importance,
greater than that of the great nations of the earth, lay not in their history,
or the extent of their territory, but in the fact that they contained a germ out
of which grew the kingdom of God. And the germ was planted at the
mountain of God.

XIX. 1 In the third month after the children of Israel were P
gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into
the wilderness of Sinai. 2 And when they were departed from
Rephidim, and were come to the wilderness of Sinai, they
pitched in the wilderness ; | and there Israel camped before E

XIX. 1. In the third month. The date was probably the result
of the late tradition which connected the F. of rentecost with the
giving of the Law. This feast was fifty days after the fifteenth day
of the first month (Lev. xxiii. 15) ; thus the arrival at the mountain
would be on the fifth day of the third month. But the statement of
the day has fallen out, leaving ' the same day ' in the second clause
unexplained.

2. and there Israel camped. If this half of the verse is rightly
assigned to E, his statement of the arrival at Horeb, which might have

110 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xix. 2-6

the mount. 3 And Moses went up unto God, | and the Lord ^
called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou
say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel ; 4 Ye
have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you
on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself 5 Now there-
fore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant,
then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me ^from among all
peoples : for all the earth is mine : 6 and ye shall be unto me

^ Or, above

been a valuable help towards fixing the locality of the mountain, has
been displaced by the words from P's itinerary,

3. unto God. It is interesting to note the attempt of the lxx to
lessen the anthropomorphic tendency of the words. They have 'unto
the mountain of God,' and in the following clause, ' the Lord called
unto him out of heaven.'

TTius shalt thou say. The parallelism formed by this and the next
clause is a sign of poetical art which does not belong to the prose
narratives of the earlier sources; and 'Jacob' as a name for the
Israelite nation occurs, in the Hex., only in the poetical passages,
Num. xxiii. 7, 10, 21, 23, xxiv. 5, 17, 19, Dt. xxxiii. 4, 10, 28, in every
case except one in parallelism with ' Israel.'

3 h — 6 are a very beautiful expression of God's relations with His
people, written by a religious thinker of the Deuteronomic school.
It is, as Dillmann says, 'the classical passage of the O.T. on the
nature and aim of the theocratic covenant.' Its religious significance
is pointed out on pp. cxxii. f

4. on eagles' wings. Cf Dt. xxxii. 11. The poetry of the prophets
contains other striking instances of the bold employment of metaphors
from animal life in describing the action of God ; see Hos. v. 12, 14,
xi. 10, xiii. 7f, Am. i. 2, Is. xxxi. 4, 5.

brought you unto myself. God is represented as having His
abiding place on the mountain to which He had brought the people ;
cf iii. 12.

5. keep my covenant. An ex isostjacto remark, for the covenant
has not yet been made or mentioiiear'''

peculiar treasure (segulldh). The word denotes ' valuable property '
in 1 Ch. xxix. 3, Eccl. ii. 8. As a metaphor of Israel's relation to God
it occurs in Dt. vii. 6, xiv. 2, xxvi. 18, Mai. iii. 17, Ps. cxxxv. 4.
In Dt. it is in each case ' a people of peculiar treasure,' which should
probably be read here, with lxx Aaos Treptovo-ios. The expression is
quoted in Tit. ii. 14. (1 Pet. ii, 9 has Xao? cis 'n-epiiroirjonv, and
Eph. i. 14 TrcpiTTOM^o-ts, apparently owing to lxx of Is. xliii. 21.)

all the earth is mine. An expression of absolute . monotheism
which cannot be shewn to have been the beliJOTO?~Israel tilTit was
taught^ b^ the prophets of the, eighth, ceiiturv. During the period

XIX. 6-12] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 111

a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words R^
which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. | 7 And E^
Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and set
before them all these words which the Lord commanded him.
8 And all the people answered together, and said. All that the
Lord hath spoken we will do. And Moses reported the words
of the people unto the Lord. | 9 And the Lord said unto Moses, E
Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear
when I speak with thee, and may also believe thee for ever. |
And Moses told the words of the people unto the Lord. | W^
10 And the Lord said unto Moses, Go unto the people, andj^
sanctify them to-day and to-morrow, and let them wash their
garments, 11 and be ready against the third day : 0or the J" ^^ t*»
third day the Lord will come down in the sight of all the
people upon mount Sinai. 12 And thou shalt set bounds unto
the people round about, saying. Take heed to yourselves, that

of the judges and the monarchy Yahweh alone was Israel's God, but it
was generally held that the gods of other nations, Chemosh, Milcom,
and so on, had a real existence, and authority in their respective lands.
See Jud. xi. 24, 1 S. xxvi. 19.

6. a kingdom of priests. A kingdom whose citizens are all priests
(cf. Is. Ixi. 6) to bring other nations to the worship of God, and to
teach them His will, lxx /3acriA.«ov UpaTtvfia apparently renders the
expression by two substantives, *a royalty — a priesthood,' i.e. a royal
body which is at the same time a priestly body. See Hort on 1 Pet.
ii. 9 ; and cf Rev, i. 6.

an holy nation. The exact phrase is not found elsewhere. 'An
holy people' occurs in Dt. vii. 6, xiv. 2, 21, xxvi. 19, xxviii. 9;
cf Is. Ixii. 12. 'Holy' does not primarily denote moral excellence,
but separation, exclusiveness (cf xxii. 31). The thought of moral
excellence, however, which ideally attached to a people set apart for
God, gradually came to the front. See e.g. Num. xv. 40 (P). This
ethical character of God's people is described in Ps. xv., xxiv. 3 ff.

This and the preceding expression are both transferred by S. Peter
to the Christian Church, the true Israel of God.

7, 8. These verses appear to be connected with the Decalogue,
and to be in imitation of xxiv. 3. See analysis, p. xxv.

10. sanctify them. Distinct from the washing of clothes and
abstinence from sexual intercourse. It would consist at least in
bathing the body ; see Gen. xxxv. 2, and W. K. Smith, ES^ 446 — 54.

12. set hounds unto the people, i.e. keep the people within bounds.
But it is an improbable meaning of the verb. Read, with Sam., set
hounds unto the mountain (cf v. 23), i.e. by placing stakes or stones

112 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xix. ia-i8

ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it : who- J
soever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death : 13 no
hand shall touch ^him, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot
through ; whether it be beast or man, it shall not live : when
the ^trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mountj
14 And Moses went down from the mount unto the people, and -£7
sanctified the people ; and they washed their garments. 15 And
he said unto the people. Be ready against the third day : come
not near a woman. 16 And it came to pass on the third day,
when it was morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, '
and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of a trumpet
exceeding loud ; and all the people that were in the camp
trembled. 17 And Moses brought forth the people out of the
camp to meet God ; and they stood at the nether part of the
mount I 18 And mount Sinai was altogether on smoke, because J

^ Or, it ^ Or, rartCi horn

in a line. The mountain thus became * sanctified,' separated oflf as a
sacred enclosure.

13. no hand shall touch him. Because to do so others also would
be obliged to transgress the barrier.

stoned. In Heb. xii. 20 the passage (mentioning only ' a beast ') is
referred to as shewing the terrible sternness of the old covenant as
contrasted with the new covenant mediated by Jesus, but at the same
time to emphasize the solemn truth that the responsibility- of those
under the new covenant is greater.

the trumpet; the ram's horn (i/obhel). In early days the instrument
would be actually made of horn, but later probably of metal. When
the fiftieth year was made sacred, it was ushered in by trumpets, and
was caUed 'the year of the i/obheV (Lev. xxv. 13, xxvii. 17), or more
shortly 'the yobheV (Lev. xxv. 11, xxvii. 18, Num. xxxvi. 4); hence
the English form ' Jubile.' See Benzinger, Heb. Arch. 276.

they shall come up. ' They ' is made emphatic by the use of the
pronoun. It must refer not to the people who have been forbidden to
come up, but to the priests («. 22). See analysis, p. xxvi.

16. a trumpet {shophdr). A mysterious trumpet which formed
part of the signs of the Theophany : different from the yobhel of v. 13.
'The trump that angels quake to hear thrilled from the deep dark
cloud.' It is foretold that a heavenly trumpet will announce the
second Advent, Mat. xxiv. 31, 1 Thes. iv. 16, 1 Cor. xv. 52.

17. they stood ; they took their stand. A diflPerent word from
that in XX. 21. See note there.

18. For smoke as an accompaniment of a Theophany see Gen.
XV. 17, Is. vi. 4, Joel ii. 30 [Heb. iii. 3].

XIX. 18-74] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 113

the Lord descended upon it in fire : and the smoke thereof J
ascended as the smoke of a fiimace, and the whole ^ mount
quaked greatly. | 19 And when the voice of the trumpet waxed IE
louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a
voice. I 20 And the Lord came down upon mount Sinai, to the J
top of the mount : and the Lord called Moses to the top of the
mount ; and Moses went up. 21 And the Lord said unto
-^1, Moses, Go down, charge the people, lest they break through -
^. '^ unto the Lord to gaze, and many of them perish. 22 And let
the priests also, which come near to the Lord, sanctify
themselves, lest the Lord break forth upon them. ([23 And W^
Moses said unto the Lord, The people cannot come up to
mount Sinai : for thou didst charge us, saying, Set bounds
about the mount, and sanctify it?]! 24 And the Lord said J
unto him, Go, get thee down ; and thou shalt come up, thou,
and Aaron with thee : but let not the priests and the people
break through to come up unto the Lord, lest he break forth

^ Some ancient authorities have, people,

the whole mount quaked. The reading 'people,' found in lxx and
some Heb. mss, is perhaps correct. In that case the statement is J's
equivalent to that of E in v. 16. The verb is the same.

19. Moses spake. This and the following verb are, in the Heb.,
frequentative, implying a colloquy between Moses and God, which
reached the ears of the people only as an inarticulate sound. Cf. Jn.
xii. 28 f The continuation of E's narrative is to be found in xx. 18 — 21
(see analysis).

22. which come near to Yahweh. See p. Ixv. ' Come near ' of
priestly service is an expression found in P (xxviii. 43, xxx. 20 al.),
and elsewhere only in Jer. xxx. 21, Ez. xliv. 13. The words may be a
late addition. The mention of priests here and in v. 24 appears to be
an anachronism ; see p. Ixvi.

23. It is strange that Moses should speak of ' Mount Sinai ' while
he was on the mountain itself. The verse — which seems to convey the
impression of capriciousness on the part of God, and of reasonable
arguing on that of Moses — is one of j^he^ost remarkable i^gtancffs |'
qf redactiQua^work to be met with in thelTT! See~anaiysis, p. xxvi.

24. hut let not the priests... &c. This injunction, as it stands,
makes the words 'they shall come up' in v. 13 quite inexplicable.
The order of the Heb. words, translated literally, is as follows :
'...and Aaron with thee; and the priests and the people let them
not break through.' And according to Kuenen's very probable sug-
gestion, the semicolon must be moved so as to follow ' the priests,'

M. 8

114 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xix. .4-xx. i

upon them. 25 So Moses went down unto the people, andeT"
told them.

25. and told them ; and said unto them. The Heb. lo^*! can
be rendered in no other way. Moses' words have fallen out, but they
must have consisted in a repetition to the people of the divine
commands. See analysis on this v. and on xxiv. 1 (pp. xxi., xxxii.).

Chapter XX. 1—17.

The Ten Words.

The critical questions connected with the 'Ten Words' and its history
and origin are dealt with on ^p. Ivi.— Ixiv. It is there shewn that various
lines of argument converge to the conclusion that the Decalogue, as we have
it, was the result of a long growth, extending into post-exilic times. The
original form of it, as a distinct code, seems to have been a product of the
generation which had listened to Hosea and Amos ; and the principal expan-
sions in it, of the period of reform which is generally known as Deuteronomic.
The literary phenomena of chs. xix. — xxiv., xxxii. — xxxiv. render it probable
that the code, together with the portions of narrative which are connected
with it, must have been inserted in Exodus later than the greater portion of
the laws.

It can hardly be necessary to insist that this complicated literary history
in no way detracts from its value. In every department of life, physical,
i social or literary, a product which has been slowly evolved is not less the work
5 of God than one which has appeared complete and ready-made ; and it must
be judged not by the earliest but by the latest stage in its growth. And the
value of the Decalogue is not diminished if it received enlargements from
many hands, and if other, and different, forms of it have been preserved. A.s
it stands now in the Hebrew Bible it is a monument of priceless worth, and is
the basis of all subsequent Christian teaching on our duty towards God and
our neighbour. 'Whoever ordered his tastes and life in accordance with
them [the O.T. writers], ordered his tastes and life not in accordance with men
but in accordance with God who spake through them. If sacrilege was there
forbidden, it was God that forbade it If it was said, " Honour thy father and
mother," it was God that commanded it. If it was said, " Thou shalt not
commit adultery," " Thou shalt not kill," " Thou shalt not steal," and so forth, it
was not human lips that uttered these, but divine oracles.' (Aug. De Civ.
Dei, xviii. 41.)

In the following notes when a command is quoted from Dt v., the italicised
words mark the variations from the form in Exodus.

XX, . 1 And God spake all these words, saying, E^

XX. 1. all these words. They are not called 'Ten' till Dt. iv. 13,
X. 4, unless the expression in xxxiv. 28 is a redactional addition
referring to them.

XX. 2-4] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 115

2 I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the E^
land of Egypt, out of the house of ^bondage.

3 Thou shalt have none other gods ^before me.

4 Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image, nor the
likeness of any form that is in heaven above, or that is in the

1 Heb. bondmen. ^ Or, beside me

2. The verse finds a close parallel in Hos. xiii. 4, Ps. Ixxxi. 10.
A possible rendering is, ' I, Yahweh, am thy God,' forming a direct
statement of Israel's henotheism which anticipates v. 3. If, according
to the Jewish arrangement, w. 1, 2 are reckoned together as the
first Word, we might render — 'As for Me, Yahweh thy God, which
brought..., thou shalt have none other gods beside Me.' But there
is no reason for departing from the usual rendering — ' I am Yahweh
thy God.' This is not a statement of Israel's henotheism, but a formal
opening to a document, such as is found, e.g., in Mesha's inscription
— ' I am Mesha, son of Chemosh-[melek], king of Moab.'

house of slaves. As in xiii. 3, 14, Jos. xxiv. 17, and frequently
in Dt.

3. 1st Word. Heb., literally, 'there shall not be to thee.' This
need not necessarily be understood to mean, ' There shall not exist in
thy thoughts any other gods.' It must be left an open question
whether the prohibition implies that, whatever other nations did,
Israel must acknowledge and worship only t>ne <ji?-ity (henotheism
or monolatry), Qt that Israel must realise Jhat no, Qther deities^existed
(monotheism). If the prohibition had been known for a long time
before it was written in its codified shape, the former alternative must
be adopted ; but if it was quite new at the time of the prophets, the
latter is possible. Perhaps the earlier henotheistic form is preserved
in xxxiv. 14 (J) — 'thou shalt not worship another god.' The present
passage is so rendered in the Targums. Origen, Horn, in Exod., draws
a sharp distinction between ' there shall not be to thee' and ' there are
not.' But he fancifully explains the ' other gods ' as angels, who are
called gods ' not by nature but by grace ' because God has apportioned
to them divine offices.

before me. Lit. ' over against my face.' This is the meaning of
the R. V. : not ' in preference to me,' but side by side with me so that
I can see them. In Dt. v. 7 the form of the 1st Word is identical with
that in Exodus.

4 — 6. Ilnd Word. No visible representation of Yahweh may be ,
made. This is one of the surest signs that the Decalogue, as we have ^
it, was much later than Moses. Images were widely used in Yahweh-
worship till the time of the prophets. See pp. lix. ff.

4. ths likeness of any form. The word ' form ' {temunaJi) denotes
' that wherein an object made resembles its model ; in making a pesel
[graven image], a temunah is at the same time produced. This "form"

8-2

116 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xx. 4, 5

earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth : 5 thou E2
shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them : for
I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of
the fathers upon the children, upon the third and upon the

is then, by an inexactness of language, identified with the corresponding
form ("that is in heaven &c.") upon which it was modelled (R.V. eases
the sentence by inserting " the likeness of ").' Driver, Deut. p. 84.

in heaven above, i.e. the heavenly bodies (and birds, Dt. ir. 17).
The worship of the heavenly bodies is not heard of in Israel till the
reign of Manasseh, whose paganism prompted the Deuteronomic
reforms. It is the prominent feature in the nature-worship of most
early races.

the water under the earth. This expresses the early belief that the
earth was a flat object, resting upon the surface of subterranean deeps;
cf Gen. vii. 11, xlix. 25. Fish were worshipped in many countries,
Egypt, Syria, Assyria, Philistia, Caria. See Xen. Anab. i. iv. 9,
Plut. de Isid. 18, Lucian, dea Syr. 45 ; also Thomson, Land and
Book, 547, W. R. Smith, RS"" 173 ff., 292 f

5. serve them. The Masor. pointing Ql?J'l? seems to mean 'be
forced to serve them.' But the ordinary active form D1?PPI should
probably be read.

/ Yahweh thy God am &c. ' I am Y. thy God ' (lxx) is also
possible, as in v. 2.

a jealous God. Hosea was the first to teach that Israel was God's
Bride. From his time the thought was common. And the divine
'jealousy' is that which makes Him claim an exclusive right over
His people. In Ex. xxxiv. 14 the jealousy is connected with the first
command. See Dt. iv. 24, v. 9, vi. 15, Jos. xxiv. 19, Nah. i. 2, and
Jas. iv. 5 (R.V. marg.).

visiting the iniquity &c. The diJBficulty that this caused in olden
times is illustrated by the necessity that Origen^ felt of explaining
'the children' to mean 'the sinful,' and 'the father^' to mean 'the
devil' ; for he is the father of the sinful (Jn. viii.'4"4), as God is of
the good (1 Jn. iii. 9^ ; and Theodoret dismisses the matter by the
remark that ' threats with the Lord God are greater than punishments.'
The study of natural science is daily making it clearer that God works
by and in natural laws, so that causes produce results. And the
suffering of children by reason of their fathers' sins is a daily spectacle.
It must be remembered, however, that to the Hebrew writer the words
had reference only to the external consequences of sin, and not to any
feeling of anger on God's part against innocent sufferers. But, in the
last resort, nothing can lessen the difiiculty but a strong belief that
God has an end in view great enough to make all suffering worth,
while. At the time of the exile Jeremiah (xxxi. 29 f ) and Ezekiel

1 Migne, Patr. Gr. xii. col. 289 f.

XX. 5-7] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 117

fourth generation of them that hate me ; 6 and shewing mercy E^

unto Hhousands, of them that love me and keep my command-
^ ments. \' ' ' >;. ^^

?> 7 Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God ^in

vain ; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his

name ^in vain. , •'

1 Or, a thousand generations See Deut. vii. 9. ^ Or, for vanity or falsehood

(xviii. 2) taught the complementary truth that every man must suffer
for his own sins.

The wording of the present passage is largely borrowed from
xxxiv. 7.

6. mito thousands, of them &c. This can hardly mean unto a
thousand generations in direct descent, but unto an indefinitely large
number of those who, by family or other ties, belong to, are connected
with (^), them that love me. Dt. vii. 9, referred to in the marg., gives
a rhetorical amplification of the original words.

them that love me. As the Bride loves her Husband. The extent
to which prophetic teaching influenced subsequent thought may be
realised from the fact that the verb 'love' to describe man's attitude t 3,n'
to God is, with one exception^ not found earlier than Deuteronomy.

Dt. V. 8 — 10: 'Thou shalt not mate unto thee a graven image,

\om. 'nor'] any form ^ that is in heaven above upon the children,

both upon the third and &c.'

7. Illrd Word. More than one interpretation has been offered
of this command. A literal rendering is ' Thou shalt rwt take up the
name of Yahweh thy God for vanity,' or 'for a sinful purpose,'
i.e. take up upon thy lips — utter ; cf. xxiii. 1. The ordinary
rendering 'take in vain' implies the employment of the sacred name *^
lightly or Jrreverently. But the word shav\ 'vanity,' denotes some-
thing stronger than that. Some would understand it of using the
divine name in the swearing of a false oath. But this anticipates the
IXth Word, in which a 'witness of falsehood' (Dt. v. 17 *a witness of
vanity') is condemned. It was a common practice, however, in
ordinary conversation, to support a statement by an oath (e.g. 1 K. xvii.
12); and the present command is perhaps aimed against general
untruthfulness^' while the IXth forbids perjury in a law court. A less
probable explanation is, ' Thou shalt not take up the name in worship
emptily,' i.e. with empty hands, the meaning being that of xxiii. 15 —

' none shall appear before me empty {rekatn)! The sin referred to is
probably witchcraft, which is strongly denounced in Deuteronomy, It
must be remembered that a 'name' meant more in early days than
it does to us. It is 'a something parallel to the man, relatively

1 Jud. V. 31, where ' them that love Him ' seems to mean no more than ' Hia
friends,' those that take His side, as opposed to His enemies (see Moore).

2 ' Graven image ' and ' form ' are here in apposition, a construction pecaliarly
freqnent in Dt.

118 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xx. 8-10

8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days E^
shalt thou labour, and do all thy work : 10 but the seventh
day is a sabbath unto the Lord thy God : in it thou shalt not
do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man-
servant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger

independent of the bearer, but of great importance to his weal or
woe, a something which at once describes and influences its bearer....
But what is true of a human name is true also, mutatis mutandis^ of
the Divine name. To know it is of vital importance, for this is the
condition of being able to use it in invocation ; and invocation has, _
according to primitive notions, a real efficacy, giving to the invoking |
party a kind of power over the name invoked, so that he can compel'
its aid ' (Kautzsch, DB, extra vol. 640 b).

In Dt. V. 11 the Ilird Word is identical,

8—11. IVthWord.

8. Remember. This does not mean ' remember that the Sabbath
was instituted at the Creation ' ; nor does it refer to the past at all.
The most natural meaning is 'take note of — keep in mind' for the
future^.

to keep it holy; to sanctify it, i.e. to set it apart for God. It
belongs, as v. 10 says, ' to Yahweh thy God.' Just as firstfruits and
tithes were offered to God as a recognition that the whole produce
of the earth really belongs to Him who gave it, so the dedication of
one day in seven is an expression of the fact that every minute of
a man's life really belongs to Him who gave him his life.

10. the seventh day is a sabbath, i.e. is a sabbath-rest, a/ cessation.'
It is possible also to treat ' the seventh day ' as what may be called an
accusative of duration of time, like ' six days ' in the preceding clause ;
the rendering would then be 'during six days shalt thou labour..., but
during the seventh day — a sabbath unto Yahweh thy God — thou shalt
not do any business.' This avoids the necessity of supplying ' in it,'
as is done in the KV. (cf. the construction in xxiii. 10 f.). But a
reading ' on the seventh day ' is found in a few Heb. mss, including the
recently discovered Nash papyrus', in lxx of Ex. and Dt., the Vulg. of
Ex., and the Old Lat. of Dt. ; and it is justified by xvi. 26, xxiii. 12,
xxxi. 15, XXXV. 2, &c.

unto Yahweh thy God, i.e. a sabbath appointed by, and sacred to.
Him. It has no reference to God's rest after the Creation. Cf. 'the
release unto Yahweh,' Dt. xv. 2.

in it thou shalt not do any business. Though 'in it * is not in the
Mas. text, its insertion is supported by lxx, O.L., Vulg., Sam., and
the Nash papyrus.

^ Dt. V. 12 has 'observe.' It has been suggested, however, that the original
reading in Dt. was 'remember,' and that 'observe' was an alteration effected after
V. 15 (' and thou shalt remember Ac.') was added, in order to avoid tautology.

" A complete account of this interesting fragment is given by S. A. Cook in
PSBA Jan. 1903, with a photograph of a facsimile by Prof. Burkitt.

XX. 1(^12] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 119

that is within thy gates : 11 for in six days the Lord made E^
heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested
the seventh day : wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day,
and hallowed it.

12 Honour thy father and thy mother : that thy days may
be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

11. The reason attached to the command is the work of a
priestly writer in reference to Gen. ii. 1 — 3. But Fs story of the
Creation, with the six days followed by the sacred seventh, is not
the cause of the Sabbath but the result of the fact that the week
-"ending with the Sabbath was an existing institution. P adjusts the
work of creation to it.

blessed the sabhath day. lxx (not Vulg.), Pesh. and the Nash
papyrus have ' the seventh day ' : and the reading appears in the PB V.

The Sabbath is more fully discussed in the addit. note after u 17.

Dt. V. 12 — 15 : ' Observe the sabbath day to sanctify it, as Yahweh
thy God commanded thee...\hovL and thy son and thy daughter and
thy slave and thy maidservant and thine ox and thine ass and all thy
cattle and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that thy slave amd thy
maidservant may rest as well as thou. And thou shalt remember that
thou wast a slave in the land of Egypt, and Yahweh thy God brought
thee out thence with a strong hand and with a stretched-out arm.
Therefore Yahweh thy God comma/nded thee to keep (lit. 'do' or
'celebrate') the sabbath day.'

12 — 17. It is interesting to note the varieties of order in which
the remaining commands are found.

(Ex. and Dt (MT), Ex. (lxx^), Dt. (lxx^), Josephus, Didache :
(a) \ 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th.

[Mat. xix. 18 f. = Mk. x. 19f.i : 6th, 7th, 8th, 10th.

(6) Ex. (lxx»): 5th, 7th, 8th, 6th, 9th, 10th.

Ex. and Dt. (some Heb. mss), Dt. (lxx"''), Nash pap., Philo:

/^N . 5th, 7th, 6th, 8th, 9th, 10th.

Rom. xiii. 9: 7th, 6th, 8th, 10th.

.Jas. ii. 11 : 7th, 6th.

{d) Lk. xviii. 20: 7th, 6th, 8th, 9th, 5th.

12. Vth Word, that thy days may be long. C£ Dt. vi. 2, xxv.
15, iv. 26, 40, V. 33 (30), xi. 9, xvii. 20, xxii. 7, xxx. 18, xxxii. 47.

Dt. V. 16 : 'Honour thy father and thy mother as Yahweh thy
God commanded thee, that thy days may be long, a/nd that it may
be well with thee, upon the land &c.' See Eph. vi. 2, 3.

1 1 Tim. i. 9 f. appears to follow the order 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th.

120 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xx. 13-17

^ 13 Thou shalt do no murder. E2

1 14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.
^15 Thou shalt not steal.

a 16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
IQ 17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt
not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his
maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy
neighbour's.

13. Vlth Word. Augustine {De Civ. Dei, i. 20) argues that this
prohibition includes suicide.

14. Vllth Word. Apart from the Decalogue the sin is mentioned
^st by Hosea (iv. 2, 13, 14, vii. 4), and not again till Jeremiah.

* 15. Vlllth Word. Underhand dealing was the besetting sin of
the Hebrew. It is exemplified in the earliest days in the character of
the national ancestor Jacob ; it is the constant cry in the social
teaching of the prophets Amos, Hosea, Isaiah and Micah ; and
Zechariah's vision (v. 1 — 4) shews that it was, together with false
swearing, a prevailing sin among the Jews after the exile.

Dt. V. 17 — 19 : 'Thou shalt do no murder. And thou shalt not
commit adultery. And thou shalt not steal'

16. IXth Word. Thou shalt not testify (lit. 'answer') against
thy neighbour as a false witness (lit. 'a witness of falsehood').
Dt. and Nash pap. have 'witness of vanity' (shdv', cf v. 7). Addis
thinks that this, being the more difl&cult reading, is the older, and that
'falsehood' was 'substituted in Ex. xx. 16 to remove all doubt about
the sense.' Against this, however, lxx has il/evBrj both in Ex. and Dt.,
while in the Ilird Word it has ctti fiaraifa in both.

Dt. V. 20 : ' And thou shalt not testify against thy neighbour as a
witness of vanity.'

17. Xth Word. It is not improbable that this command originally
ended at 'house,' all the remainder being an enlajcgement detailing
iheuEQSte^is ^f_the ^ousg;,, Dt., in a more humane spirit, places the
wife first, separated from the slaves and cattle, and governed by a
different verb.

Dt. V. 21 : ^And thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, and
thou shalt not desire thy neighbour's house, his field and his slave and
his maidservant, \om. ' and ' 'J his ox and his ass and anything that is
thy neighbour's.'

The Xth Word is referred to in Rom. vii. 7, where S. Paul says
that he would not be in a position to know sin as sin if it were not
for the law which said ovk ctti^u^j^'o-cis. He here asserts the true
inwardness of the command as it affects thought. But it is quite open
to question whether our understanding of the command in the O.T. is

1 But LXX, Pesh. and several Heb. uss retain it.

THE SABBATH 121

not coloured by S. Paul's deeper Christian ethics. Even in Dt., where
the two different verbs are used, they may be, as Prof. Driver says,
merely a rhetorical variation. But certainly in Ex. where the wife is
coupled with slaves, cattle and other property, there is no reference to \/
lustful thought. The prohibition is aimed against that greedy desire
for another's goods which led to the oppressions and cheating which
were so rife among the wealthier classes, and which are denounced
by the prophets of the 8th century. See also Mk. x. 19, where
fiiq d-TToa-Teprjfrris represents the Xth Word.

The Sabbath. The Sabbath law, as it appears in the O.T., has been dealt
with on^. xliii. But some further remarks may be made here. The Biblical
meaning of the word shabbdth connects it with the verb sh^hath, ' to desist,
cease ' (see Is. xiv. 4, xxiv. 8). It_was a day when work was intermitted
(Am. viii. 5). But it was not a mere holiday ; being sacred to Yahweh it was
a day of religious observance (Is. i. 13); and both aspects of it are clearly
defined in Jer. xvii. 19 — 27, Is. Iviii. 13. In P a further application of the
root-meaning is given to the word by connecting it with the divine ' desisting'
or 'ceasing' from the work of creation. But it has recently been suggested
that the primitive meaning was diJBFerent, and that the connexion of shabbdth
with shdbhath is only apparent, and was adopted by the Hebrews when the
knowledge of the true derivation was lost. In a Babylonian lexicographical
tablet (II. Rawlinson 32, 1. 16) the word Ja6g^^24fflL-is equated with Hm nHh
libbi—^ day of rest of the heart,' i.e. (as it is now generally understood) a day
when thg.go^sjregted from anger, a^ay for the pacification of the deity. A
record (IV. Rawl. 32, 33 ; V. Rawl. 48, 49 ; translated in Jastrow, Religion of
Bab. and Assyr. p. 367) is preserved of two of the months, the second (or
intercalary) Elul, and Marcheswan, which shews that, in these months at least,
the Babylonians marked certain days as those which might be either ' favour-
jible days ' or ' evij days ' according as the rightful precautions and observances
were practised or not, while all the others were ' fe,vourable days.' These
special days were the 7th, 14th, 2l8t and 28th, and also the 19th. The first
four were reckoned from the appearance of the new moon, while the latter
seems to be the 7x7 = 49th day from the new moon of the preceding month
— the lunar month being roughly reckoned as containing 30 days. On these
five days cfijjain. actions are superstijiiously forbidden a§ displeasing to the
deity. The 'shepherd' of the people, i.eTthe king, may not eat food prepared
bynre, wear royal clothing, oflfer sacrifice, ride in his chariot, hold court,
enquire of an oracle ; the physician may not be brought to his sick room ; nor
may he invoke curses on his enemies. It is only at the close of the day that
he may bring his gift and oflfer sacrifices. The word sabattum has at present
been found (in the genitive sabattim) in two (perhaps three) other passages.
In one the reading is doubtful ; in another it is equivalent to the ideogram
UD = 'day,' 'sun,' 'light' ; but in the third it is equated with the ideogram
TIL, which perhaps means 'to pacify.' Again, the verb sabdtu is equated
with gamdru, which usually denotes ' to complete,' but in two syllabaries it
has been thought to mean ' to pacify ' ; this however is doubtful. Two further
pieces of evidence are available. It has been ascertained by the examination

122 THE BOOK OF EXODUS

of the dates of deeds and documents that the 7th, 14th, 19th, 2l8t and 28th
days were undoubtedly marked by abstention from secular business, especially
1 injtheJHammurabi period. Some Assyriologists have recently stated that this
was only true of the ioth day ; but this is due to a failure to notice that the
business transacted on the other four days was for the most part not secular
but connected with temple matters. Secondly, in a tablet belonging to the
library of Asshur-bani-pal, or in a duplicate of it (see Pinches, PSBA xxvi.
pp. 61 — 6), the term sapaitu is applied to the 15th day of the month, that is
presumably the day of the full moon, the division of the lunar month ; this
would be equivalent, at least from time to time, to the 14th day in the
Rawlinson tablet

With this scanty evidence it is imsafe to come to a decisive conclusion.
More than one connecting link is absent, which must be supphed by future
discoveries before we can pronounce that the Babylonian sahatium is certainly
the origin of the Hebrew Sabbath. Firstly, it must be shewn that all the five
sacred days were called sahattum. It is quite possible that they were, but at
present there is no evidence of it. And secondly, it must be made clear how
the Hebrew custom of reckoning fixed periods of seven days throughout the
year, irrespective of the moon, was connected with the Babylonian custom
which prevailed in the time of Hammurabi of reckoning the sacred days from
the appearance of the new moon.

It is well known, however, that the Hebrew month began with the new ^
moon ; and it is exceedingly probable that in early days the only Hebrew
reckoning was lunar, that the JulLmoqn^was j^abbath, and that the sub-
divisions of the half month were marked by sacred ' half-moon ' days, which
were perhaps also Sabbaths. It is noteworthy that ' new moon ' and ' sabbath ' y
are mentioned in juxtaposition in four early passages. Am. viii. 5, Hos. ii. 11,
Is. i. 13, 2 K. iv. 23, while the weekly sabbath is enjoined in the laws of J
and B^ If it may be conjectured from this that the change from the lunar
reckoning to the periodic week was gradually taking place in Israel in the 9th
and 8th centuries, it is further possible that it was due to eastern influence.
After the dynasty of ^ammurabi there was a disturbed period of about 300
years of (?) Semitic rule in Babylonia of which little is known ; and this was
followed by some 600 years of Kassite supremacy. This long period of foreign
rule naturally caused many changes of thought and custom, and among them
were alterations in the calendar. (Records of the Kassite rule consist of dated
documents published by Peiser and by Clay in Urkunden aus der Zeit der
dritten babylonischen Dynastie, 1905, and in vols. xiv. xv. of Cuneiform Texts
of the Babylonian, Expedition of the University of Pennsylvania, 1906.) And
there is evidence which may be taken to shew that towardsjthe end of this
periodthe regular succession of seven-day weeks came to be observed jn
Babylonia. When the Assyrians afterwards rose to power and suppressed the
KasslJes, they opened the way once more for Babylonian influence to reach
Palestine and the West through the high roads of Mesopotamia. And it is
not unreasonable to suppose, though there is no direct evidence of the fact,
that this influence may have acted upon the Hebrew calendar.

Jf, then, the Babylonians applied the term sabattum to the four sacred
days which marked the division of the lunar month, and if the seven-day

XX. i8-a.] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 123

week was introduced into Babylonia during the Kassite supremacy, and was
also adopted by the Hebrews when the influence of Babylonia touched
Palestine early in the period of the kings, it isplausible to look to Babylon j
for the_origin both of the Hebrew Sabbath and of the Hebrew division of |
time into weeks. And if it should prove true that the Sabbath was derived,
in the far past, from a Babylonian observance, or that the Hebrew
and the Babylonian institution, in a still remoter past, had a common
origin, it will only be another of the many instances in which a primi-
tive, non-Hebrew, custom assumed, under God's inspiration, a new v
character, being purified from superstition, and made more fit for a moral
and religious purpose — so fitted that it could become the direct antecedent
of the Christian Sunday.

18 And all the people saw the thunderings, and thej^
lightnings, and the voice of the trumpet, and the mountain
smoking : and when the people saw it, they ^trembled, and
stood afar off. 19 And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with
us, and we will hear : but let not God speak with us, lest we
die. 20 And Moses said unto the people, Fear not : for God
is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before you, that
ye sin not. 21 And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew
near unto the thick darkness where God was.

22 And the Lord said unto Moses, Thus thou shalt say R'^

1 Or, icere moved

XX. 18—21.
The Theophany,

These verses form the continuation of E's narrative, interrupted at
xix. 19.

18. saw the thunderings, i.e. 'perceived' them. Cf. v. 22, Jer.
xxxiii. 24.

and when the people saw it. Perhaps read (with a change of vowel
points) 'and the people feared,' as in lxx, Vulg.

trembled. Heb. ' reeled,' ' swayed.' They fled in panic as though
drunk or stupefied with horror ; cf. Am. iv. 8, Gen. iv. 12, 14.

and stood. They stopped after fleeing a certain distance. Contrast
xix. 17 (J).

20. to prove you. xv. 25 b, xvi. 4, Gen. xxii. 1 (all E).

XX. 22—26.

Laws on worship.

In these verses and the three following chapters three groups of
laws are combined ; they are discussed in the analysis (pp. xxvii. ff.).

124 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xx.22-2^

unto the children of Israel, Ye yourselves have seen that I have R'^
talked with you from heaven. 23 Ye shall not make other gods
with me ; gods of silver, or gods of gold, ye shall not make
unto you. | 24 An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and E
shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offer-
ings, thy sheep, and thine oxen : in every place where I ^record

^ Or, cause my name to be remembered

The laws on worship here and in xxii. 29 f., xxiii. 10 — 19, are in all
probability fragmentary remains of a very early collection.

22. The verse is a redactional setting to the commands, as the
use of the name Yahweh and of the plural pronouns suggests ; and
it appears in different forms — lxx : ' And Yahweh said unto Moses,
These things shalt thou say unto the house of Jacob and declare unto
the children of Israel ' (of xix. 3). Sam. : ' And Yahweh spake unto
Moses saying, Speak unto the children of Israel.'

23. Ye shall not make [other gods] with me. If this clause is a
separate command, some words, such as ' other gods,' must have fallen
out of the text. If not, the punctuation must be altered as in the
LXX : ' Ye shall not make with me gods of silver ; and gods of gold ye
shall not make unto you.' The use of the plural pronoun suggests
that this command is not from the same source as the following. Cf
xxii. 21.

24. An altar of earth. Cf 2 K. v. 17. See note on altars, below.
bwrnt-offerings. The Heb. term 'oldh signifies 'that which goes

up'j the victim goes up in the flame and smoke of the altar to God,
expressing the ascent of the soul of the offerer in self-dedication and
worship. It is sometimes called ^oldh kdlil, 'whole burnt-offering,'
emphasizing the fact of the entire consumption of the victim. (Nowack,
Archaeol. ii. 215, understands it merely of the portions of a victim
which 'go up,' i.e. are lifted up, upon the altar.) It was npt connected
with any particular form of transgression ; in early days it was offered '
on special occasions, but afterwards became a regular part of the
organized worship of the community, whereby the whole people
expressed their reverent awe of God's majesty, and entreated His
favour.

peace-offerings {shelamlm). The exact meaning is still uncertain.
Some, connecting it with shdlom, ' peace,' explain it as ' the sacrifice
offered when friendly relations existed towards God, as distinguished
from piacular offerings which presupposed estrangement.' So lxx
Bv<Tia dprivLKiq. Others derive it from the verb ^hillem, 'to make
whole,' 'make restitution,' and so 'to pay what is due'; hence a
thank- or votive-offering. In either case the word denotes a particular
aspect of the more general term zebhah\ ' sacrifice,' ' slaughter.' It is

^ In xviii. 12 zebhah is used ; and in xxiv. 5 the full title is formed by the
apposition of the two words, ' slaughter-offerings, peace-ofierings.'

XX. 34-^6] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 125

my name I will come unto thee and I will bless thee. 25 And E
if thou make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of
hewn stones : for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast
polluted it. 26 Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine
altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon.

sharply distinguished from 'oldh, as being the offering of which the
worshipper (and at a later time the priest also) had a share, which he
ate at a sacred meal, while the remainder was given to the deity by
being burnt. This kind of sacrifice was, in early days, generally offered
on joyful occasions.

/ record my name. Lit. ' cause my name to be remembered/ by
some visitation or token ; cf 2 S. xviii. 18, Ps. xlv. 17.

25. thy tool. Cf. Dt. xxvii. 5, Jos. viii. 31.

26. Contrast the later legislation in xxviii. 42 with the same
motive. P's altar, three cubits (4| ft.) in height, had a ledge which
was apparently intended to be used as a step (xxvii. 1, 5 ; cf Lev.
ix. 22, ' came down ') ; and in the case of Ezekiel's altar (xliii. 17),
steps are expressly mentioned. The prohibition of steps belongs to
a time when any Israelite might sacrifice, and he would do so in his
ordinary dress. The later Jews adhered to the letter of the command,
and Herod's altar was approached by an incline. See W. R. Smith,
OTJG^ 358.

Altars. The alternatives — earth and stones — allowed in vv. 24 f. shew that
a plurality of altars is contemplated (see footnote 2, p. Ixxxi.) ; and that the
erection of altars was a common practice before Deut., is clear from the
numerous instances recorded, in which men built or used them not only on
occasion of a Theophany or in obedience to an express command (as Jos.
viii. 30 f., Jud. vi. 26, xiii. 16, 19, 2 8. xxiv. 18, 25), but also independently,
1 S. vii. 9 f., 17, ix. 12 flf., x. 8, xi. 15, xiii. 9 f., xiv. 35 (the first of
the altars which Saul built), xx. 6, 2 S. xv. 7 £, 12, 32 ('where men used to
icorship God '), 1 K. iii. 4 (' the great high place ' where Solomon ' med to
offer' 1000 burnt offerings on the altar). In Deut. the binding principle is
for the first time formulated that Yahweh was to be publicly worshipped at
one place only 'which Yahweh thy God will choose.' The locus classictcs ia,^
Dt xil 1 — 28 (see Driver). The priestly writers after the exile in their
description of the Tabernacle and its worship take this principle for granted
as having existed since the sojourn at Sinai.

The conception of an ' altar ' seems to have been the result of a gradual
growth from primitive ideas, in which three stages may be traced.

1. In the earliest days the ancient Semites, in common with other nations,
regarded every striking natural feature, rock, tree, stream or well, as the home
of a presiding numen or deity. And when the worshipper brought his
offering, all that he could do in order to place it in immediate contact with
the deity would be to lay it on the rock (cf. Jud. vi. 20), or hang it on the tree,
or throw it into the stream or weU.

V- n ,v

126 THE BOOK OF EXODUS

2. A step in advance was taken when it was conceived that the deity
would vouchsafe to come, and take up his abode in an object, such as a stone
set up by man, which thus became a ' house of God,' a beth-'El^ (Gen. xxviii. 18).
Of such a character was the mazzebhdh (Arab, nmb), which was afterwards
employed as an adjunct to an altar. An animal having been slaughtered, itsj
blood was poured out at the foot of the stone, or some of it was smeared upon
the stone, and was thus oflFered as the food of the deity. Other kinds of
oflFerings would consist in oil or wine. Examples of such sacred stones are
probably to be seen in the megaliths or dolmens of Moab (see PEF Quart.
Statement, 1882, 75 ff. ; Conder, Ileth and Moab, chs. vii., viii.). A survival
of the primitive practice is found not only in the story of Jacob, but even in
the life of Saul (1 S. xiv. 33 f ).

3. But as time went on, the portion of the victim given to the deity com-
prised more than the blood — ' the fat that covereth the inwards, the caul that
is upon the liver, the two kidneys and the fat that is upon them' (Ex. xxix. 13).
The blood had been, and was still, allowed to soak into the ground ; but the
more solid parts must be consumed by fire. (In extraordinary cases the fire
was supplied by Yahweh Himself, Jud. vi. 21, 1 K. xviii. 38.) Hence the simple
stone was evolved into an altar. Its primitive origin is still seen in the
directions in Ex. xx. 24 ; and as late as Elijah and Ehsha unhewn stones
(1 K. xviii. 32) and earth (2 K. v. 17) were employed. It was probably in
consequence of foreign influence that Solomon introduced the innovation of
a bronze altar (mentioned in 1 K. viiL 64, 2 K. xvi. 10 — 15, though no
account of its erection has survived).

Ezekiel's idea of an altar reached an advanced stage of elaboration, con-
sisting of a basement, and three blocks of stones rising in tiers, each being
2 cubits smaller in length and breadth than the one below it (xliii. 13 — 17).
The Tabernacle altar, finally, combines features found in both the two latter.
As in the case of Solomon's, bronze was used in its manufacture, and like
Ezekiel's it rose in tiers ; but that it might be hght and portable it was
pictured as hollow, made of wood overlaid vnth bronze ; and there were two
tiers instead of four (see xxvii. 4 — 8). It is evident that the earlier prohibition
of the use of a tool (xx. 25) is here disregarded.

Chapter XXL— XXII. 17.

Judgements.

This section contains Mishpdtim, decisions or rulings for the use of
judges; they deal with hypothetical cases in the social life of the nation.
They fall into pentades, or groups of five, an arrangement which is inter-
rupted only in xxi. 17, xxii. 5, 6 and 23. The contents of the code, and its
relation to the Babylonian laws of Hammurabi, are dealt with on pp. xlvi. — liv.

^ Through Phoenician influences this passed to the Greeks as ^anvXiov, and to
the Eomans as baetulus.

XXI. 1-6] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 127

XXI. 1 Now these are the judgements which thou shalt E
set before them.

2 If thou buy an Hebrew ^servant, six years he shall serve :
and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing. 3 If he
come in by himself, he shall go out by himself: if he be
married, then his wife shall go out with him. 4 If his master
give him a wife, and she bear him sons or daughters ; the wife
and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out by
himself. 5 But if the servant shall plainly say, I love my
master, my wife, and my children ; I will not go out free :
6 then his master shall bring him unto ^God, and shall bring
him to the door, or unto the door post ; and his master shall
bore his ear through with an awl ; and he shall serve him
for ever.

^ Or, bondman ^ Or, the judges

XXI. 2 — 6. Pentade on male slaves, vv. 2: 3a: 36: 4 : 5, 6.

2. in the seventh, i.e. of his servitude. Dt. xv. 12, Jer. xxxiv. 14.
There is no evidence that slaves were freed in the Sabbatical year.

3. if he he married, previously to becoming a slave.

6. unto God. The ceremony is public and official ; the slave is
taken to the local sanctuary, probably to take an oath that he wishes
to remain a slave. This would safeguard him from any attempt on
his master's part to keep him in slavery against his will. The words
placed in his mouth in v. 5 read like a formal utterance which may
well have been part of the oath. Some explain ' God ' Qm-Elohlm) as
the religious officials, as the representatives of God upon earth (marg.
and A.V. ' the judges '). But nothing is said as to their part in the
ceremony ; and the term is a vague one, which it is better to under-
stand as including the sanctuary and all connected with it; cf. xxii. 8, 9.
(The corresponding expression is found frequently in the code of
Hammurabi ; see, e.g., § 9, quoted on p. xlvii.) In Dt. xv. 16f. there
is no mention of ha-Elohlm, because a journey to the only sanctuary
at Jerusalem was impossible. Others suggest that since the door or
threshold of a house was, according to primitive ideas, peculiarly
sacred, to bring the slave ' unto God ' meant to bring him to the
threshold, ^r again, it is supposed that reference is made to the
. teraphlm or household gods, kept and worshipped at the door. But
the above explanation is simpler \

^ Some have seen an allusion to this ceremony in Ps. xl. 6 (7), ' ears didst thou
dig (or pierce) for me,' as though the speaker said that God had made him His
obedient slave. But, if the text is right, it is more probable that the reference is
' to the creative power of God, who dug out the ears and made them organs of
hearing, in order that His people might hear and obey Him ' (Briggs).

128 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xxl 7-17

7 And if a man sell his daughter to be a ^maidservant, she E
shall not go out as the raenservants do. 8 If she please not
her master, ^who hath espoused her to himself, then shall he
let her be redeemed : to sell her unto a strange people he shall
have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her.
9 And if he espouse her unto his son, he shall deal with her
after the manner of daughters. 10 If he take him another
wife ; her ^food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage, shall
he not diminish. 11 And if he do not these three unto her,
then shall she go out for nothing, vnthout money.

12 He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall surely be
put to death. 13 And if a man lie not in wait, but God deliver
him into his hand ; then I will appoint thee a place whither he
shall flee. 14 And if a man come presumptuously upon his
neighbour, to slay him with guile ; thou shalt take him from
mine altar, that he may die.

15 And he that smiteth his father, or his mother, shall be
surely put to death.

16 And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be
found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death.

17 And he that ^curseth his father, or his mother, shall jK*
surely be put to death.

' Or, bondwoman ^ Another reading is, «o that he hath not espomed her,

3 Keb. flesh. * Or, revileth

7 — 11. Pentade on female slaves, vv.7: 8: 9: 10: 11.

8, who hath espoused her to himself. The Revisers have adopted
the reading Qh) of the Keri and Targ., that of the consonantal text
(s*?) being given in the margin \ The latter, however, is impossible,
because the master has, as a matter of fact, bought the slave girl to be
his wife. Perhaps^ read 'who hath known her' ('"^Vl*: ""F^), i.e. if
he have consummated' His union with her.

10. The subject of the verb is still the master who bought her,
not the son.

12 — 16. Pentade on acts of violence, •w. 12: 13: 14: 15: 16.

12. A general statement which is particularised in w. 13, 14 as
(1) unintentional, (2) deliberate, manslaughter.

13. a place. F. 14 shews that this means the altar at the nearest
sanctuary, which was the earliest form of asylum. See p. lii.

17. In the lxx this v. follows v. 15, which was probably the
position in which it first stood. But it disturbs the pentadic

^ The latter is the reading of Aq. Sym. Theod. and Syr. The mss of the lxx are
divided and confused.

XXI. I8-.3] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 129

18 And if men contend, and one smiteth the other with E
a stone, or with his fist, and he die not, but keep his bed : 19 if
he rise again, and walk abroad upon his staff, then shall he that
smote him be quit : only he shall pay for ^the loss of his time,
and shall cause him to be thoroughly healed.

20 And if a man smite ^his servant, or his maid, with a rod,
and he die under his hand ; he shall surely be punished.
21 Notwithstanding, if he continue a day or two, he shall not
be punished : for he is his money.

22 And if men strive together, and hurt a woman with child,
so that her fruit depart, and yet no mischief follow : he shall be
surely fined, according as the woman's husband shall lay upon
him ; and he shall pay as the judges determine. 23 But if any

1 Heb. his sitting or ceasing. ^ Qr, his bondman, or his bondwoman

arrangement, and seems to have been a later addition to v. 15,
perhaps to be traced to Lev. xx. 9.

18 — 27. Pentade on injuries inflicted hy men. vv. 18 f. : 20 f. :
22: 23: 26 f.

18. his fist. So Lxx, Vulg. ; cf. Is. Iviii. 4. But the root denotes
' to sweep, or scoop away ' (Jud. v. 21), so that the word may mean his
spade. A labourer in a field might maliciously injure another with a
spade or shovel ; but it is less likely that the law would deal with
an injury inflicted in a mutual fight with fists. The Targ. renders
it 'club.' The doubtful word from the same root in Jo. i. 17 probably
means ' shovels ' (R.V. ' clods ').

20. he shall surely be avenged, i.e. the slave. The killing of a
slave was not a capital offence. The code is based upon the principle
of just requital ; and the death of a free man would be a dispropor-
tionate requital for that of a slave, who was only a piece of property.

21. he shall not he avenged. If the slave survived a day or two,
it was clear that the master only intended to punish him, and his
death was an unfortunate accident : and since he was to his master
an equivalent for money, the master had already punished himself
sufficiently by losing him.

22. Dillm. would transpose w. 22 — 25 to follow v. 19. This
would have the advantage of bringing together the cases (1) in
which men strive together, (2) in which a man injures his slave.

hurt a woman. When she intervenes and tries to stop the quarrel.

mischief. The woman's death, as v. 23 shews. Gen. xlii. 4, 38,
xliv. 29 t.

as the judges determine. Lit. 'by [assessment of] the judges.''
But not only is the construction strange, and the word for ' judges '
rare and poetical (Dt. xxxii. 31, Job xxxi. 11 1), but if the woman's,

M. 9

130 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xxi. 23-30

mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life, 24 eye for eye, E
tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 burning for
burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.

26 And if a man smite the eye of his servant, or the eye of
his maid, and destroy it ; he shall let him go free for his eye's
sake. 27 And if he smite out his manservant's tooth, or his
maidservant's tooth ; he shall let him go fi*ee for his tooth's
sake.

28 And if an ox gore a man or a woman, that they die, the
ox shall be surely stoned, and his flesh shall not be eaten ;
but the owner of the ox shall be quit. 29 But if the ox were
wont to gore in time past, and it hath been testified to his
owner, and he hath not kept him in, but that he hath killed
a man or a woman ; the ox shall be stoned, and his owner also
shall be put to death. 30 If there be laid on him a ransom, then
he shall give for the redemption of his life whatsoever is laid

husband has already fixed the amount of the fine, there is no room for
any decision by the judges. With the change of one consonant read

* for the miscarriage ', (2 V???},^.^

24, 25. An abridgedsummary of the laws of retaliation, which
has been added here though it is not^relevaAt to the case in point — the
death of the woman. See p. liii.

Augustine {De Civ. Dei, xxi. 11) uses this law of retaliation as an
argument in favour of eternal punishment. An offence which takes a
very short time to commit may be punished by the perpetual loss of an
eye or tooth or of life itself. Punishment is not proportioned to the
time occupied in the perpetration of a crime, but to its heinousness.

28 — 32. Pentode on injuries inflicted by beasts, w. 28 : 29 : 30 :
31 : 32.

28. Such a law emphasizes the sanctity of the life of a free
Israelite (contrast v. 32). The principle appears also in P (Gen. ix. 5),
and in Plato {de leg. ix. 873). In Draco's laws even an inanimate
object that causes death must be removed (Dem. adv. Aristocr. 645).

29. shall be put to death. There appears to be a distinction in the
code between this expression with a single verb and the formal death
sentence in vv. 12, 15 — 17, xxii. 19 (18). The present case admits of
an alternative in the pa3rment of a fine.

30. a ransom. Heb. kopher. A money pajonent which cancels
the death penalty. The original meaning of the root is doubtful ; it
was either 'to cover' or 'to wipe away.' See on xxv. 17.

the redemption of his life. Practically equivalent to kopher, but
involving a different metaphor. Ps. xlix. 8 (9) t.

XXI. 30-XXII. 3] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 131

upon him. 31 Whether he have gored a son, or have gored E
a daughter, according to this judgement shall it be done unto
him. 32 If the ox gore a manservant or a maidservant ; he
shall give unto their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox
shall be stoned.

33 And if a man shall open a pit, or if a man shall dig
a pit and not cover it, and an ox or an ass fall therein, 34 the
owner of the pit shall make it good ; he shall give money unto
the owner of them, and the dead heast shall be his.

35 And if one man's ox hurt another's, that he die ; then
they shall sell the live ox, and divide the price of it ; and the
dead also they shall divide. 36 Or if it be known that the ox
was wont to gore in time past, and his owner hath not kept
him in ; he shall surely pay ox for ox, and the dead heast shall
be his own.

XXII. 1 If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it, [Ch.xxi.S";
or sell it ; he shall pay five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for ^°
a sheep. 2 If the thief be found breaking in, and be smitten t^ g^?^* ^
that he die, there shall be no ^bloodguiltiness for him. 3 If the
sun be risen upon him, there shall be bloodguiltiness for him :

1 Heb. hlood.

32. thirty shekels. Since the slave is mere property, this is not a
' redemption money ' for the life of the guilty party ; it is the fixed
value of the chattel. Cf. Zech. xi. 13, Mt. xxvi. 15, xxvii. 9 f.

33 — XXII. 4. Pentode on loss of animals by neglect or theft, w.
33 f. : 35 : 36 : xxii. 1 : 3 ^>, 4.

34. he shall give money. Presumahly the price which the animal
would have fetched when alive.

XXII. 1. four sheep fw a sheep. Cf. 2 S. xii. 6^

2, 3 a. The sequel of the law in v. 1 is found in 'W. 3 6, ' if he have
nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft.' The intervening clauses
comprise two laws from an independent group. Not only do they
interrupt the pentadic arrangement, and separate the closely related
commands in w. 1, 3 6, but their presence at this point causes an
absurdity. In 3 6 the thief is to be sold for his theft, while in vv. 2, 3 a
he is dead ! Moreover the whole context is concerned with simple
compensation for damages or offences, while these clauses introduce a
contingency of an entirely different kind.

3. If the sun be risen upon him. In the darkness of the night the
householder must simply act in self-defence ; but in daylight he can
identify the burglar and give information before the judges.

1 Lxx eTrraTrXao'/oj'a is probably due to Prov. vi. 31.

9—2

132 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xxii. 3-7

he should make restitution ; if he have nothing, then he shall E
be sold for his theft. 4 If the theft be found in his hand alive,
whether it be ox, or ass, or sheep ; he shall pay double.

5 If a man shall cause a field or vineyard to be eaten, if
and shall let his beast loose, and it feed in another man's field ;i
of the best of his own field, and of the best of his own vineyard,
shall he make restitution.

6 If fire break out, and catch in thorns, so that the shocks
of corn, or the standing corn, or the field, be consumed ; he
that kindled the fire shall surely make" restitution.

7 If a man shall deliver unto his neighbour money or stuff

he should make restitution ; he shall surely pay. The subject of
the verb cannot be the dead thief, nor can the expression (which is the
same as in xxi, 36) mean that the man who killed him (who has not
been mentioned) is to be punished \ Either, then, the clause is a
fragment of a lost law, or a gloss to soften the difficulty of the dead
thief being sold for his theft.

5, 6. Two regulations on loss by fire (perhaps fragments of an
original pentade). According to the R.V. v. 5 deals with a beast put to
graze in a field or vineyard, which the owner does not keep in check from
wandering away and grazing in another man's field ^. But this is beset
with difficulties. (1) The words beast, eat Midi feed in v. 5, and kindle
ajidfire in the latter clause of v. 6, are all derived from the same root
•jya ; it is unlikely that, in the sober prose of a collection of laws, the
word should be used in two different senses in successive verses. (2) A
vineyard is an unnatural place into which to turn cattle to graze.
(3) Why should the form of neglect described in v. 5 be punished by
the payment of the best of his field or vineyard, while that in v. 6,
which would do much more damage, is less heavily punished? It is
probable that both vv. refer to burning. Render v. 5 : When a man t/
causes a field or vineyard to be burnt and allows his burning to spread,
so that it bv/rn in another man's fisld, of the best, &c.' In this case a
man lights a bonfire, or burns dry grass or brushwood, and (maliciously)
allows the flame to spread to the adjoining field. In v. 6, on the other
hand, flame or sparks burst forth from the bonfire (e.g. in a high wind)
and catch the thorny undergrowth on the adjoining property. The first
is intentional, the second accidental.

7—13. Pentads on trusts, w. 7 : 8f. : 10 f. : 12 : 13.

7. stuff. Articles of value ; iii. 22 (R.V. 'jewels').

^ Lxx attempts to give it this meaning by a paraphrase, ^vox(>^ ^<yri, dyravoda-
veiTai.

2 After ' another man's field ' Sam. lxx read ' he shall surely pay according to
its produce, but if it graze upon the whole field, the best &c.' This is an attempt
to explain the severer penalty by assuming that the beast has, by grazing, ruined
the whole of the neighbouring property !

XXII. 7-1 1] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 133

to keep, and it be stolen out of the man's house ; if the thief E
be found, he shall pay double. 8 If the thief be not found,
then the master of the house shall come near unto ^God, to see
whether he have not put his hand unto his neighbour's goods.
9 For every matter of trespass, whether it be for ox, for ass, ^
for sheep, for raiment, or for any manner of lost thing, whereof
one saith. This is it, the cause of both parties shall come before
^God ; he whom ^God shall condemn shall pay double unto his
neighbour.

10 If a man deliver unto his neighbour an ass, or an ox,
or a sheep, or any beast, to keep ; and it die, or be hurt, or
driven away, no man seeing it : 11 the oath of the Lord shall be
between them both, whether he hath not put his hand unto his
neighbour's goods ; and the owner thereof shall accept it, and

1 Or, the judges

8. unto God. To the local sanctuary, as in xxi. 6.

to see whether &c. This was not by enquiring of an oracle but (as
-y. 11 suggests) by means of an oath. This was a principle that was
deeply rooted in primitive life ; it is frequently mentioned in the code
of Hammurabi. By taking an oath a suspected person involved curses
on .hjipself if his words were not true, and the oath wag_thus_of the
nature of an ordeal. "

9. 7!!^ IS it. This is the thing with regard to which a breach of
trust has been committed.

he whom God shall condemn. Whenever a case of the kind occurs,
if the man who has to undergo the ordeal of the oath is convicted by it,
he shall pay double. It does not, of course, mean whichever of the
two — plaintiff or defendant — is proved guilty. The verb 'condemn' is
in the plural, but ' Elohim ' does not on that account mean human
judges ; the ordeal itself was the only judge. The construction is not
infrequent in E, and seems to be a survival of a more primitive
polytheistic mode of expression.

11. the oath of Yahweh. The oath sworn by the name, and in
the presence, of Yahweh. But the introduction of the name is
surprising, and ' Elohim ' should probably be read, with lxx.

shall accept it. As the text stands this must mean ' shall accept
the oath.' But such a statement would be superfluous ; the fact that
custom required the ordeal by oath would cause it to be accepted as a
matter of course. It probably means ' shall accept the dead or injured
animal.' He could not, however, accepFiFTf it was 'driven away' ;
but that word {nishhdh), which is rare and late with this meaning
(1 Ch. V. 21, 2 Ch. xiv. 15 (14) t), is probably an accidental doubling
of the preceding word niskbd?- 'hurt' or 'broken.' The case of the
animal carried off is dealt with in the following verse.

134 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xxii. 11-17

he shall not make restitution. 12 But if it be stolen from him, E
he shall make restitution unto the owner thereof. 13 If it be
torn in pieces, let him bring it for witness ; he shall not make
good that which was torn.

14 And if a man ^ borrow aught of his neighbour, and it
be hurt, or die, the owner thereof not being with it, he shall
surely make restitution. 15 If the owner thereof be with it,
he shall not make it good : if it be an hired thing, ^it came for
its hire.

16 And if a man entice a virgin that is not betrothed, and
lie with her, he shall surely pay a dowry for her to be his wife.
17 If her father utterly refuse to give her unto him, he shall
pay money according to the dowry of virgins.

1 Heb. ask. ^ Or, it is reckoned in (Heb, cometh into) its hire

13. bring it for witness. The whole carcase, or any portion that
he could. Cf. Gen. xxxi. 39, Am. iii. 12. The latter passage shews
that this law was a formulation of already existing custom, as was
probably the greater part of the code of 'Judgements ' (see pp. xlvi. f.).

14 — 17. Pentade on loans. «w. 14 : 15 a: 15 6: 16: 17.

15. it has come into its hire. 'It' is the injured animal,
regarded as an equivalent for money. It has, under the circumstances,
become necessary for the owner to reckon the injury or loss into the
price which he charges for the hire of the animal.

16, 17. A startling instance of the contrast between primitive and
Christian thought. An injured daughter comes under the category of
an injured loan, because she is her father's property till her marriage,
when she becomes of monetary value to him. In the old-world
marriage arrangements the girl had no choice in the matter. The
man espoused ('eresh) her by paying a purchase-money (mdhdr) to her
father. He might then take her to his house and arrange for the
wedding ceremony when he chose. The ' dowry,' in the modern sense,
which the bride brought to her husband, seems to have arisen later from
the custom of the father giving to the daughter the mdhdr that he has
received. Cf. Gen. xxxi. 14 — 16.

In the present case a man has had intercourse with a virgin without
a legal espousal by the payment of a mohdr. The rule in such a case
is that he must put matters right with the girl's father by paying the
mdhdr. But (v. 17) if the father refuse to give him the girl in marriage,
the mdhdr must still be paid as compensation for injury of property.
From the fact that the value of the mdhdr is not mentioned, it is again
evident (see v. 13) that these rules are the expression of aheady
established custom. In Dt. xxii. 29 the amount of the mdhdr is put at
50 silver shekels, nearly £7. But the price was not always paid in
money. Sometimes it was in kind, or the daughter was given in return

XXII. i8-2i] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 135

18 Thou shalt not suffer a sorceress to live. E

19 Whosoever lieth with a beast shall surely be put to
death.

20 He that sacrificeth unto any god, save unto the Lord
only, shall be ^utterly destroyed. 21 And a stranger shalt thou

1 Heb. devoted. See Lev. xxvii. 29.

for deeds of valour (Jos. xv. 16, Jud. i. 12, 1 S. xviii. 25), or for a term
of personal service, as in the case of Jacob. (On early Semitic
marriage customs see S. A. Cook, The Laws of Moses and the Code
of Hammurabi, ch. iv., and W. R. Smith, Kinship and Marriage in
early Arabia.)

XXII. 18—28.

Miscellaneous moral injimctions.

The style and contents of this section are markedly different from those of
the ' Judgements.' We are here met not with hypothetical cases to be dealt
with by judges, and in which the penalties were fixed by custom, but with
direct warnings against various kinds of social and moral evils. They are not,
like the ' Judgements,' cast into a uniform shape, nor do they fall into groups.
They are fragments culled from a variety of soiu^ces, and reflecting the
religious spirit of the prophets of the eighth and seventh centuries who
proclaimed to their countrymen the fundamental principles of purity, truth
and kindness.

18. The practice of sorcery was denounced by the prophets from
Isaiah downwards ; it had long been secretly carried on in Israel,
though never actually united with the worship of Yahweh. It revived
again in the reign of Manasseh and took a strong hold upon the
country. See p. liv.

19. Lev. xviii. 24 implies that this sin was practised among the
native Canaanites.

20. utterly destroyed; hajaned. A city or nation that was hostile
to Yahweh was ' devoted,' given over to Him as a form of offering, i.e. it
was destroyed so that it belonged completely to Him, and man kept no
share for himself either of the captives or the spoil. An individual
might similarly be placed under the ban, as in the case of Achan
(Jos. vi., vii.). The idea of the ban (herem) is an ancient one, and is
found in non -Hebrew Semitic inscriptions.

21 — 27. Laws for the protection of the poor and helpless against
oppression and injustice. With them should be coupled xxiii. 6 — 9.
Thej accurately reflect the spirit of the prophets. The care of widows,
orphans and sojourners is taught with great earnestness in Deut.
(xiv. 29, xvi. 11, 14, xxiv. 17, 19, 21, xxvi. 12 f, xxvii. 19); and see
Am. iv. 1, V. 11 f., viii. 4—6, Is. i. 17, 23, iii. 16 f, Mic. ii. If, iii.
1—3, Acts vi. 1 ff., Jas. i. 27.

21. a stranger. See on xii. 19, and p. liv.

136 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xxii. 21-26

not wrong, neither shalt thou oppress him : | for ye were ER^
strangers in the land of Egypt. 22 Ye shall not afflict any
widow, or fatherless child. [ 23 If thou afflict them in any wise, E
and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry ; | 24 and R^
my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword ;
and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.

25 If thou lend money to any of my people with thee that E
is poor, thou shalt not be to him as a creditor ; neither shall ye
lay upon him usury. 26 If thou at all take thy neighbour's

for ye were siirahgers. A reminder characteristic of Deut. ; see v. 15,
X. 19, xxiv. 18, 22. The alternation of singular and plural pronouns is
noticeable— ' thou ' {v. 21a), 'ye' {v. 216, 22), 'thou' (». 23), 'you,'
'your' {v. 24). Vv. 21 b, 22, 24 appear to be a later expansion; see
next note.

23. If tJwu afflict him. . .and he cry. . .hear his cry. The singular
pronoun refers to the 'stranger ' in -y. 21 a, and has no connexion with
the intervening words.

25 — 27. Laws for creditors. Prof. Driver is led, by the
hypothetical form in which these laws are cast, to include them
(together with xxiii. 4, 5) among the 'Judgements.' But they are
not, like the Judgements, a formulation of custom, or as we should
now call it ' common law ' ; they are rather appeals to the moral
conscience of the community.

25. to any of my people with thee that is poor. The Heb., which
runs 'to my people the poor man with thee,' appears to be corrupts

as a creditor. The following clause (with the plural pronoun ' ye ')
appears to be a later insertion to explain that 'creditor' means one who
lends upon usury. There is nothing to warrant the view that the
passage only condemns excessive usury ; the prohibition is expressed in
the most general terms. It is assumed, both here and in Dt. xxiii. 19 f,
Lev. XXV. 35 — 37, that the borrower is a poor Hebrew. Loans for
commercial purposes, by which the borrower enlarges his capital in
order to extend his business, are a more modern development. In such
cases it is right that the borrower should pay something for the
advantage afforded him. But in early days a loan was of the nature
of a charity for the relief of immediate necessity, and to exact usury
would be to make gain out of another's need. See Driver, Deut. on
xxiii. 20 f and p. 178. And on the Hebrew ideas attached to the word
* poor ' see his article ' Poor ' in DB iv.

26. Cf. Dt. xxiv. 12 f Amos (ii. 8) complains of the practice
which is here forbidden.

^ Lxx 'to the poor brother with thee,' perh. represents D^pyHTIN for
"PS ''SirriN . The word IV'O'O ' associate, ' ' relation ' occurs in Lev. vi. 2 [v. 21]
and freq., but elsewhere only Zech. xiii. 7.

xxii.a6-3i] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 137

garment to pledge, thou shalt restore it unto him by that the E
sun goeth down : 27 for that is his only covering, it is his ^ ^
garment for his skin : wherein shall he sleep ? and it shall come 1 *7 3/
to pass, when he crieth unto me, that I will hear ; for I am
gracious.

28 Thou shalt not revile ^God, | nor curse a ruler of thy Rf ' >
people. I 29 Thou shalt not delay to offer of ^the abundance E

of thy fruits, and of thy liquors. The firstborn of thy sons shalt
thou give unto me. 30 Likewise shalt thou do with thine oxen,
and Avith thy sheep : seven days it shall be with its dam ; on
the eighth day thou shalt give it me. | 31 And ye shall be holy J?-

1 Or, the judges ^ Heb. thy fulness arid thy tear.

28. The command is unconnected with the laws which precede
and follow it, and it bears marks of being a late addition. It is found
in Lev. xxiv. 15; and 'profaning the name of God' is forbidden in
Lev. xviii. 21, xix. 12, xxii. 32, but no such command is to be met
with in any of the other codes.

a ruler ; a prince (nasi'), xvi. 22, xxxiv. 31, xxxv. 27. The
word is found only in Ez. P and Chr.

XXIL 29, 30.

Laws on Worship.

This is a fragment which must be connected with xx. 24 — 26 and
xxiii. 10—19.

29. delay to offer &c. The Heb. is very terse — ' thou shalt not
delay thy fulness and thy juice'.' The following mention of ' the first-
born of thy sons ' makes it probable that this unique expression refers
to the offering of firstfruits ; and the lxx by a paraphrase shews that
it was so understood — dirapxa.'s aXwvos kol \rjvov (' firstfruits of threshing-
floor and vat') : so Pesh. Targ^". In xxiii. 19 the command is
repeated by a redactor, in a form which is due to harmonization
with xxxiv. 26. If the present passage is rightly referred to first-
fruits, it is a general command covering all cereals and all liquids,
while xxiii. 16 enjoins the annual festivals at which cereals and fruits
shall be respectively offered.

29 6, 30. The firstborn of men and animals are to be offered to
God. See pp. xli. f

31. The plural pronoun (' ye ') makes it probable that this is
a later addition. It is similar to Dt. xiv. 21, but the injunction in
the last clause is not found elsewhere.

^ yOT (' juice ') and nOl^l ('tear ') are from the same root, ' to flow ' or • trickle.'

138 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xxii. 31-xxiii. 4

men unto me : therefore ye shall not eat any flesh that is torn R^
of beasts in the field ; ye shall cast it to the dogs.

XXIII. 1 Thou shalt not take up a false report : put not E
thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness.
2 Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil ; neither shalt
thou ^ speak in a cause to turn aside after a multitude to wrest
judgement : 3 neither shalt thou favour a poor man in his cause.

4 If thou meet thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray,

^ Or, bear witness

flesh that is torn}. The reason for the prohibition was that the
body of an animal which had not met its death at the hand of
man would not have been carefully drained of its blood,

XXIII. 1—9.
Miscellaneous moral injunctions.

XXIII. 1. take up, i.e. upon thy lips ; cf xx. 7, Ps. xvi. 4, 1. 16.
to be an injurious witness. A witness whose deposition is made
for the purpose of promoting violence or ruthless injury.

2. The text is corrupt. As they stand, the clauses run 'Thou
shalt not be after many for evil ; | and thou shalt not answer
against a cause | to incline after many | to wrest.' Several emenda-
tions have been proposed ; see Dillm.-Ryssel's comm., Budde, ZATW
xi. 113. The least drastic produces the following — 'Thou shalt not
turn after many for evil. And thou shalt not afflict him that hath a
suit, by wresting judgement I' Read thus, the verse is directed not
to the witnesses but to the judge.

3. a poor man. A great man is probably the true reading. The
word dal, here used for ' poor,' is found with this meaning in the Hex.
only in P — Ex. xxx. 15, Lev. xiv. 21, xix. 15, the last of which
passages is an amplification of the present command^.

4. 5. Assistance to animals. On the hypothetical form see
xxii. 25 — 27. The two commands are expanded in Dt. xxii. 1 — 4.

4. thine enemy's ox. The command is, as Prof Driver says, 'an
old-world anticipation of the spirit of Matt. v. 44.' Dt. has 'thy

^ E.V. conceals the difficulty of the Heb., which rune ' flesh, in the field, a torn
animal.' The true, reading is probably 'the flesh of a torn animal,' om. 'in the
field,' i.e. nSntSH ib'S, the letters Id being an accidental duplication of 1B*3.

2 tSBtrp nbn^ 11 "pr? njrn ih\ r^vrh D^an nn^ [or n^n] njan ^. tms

involves the omission of the third clause as a doublet, the addition (with lxx) of
' judgement ' at the end, and slight alterations in the consonants of the first two
clauses.

^ The Heb. sentence begins with ?Tl, which would easily arise as a corruption

of ?ni

rA^»

xxiii. 4-io] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 139

thou shalt surely bring it back to him again. 5 If thou see the E
ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, ^and wouldest
forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him,

6 Thou shalt not wrest the judgement of thy poor in his
cause. 7 Keep thee far from a false matter ; and the innocent
and righteous slay thou not : for I will not justify the wicked.
8 And thou shalt take no gift : for a gift blindeth them that
have sight, and perverteth the ^ words of the righteous. 9 And 'R
a stranger shalt thou not oppress : j for ye know the heart of R^
a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.

10 And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather E

1 Or, and wouldest forbear to release it for him, thou shalt surely release it
with him ^ Or, cause

brother's ass'; but 'brother' is intended to include the whole Israelite
community, friends or otherwise.

5. atid wouldest forbear &c. This assumes another reading (nry
for 3ty) in both clauses; but 'help with him' is an awkward expression.
The marg. rendering is to be preferred; it is in agreement with the
simpler form of the command in Dt. xxii. 4 — ' thou shalt surely lift it
up with him.' Possibly, however, ' help ' should be read in the first
clause.

6 — 9. The verses appear to be a later addition ; v. 6 repeats the
thought of V. 2, and v. 7 a of v. I ; v. S is practically identical with
Dt. xvi. 19, and v. dais an abbreviation of xxii. 21a and is followed
by a similar Deuteronomic explanation.

8. them that have sight ; the open-eyed. A unique word\ Dt.
xvi. 19 has ' the eyes of the wise.'

XXIII. 10—19.
Laws on Worship.

There is no connexion of subject-matter between this section and the
preceding. The opening 'And' points to some previous laws relating to
religion. The verses are to be connected with xx. 24 — 26, xxii. 29, 30.

10, 11. The fallow year. Some think that this command is to be
compared with the law of the slave in xxi. 2, and that it does not imply
that the seventh year was to be observed simultaneously by everyone.
But the contrast ' Six years, when thou sowest thy land, thou shalt
gather... but the seventh year thou shalt release it' is obviously
parallel to that in v. 12 — 'Six days shalt thou do thy works, but
on the seventh day thou shalt keep Sabbath.' It is natural to

^ See on iv. 11.

140 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xxiii. t<v-i4

in the increase thereof: 11 but the seventh year thou shalt JS?
^let it rest and lie fallow ; that the poor of thy people may eat :
and what they leave the beast of the field shall eat. In like
manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy olive-
yard. 12 Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on_the seventh
day thou shalt ^rest : that thine ox and thine ass may have
rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be
refreshed, f 13 And in all things that I have said unto you take BP
ye heed : and make no mention of the name of other gods,
neither let it be heard out of thy mouthT)

14 Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year. E

^ Or, release it and let it lie fallow See Deut. xv. 2, ^ Qr, keep sabbath

suppose that the seventh year, like the seventh day, is intended to
be observed simultaneously. But it is, of course, probable that in
the earlier days, in which the custom prevailed of which this law
is an application, the fallow year was not simultaneous. Indeed it is
not easy to see how the law of a simultaneous year could be practicably
observed; in its present form it is an ideal injunction. The earlier
custom probably was not that the land should be left unatltivated, but
only that its produce was at stated intervals to be used by the
community at large instead of by the individual owner. (See works
cited by Driver, Deut. p. 177 and Levit. p. 98.)

11. let it rest and lie fallow. Lit. ' let it drop and leave it.' The
technical term 'let it drop' (R.V. mg. 'release') is applied nowhere else
to land. In Dt. xv. 2, 9, xxxi. 10 it is used of remitting exactions^.

12. The weekly Sabbath. See p. xliii. and note on pp. 121 ff.
may be refreshed. In xxxi. 17 both this word (elsewhere only

2 S. xvi. 14) and 'rest ' or ' desist' are applied to God in reference to
the Creation, the wording being probably based on the present passage.

13. This is strangely out of place in the midst of laws relating to
sacred seasons; and the alternation of the pronouns ('ye '...'they')
suggests that it is a later addition.

make no mention. Call not upon them by name in worship. At a
later time this prohibition led to the practice of altering proper names
compounded with Baal, e.g. j&7-yada for Baal-yaAsi,, Ish-bosheth, Mephi-
bosheth, Jeruh-beshsth for Ish-baal, Meri-baal, Jemh-baal.

14 — 17. The three Annual Festivals. In the note preceding
ch. xii. it is pointed out that the connexion of certain religious in-
stitutions (the Festival of Unleavened Cakes, and the offering of first-
born and firstlings) with the events of the Exodus is probably due to
later religious reflexion. The offering of firstborn and firstlings must

^ It occurs with its literal meaning in 2 S. vi. 6 = 1 Ch. xiii. 9, 2 K. ix, 33, Ps.
cxli. 6, Jer. xvii. 4t.

THE ANNUAL FESTIVALS 141

have been an established custom in the earliest days, when the ancestors
of the Israelites were nomads, wandering about with their flocks, long
before the migration to Egypt. But such roving Bedawin are strangers
to agriculture. The cultivation of fields and vineyards is obviously
possible only to a settled population possessed of land. The Israelites,
so far as we can judge, could know nothing of the care of crops until
they learnt it from the Canaanites. This consideration leads us to
conclude that the offering of the firstborn of men and animals had, so
far as Israel was concerned, quite a different origin from that of the
offering of corn, wine and oil, and was derived from a remoter past.
A nation with territorial rights thought of their god as the Baal, i.e.
* Lord ' or ' Owner,' of the land, and expressed a recognition of the fact
by pajdng him an annual tribute of the produce of the soil. And hence
arose the periodical offering of firstfruits^ The occasions on which
these offerings were due were fixed by the natural conditions of the
soil, i.e. (1) at the beginning of the harvest when the sickle was first
put into the barley (which was the earliest of the crops, ripening in
April or the beginning of May) ; (2) at the conclusion of wheat
harvest, which normally took place some seven weeks later ; (3) at
the final harvest of the fruits — mainly grapes and olives. These three
occasions on which firstfruits were offered became festivals of joyous
religious import. The names which describe the second and tl^ird of
them reveal their origin clearly enough — the ' Festival pf Harvest ' and
the 'Festival of Ingathering' (Ex. xxiii. 16). But the origin of the
first — the ' Festival of Unleavened Cakes (Mazzoth) ' is not so clear.
That this festival was, as a fact, connected with the beginning of
harvest is indicated by its position in the series of three (Ex. xxiii. 15,
xxxiv. 18), and by the injunction in Lev. xxiii. 10 f. that 'a sheaf of the
firstfruits of your harvest' is to be swung before Yahweh. But the
actual origin of the custom of eating unleavened cakes on that day is
unknown. It was probably a custom which thS Israelites found among
the natives of Canaan, and adopted from them. Perhaps it arose from
the fact that the field labourers were so busy when the harvest began
that they took with them to their work only the simplest and most
quickly prepared food.

With regard to the dates of the three festivals it must be remembered
that the three stagesliT the harvest could not fall simultaneously in all
parts of the country. In Palestine, by reason of its physical features,
were to be found widely different climates and temperatures (see Kent,
A History of the Hebrew People, i. 24) ; and crops and fruits would
ripen correspondingly at very different times. Each district would thus
observe its three festivals independently. Before the exile, the only
steps taken towards fixed dates are to be found in the commands (1) to
observe the F. of Unleavened Cakes ' in the month Abib,' and (2) to
observe the F. of Harvest fifty days after the beginning of the

^ Prazer, Golden Bough, ii. 68 f., 373 f., concludes that the offering of firstfruits
is a development of a far more primitive circle of ideas, in which by eating the new
corn the eater partakes sacramentally in the corn spirit.

142 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xxiii. 15, 16

15 The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep : | seven days -^,,
thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, at the
time appointed in the month Abib (for in it thou camest out
from Egypt) ; and none shaU appear before me empty : | 16 and E
the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou
sowest in the field : and the feast of ingathering, at the end of
the year, when thou gatherest in thy labours out of the field.

reaping. The former date (Ex. xiii. 4, xxxiv. 18 J) was probably
due to the connexion which the festival had acquired with the
events of the Exodus. The latter is not found till Dt. (xvi. 9),
but it is based on the name ' F. of Weeks ' in J (Ex. xxxiv. 22).
The stereotyping of the dates would be a natural result of the
Deuteronomic law of the central sanctuary, which put a stop to all
local celebrations. The final stage is seen in H and P, where the dates
of the three festivals are given as (1) the 15th day of the 1st month
(Lev. xxiii. 6 P) or 'the morrow after the Sabbath' (v. 11 H) ;
(2) seven weeks 'from the morrow after the Sabbath' (v. 15 H;
see p. xliv.) ; (3) the 15th day of the 7th month (w. 34, 39 P).

15. E here gives only the bare command, because the custom of
holding the festival was already well established.

seven days &c. This part of the verse seems to have been added by
a harmonizer from xxxiv. 18 b, 20 b (see note there on w. 10 — 28) ; it
breaks the grammatical connexion between the verb ' thou shalt keep '
and the accusatives governed by it in v. 16, 'the F. of Harvest' and
' the F. of Ingathering ' ; and there is nothing in E to which ' as I
commanded thee' can refer ^.

appear before me. Heb. ' none shall appear my face ' {sic). The
original reading was probably ' none shall see my face ' ; but the
Masoretes shrank from the implied anthropomorphism, and pointed
the verb regardless of grammar. The same has been done in v. 17,
xxxiv. 20, 23, 24, Dt. xvi. 16, xxxi. 11, 1 S. i. 22, Ps. xlii. 2 [3],
Is. i. 12.

16. at the exit of the year, xxxiv. 22 ' at the revolution of the
year.' For the two methods of reckoning the New Year see on xii. 2.

In Lev. xxiii. 43 the name ' Feast of Booths ' is explained by
reference to the dwelling in booths after the departure from Egypt.
Its actual origin can only be conjectured ; but it may have arisen
fi"om the fact that all who were engaged in gathering the fruits would
sleep in booths or huts in the vineyards (cf. Is. i. 8). Its observance
was probably learnt from the Canaanites ; compare Jud. ix. 27 with
xxi. 19, 21. The booths, made of branches, dry grass &c., were of
course quite different from tents.

^ Schaefer, Bas Passah-Mazzoth-Fest, 41 — 6, in attempting to preserve the words
here as original, is driven to explain them of oral Mosaic teaching.

xxiii. 17-20] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 143

17 Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the E
Lord God.

18 Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with
leavened bread ; neither shall the fat of my feast remain all
night until the morning. | 19 The first of the firstfruits of thy RJ^
ground thou shalt bring into the house of the Lord thy God. |
Thou shalt not seethe a kid in its mother's milk. E

20 Behold, I send an angel before thee, to keep thee by the R^
way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.

18, ths blood of my sacrifice. The prohibition does not refer to
the Passover, which E never mentions ; it is general, and applies to all
sacrifices \

19 a. See on xxxiv. 26, The law of firstfiruits has already been
given in xxii, 29 ; the present passage is due to harmonization with
eh. xxxiv. 26,

19 h. The prohibition is found in xxxiv. 26 h, Dt. xiv. 216. Its
origin is unknown, ' In his mother's milk ' cannot be a note of time,
making the expression mean ' a sucking kid ' ; not only would there
be no point in the special word 'boil' (which may perhaps be used
more generally to denote ' to cook '), but sucking lambs (or kids) were
commanded to be offered (xxii, 30, Lev, xxii, 27 ; cf 1 S, vii, 9),
W. R. Smith {RS"^, p. 221) suggests that 'a sacrificial gift sodden in
sour milk would evidently be of the nature of fermented food,' wEicE^
like leaven, implies putrefaction. But in this case the mention both
of the kid and its mother becomes superfluous ; it would be wrong to
treat any flesh in the same way. The same writer, however, inclines ,
to the explanation that ' since many primitive peoples regard milk as a "^
kind of ecLuivalent for blood, to eat a kid in his mother's niilfe might
be taken" as equivalent to eating with the blood ' ; and thus it would
be forbidden to the Hebrews along with the heathen sacraments of
blood. This heathen practice may have been specially connected with
the harvest festival. Driver (on Dt, xiv, 21) says, 'the prohibition
may have been aimed against the practice of using milk thus prepared
as a charm for rendering fields and orchards more productive,' All
that can be considered probable is that the command is directed
against some heathen practice which is at present obscure. See also
note in the Addenda.

20 — 23. Epilogue. The preceding laws are to be observed
as Israel's part in the covenant. But a prophetic writer of the
Deuteronomic school felt that God's part should also be stated.

1 Perhaps the writer intended ""nQT (' my sacrifice ') to be pointed as plural, but
the Masoretes made it singular because they thought it referred to the Passover.
The same remark applies to the following words ' the fat of my feast.' On xxxiv.
25 (' the sacrifice of the feast of the Passover ') see p. 63.

k T(,

144 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xxiii. 21-25

21 Take ye heed of him, and hearken unto his voice ; ^provoke R
him not : for he will not pardon your transgression ; for my
name is in him. 22 But if thou shalt indeed hearken unto
his voice, and do all that I speak ; then I will be an enemy
unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries.
23 For mine angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in
unto the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the
Canaanite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite : and I will cut them
off. 24 Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them,
nor do after their works : but thou shalt utterly overthrow
them, and break in pieces their ^pillars. 25 And ye shall serve

^ Or, he not rebellious against him ^ Or, obelisks See Lev. xxvi. 1,

2 Kings iii. 2.

The Epilogue consists of divine promises, which are conditional
(v. 22 a) upon Israel's observance of the laws (see note at the end
of ch. xxiv.). In Dt. xxviii. and Lev. xxvi. the collections of laws are
similarly followed by a hortatory discourse, describing the divine
blessing which will be gained by faithfulness to His commands ; and
to both of these are added curses for disobedience, which are absent
from Exodus. The prophets were not mere antiquarians ; the ancient
laws and customs were still, for them, the basis of true religion, and
true religion was the one and only condition of divine blessing.

20. an angel. The conceptions of God in the primitive ages of
Israelite life were, as in all nations, crude and anthropomorphic. But
by the time of the writers J and E, a change had begun. This is
represented by the word 'Angel' The 'Angel' is Yahweh Himself
in a temporary descent to visibility for a special purpose. See
G. A. Smith, Book of the Twelve Prophets, ii. 310 — 19. The principal
references for the 'Angel' are Gen. xxi. 17, xxxi. 11, xlviii, 16,
Ex. xiv. 19, xxxii. 34, Num. xx. 16, xxii. 22—27, 31 f, 34 f (E),
Gen. xvi. 7, 9 if., xxii. 11, 15, xxiv. 7, 40, Ex. iii. 2, xxxiii. 2 (J),
Jud. ii. 1, 4, V. 23, vi. 11 f, 20 if., xiii. 3, 6, 9, 13, 15—18, 20 f,
Hos. xii. 4 (5), Is. bciii. 9 (a reference to the present passage and xxxiii.
2), Zech. i. 9 &c., iii. 3, Mai. iii. 1.

21. my name is in him, i.e. the fulness of my Being. It was ' in
him,' but was not completely revealed to men until they learnt ' the
name that is above every name' (Col. i. 19, Phil. ii. 9).

23. the Amorite &c. For similar lists from a Deuteronomic
hand see v. 28, iii. 8, 17, xiii. 5, xxxiii. 2, xxxiv. 11-

24. The command to destroy the objects of Canaanitish worship
is a marked characteristic of the Deuteronomic school.

their pillars (mazzebhoth). These were, sacred blocks of stone set
up in connexion with altars. They appear toTiave been a relic of the
primitive belief that the world was inhabited by many numina, divine

xxiii. c»5-3o] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 145

the Lord your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water ; R^
and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee. 26 There
shall none cast her young, nor be barren, in thy land : the
number of thy days I will fulfil. 27 I will send my terror
before thee, and will discomfit all the people to whom thou
shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs
unto thee. 28 And I will send the hornet before thee, which
shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, irom
before thee. 29 I will not drive them out from before thee
in one year ; lest the land become desolate, and the beast of
the field multiply against thee. 30 By little and little I will

beings whose presence was attached to stones and other natural objects.
Beside the mazzehhdh, which was often chiselled and engraved, there
usually stood a wooden stump, called an asherdh (see xxxiv. 13). In
the early days of Israel's occupation of Canaan, their worship was
largely influenced by Canaanite customs, and mazzehhoth were freely
used. Moses himself set up twelve of them (xxiv. 4) ; Hosea included
them among the religious privileges of which Israel woulHHBe deprived
in exile as a punishment for her sins (iii. 4, x. 1 f ) ; and Isaiah
speaks of a mazzehhah as a symbol of Egypt's conversion to YaHweh
(xix. 19). Sacred stones were set up at Bethel (Gen. xxviii. 18 ff.),
Gilgal (.Jos. iv. 5 ; cf Jud. iii. 19, 26 RV. marg.), Shechem (Jos.
xxiv. 26), Mizpah (1 S. vii. 12), Gibeon (2 S. xx. 8), En-rogel
(1 K. i. 9). It was not till the Deuteronomic reform that the practice v
was condemned.

25. and he shall bless. Read, with lxx, Vulg. and I will bless.
A similar alternation of the words of the writer with those of Yahweh
is seen in xv. 26.

thy bread, and thy water. A general expression for food.
take sickness away. xv. 26, Dt. xxviii. 59 — 61.

26. the number of thy days. As individuals God's faithful people
would reach a ripe old age (cf. Is. Ixv. 20) ; as a nation they would
long possess their land. The same wideness of meaning attaches to
XX. 12.

27. my terror. A divinely sent panic, greater than ordinary
causes would produce ; cf Gen. xxxv. 5 (R.V. marg.).

28. the hcyrnet. Dt. vii. 20, Jos. xxiv. 12 t ; cf Wisd. xii. 8—10.
There is no reason to suppose that the writer employed the word
metaphorically. It is an ideal description of a terrible plague which
would assist in the complete destruction of the natives. Plagues of
hornets are not unknown ; see art. ' Hornet ' in DB ii.

the Hivite &c. See v. 23. lxx inserts ' the Amorite ' before ' the
Hivite.'

30. By little and little. Dt. vii. 22. This forms a remarkable

M. 10

146 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xxiii. 30-xxiv. 2

drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and R^
inherit the land. 31 And I will set thy border from the Red
Sea even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the wilder-
ness unto ^the River : for I will deliver the inhabitants of the
land into your hand ; and thou shalt drive them out before
thee. 32 Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with
their gods. 33 They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make
thee sin against me : for if thou serve their gods, it will surely
be a snare unto thee.

XXIV. 1 And he said unto Moses, Come up unto the J
Lord, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the
elders of Israel; and worship ye afar off: 2 and Moses alone

1 That is, the Euphrates.

contrast to the idealized picture of rapid conquests which is drawn in
the greater part of Joshua ; it is in accord with the earlier portions of
that book and with Jud. i. 19, 21, 27—35.

31. The boundaries mark the ideal extent of Israel's territory.
Cf. Gen. XV. 18, Dt. xi. 24, where Lebanon is named as the northern
border. The reign of Solomon was the only period in which even an
appreciable approach was made to this expansion. The Hebrews
never owned a single spot on the Mediterranean coast until Joppa
was captured, first by Jonathan Maccabaeus in 148 B.C. (1 Mac. x. 76),
and again by his brother Simon in 142 B.C. {id. xii. 33 f. ; cf. xiv. 5).

Chapter XXIV. 1—11.

The ratification of the Covenant

XXIV. 1. And unto Moses he said. The emphasis laid on
* Moses ' probably implies that Yahweh had previously been speaking
to someone else ; but the passage has been mutilated, xix. 25,
the last preceding passage from J, is also mutilated. See analysis,
p. xxxii.

Nadab, and Abihu. In xxviii. 1 (P) they are Aaron's eldest sons,
who, with the younger sons Eleazar and Ithamar, were admitted to the
priestly office; and in Lev. x. 1 — 10 (P) they oifered 'strange fire'
and were destroyed. Here, however, they and Aaron are associated
with the elders ; priests are represented as already existing in the
community (xix. 22 f. ; and see v. 5 below).

2. The narrative of J is continued in v. 9.

XXIV. 2-8] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 147

shall come near unto the Lord ; but they shall not come near ; J"
neither shall the people go up with him. | 3 And Moses came E
and told the people all the words of the Lord, and all the
judgements : and all the people answered with one voice, and
said, All the words which the Lord hath spoken will we do.

4 And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord, and rose up
early in the morning, and builded an altar under the mount,
and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel.

5 And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which
offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen
unto the Lord. 6 And Moses took half of the blood, and put
it in basons ; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.
7 And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the
audience of the people : and they said, All that the Lord hath
spoken will we do, and be obedient.*^, 8 And Moses took the
blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the

4. pillars (mazzebhoth). See xxiii. 24. Lxx, Sam. shrink from
the word because these objects were condemned in the later legislation ;
they read * stones.'

5. the young men. They were recognised as the proper persona
to fulfil sacrificial functions. See p. Ixv.

burnt-offerings .. .peace-offerings. See on xx. 24.

7. the book of the covenant. From this expression is derived the
title frequently applied to the whole collection of laws in xx. 23
— xxiii. 33. But the original covenant laws were probably the laws
on worship (xx. 22 — 26, xxii. 29, 30, xxiii. 10 — 19) which correspond
to J's group in xxxiv. 14 — 26. See analysis, pp. xxvii. — xxx.

and be obedient. This, in connexion with the sprinkling of blood,
is perhaps referred to in 1 Pet. i. 2 — ' unto obedience and sprinkling of
the blood of Jesus Christ ' ; see Hort's note^.

8. the blood of the covenant"^. The blood which seals and ratifies
the covenant. The incident is referred to in Heb. ix. 20, to shew that
where a covenant is made there must of necessity be blood, which
symbolizes both ratification and cleansing. The great advance towards
the higher conception of a 'new covenant' was made by Jeremiah
(xxxi. 31 — 34). And our Lord taught that He was the mediator of
the new covenant by adapting the expression in Exod. — ' this is my
"blood of the covenant'" (Mat. xxvi. 28 = Mk. xiv. 24; of. Lk. xxii. 20,
1 Cor. xi. 25).

^ And see Lightfoot on Col. ii. 14 (p. 185»).
^ See additional note below.

10—2

148 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xxiv. s-n

blood of the covenant, which the Lord hath made with you E
^concerning all these words. | 9 Then went up Moses, and Aaron, J
Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel : 10 and
they saw the God of Israel ; and there was under his feet as it
were ^a paved work of sapphire stone, and as it were the very
heaven for clearness. 11 And upon the nobles of the children
of Israel he laid not his hand : and they beheld God, and did
eat and drink.

1 Or, wpon all these conditions * Or, work of bright sapphire

concerning all these words. Lit. 'upon [the basis of] all these
words.' The marg. expresses the meaning.

10. they saw the God of Israel^. It is not difficult to picture
the scene which could give rise to the narrator's anthropomorphic
description. They saw a manifestation of His presence (as every
man whose spiritual eyes are open may see to-day) in thie dazzling
light of the sun. The sapphire pavement beneath His feet was the
blue sky ; and its ' clearness ' arose from the complete absence of
haze or cloud, so that they seemed to look through it into heaven
itself

a paved work. Lit. ' a brick- or tile-work.' The rendering in the
marg. is less probable. It was universally supposed in early days that
the sky was a solid canopy. See Driver on Gen. i. 6.

the mry heaven. The substance (lit. * the bone ') of the sky = the
sky itself The idiom is frequent in P in the expression ' the selfsame
day.' And see Job xxi. 23 ('in his very completeness'; KV. 'in his
full strength ').

U. nobles {'azillm). Lit. 'comers,' 'corner-men,' and so the
'supports' of a community. This figurative meaning is not found
elsewhere. Pinnoth is similarly used in Jud. xx. 2, 1 S. xiv. 38.

he laid not his hand. He did not destroy them or do them
any injury, though they had ventured to come into His immediate
presence.

and they beheld God. The verb (nrn) is a synonym, almost entirely
confined to poetry, of ' they saw ' (nxn) in v. 10. The clause has the
appearance of being an editorial addition.

and did eat and drink. Not necessarily on the top of the moun-
tain. The sacrificial meal would more naturally be celebrated after
their descent.

1 The Lxx translators shrank from the expression, and wrote ' they saw the place
where the God of Israel stood.' A similar motive caused the paraphrase in v. 11 —
• and of the elect of Israel not one uttered a sound (SiettxhvTjffev) ; and they were seen
in the place of God.'

XXIV. 12-16] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 149

12 And the Lord said unto Moses, Come up to me into the E^
mount, and be there : and I will give thee the tables of stone, [ ^^
and the law and the commandment, | which I have written, that rr
thou may est teach them. 13 And Moses rose up, and Joshua
his minister : and Moses went up into the mount of God.

14 And he said unto the elders, Tarry ye here for us, until we
come again unto you : and, behold, Aaron and Hur are with
you : whosoever hath a cause, let him come near unto them.

15 And Moses went up into the mount, | and the cloud covered P
the mount. 16 And the glory of the Lord abode upon mount

XXIV. 12—18.

Moses aseended the mountain to receive the tablets of stone.
The manifestation of Yahweh's glory.

12. The latter half of the verse appears to have been expanded by
the addition of the clause 'and the law and the commandment.' It
cannot refer to the Ten Words on the tablets of stone which are
mentioned separately^ See analysis, p. xxxiv.

16. the glory of Yahweh. The visible manifestation of His
presence, which subsequently filled the Dwelling (xl. 34 f). The
worship which the Hebrew nation paid to One God led the religious
minds among them to revel in the thought of His infinite majesty, in
the weighty abundance of His powers and perfections. The word
'glory' ("li^l, derived from n23, 'to be heavy') expressed this with
a wide variety in the conceptions formed by dififerent minds. It
expressed the wonders of His power in nature (Ps. xix. 1 (2), xxix. 3, cviii.
5 (6), cxiii. 4, Is. vi. 3), the splendour of His Kingdom (Ps. xxiv. 7 — 10,
cxlv. 5, 12, Is. xi. 10), the marvels of His actions among His people
(Num. xiv. 21 f , Is. Ixvi. 18 fj Hab^ii. 14), and in general His mighty
protecting„preaea.ce (Ps. Ixxxv. 9 (10), Is. xl. 5, Iviii. 8, Ix. If., Ez. xliii. 2). /
All tEis volume of truth was summed up, in the inspired imagination -
of the priestly writers, in a visible concrete conception of an intensely
shining light. In an earlier description of a theophany (Ex. xxxiii.
18, 22 J) the word 'glory' is used, but the content of it is vague and
mysterious. But the present passage describes it explicitly as having
the appearance of a devouring fire (cf Zech. ii. 5). It was a feeling!
after the truth that the plenitude of the Divine majesty is to men's
souls all that light is to their bodies, that ' God is Light, and in Him .
is no darkness at all.'

^ Lxx, Sam. attempt to obviate this by omitting ' and ' before ' the law ' ; but in
any case the Ten Words would hardly be described by the double expression ' the
law and the commandment.'

150 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xxiv. i6-,8

Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days : and the seventh day P
he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud. 17 And
the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like devouring
fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of
Israel. 18 And Moses entered into the midst of the cloud, and
went up into the mount : and Moses was in the mount forty
days and forty nights.

abode. The first occurrence of the word shdkan, which is peculiarly
characteristic of P. See p. iii.

18. The 'forty days and forty nights' in xxxiv. 28 are not a
second period of that length ; that passage in J's narrative corresponds
to P's statement here. P must have found it in E, since it was known
to the writer of Dt. ix. 9, and the latter writer having both the
J and E accounts before him speaks of two periods of fortv davs
(ix. 18, X. 10).

T?ie Covenant. The word 'covenant' played a great part in the social
and spiritual life of Israel ; and the covenant at the sacred mountain was a
subject of outstanding importance in their religious traditions. It may be
useful, therefore, to discuss the term. A right understanding of it is difficult
to reach owing to the lack of an English word which adequately represents the
original herlth. The root hdrdh (ma) from which the word would naturally
be derived does not otherwise occur in Hebrew i. The connexion with the
Arabic hard ' to cut ' has now been largely abandoned, and the word is usually
referred to the Assyrian hirtu and biritu 'a fetter =^.' If this be the true
derivation, the nearest English equivalent to herlth is an * obligation ' — some-
thing binding. But an obligation may be imposed either upon another or
upon oneself And these two ideas give rise to the various meanings of the
term.

1. An ohligation laid upon another, (a) A herlth could denote a com-
mand or undertaking or constitution imposed unconditionally by one in
authority ; e.g. by David at Hebron in assuming the kingship over the tribes
(2 S. V. 3) ; by Josiah in making the people promise to obey the commands of
Yahweh ' with the whole heart and the whole soul' (2 K. xxiii. 3 — not as R.V.);
by Zedekiah in making the people promise to release their Hebrew slaves
(Jer. xxxiv. 8 — 10) ; by Antiochus (Dan. ix. 27, ' and he shall impose heavy
obligations,' lit make strong a herlth — not as RV.); by Job who laid an
obligation upon his own eyes (Job xxxL 1). In such cases it is assumed
without question that the obligation will be accepted and fulfilled ; it is a

^ In 1 S. xvii. 8 HI is probably an error for "nni ' choose ye ' ; see Driver
in loe. The root n"l3 ' to eat ' is quite distinct.

* The corresponding verb baru, with the meaning 'to bind,' has not yet been
found; there is, however, 6an2 'to enclose' which is somewhat cognate in meaning.
Zimmern and Winckler suggest baru 'to see,' whence bd7'u ' an augur,' one who
inspects omens. The subst. might thus mean ' an oracle.' But this is a less
likely explanation.

THE WORD 'COVENANT' 151

inutiial transaction only in the secondary sense that every command is mutual.
(A further extension, which does not appear in the O.T., but which, in the
Greek form dcadrJKTj passed into N.T. thought, was that by which the word
denoted a disposition made by a father before his death, and which was
binding upon his sons or other persons concerned. It might consist in an
apportionment of blessings or curses (as e.g. in the ' Testaments of the Twelve
Patriarchs'), or in a disposition of property, i.e. a 'testament' or 'will'). —
(b) A victor in battle or a superior in rank could impose obligations as con-
ditions of his help and/amur \ e.g. in the case of Joshua and the Gibeonites
(Jos. ix. 6 &c.), Nahash and the Jabeshites (1 S. xi. 1 f.), David and Abner
(2 S. iii 12 f, R.V. 'league'), Ahab and the conquered Benhadad (1 K. xx. 34),
Nebuchadrezzar and the conquered Jerusalem (Ez. xvii. 13 — 18). In such
cases the mutual element appears more clearly.

2. An obligation laid upon oneself, (a) Unconditionally. The corre-
spondence with the former meaning of berlth here fails us. It nowhere denotes
a self-imposed obligation without some condition exacted from another party.
In other words it is never used for a simple hmnan promise. (6) That which
is an imperative condition when laid down by a superior becomes a strictly
mutual agreement when undertaken between equals. A binds himself to a
certain course of action on condition that B binds himself to another (or the
same) courae of action. This, in secular matters, is the commonest meaning
of berlth, to which the English rendering ' covenant ' most nearly corresponds.
It might be formed between individuals — e.g. Abraham with Mamre, Eshcol
and Aner (Gen. xiv. 13, R.V. ' confederate,' lit. masters of the berlth — or as we
might say ' parties to the agreement ') ; Abimelech with Isaac (Gen. xxvi. 28 flF.
— each sware not to injure the other) ; Laban with Jacob (Gen. xxxi. 44 flF. —
each sware not to pass beyond the boundary, Gilead, to the other's hurt);
Jonathan and David (1 S. xviil 3, xx. 8 — a mutual promise of friendship) ;
they also made another agreement (xxiii. 17 f). Or it might be an alliance
between nations. Such alliances between Israel and the Canaanites are
frequently condemned (cf. Ex. xxiii. 32, xxxi v. 12, 15, Dt. vii. 2, Jud. ii. 2) ;
other instances are 1 K. v. 12 [Heb. 26], xv. 19, Hos. xii. 1 [Heb. 2\ Am. i. 9.
A metaphorical use of the word is that of a compact with the powers of the
nether world (Is. xxviii. 15, 18), and of Job's compact with the stones of the
field (Job V. 23).

When the word is examined as describing the relations between God and
man the same ideas can be traced.

1. God as the Superior Being imposes obligations, (a) They may be
unconditional, in which case they are simply categorical commands which
may not be altered or evaded. The word berlth is used, e.g., for the ordinance
of the Sabbath (Ex. xxxi. 16 ; cf. Is. Ivi. 4, 6), of the oflFering of salt with the
meal-oflfering (Lev. ii. 13), of the 'shewbread' (Lev. xxiv, 8). In earlier
literature it is used of Yahweh's command' not to take of the ' devoted thing '
at Jericho (Jos. vii. 11), nor to serve other gods (xxiii. 16); cf. Jud. ii. 20,

^ In the five references which follow, berlth is used in conjunction with the verb
mV ' to command.'

152 THE BOOK OF EXODUS

1 K. xi. 11, Ps. cxi. 9. And in Dt. xxxiii. 9 the parallelism with 'word,' 'judge-
ments ' and ' law ' suggests that ' thy herlth ' means ' thy command.' (6) They
may be conditional ; the performance of the obligation is the condition of
receiving God's help and favour. This is one aspect of the Sinai-Horeb
covenant ; see below.

2. (a) God lays obligations upon Himself, i.e. He makes unconditional
promises. Five such promises are related, all except the last being confined
to late writings : to Noah, that a flood should not again overwhelm the
earth, the rainbow being a sign to remind God of His herlth (Gen. ix. 9 — 17 P,
Is. liv. 9 f ; and perhaps Jer. xxxiii. 20, 25, which seems to include Gen. viii.
22 in the promise) ; to David, that his posterity should possess the throne for
ever, and should stand in the position of God's son (Ps. Ixxxix. 3, 28, 34, 39,
Jer. xxxiii. 21) ; to Levi, an everlasting priesthood, a covenant of peace
(Jer. xxxiii. 21, Mai. ii. 4, 5, 8) ; to Phinehas, the same promise (Num. xxv.
12 f. P) ; and the most important of all, to Abram. It is described by J
(Gen. XV. ; see v. 18), and by P (xvii. 1 — 7). In the latter it is extended
to Isaac (»». 19, 21), and, without the word berith, to Jacob (xxxv. 11 f.).
The promises thus made to the three patriarchs are described by the
term berith in Ex. ii. 24, Lev. xxvi. 42, 2 K. xiii. 23, Ps. cv. 8 f. = 1 Ch. xvi.
15 f. See also Ex. vi. 5, Lev. xxvi. 45, Neh. ix. 8, Ps. cvi. 45, Ez. xvi. 60,
Circumcision was enjoined upon Abram as 'a sign of a berith' (Gen. xviL
11), i.e., as in the case of the rainbow, to remind God of His promises,
and also to be a distinctive privilege of His people. (On the other hand, in
■sv. 9f, 13f. it is 'my berith,' i.e. the unalterable command of God; see 1 (a)
above.)

(&) Man lays obligations upon himself, i.e. he makes a vow with a view
to obtaining the divine favour. Josiah ' made a berith before Yahweh, to walk
after Yahweh and to keep His commandments ' (2 K. xxiii. 3), and the people
also 'stood to' the same berith. Hezekiah (2 Ch. xxix. 10). Ezra and the
people (Ez. x. 3). Nehemiah and the people (Neh. ix. 38, x. 1 [Heb. x. 1, 2] ),
(c) God and man undertake self-imposed obligations, i.e. they enter
into a mutual compact. This idea is foimd in the narrative of the Sinai-
Horeb covenant. In entering upon the united worship of Yahweh, the
Israelites formed a compact with Him by sharing with Him the life-blood of
\ a sacrificial victim. This was symbolized by the sprinkling of the blood on the
] altar and on the people (Ex. xxiv. 6, 8 B)^. The sacrificial feast spoken of in
«?. 1 1 (J), though a berith is not there mentioned, was for the same purpose ;
Yahweh was supposed to join in the feast and thus to cement the friendship.
There is no doubt that this last conception is the most primitive of all
those which are connected with a divine berith. It involves an anthropo-
morphic idea of God such as must have belonged to a very early stage in
Israelite thought (see W. R. Smith, ES% Lect. ix.). It may be taken for
granted that if any part of the Sinai-Horeb narrative is historical it is this.
But the narratives go further. They represent this blood-ceremony and feast
as not merely a sacrament of communion but a ratification of a ' covenant ' in
the sense of obligations imposed by God, and accepted by the people, as

1 A difierent explanation has recently been suggested. See Addenda.

THE SINAI-^OREB COVENANT 153

conditions of His help and favour. The obligations imposed are laws which
Moses inscribed in the ' book of the covenant ' (Ex. xxiv. 7). What these laws
were has been discussed in the analysis. As they stand they include all the
laws in xx. 23 — xxiii. 19 (cf. Jer. xxxiv. 13 f.), to which, in order to emphasize
the covenant idea, a later writer added xxiii. 20 — 33, describing the blessings
which would accrue in case of obedience, or in other words the obligations
which God undertook as His side of the covenant. But the earliest form of
them was probably injunctions relating to worship, some of which have come
down to us embedded in xx. 23— xxiii. 19 (E) and in xxxiv. 10 — 26 (J). At a
later period than E the obligations consisted of the Decalogue of xx. 1 — 17
and Dt. v. 6 — 21, which was written by God on stone tablets, the latter being
placed in the ark, which thus became known as ' the ark of the covenant '
(Num. X. 33, xiv. 44, Dt. x. 8, xxxi. 9, 25 f, Jos. iii. 3, 6, 8, iv. 7, 9, 18, vi. 6, 8,
viii. 33, &c.)^ Some modem writers think that the whole idea of a covenant
at Sinai-Horeb is a reading back into the history of prophetic ideas of God
which belong, at the earliest, to the age of Elijah and Elisha. They think
that ' the relation of Yahweh to Israel must originally have been similar to
that of the gods of the heathen to their particular peoples ; the relation
existed, but it was never formed ; it was natural, and not the result of a
conscious act or a historical transaction' (see art. 'Covenant,' DB i. 511 f.).
But this loses sight of the fact that the conditions of Israel under Moses were
not the same as those of other nations. It is true that, like other nations, they
thought of their God as being attached to a particular district, and as exclu-
sively their own deity. But, so far as we know, not one of the surrounding
nations was drawn together by the influence of one man to unite deliberately in
the worship of the same deity. ' A nation like Israel is not a natural unity
like a clan, and Jehovah as the national God was, from the time of Moses
downward, no mere natural clan god, but the god of a confederation, so that
here [Ps. 1. 5] the idea of a covenant religion is entirely justified. The worship
of Jehovah throughout all the tribes of Israel and Judah is probably older
than the genealogical system that derives all Hebrews from one natural parent '
(W. R. Smith, RS^ 319 footn.). If Moses brought about the confederation, it
was natural (as has been said on p. cxiv.) that he should teach them at the
outset the manner in which their deity must be worshipped. And Moses'
teaching was for them divine teaching : when he laid obligations upon them it ^
was Yahweh who laid them, and the natural place at which to do it was the
mountain on which they believed Yahweh to dwell. It is probable that very
little (perhaps none) of Moses' actual teaching has survived ; it may have
included some elements of ethical morality ; later writers enlarged upon it,
and enriched it by the religious ideas which they had reached in their day.
But if Moses gave any injunctions at all as to the worship of Yahweh, it is un-
reasonable to deny that these could constitute a divine herlth laid upon Israel.
One further consideration remains. The Heb. expression for ' to make a
covenant ' is usually n"l3> lit. ' to cut.' The exact origin of this usage of the

^ P, who nowhere speaks of the transaction at Sinai as a berith, uses the term
' ark of the testimony.' He thought of Yahweh as too supreme and transcendent
to enter into a mutual compact with man.

154 THE BOOK OF EXODUS

Tcrb is lost ; but there are indications which suggest the way in which it might
arise. In Gen. xv. 9 f., 17 and Jer. xxxiv. 18 f. a ceremony is recorded by
which a promise or oath was made doubly sure. The person or persons — in
the one case God, and in the other the people of Jerusalem — who made the
promise, passed between the divided carcases of animals. This would
seem to have been equivalent to a solemn curse : If I fail in my promise,
may I be slaughtered as I have slaughtered this animaP. The expression
'God do so to me [or thee] and more also' (1, 2 Sam., 1, 2 Kings, Ruth)
is perhaps connected with the same idea. And the action of the
Ephraimite Levite (Jud. xix. 29) and of Saul (1 S. xi. 7) may be varieties of
the ceremony. If such proceedings were common in the early nomadic life
of Israel, the verb 'to cut' might easily become a stereotyped term for 'to
make ' a promise, and could thus be used in conjimction with the word berith
drawn from qmte a diflferent source. The latter word may not have been
incorporated into the language of the Israelites until their arrival at Canaan,
although some of the ideas expressed by it had long been familiar. An
analogous combination of words may be seen in opKia Ttfiveiv, and /oedus
icere or ferire.

To sum up. The probable facts with regard to the Sinai covenant may be stated
thus : Certain tribes had been drawn into a confederacy, and as a body were
introduced by Moses to the worship of one God, Yahweh. Moses declared to
them the way in which He must be worshipped, delivering commands which
they accepted as divinely imposed obligations and expressed their intention of
obeying. In order to cement the imity of their confederated body with each
other and with Yahweh, and to seal their vow of obedience, they feasted
together (and according to their ideas Yahweh joined in the feast), partaking
of the blood (in the form of sprinkling) and of the flesh of sacrificial victims,
lit is possible that Moses included in his commands some elements of ethical
(morality. But whatever his commands were, they were successively expanded
as the ethical character and the omnipotence and uniqueness of God were
more fully recognised ; until Jeremiah could deliver his teaching on the ' New
Covenant' (xxxi. 31 — 34), by which he paved the way for Christianity.

1 A somewhat similar Assyrian parallel is given in KAT^, p. 597 : Assur-nirari,
king of Assyria, received the submission of Mati'-ilu prince of Arpad (b.c. 754). In
the ceremony which sealed the compact, the head of a ram was cut off, and in the
formula of the oath it is stated that the slain ram and its separate limbs represent
the separate limbs of him who should break the compact : * This bead is
not the head of the ram ; it is the head of Mati'-ilu, the head of his sons,
of his great men, of the people of his land. If Mati'-ilu breaks this oath, as the
head of this ram is cut off., .so will the head of Mati'-ilu be cut off.' With this may
be compared the old Eoman formula when a treaty was made with a foreign state :
'The Koman people shall not be the first to violate those binding conditions
{legibiis) : if in their capacity as a state with malicious guile they violate them, do
thou in that day, 0 Juppiter, so smite (ferito) the Eoman people as I shall smite
this pig here to-day, and so much the more do thou smite them in proportion as
thou art mighty and powerful ' (Livy i. 24). A ceremony exactly similar in form
to the dividing of the animals, but with a different meaning, is recorded in Livy xl.
6. The ceremonial purification of the Macedonian army was performed by dividing
the body of a dog, and placing the two parts on either side of the road ; ' between
this divided victim the armed forces are led.'

THE BOOK OF EXODUS 156

Chapters XXV.— XXXI.

The Tabernacle and its Ministry.

These chapters, together with xxxv. — xL, contain priestly work throughout.
Their introduction into Exodus has, in all probability, ousted a considerable
quantity of earlier material from JB dealing with the sacred Tent (see
xxxiii. 7), the Ark and other matters connected with worship. From an
archaeological point of view this loss is very great But that is not the point
of view from which the Old Testament is mainly to be regarded. The spiritual
gain which has resulted from the work of the priestly writers outweighs the
archaeological loss.

A general discussion of the Priesthood and the Tabernacle will be found in
the In trod. §§ 4, 5. It is there shewn that, as an historical events it is
impossible to believe that an elaborate building such as is described in
Exodus was erected at Sinai, or that Aaron and his sons occupied the supreme
sacerdotal position ascribed to them. The chapters are a gradual growth, the
work of a succession of writers after the exile (see pp. xxxvii. f.), whose aim
was to depict a religious ideal. In their day the principles of ecclesiasticism
were being developed, and supplied the body or framework in which the ideal
could express itself. But they also felt that that which was an ideal for their
own time must have been an ideal for Israel ever since they were united in
the religion of Yahweh. In this they were not mistaken ; but they were mis-
taken in thinking that it must always have expressed itself in the same way.
The ideal underlying these chapters is that God, in all His awful and un-
approachable hohness, is realised as dwelling in the midst of His people. And
in order to express this, the writers carried back into the twelfth century the
ecclesiastical atmosphere of the fifth or foiirth. Thus the historical interest of
the chapters is to be found in the insight which they aflford into the religious
temper of the priestly period ; but their deep and abiding value lies in their
insistence on spiritual tiaiths.

It is interesting, further, to notice the possibility that their literary form
is largely shaped imder the influence of a religious idea. The erection of the
Tabernacle was a work which seemed to bear an analogy to the divine work of
creation. As the Creator made the earth for man to dwell in, so men make
a dwelhng for the Creator. Some writers have seen in xxxix. 32 an echo of
Gen. ii 1, and in v. 43 of Gen. i. 31 a, and i. 28 a, ii. 3 a. And some, again,
have pointed out that as the work of creation occupied seven days, and the
building of Solomon's temple seven years (1 K, vL 38), so the preparation and
erection of the Tabernacle, which was a miniature temple, occupied seven
months, i.e. the last seven months of the first year since the exodus, which
remained after Moses' second sojourn in the momitain (see xix. 1, xxiv. 18,
xxxiv. 28, xl. 1). This perhaps reads into the text more than the writers
really intended. But it is noticeable that the narrative in xxxix. 1 — 31
proceeds in seven paragraphs, punctuated by the formula ' as Yahweh com-
manded Moses ' {vv. 1, 5, 7, 21, 26, 29, 31) ; and similarly in xl. 17—32 {vv. 19,
21, 23, 25, 27, 29, 32), and Lev. viii., ix. (viii. 9, 13, 17, 21, 29, ix. 10, 21). And
it is possible to suppose, in these recurring formulas, a deliberate corre-

156 THE BOOK OF EXODUS

spondence with the seven stages in the narrative of the creation. Not only so,
but in accordance with this seven-fold statement of obedience to the divine
commands we find a similar division of the whole series of commands. Each
division begins with the formula 'And Yahweh spake unto Moses saying.'
The 1st (xxv. 1 — XXX. 10) comprises all the necessaries for divine service — the
sacred furniture and the Tent to house it, the altar of burnt-offering and the
court to enclose it, the ministers and their robes and consecration ; the 2nd
(xxx. 11 — 16) the monetary contributions for service; the 3rd {vv. 17 — 21)
the daily purification needful for service ; the 4th {vv. 22 — 38) the ingredients
for producing a sweet odour, both for initial consecration and for constant
offering; the 5th (xxxi. 1 — 11) the inspiration of the workmen; the 6th
{vv. 12 — 17) the cosmic reality upon which the whole arrangement is modelled ;
and the 7th (xL 1 — 15) the erection and working out of the whole. It is not
impossible that all this shews deliberate arrangement, on the part of an
editor, of the whole of the priestly material. But it is also possible that even
in the earliest document which he employed (chs. xxv. — xxviii.), he found the
same principle already in force. The earliest priestly work (excluding the
summary in xxv. 1—9, and ch. xxix. which does not deal with the materials
for worship) divides itself into the following sections : the ark (xxv. 10—22),
the table {vv. 23 — 30), the lampstand {vv. 31 — 40), the coverings of the tent
(xxvi. 1 — 14), the wooden framework, with the veil and door-screen {w.
15 — 37), the altar (xxvii. 1 — 8), the court {vv. 9 — 19), the ephod and hoshen
(xxviii. 1 — 25, 29 f.), and the robes {vv. 31 — 40, 42 f.). Some of these sections
are divided into seven parts by the recurrence of the word n^EJ'VI ' and thou
shalt make.' The division is quite clear in the second section ; in the fourth it
can be restored by reading n'^B'yi iit the beginning of xxvi. 1 instead of the
present text ncyn ; and in the sixth, by adopting the lxx addition ' and thou
shalt make a moulding for the altar' after xxvii. 2. And Klostermaun's
suggestion {Der Pentateuch (1907), pp. 100 f.) is not improbable that the same
heptadic arrangement was originally to be found throughout all the sections.
But though chs. xxv. — xxix. contain the earliest priestly work on the
Tabernacle that has reached us in a connected form, there may have been
behind it a simpler nucleus from which it grew. If there was such a nucleus
it would be likely to contain ideas which were not altogether the product of
post-exilic imagination, but which were in some primary and fundamental
manner linked with the early ages of the past. There is reason to believe that
in the Mosaic age there actually existed an ark and a tent, and that altars
were erected for burnt-offerings ; and that in still more ancient days bread
and wine were offered as the food of the gods, and sacred trees were wor-
shipped. (The two latter are represented in these chapters by the Table and
the Lampstand.) And thus the nucleus might consist of the Ark, Table,
Lampstand, Tent and Altar. Now on examining the sections dealing with
these we find that the first three are concluded in xxv. 40 by a reference to
the model shewn to Moses in the mount ; and that a similar reference occurs
after each of the other two (xxvi. 30, xxvii. 8), and nowhere else except in the
summary in xxv. 9. It is therefore a plausible conjecture that upon these five
relics of antiquity the priestly meditations were at first fixed, as upon a
heavenly vision accorded to Moses.

XXV. 1-6] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 157

XXV. 1 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 2 Speak P
unto the children of Israel, that they take for me an ^offering:
of every man whose heart maketh him willing ye shall take my
^offering. 3 And this is the ^offering which ye shall take of
them ; gold, and silver, and brass ; 4 and blue, and purple, and
scarlet, and ^fine linen, and goats' hair ; 5 and rams' skins dyed
red, and ^sealskins, and acacia wood ; | 6 oil for the light, spices Pg

1 Or, heave offering ^ Or, cotton ^ Or, porpoise-skins

Chapter XXV. 1—9.

Summary of Materials for the Tahernacle.

XXV. 2. an offering. Lit. something lifted off, or separated.
See on xxix. 27. The willingness of the offerers (cf xxxv. 21, 29,
xxxvi. 3) is emphasized also in the case of the first temple (1 Ch. xxix.
5 f, 9, 14, 17) and of the second (Ezr. i. 4, 6, ii. 68, iii. 5, vii. 15 f,
viii. 28).

3. brass; bronze. An alloy of copper and (probably) tin.
Brass, an alloy of copper and zinc, was rare.

4. blue, and purple, and scarlet. The only colours prescribed,
except the red of the rams' skins. Bltie appears to have been a violet
or hyacinth purple (lxx vaKivdoi) ; purple was of a reddish hue ;
scarlet probably a deep crimson. The two former were obtained from
a Tyrian shell-fish, and the latter from an insect found attached to
a species of oak. There is no scriptural evidence that the colours
were intended to bear a symbolical meaning (see p. Ixxxix.). Josephus
(Ant. m. vii. 7) explains the three colours by reference to the
elements ; blue signifies the sky, purple the sea because the dye is
derived from the blood of a marine shell-fish, scarlet indicates fire,
while the plain linen was proper to signify the earth because the flax
grows out of the earth. Similarly Philo, de Vita Mos. iii. 6.

fine linen. Heb. shesh, probably an Egyptian word. It could be
applied either to woven stuffs or to the thread of which they were
composed, while the synonym badk is used only of the finished
material ; see xxxix. 28. R. V. marg. gives ' cotton ' here, and ' silk '
in xxviii. 39 ; but neither is probable. ' Fine twined hnen ' (xxvi. 1
and elsewhere) denotes a superior stuff, spun from finer flax.

5. dyed red. Perhaps tanned skins are meant, such as are used
in Syria to-day for shoes and saddles.

sealskins. The meaning of tehdshlm is uncertain. There is no
authority for A.V. 'badger skins.' An Arabic word tuhas signifies
* dolphin ' ; and the Heb. word may have been used generally for the
porpoise, seal, dugong and other similar marine animals. The skin
would be waterproof, and suitable for the outer covering.

6. The verse is a late addition ; see analysis, p. xxxvii.

158 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xxt. 6-9

for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense ; | 7 ^onyx Pg i
stones, and stones to be set, for the ephod, and for the breast-
plate. 8 And let them make me a sanctuary ; that I may dwell
among them. 9 According to all that I shew thee, the pattern
of the ^tabernacle, and the pattern of all the furniture thereof,
even so shall ye make it.

1 Or, beryl ^ Heb. dwelling.

7. onyx stones. Heb. ' stones of the shoham.' It is curious that
no other stones are here named ; and similarly in the summaries in
XXXV. 9, 27, 1 Ch. xxix. 2. The identification is uncertain. It was
a stone of great value (Job xxviii. 16), and adapted for engraving
(Ex. xxviii. 9, 12). The lxx renderings are many and various. If
shoham is equivalent to the Ass. stone sdmtu (which appears to
denote ' dark '), a dark sea-green beryl would not be unsuitable.

On the Ephod and Breastplate see xxviii. 6 — 30.

8. The verse expresses the fundamental thought underlying the
whole conception of the Tabernacle ; see p. Lxxxiii.

9. the pattern. The word denotes not a ground plan or picture,
but a solid structure — a heavenly model of the completely erected
building.

the tabernacle. It will be convenient here to collect the various
expressions employed to designate the sacred tent. (1) ' Sanctuary,'
mikddsh ; v. 8 and frequently. In the Law of Holiness (Lev. xvii. ff.)
it is used almost exclusively, (2) ' Dwelling,' mishkdn. R. V. always
' Tabernacle ' ; «. 9 and about 100 times in the Hexateuch. But the
use of it varies : here, and frequently, it denotes the whole fabric ;
but in xxvi. 1, 6 f and elsewhere it is applied to the tapestry curtains
which formed the Dwelling in the strict sense. Hence could arise
such an expression as ' the Dwelling of the Tent of Meeting ' (xxxix. 32,
xl. 2 &c.). (3) 'Dwelling of Testimony,' mishkan ^eduth (xxxviii, 21,
Nu. i. 50 &c.), and 'Tent of Testimony,' 'ohel 'eduth (Nu. ix. 15, &c.),
as containing the Tablets of the Testimony. (4) ' Tent,' 'ohel (xxvi.
9, 11 &c. ; 19 times in P). Cf 'the Tent of Yahweh ' (1 K. ii. 28 ff.) ;
'the House of the Tent' (1 Ch. ix. 23). (5) In earlier times the
common designation was 'Tent of Meeting,' ^ohel mo^ed (see on
xxxiii. 7), which is employed also in certain parts of the priestly
sections (not in xxv. — xxvii. 19 ; see Carpenter-Battersby, Hexateuch^
ii. 120). On the rehgious significance of the names see pp. Ixxxvii. f.

XXV. 10—22.
Directions for making the Arh
At the head of all the sacred furniture, and before any description of the
Tent, is placed that which was the centre and kernel of the whole system —
that for which the Dwelling was to be erected. The ark was the object to
which Yahweh allowed His people to feel that His presence was attached, as
He dwelt in their midst. See addit. note below.

XXV. IO-I7] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 159

10 And they shall make an ark of acacia wood : two cubits P
and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half
the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof.
11 And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, within and without
shalt thou overlay it, and shalt make upon it a ^ crown of gold
round about. 12 And thou shalt cast four rings of gold for
it, and put them in the four feet thereof ; and two rings shall
be on the one ^side of it, and two rings on the other ^side
of it 13 And thou shalt make staves of acacia wood, and
overlay them with gold. 14 And thou shalt put the staves into
the rings on the sides of the ark, to bear the ark withaL
15 The staves shall be in the rings of the ark : they shall not
be taken from it 16 And thou shalt put into the ark the
testimony which I shall give thee. 17 And thou shalt make
a 'mercy-seat of pure gold : two cubits and a half shall he the

1 Or, rim Or, moulding ' Heb. rib. * Or, covering

XXV. 10. The dimensions of the ark were roughly 3f x 2^ x 2^
feet.

11. a crown. Probably a moulding, as in marg. 'Crown' is
due to the Vulg. corona : but lxx Kv^iArLa orpeirrd implies a waved
or ogee moulding, or perhaps a cable moulding ' worked in rehef in the
form of ropes' (pseud. Arist. Ep. ad Philocr. in Swete's Intr. to O.T.
in Greek, p. 530). Perhaps the moulding was thought of as projecting
far enough above the level of the lid to keep the ' mercy-seat ' steady
when carried on the march.

12. the four feet thereof. Perhaps read 'comers' 0^niN3 or "i*ni3S
for vnioya). If the poles ran through rings at the feet 'a state of
dangerously unstable equilibrium would result.' In v. 26 the ordinary
word for foot (regel) is used.

14. staves; poles. The structure has been calculated to weigh
about 6 cwt., and would require something stronger than staves tor
its transport. The position of the poles is not stated ; but 1 K. viii. 8
seems to imply that in Solomon's temple they were long enough to
reach close to the folding doors which separated the shrine from
the rest of the building — and they were therefore placed on the short
and not the long sides of the ark. This, indeed, was imperative, if
the ark on the march was not to move sideways.

15. In Nu. iv. 6 a contrary tradition is recorded. The poles were
put in by Aaron and his sons whenever the march was about to begin.

17. a mercy-seat. A solid slab of gold which lay upon the ark,
and supported the cherubim ; its surface measurements were the
same as those of the ark, but its thickness is not specified. The Heb.
term kapporeth appears to mean ' a place, or instrument, of propitia-

160 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xxv. ,7, 18

length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof. P
18 And thou shalt make two cherubim of gold ; of ^beaten
work shalt thou make them, at the two ends of the mercy-seat.

1 Or, twmed

tion ' ; and many writers now adopt the rendering a propitiatory.
Lxx Waa-Tiqpiov, Vulg. propitiatorium. 'Mercy-seat' was due to
Tindale, and based on Luther's GnadenstuM.

The root la^ has been generally understood as denoting ' to cover.' Some
indeed accept this meaning literally, and explain kapporeth as a covering
placed over the lid of the ark. This is perhaps implied in the rendering of
the LXX (which is found only in the present passage) — 'CKaarripiov^ enidtfjia,
' a propitiatory covering.' But it is more probable that the verb with which
kapporeth is connected has a metaphorical force. If it means ' to cover ' sins,
so that God no longer looks at or punishes them, then kapporeth means the
place or instrument for the covering and atoning of sins. But it is not
improbable that a similar meaning is to be reached by another derivation.
' To cover' is an Arabic meaning of the root ; but the meaning 'to wipe oflF' is
found in Aramaic and Assyrian (W. R. Smith, OTJG^ 381 ; Haupt, JBL xix.
(1900) 61, 80). The verb kuppuru (piel) is a technical priestly word, found in
Babylonian ritual texts, for wiping away sin (Zimmem, Beitr. z. Kenntnis
Bab. Religion., 92). On the Heb. verb kipper see further in n. on xxxii. 30.

The golden kapporeth was to the Jew the most sacred spot on
earth ; Yahweh appeared there, attended by adoring cherubim ; and
there the high priest on the Day of Atonement presented the blood by
which the sins of the nation were 'covered up' or 'wiped away.'
An infinitely higher thought was yet to be reached — that qf a Pro-
pitiatory Person (see Sanday and Headlam on Rom. iii. 25), who
presented, and still presents. His own life-blood in the presence of God
(Heb. ix. 7, 12, M&c). ^

18. cherubim. Their meaning and origin are discussed in the
addit, note below. As early as Josephus all knowledge of their
appearance had been lost {Ant. vni. viii. 3). From a comparison of
Ez. X. 14 with i. 10 it may be inferred that, in the prophet's visions,
they had the face of an ox. But this, like the number of their wings,
may have varied in different representations : there are four wings
in Ez. X. 21, six in Is. vi. 2 (if, as is probable, the vision of the
seraphim was a result of the prophet's meditation in the temple), and
two in 1 K. vi. 24. 'Cherubim of glory overshadowing the Pro-
pitiatory ' are referred to in Heb. ix. 3. The derivation of the word
kerubh is quite uncertain. Some have connected it with ypvxl/ ' griffin ' ;
but this is very improbable. The suggestion that the Assyrian winged
buU Sedu was also called kirubu has not been verified. Other Ass.

^ IXaa-T'^piov is here an adjective. Cf. its ase in Ez. xliii. 14, 17, 20, 'a pro-
pitiatory [thing]' for the 'ledge' (E.V. • settle'). See Deissmann, Bible Studies ,
124—136.

XXV. 19-"] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 161

19 And make one cherub at the one end, and one cherub at P
the other end : ^of one piece with the mercy-seat shall ye make
the cherubim on the two ends thereof. 20 And the cherubim
shall spread out their wings on high, covering the mercy-seat
with their wings, with their faces one to another ; toward
the mercy-seat shall the faces of the cherubim be. 21 And
thou shalt put the mercy-seat above upon the ark ; and in the
ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee. 22 And
there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from
above the mercy-seat, from between the two cherubim which
are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will
give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel

' Heb. out of the mercy -seat.

words may be noted : kwrdhu ' bless,' ' be gracious to ' ; karubu
'great,' 'mighty.' Philo {Vit. Mos. ed. Mangey ii. 150) strangely
says that it denotes cTrtyvwo-ts koX cttio-tt;/*?/ trokXrj, and he is followed
by Clem. Al. {Strom, v. 240), Jerome {Comm. in Is. iii. 6), Augustine
{Enarr. in Ps. Ixxix. 2 [Eng. Ixxx. 1]) and Didymus Alex. {Expos, in
Ps. Ixxix.).

of beaten work. Of similar workmanship was the lampstand {w. 31,
36) and the two silver clarions (Nu. x. 2).

20. The figures faced each other, but their heads were bent in
an adoring attitude. Some have seen an allusion to this in 1 Pet.
i. 12 ; and the connexion of thought is in any case deeply suggestive.

22. / will meet. The Heb. denotes a mutual arrangement — ' I will
keep tryst with thee.' The expression is founded on the early name
' Tent of Meeting ' (see on xxxiii. 7). Moses is here represented as
penetrating into the Most Holy place to commune with God
(cf Nu. vii. 89). And in xxxiv. 34 he does so frequently. He is
thus placed in a position far superior to that of Aaron, who could
enter only on one day in the year, with elaborate precautions, for
purposes of atonement (Lev. xvi. 2 — 15"). On the other hand in a
redactional passage, xxix. 42 f , Aaron s unique privilege is safe-
guarded ; Moses and the people meet with Yahweh at the door of
the Tent.

The Ark. The ark was one of the earliest relics of Israelite religion. Its
ancient name was ' the ark of Elohim ' (frequent in 1 Sam.) or ' of Yahweh '
(frequent in Josh.) ; and at a later time these were expanded in various ways.
In D is found the name 'the ark of the covenant,' which also became
expanded ; and in P ' the ark of the testimony.' The two latter names
express the tradition that it contained the stone tablets of the decalogue.

M. 11

162 THE BOOK OF EXODUS

It cannot be stated with certainty in what relation Yahweh was conceired
to stand to the ark. The evidence, however, seems to shew that it was not
merely a symbol, but that His presence was objectively attached to it : where
the ark moved, Yahweh moved ; cf. Nmn. x. 35 f., 1 S. iv, 3, 7, vi. 20.

The loss of the early narratives of its manufacture makes it impossible to
determine any details with regard to its size or appearance. Dt x. 3 (pro-
bably based on JE) speaks of it simply as ' an ark — or box — of acacia wood,'
Had cherubim formed part of it, it is scarcely probable that the writer would
have omitted all mention of them^ And when it was placed in the temple
'under the wings of the cherubim' (1 K. viii. 6), it is difficult to think that
small cherubim attached to it stood beneath the larger ones. In 1 S. iv. 4,
2 S. vi. 2 occurs, in connexion with the ark, the expression ' Yahweh of hosts
that sitteth [upon] the cherubim.' But in each case the words are those of
the narrator, if they are not a later insertion, and they do not therefore prove
that the ai*k had cherubim in the days of Samuel and David. They suggest
rather that the phrase had become a conventionalised religious expression in
the days of the prophetic writer. See also 2 K. xix. 15 = Is. xxxvii. 16,
Ps. Ixxx. 1 (2), xcix. 1, passages in which the ark is not mentioned. The cherubim
were thought of as 'not only attendants of Yahweh, but the bearers and
upholder of His throne. The thunderclouds are the dark wings of these
ministers of God.' Thus the symbol employed to describe Yahweh's exaltation
in nature was borrowed from the outstretched wings of the cherubim in
Solomon's temple. From the countries surrounding Palestine — Syria, Assyria,
Egypt — many figures of winged creatures, such as griffins, bulls &c., have
come down to us. They were apparently attempts to express strength com-
bined with swiftness, and were employed to represent demon spirits as
personifications of the elemental forces of nature. These traces of a popular
mythology would be learnt by the Israelites after their arrival in Canaan.

It is difficult to decide what objects, if any, the ark originally contained.
The remains of JE and the books of Samuel are silent on this point ; but
Dt. X. 5 states that within the ark were placed the two tablets of stone
containing the decalogue ; and P (Ex. xxv. 16) repeats the tradition. In late
Jewish times the pot of manna, and Aaron's rod that blossomed, which in
Ex. xvi. 33 and Num. xvii. 10 were laid up respectively ' before Yahweh '
and ' before the testimony,' were held to have been placed in the ark. This
departure from the O.T. tradition is followed in Heb. ix. 4. The earUest
evidence, as has been said, seems to shew that Yahweh's presence was con-
ceived of as objectively attached to the ark. And some tliink that if this is
so, it is improbable that it originally contained the tablets. ' Tablets of the
law do not imply the presence of the Lawgiver' (Benzinger, Heb. Arch. 369).
But it is difficult to imagine that the most sacred object in Israelite worship
would have been a box unless it had been intended to carry something.
Hence several modem writers have supposed that the statement of Dt. x. 5
was based upon the fact that the ark did contain stones, or a stone, which dated
from a very primitive age when Yahweh was worshipped imder the form of

^ The same is true of the solid gold kapporeth, and of the gold plates overlaid
upon the ark.

THE ARK 163

a stone image. It was thus similar in nature and purpose to the heathen
coffers of Egyptians, Etruscans, Greeks and other nations, which contained
images of gods and were carried about in processions. This relic of paganism
was transformed in reverent Hebrew thought, by the time of the Deuteronomic
writer, into 'a perfect written embodiment of the fundamental demands of
Israel's righteous God.'

To render this theory possible it would be necessary to shew that the ark
was sacred in pre-Mosaic times, and was brought through Moses' influence
into connexion with the worship of Yahweh. Stade indeed conjectures that it
contained a stone fetish, perhaps meteoric, which was reverenced by the
Joseph tribes (or, as some prefer, the Rachel tribes). But of all this there is
no e\idence at all. Kennett suggests that it contained the bronze serpent
which was long worshipped at Jerusalem. Another theory is advanced
by Meinhold {Die Lade Jahves) on the basis of W. Reichel's tjher
vorhellenische Gotterkulte. He notes the numerous passages in which
Yahweh's connexion with the ark is very close indeed, but he also points
out that in others a clear distinction is drawn between the ark and
Yahweh Himself. And he maintains that the ark was a throne, upon
which Yahweh sat invisible. He originally sat enthroned on the sacred
mountain, and when He accompanied His people He needed another
throne of stone to be an equivalent for the mountain. He cites Jer. iii.
16 f. in support of this idea : ' In those days, saith Yahweh, they shall no
more say, The ark of the covenant of Yahweh... At that time they shall
call Jerusalem the throne of Yahweh.' The sacred object was thus a solid
block which was described by the word 'aro7i, *ark,' because of its shape.
Budde {Exp. Times, June 1898, pp. 396 ff.) objects to this that a solid throne
could never have been called an ' ark,' seeing that the common word kisse\
' throne,' was available. And he also doubts whether the idea of a king upon
his throne could have originated in Israel while they were still in a nomadic
state ; it could arise only in a period when they were governed by kings K The
problem is still a matter of discussion, and want of evidence forbids any
decisive conclusion.

The history of the ark from the capture of Jericho till the days of Samuel
is imcertain. For a time it would probably be kept within the principal
encampment at Gilgal, and may have been carried out to accompany important
expeditions (as represented in the late passage, Jos. viii. 30 — 35). Jud. ii. 1
seems to imply that it was moved to Bethel ^ (see Moore in loc, and cf. the
P insertion in xx. 27 f.). It was natural that the principal tribe, Ephraim,
of which Joshua was a member, should retain possession of it. But this is not
the same as saying that it was the palladium of the house of Joseph only.
In the days of Samuel's childhood it was found at Shiloh in a temple
(1 S. iii. 3). Being taken into battle, in order that Yahweh of Hosts might

1 This latter argument is not very strong. Meinhold's theory would be the best
yet offered if the word 'aron, as used for a solid throne, could be satisfactorily
explained.

^ Meinhold, however, thinks that the ' angel ' is to be expressly distinguished
from Yahweh's personal presence upon the ark.

11—2

164 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xxv. .3

be present to fight for them, it was captured by the Philistines {id. iv., t.),
who brought it back to Beth-shemesh {id. vi.). Thence it was taken to
Kirjath-jearini, where it remained for several years {id. vii. 1, 2). It was not
taken back to Shiloh, perhaps because the town had been captured by
the Philistines^. David at last arranged for its transportation to his
new capital, but was deterred by the death of Uzzah (2 S. vi. 1 — 9). It was
placed for three months in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite {id. vi. 10 f),
after which it was carried to Jerasalem {id. vi. 12 — 19), and placed in a tent
which David had pitched for it. It was still taken out on important ex-
peditions, e.g. against the Ammonites {id. xi. 11), though David refused to
allow it to accompany him in his flight from Absalom (2 S. xv. 24 — 29), not
wishing to employ Yahweh's help in a civil war against his own son. Finally
Solomon removed it from the tent in which David had housed it, and placed
it in the shrine of his new temple (1 K. viii. 1 — 6). How long it remained
there is not known. It has been suggested that it was captured by Shishak
king of Egypt when he invaded Jerusalem in Rehoboam's reign (1 K. xiv. 26).
But apart from the probability that he would not take the trouble to carry oflF
a mere wooden chest, but only objects of monetary value, it is clearly implied
in Dt. X. 5 that the ark was in existence at the time of the writer. It is
just possible that it was removed by Manasseh to make room for idolatrous
objects of worship, and that it was restored by Josiah (2 Ch. xxxv. 3). And
Jer. iii. 16 perhaps implies that it still existed in Josiah's reign ■^. The silence
of the pre-exilic histories as to the ark during the period of the divided
kingdom must have been due to the advancing realisation of the nature of
God as taught by the prophets ; the nation gradually learnt that ' heaven was
His throne and the earth His footstool,' that 'heaven and the heaven of
heavens cannot contain Him,' much less a wooden coffer. The relic would be
preserved but not used. And in the ChaJdaean catastrophe it must have been
destroyed in the burning of the temple and city (2 K. xxv. 9). There was no
ark in the second temple nor in that of Herod.

It is remarkable that in the earlier writings not a word is found which
implies that the ark was in any way connected with sacrifice. It was not an
idol, nor was it identified with Yahweh closely enough for sacrifice to be
offered to it ; and it was not an altar (see Ex. xx. 24 f ). It remained the
sacred and mysterious medium by which the guiding and protecting presence
of Yahweh abode among His people. The only direct reference to the ark in
the Psalms is in cxxxii. 8 (inserted in 2 Ch. vi. 41) ; but Ps. Ixxviii. 61 refers
to the Philistine victory of 1 S. iv. In the N.T. it is mentioned only in
Heb. ix, 4, Rev. xi. 19.

23 And thou shalt make a table of acacia wood : two cubits p
shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof, and

XXV. 23—30. The Table. The description passes from the
furniture of the ' Most Holy ' shrine to that of the * Holy ' place —

^ The date of the destruction of Shiloh is unknown. Some think that Jeremiah
(vii. 12, 14, xxvi. 6, 9) refers to a recent event.

^ 2 Mac. ii. 4 f . relates a legend that Jeremiah hid the tabernacle, the ark, and
the altar of incense, in a rock in ' the mountain where Moses went up and beheld
fhe heritage of God.'

XXV. 23-3o] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 165

a cubit and a half the height thereof, 24 And thou shaltP
overlay it with pure gold, and make thereto a ^ crown of gold
round about. 25 And thou shalt make unto it a border of an
handbreadth round about, and thou shalt make a golden crown
to the border thereof round about. 26 And thou shalt make
for it four rings of gold, and put the rings in the four comers
that are on the four feet thereof. 27 Close by the border shall
the rings be, for places for the staves to bear the table. 28 And
thou shalt make the staves of acacia wood, and overlay them
with gold, that the table may be borne with them. 29 And
thou shalt make the dishes thereof, and the spoons thereof, and
the flagons thereof, and the bowls thereof, to pour out withal :
of pure gold shalt thou make them. 30 And thou shalt set
upon the table ^shewbread before me alway.

1 See ver. 11. " Or, Presence-bread

the Table and the Lampstand. The Altar of Incense does not belong
to the earliest stratum of P ; see xxx. 1 — 10.

23. The Table was of the same length and height as the ark, but
half a cubit less in width.

24. pui-e gold. Hence called ' the pure table ' in Lev. xxiv. 6.

25. a border ; a rail. This connected the four legs, as is still
visible in the representation of the table of Herod's temple on the
Arch of Titus (see Benzinger's Bilderatlas, p. 113). It was a hand-
breadth in depth, not in thickness. Josephus (Ant. iii. vi. 6) states
that the legs were square at the top near the table, but that they
ended in complete feet 'resembling those which the Dorians put to
their bedsteads.' The rail, like the flat top, was ornamented with a
moulding (see v. 11).

29. dishes. Large salvers for carrying the loaves to and from the
table ; perhaps also they lay on the table, holding the loaves.

spoons ; cups, lxx has ras 6vi(TKa<; ('incense cups '), which occurs
in connexion with the table in 1 Mac. i. 22 (R.V. 'censers'). The
cups contained the frankincense which was placed upon the loaves and
burnt (Lev. xxiv. 7).

to pour out withal; with which libation is made. A drink-
offering of wine evidently formed part of the ritual, but nothing more
is said of it in the O.T. For the absurd Rabbinic explanations of
these vessels, and for the ritual of the table in the temple services,
see Edersheim, The Temple, 154 ff.

30. shewhread ; Presence-bread, as in marg. (The rendering
of the text is found as early as Tindale's N.T., in Heb. ix. 2, apparently
formed on the analogy of Luther's Schaubrot.) The name denotes
'bread placed in the presence of Yahweh'; see 1 S. xxi. 6 (7), which
speaks of the loaves 'which had been removed from the presence of

166 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xxv. 31

31 And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold : of P
^beaten work shall the candlestick be made, even its ^base, and

1 Or, turned "^ Heb. thigh.

y ahweh ' ; and in the present passage ' before my presence continually '
agrees with this. The narrative of David and Ahimelech shews that
the rite of the Presence- bread was a survival from early times ; it
probably went back ultimately to an age when food was actually
ofifered to a god, and the worshippers imagined that he partook of it^
(see W. R Smith, RS^, 228 — 30). Even Jeremiah's contemporaries
kneaded cakes for the queen of heaven (Jer. vii. 18), and a little later
Jews spread a table to Fortune (Is. Ixv. 11). The practice was
frequent among the Babylonians and Assyrians', and may have been
an instance of the influence which Babylon exercised in the west, both
in early and late times. And the rite is also illustrated by the
lectisternia, which the Romans borrowed from the Greeks (Liv. v.
xiii. 6 and freq. ; and referred to by Augustine, de Civ. Dei, iii. xvii. 2).
While, however, the rite originally betrayed a crude materialistic con-
ception of the Deity, in later times a higher spiritual idea attached to
it. In the age of the Mishna all the loaves were eaten by the priests,
one half by the outgoing and one half by the incoming division
(Sukka V. 7 f ), which shews that none of them were burnt, i.e. con-
sumed by Yahweh. And the burning of frankincense and the libation
of wine transformed the ceremony into a thank-offering, in acknowledge-
ment of the fact that all man's daily bread was a divine gift.

Beside the ' Presence-bread ' (Q''JS Dn?), three other terms are
employed in the O.T. In 1 S. xxi. 4 (5), 6 (7) it is spoken of as 'holy
bread'; and in Num. iv. 7 (P) as 'continual bread.' And the
arrangement in Lev. xxiv. 6 by which the loaves were placed in two

piles (R.V. marg.) gave rise to the name 'pile bread' (^^'J^'^ ^U?.'\
1 Ch. ix. 32, xxiii. 29, Neh. x. 33 ; so in Mt. xii. 4, Mk. ii. 26, Lk. vi.'4
apTos Trj<; Trpo^ccrews), or with the words transposed ' piling of bread '
(Dn^ ri^yp, 2 Ch. xiii. 11, 2 Mac. x. 3 ; so in Heb. ix. 2 17 Trpd^eo-is
ToJv apToiv), or * pile ' alone (2 Ch. ii. 4).

31 — 40. The Lampstand. The form of the lampstand is familiar
from its representation on the Arch of Titus. Six branches bent
outwards and upwards from a central stem ; it thus had ' the likeness
of a trident ' (Jos. B. J. vii. v. 5). The motif of its ornamentation
was taken from the almond tree, and its shape was perhaps intended
as a conventional representation of a tree. The question therefore
suggests itself whether it was not a late relic of the old-world

1 Cf. the expression 'bread of his [their, thy, your] God,' which is cbaracteristio
of Lev. xxi., xxii.

^ They placed the bread in the form of 12, or sometimes 36, loaves, which were
' sweet,' i.e. unleavened. See Zimmern, Beitr. z. Kenntnis d. Bab. Eel. 94 f. An
illustration of an Assyrian table is given in Benzinger's Archnol. 387.

3 The verb can be used to denote setting out or arranging a table for a meal ;
hence the N.T. iroddeais.

XXV. 31-36] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 167

its shaft ; its cups, its knops, and its flowers, shall be ^of one P
piece with it : 32 and there shall be six branches going out of
the sides thereof ; three branches of the candlestick out of the
one side thereof, and three branches of the candlestick out of
the other side thereof: 33 three cups made like almond-
blossoms in one branch, a knop and a flower ; and three cups
made like almond-blossoms in the other branch, a knop and a
flower : so for the six branches going out of the candlestick :
34 and in the candlestick four cups made like almond-blossoms,
the knops thereof, and the flowers thereof: 35 and a knop
under two branches ^of one piece with it, and a knop under
two branches ^of one piece with it, and a knop under two
branches ^of one piece with it, for the six branches going out
of the candlestick. 36 Their knops and their branches shall be
^of one piece with it : the whole of it one ^beaten work of pure

* Heb. out of the same, ^ Or, turned

reverence for sacred trees. (A similar survival is perhaps to be seen
(1 K. vii. 41 f.) in the two bronze pillars which stood before the porch
of the temple ; see W. R. Smith, MS^ 487 f.) But the religious
conceptions actually attached to it must have been very different, as
may be seen from Zech. iv. 1 — 6 a, 106 — 14 (see p. xc).

31. of pure gold. Hence it is called 'the pure lampstand,'
xxxi. 8, xxxix. 37 (see v. 24). its base was that portion of the stem
which was below the lowest pair of branches, called ' the lampstand '
in V. 34 ; its shaft (A.V. wrongly ' branch ') was the upper continuation
of this.

its knops, and its flowers. F. 33 shews that these words are in
apposition to ' its cups ' ; each cup consisted of a calyx and petals of an
almond blossom \ The word knop, a variant of knob, denotes a
spherical object (lxx o-^atpwnfp, Vulg. sphaeruld). The Heb. word
kaphtor is used in Am. ix. 1, Zeph. ii. 14 to describe the spherical
capitals or chapiters of the pillars in the temple at Bethel and at
Nineveh.

34, 35. The arrangement of these ornamentations on the central
stem (R. V. ' the candlestick ') is not indicated ; but Prof. Kennedy
(JDB iv. 663 i.) is probably right in supposing that there were two
cups in the base and two in the shaft (the upper one forming with
its petals a tray, as in the six branches), and one knop without petals
at each of the points where the three branches joined the central stem.

1 In the Mishna the word perah (' flower') is employed to denote the tray of a
lamp.

168 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xxv. 36-xxvi. i

gold. 37 And thou shalt make the lamps thereof, seven : and P
they shall ^ light the lamps thereof, to give light over against it.
38 And the tongs thereof, and the snuffdishes thereof, shall be
of pure gold. 39 Of a talent of pure gold shall it be made,
with all these vessels. 40 And see that thou make them after
their pattern, which hath been shewed thee in the mount.

XXVI. 1 Moreover thou shalt make the ^tabernacle with

1 Or, set up 2 See ch. xxv. 9.

37. they shall light. This rendering, though possible, is less
likely than that of the margin. The priests would reach up and place
the lamps on the top of the seven branches.

to give light. As there was no other means of lighting the tent, it
would seem to be necessary that the lamps, when once lit, should burn
continually. In Jos. c. Ap. i. 22 the light is dvaTroafS^a-Tov, and in
Diod. xxxiv. 1 it is dOdvaTov...Kal Katd/x€vov aStaXeiTrTcus. In the Talmud
( Yoma 39 6) a premonition of the fall of Jerusalem is said to have
been given by the sudden extinguishing of the light in the temple ;
and 4 (2) Esd.x. 22 the writer laments that 'the light of our candelabrum
has been extinguished.' This is in accordance with the wide-spread
ancient practice, common also in modern times, of burning a perpetual
light in shrines. And even in private houses a lamp was often kept
burning night and day. On the other hand Ex. xxvii. 21, xxx. 8,
Lev. xxiv. 3, Nu. viii. 2 f , 2 Ch. xiii. 11, and Philo, state or imply that
the light was lit every evening^. This uncertainty seems to have led
to a compromise ; one lamp (Mishna Tamid iii. 9, vi. 1) or three
(Jos. Ant. Ill, viii. 3) burnt by day, while all the seven were lighted
at night,

39. a talent = ^000 shekels (xxxviii. 25 f). There were three
systems of weights in vogue in Palestine, the Babylonian, the Sjo-ian
or ' Hittite,' and the Phoenician. It is probable that the ' shekel of
the sanctuary,' or sacred shekel, employed throughout by P is the
Phoenician. It consisted of 20 gerahs or obols (xxx. 13), i.e, 224"6 grs.

40. See preliminary note above.

Chapter XXVI. 1—14.
The Dwelling and the Coverings.

XXVI. 1. the tabernacle ; the dwelling. In xxv. 9, xl. 18 and
freq., ' the dwelling ' denotes the whole structure ; but here and in
several passages it denotes the tapestry hangings which formed the

^ It is clear from 1 S. iii. 3 that in early days it did not burn continually. The
passage may mean either that the lamp had been burning during the day, and in
the late evening had not yet gone out, or that it had been lit in the evening to burn
through the night and was still alight in the early morning.

XXVI. 1-9] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 169

ten curtains ; of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and P
scarlet, with cherubim the work of the cunning workman shalt
thou make them. 2 The length of each curtain shall be eight
and twenty cubits, and the breadth of each curtain four cubits :
all the curtains shall have one measure. 3 Five curtains shall
be coupled together one to another ; and the other five curtains
shall be coupled one to another. 4 And thou shalt make loops
of blue upon the edge of the one curtain ^from the selvedge in
the coupling ; and likewise shalt thou make in the edge of the
curtain that is outmost in the second ^coupling. 5 Fifty loops
shalt thou make in the one curtain, and fifty loops shalt thou
make in the edge of the curtain that is in the second ^coupling ;
the loops shall be opposite one to another. 6 And thou shalt
make fifty clasps of gold, and couple the curtains one to another
with the clasps : and the tabernacle shall be one. 7 And thou
shalt make curtains of goats' hair for a tent over the taber-
nacle : eleven curtains shalt thou make them. 8 The length of
each curtain shall be thirty cubits, and the breadth of each
curtain four cubits : the eleven curtains shall have one measure.
9 And thou shalt couple five curtains by themselves, and six
curtains by themselves, and shalt double over the sixth curtain

^ Or, that is outmost in the first set 2 Qr, set

' dwelling ' in the strict sense ; see v. 6 f., xxxv. 11, xxxix. 32, xl. 2, 19,
34 f., Nu. iii. 25, 1 Ch. vi. 32.

with ten cv/rtains. The Heb. has no preposition ; ' ten curtains ' is
in apposition to ' the dwelling,' shewing that the latter consisted in the
curtains.

the work of the designer. Heb. the 'thinker' or 'contriver'
Txxxvi. 8) ; used also in connexion with the veil (xxvi, 31), the ephod
(xxviii. 6) and the ' breastplate' (id. 15). His work was more elaborate
and skilful than that of the ' variegator ' ; see v. 36. It is probable
that he worked the pattern with a needle upon the woven stufi"s.

4. from the selvedge. The marg. reading is probably the
true one.

the coupling. The single piece formed by joining the five pieces
together.

7. a tent over the dwelling. See v. 1, Goats' hair was the
material of an ordinary Bedawin tent.

9. thou shalt double. Omit 'over.' Two cubits (3 ft.) of
doubled curtain hung over the edge and protruded at the sides ;
see pp. Lxxvii. f.

170 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xxvi. 9-17

in the forefront of the tent. 10 And thou shalt make fifty P
loops on the edge of the one curtain that is outmost in the
^coupling, and fifty loops upon the edge of the curtain which
is outmost in the second ^coupling. 11 And thou shalt make
fifty clasps of brass, and put the clasps into the loops, and
couple the tent together, that it may be one. 12 And the over-
hanging part that remaineth of the curtains of the tent, the
half curtain that remaineth, shall hang over the back of the
tabernacle. 13 And the cubit on the one side, and the cubit
on the other side, of that which remaineth in the length of
the curtains of the tent, shall hang over the sides of the taber-
nacle on this side and on that side, to cover it. 14 And thou
shalt make a covering for the tent of rams' skins dyed red, and
a covering of ^sealskins above.

15 And thou shalt make the boards for the tabernacle of
acacia wood, standing up. 16 Ten cubits shall be the length
of a board, and a cubit and a half the breadth of each board.
17 Two tenons shall there be in each board, ^joined one to

^ Or, first set ^ Or, set ^ Or, porpoise-skins * Or, morticed

12. It is impossible to reconcile this with v. 9. See p. Ixxvii.

14. The size of the two coverings is not specified, but to be of
use they must both, or at least the dugong skin, have reached to the
ground.

XXVI. 15—30.

The solid framework.

15. the hoards ; the fram.es. Light and comparatively thin,
consisting of two long sides or anns, connected at the top, middle
and bottom by cross rungs. The Heb. term Jcerdshlm occurs in
Ez. xxvii. 6, where it might mean either panels or planks, but not
large solid beams.

17. two arms to a frame. A continuation of v. 15, after the
parenthetical v. 16. The 'arms' (Heb. yddhoth) are the parallel
uprights of which each frame was composed. The word is used of
the 'arms' of Solomon's throne (2 Ch. ix. 18), and of the supports
under the body or framework of Solomon's laver, and under the stand
of the bason at the top of the framework (1 K. vii. 32 U).

1 According to Stade's reconstruction, ZATWISQZ, 129 ff., 1901, 145 ff. In the
present passage lxx has Sio ayKuviaKot, but it helps to explain this by aix(p!)Tepa ra
(j^pi) in vv. 19, 21, 25.

XXVI. 17-^6] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 171

another : thus shalt thou make for all the boards of the taber- P
nacle. 18 And thou shalt make the boards for the tabernacle,
twenty boards for the south side southward. 19 And thou
shalt make forty sockets of silver under the twenty boards ;
two sockets under one board for its two tenons, and two sockets
under another board for its two tenons : 20 and for the second
side of the tabernacle, on the north side, twenty boards : 21 and
their forty sockets of silver ; two sockets under one board, and
two sockets under another board. 22 And for the hinder
part of the tabernacle westward thou shalt make six boards.
23 And two boards shalt thou make for the corners of the
tabernacle in the hinder part. 24 And they shall be double
beneath, and in like manner they shall be entire unto the top
thereof unto ^one ring : thus shall it be for them both ; they
shall be for the two corners. 25 And there shall be eight
boards, and their sockets of silver, sixteen sockets ; two sockets
under one board, and two sockets under another board. 26 And

^ Or, the first

joined; joined by cross rungs (Heb. meshulldbhoth). A.V. 'set
in order/ and xxxvi. 22 'equally distant' (!). In 1 K. vii. 28 f.
shelabhim is used for the cross rails (R.V. ' ledges ') joining the
uprights of the frame of the laver ; and in later Heb. shellbhdh,
slielahhlm denote the rungs of a ladder. If, on the other hand, the
yadhoth were 'tenons' (or, as we might say, 'feet'), whereby the
* beams ' were fixed into the bases, it is difficult to see in what sense
they could be said to be joined to each other.

The importance of this explanation of the framework is shewn
on pp. Ixxiv. ff.

18. towards the Negeb, southwards. The Negeb is a geo-
graphical term denoting the tract of country lying to the south of
Judah (Gen. xii. 9, Nu. xiii. 17, 22 and freq.). The expression must
be from the pen of one writing in Palestine, and not in the Arabian
desert. Cf v. 22.

19. sockets ; bases. Apparently solid blocks of silver resting on
the earth, for the precious metal would not be concealed in the ground.

22. westward. Lit. ' towards the sea,' i.e. the Mediterranean ;
of V. 18.

24. This obscure verse is discussed on pp. Ixxv. f ; they shall he
entire should rather be they shall he double, or ' twin ' (reading D'P^?n
as at the beginning of the verse, for D^'SJ!!).

imto the one ring. This implies that a similar buttress is to be
made reaching to the ring at the other corner, presumably the ring at
the top of the frame.

172 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xxvi. 26-31

thou shalt make bars of acacia wood ; five for the boards of the P
one side of the tabernacie, 27 and five bars for the boards of the
other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the
side of the tabernacle, for the hinder part westward. 28 And
the middle bar in the midst of the boards shall pass through
from end to end. 29 And thou shalt overlay the boards with
gold, and make their rings of gold for places for the bars : and
thou shalt overlay the bars with gold. 30 And thou shalt rear
up the tabernacle according to the fashion thereof which hath
been shewed thee in the mount

31 And thou shalt make a veil of blue, and purple, and

28. in the midst of the frames, i.e. half-way up, not as some
have suggested, running through holes pierced in the beams (!).

29. It is probable that this verse is a later addition, and that
in the original description there was no gold upon the framework.

For (1) the injunction occurs after the other instmctions for the frames
have been completed; contrast the ark (xxv. 11, 13), the table (xxy. 24, 28).
(2) In xxxvi. 34(xxxviii. 18) Lxx has a divergent tradition — 'he overlaid the
pillars [i.e. kera^hvm}^ with silver^ and two verses later ' silver hooks ' (not in
Heb.) are spoken of. (3) The account of the tabernacle is based upon the
temple ; but the passages which speak of the overlaying of the walls of the
shrine (1 K. vi. 20), the walls of the rest of the temple {v. 21 f.), the floor
(«. 30), the cherubim {v. 28) and the leaves of the door {w. 32, 35) are also late
additions.

30. according to the method thereof, i.e. the method by which
it was always to be reared in the future, lxx Kara to e'Sos ' according
to the appearance ' perhaps represents the true reading.

XXVI. 31—37.
The Veil; the position 'of the furniture; the ScreenJj

31. a veil. Heb. pdrokheth, 'that which shuts oflF^.' In
Solomon's and Ezekiel's temples the shrine was shut off by a thick
wooden partition ; but in a portable sanctuary a veil was substituted.
See pp. Lxxxiv. f. The spiritual significance of the veil, as an impedi-
ment to the approach to God which is done away in Christ, is drawn
out in Heb. ix. 3, 8, x. 19—22. Cf. Mk. xv. 38 = Mat. xxvii. 51,
Lk. xxiii. 45 ^

with cherubim. Their appearance and position are not described.
But from a comparison with 1 K. vi. 29 — 35 and Ez. xh. 18 — 20, 25,

^ Cf. the Ass. parakku, Syr. p'rakkd, a ' shrine ' or ' apartment.'
^ It is open to question, however, whether it was the inner veil that was rent,
or the outer screen.

xxvi. 3I-XXVIL 2] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 173

scarlet, and fine twined linen : with cherubim the work of the P
cunning workman shall it be made : 32 and thou shalt hang it
upon four pillars of acacia overlaid with gold, their hooks shcdl
he of gold, upon four sockets of silver. 33 And thou shalt hang
up the veil under the clasps, and shalt bring in thither within
the veil the ark of the testimony : and the veil shall divide
unto you between the holy place and the most holy. 34 And
thou shalt put the mercy-seat upon the ark of the testimony in
the most holy place. 35 And thou shalt set the table without
the veil, and the candlestick over against the table on the side
of the tabernacle toward the south : and thou shalt put the
table on the north side. 36 And thou shalt make a screen for
the door of the Tent, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine
twined linen, the work of the embroiderer. 37 And thou shalt
make for the screen five pillars of acacia, and overlay them
with gold ; their hooks shall be of gold : and thou shalt cast
five sockets of brass for them.

XXVII. 1 And thou shalt make the altar of acacia wood,
five cubits long, and five cubits broad ; the altar shall be four-
square : and the height thereof shall be three cubits. 2 And thou

it may be supposed that one cherub appeared in each * panel ' of the
framework.

34. The placing of the Jcappureth has already been enjoined in
XXV. 21. A transposition of two consonants givea pdrokheth, which is
preferable, and is supported by the lxx.

36. The screen, being further from the shrine than the veil, is of
less elaborate workmanship, and has no cherubim upon it.

the embroiderer ; the variegator. His work was inferior to that
of the * designer ' {v. 1) and probably consisted not of embroidery with
a needle, but of weaving with coloured threads to produce a variegated
pattern.

xxvn. 1—19.

The Court and its furniture.

As in the case of the Dwelling, the furniture is mentioned first, as
being of chief importance ; the Tent and the Court were made only to
house the sacred objects.

XXVII. 1—8. The Altar. See note at the end of ch. xx.

1. the altar. The narrator thought of no second altar ; see
on XXX. 1.

fov/rsquare. An archaism dating from a time when ' square '
denoted 'equal-sided,' and it was necessary to express the number

174 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xxvn. 1-7

shalt make the horns of it upon the four corners thereof : the P
horns thereof shall be of one piece with it : and thou shalt
overlay it with brass. 3 And thou shalt make its pots to take
away its ashes, and its shovels, and its basons, and its flesh-
hooks, and its firepans : all the vessels thereof thou shalt make
of brass. 4 And thou shalt make for it a grating of network
of brass ; and upon the net shalt thou make four brasen rings
in the four ^corners thereof. 5 And thou shalt put it under
the ledge round the altar beneath, that the net may reach
halfway up the altar. 6 And thou shalt make staves for the
altar, staves of acacia wood, and overlay them with brass.
7 And the staves thereof shall be put into the rings, and the
staves shall be upon the two ^ sides of the altar, in bearing it.

1 Heb. ends. * Heb. ribs.

of sides. In 1 K. vi. 31 A.V. marg. lias 'five-square,' from the
Geneva Bible.

2. the horns. Projections at the four comers, probably of a
conventional shape, a few inches in height ; cf. Jos. B. J. v. v. 6,
ywvtai Kc/DttToctSeis. They are called 'horns' in Ez. xliii. 15, 20, but
simply 'corners' in xli. 22. They are found on Assyrian altars
nPerrot and Chipiez, Hist, of Art in Chaldea and Assyria, i. 255 f.).
Their origin and purpose are uncertain. Many modern writers suppose
them to be traceable to bull-worship. Others think that they may be
due to the custom of hanging upon the altar the skin and head of the
sacrificial victim. Kennedy {DB iv. 658) holds that ' their ultimate
raison d^etre is probably to be sought in the same primitive circle of
thought as ascribed a special sanctity to the four corners of a robe.' It
is probable that the use of horns arose from an ancient superstition,
but it cannot, at present, be traced with certainty. It is clear from
XX. 25 that the Israehtes at one time did not use them. But when
once adopted they became the most sacred part of the altar. They
served as an asylum (1 K. i. 50 f, ii. 28) in comparatively early days ;
and they are mentioned in Am. iii. 14, Jer. xvii. 1. In the Priestly
legislation they are smeared with sacrificial blood, in the consecration
of the priests (Ex. xxix. 12, Lev. viii. 15, ix. 9), in the sin-offering
(Lev. iv. 18, 25, 30, 34) and on the Day of Atonement (Lev. xvi.
18).

4. a grating. Lit. 'twisted work.' It probably supported the
ledge (see next verse), and at the same time allowed the blood to
be dashed against the base of the altar.

5. the ledge (karkobh). xxxviii. 4 1. Lit. ' that which encloses ' ;
A.V. ' compass.' Its purpose must have been to enable the priest to
officiate at the altar, which would otherwise be too high for him.
Cf Lev. ix. 22, Aaron 'came down' from the altar. See note on
XX. 26.

XXVII. 8-i8] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 175

8 Hollow with planks shalt thou make it : as it hath been P
shewed thee in the mount, so shall they make it.

9 And thou shalt make the court of the tabernacle : for the
south side southward there shall be hangings for the court of
fine twined linen an hundred cubits long for one side : 10 and
the pillars thereof shall be twenty, and their sockets twenty,
of brass ; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets shall he of
silver. 11 And likewise for the north side in length there shall
be hangings an hundred cubits long, and the pillars thereof
twenty, and their sockets twenty, of brass ; the hooks of the
pillars and their fillets of silver. 12 And for the breadth of
the court on the west side shall be hangings of fifty cubits :
their pillars ten, and their sockets ten. 13 And the breadth
of the court on the east side eastward shall be fifty cubits.
14 The hangings for the one side of the gate shall be fifteen
cubits : their pillars three, and their sockets three. 15 And
for the other side shall be hangings of fifteen cubits : their
pillars three, and their sockets three. 16 And for the gate of
the court shall be a screen of twenty cubits, of blue, and purple,
and scarlet, and fine twined linen, the work of the embroiderer :
their [pillars four, and their sockets four. 17 All the pillars of
the court round about shall be filleted with silver ; their hooks
of silver, and their sockets of brass. 18 The length of the court
shall be an hundred cubits, and the breadth fifty every where,

8. Hollow with planks. Wishing to picture a portable altar the
narrator disregarded its practical inutility. A hot fire burning within
it would soon have destroyed it. To escape this dijSiculty, and to
produce accordance with the ancient regulation in xx. 24, some
suppose that it was 'filled with earth or stones, so that it was the
latter materials that, properly speaking, constituted the altar.' But
for this there is not the slightest justification in the text.

9—19. The Comt. In the temples of Ezekiel (xl. 17, 19), and
Zerubbabel (1 Mac. iv. 38, 48 ; cf. Jos. Ant. xiv. xvi. 2), the court
was divided into two parts, the inner one being reserved for the priests.
There is no evidence, on the other hand, that Solomon's temple had
more than one court. And in this respect the tabernacle is made to
resemble it. The tabernacle court was of the third grade of sanctity,
but it was still holy (xxviii. 43, Lev. x. 17 f.) because every Israelite
was a member of a ' holy nation,' and enjoyed the right of bringing his
ofi'ering to the altar and killing his victim before the Tent of Meeting
(Lev. i. — iv.). On the pillars of the court see pp. Lxxviii. f.

10. their fillets. SiBQ Addenda.

176 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xxvii. i8-xxviii. i

and the height five cubits, of fine twined linen, and their sockets P
of brass. 19 All the instruments of the tabernacle in all the
service thereof, and all the pins thereof, and all the pins of the
court, shall be of brass.

20 And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they Pg
bring unto thee pure olive oil beaten for the light. Ho cause a
lamp to burn continually. 21 In the ^tent of meeting, without
the veil which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall
order it from evening to morning before the Lord : it shall be
a ^statute for ever throughout their generations *on the behalf
of the children of Israel

XXVIII. 1 And bring thou near unto thee Aaron thy P

1 Or, to set up a lamp continually ^ See ch. xxv. 22, xxix. 42, xix. 36.

3 Or, due * Or, from

19. all the pegs thereof. These were not mentioned in xxvi. 7 — 14,
and it is uncertain how they were intended to be used. Mention is
made of cords as well as pegs in the later passages, xxxv. 18, xxxix. 40,
Num. iii. 26, 37, iv. 26, 32, but in every case they seem to be
connected with the court and not with the Dwelling. According to
the most probable measurements (see p. Ixxvii.) the goats' hair covering
just reached the ground, and probably both it and the two outer
coverings were thought of as fastened to the kerdshlm by the pegs.

20, 21. The Oil for the Light. Repeated almost verbatim in
Lev. xxiv. 2f.

20. beaten. The oil was produced (according to Mishna, Mmahoth
viii. 4f.) by gently pounding the olives in a mortar. They were
afterwards subjected to two other processes (described in EB'm. 3467),
but it was from the first that oil of the finest quality was obtained.
Perhaps this is referred to in so early a passage as Am. vi. 6 : ' the
first yield of oils ' (E.V. ' the chief ointments ').

continually, i.e. 'regularly,' as an unfailing daily duty. The
following verse shews that this is the meaning ; see on xxv. 37.

21. Aaron and his sons &c. This implies that they have already
been consecrated, and that the dwelling has been erected. In 2 Chr.
xiii. 11 the sons of Aaron are responsible for the lamp, but Aaron
alone in Ex. xxx. 8, Lev. xxiv. 3, Num. viii. 2f.

on the behalf of i.e. 'to be observed on the part of; an elliptical
expression. See Driver on Dt. xviii. 3.

Chapter XXVIII.
The Priestly Vestments.

XXVIII. 1. After dealing with the Dwelling and all its
accessories, the narrator turns to the personnel of the ecclesiastical

xxviii. 1-8] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 177

brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of P
Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office, even
Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron's sons.
2 And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother,
for glory and for beauty. 3 And thou shalt speak unto all that
are wise hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom,
that they make Aaron's garments to sanctify him, that he may
minister unto me in the priest's office. 4 And these are the
garments which they shall make ; a breastplate, and an ephod,
and a robe, and a coat of chequer work, a ^ mitre, and a girdle :
and they shall make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, and
his sons, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office.
5 And they shall take ^the gold, and the blue, and the purple,
and the scarlet, and the fine linen.

6 And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue, and
purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen, the work of the cunning
workman. 7 It shall have two shoulderpieces joined to the
two ends thereof; that it may be joined together. 8 And

1 Or, turban ^ See ch. xxv. 3.

organization, Aaron and his four sons. Nadab and Abihu are named
with Aaron in xxiv. 1, apparently as elders. Eleazar is mentioned
only twice in the earlier writings, Dt. x. 6, Jos. xxiv. 33, the former
being probably the first indication in the Hexateuch that Aaron was
considered to be the founder of an hereditary priesthood (see p. Lxviii.).
Ithamar is not found earlier than P.

3. It is a true conception of great importance that the action of
the divine Spirit is not confined to the bestowal of 'spiritual gifts,'
but that successful skill in handiwork and in every duty of daily Hfe is
due to Him, 'There are diversities of gifts but the same Spirit.'
Cf. xxxi. 3, XXXV. 31.

to sanctify him. On the O.T. idea of ' holiness ' see xxix. 37.

6—12. The Ephod.

6. the ephod. It had been a well-known object in the early days
of Israel. See note below.

7. The words should run 'It shall have two shoulder-straps
joined to it; at its two ends shall it be joined.' By this
alteration of nam to ■|3^^ as suggested by lxx and Sam., a consistent
description can be arrived at. The garment appears to have consisted
of a piece of fabric long enough to meet when placed round the chest
under the arms. It was not joined by means of the shoulder-straps,
but sewn together down the front (xxxix. 4), and would be put on
over the head after the manner of a chasuble. How far down the body

M. 12

178 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xxviii. 8-15

the cunningly woven band, which is upon it, to gird it on withal, P
shall be like the work thereof and of the same piece ; of gold,
of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen. 9 And
thou shalt take two ^onyx stones, and gi'ave on them the names
of the children of Israel : 10 six of their names on the one
stone, and the names of the six that remain on the other stone,
according to their birth. 1 1 With the work of an engraver in
stone, like the engravings of a signet, shalt thou engrave the
two stones, according to the names of the children of Israel :
thou shalt make them to be inclosed in ouches of gold. 12 And
thou shalt put the two stones upon the shoulderpieces of the
ephod, to be stones of memorial for the children of Israel : and
Aaron shall bear their names before the Lord upon his two
shoulders for a memorial.

13 And thou shalt make ouches of gold : 14 and two chains P3
of pure gold ; like cords shalt thou make them, of wreathen
work : and thou shalt put the wreathen chains on the ouches. |
15 And thou shalt make a breastplate of judgement, the work P

1 Or, beryl

it reached is not stated. The shoulder-straps bore two jewels at their
upper end and two rings at their lower end, the purpose of which is
stated in the course of the chapter.

8. And its artistic encasing-band which is upon it. Lit.
* ephod-band.' R.V. paraphrases a very terse expression which
supports the derivation of the word 'ephod' which is adopted in
the note below.

11. in filigree settings^ 0/ gold. Their shape may have been
that of bosses or rosettes ; lxx has da-iriSLo-Kai in v. 13. Cf. 1 Mac.
iv. 57.

12. stones of memorial. To remind Yahweh of His people.
For the same purpose were the stones of the 'breastplate' (y. 29\
the atonement money (xxx. 16), the blowing of trumpets (Num. x. 10;,
the spoils of war (Num. xxxi, 54), and, in particular, a portion of the
meal-offering, known by the technical name 'azkdrdh, 'memorial-
offering,' Lev. ii. 2, 9, 16, v. 12, vi. 15, xxiy. 7, Num. v. 26. The
'meal-offering of memorial' (Num. v. 15, 18) is to remind Yahweh to
punish. Cf. Acts x. 4.

13—29. 'VhQHoshm.

15. a breastplate. The word hoshen (occurring in P only) has

1 ' Ouch,' like ' apron,' 'adder' and other words, has lost an initial n. Chaucer,
House of Fame, has ' They were set as thick as nouchis Fyne ' (cited in DB iii.
636). The Heb. word is derived from a root denoting ' to twist ' or ' wreathe.'

xxviii. 15-18] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 179

of the cunning workman ; like the work of the ephod thou shalt P
make it ; of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine
twined linen, shalt thou make it. 16 Foursquare it shall be
and double ; a span shall be the length thereof, and a span the
breadth thereof. 17 And thou shalt set in it settings of stones,
four rows of stones : a row of ^ sardius, topaz, and ^carbuncle
shall be the first row ; 18 and the second row an ^emerald, a

1 Or, ruby ^ Or, emerald * Or, carbuncle

nothing in it to suggest either 'breast' or 'plate.' The derivation
is uncertain. Some connect it with a word denoting the 'fold' or
'bosom' of a garment, in which something is carried. This would
express, what was certainly the case, that the hoshen was a pouch or
bag (see next verse). Others, with greater probability, explain it as
meaning 'something beautiful,' from a root which is found in Arabic.
It would thus be a non-descriptive term applied to it as the most
beautiful article in the high priest's dress, or the most beautiful part of
the ephod.

of judgement. See w. 29 f. So called because within it were
placed the ' Urim and Tummim by which the priest obtained oracular
answers from God on points brought to him for decision, lxx Ao'yioi/
Tolv Kpto-cwv ('oracle of judgements').

16. The piece of stuff was half a cubit in width, and one cubit in
length, so that when doubled it formed a square pouch, half a cubit
(9 inches) each way.

17 — 20. It is impossible to identify the stones with any certainty,
either in the Hebrew or the Greek ; in some cases the English names,
though derived from the Greek, denote different stones. They are
discussed in Enc. B. 4799— 4812 and DB iv. 619—21. More in-
teresting than their identification is the fact that two other similar
lists occur in the Bible, both of which appear to shew a connexion with
the list in Exodus. (1) In Ez. xxviii. 13 the prophet says to the king
of Tyre, ' every precious stone was thy covering,' and a later hand has
added nine out of the twelve stones in Exodus ; the three that are
omitted are the 7th, 8th and 9th, i.e. the third row in the hoshen, and
the order of the others is somewhat different. A plausible explanation
is suggested in Enc. B., that these differences were due to a desire to
produce a greater variety of colours, i.e. to prevent two red stones, two

Eale ones &c. from standing side by side. In the lxx, on the other
and, the two lists are identical, with twelve stones \ (2) In Rev.

1 In Ezekiel after the sixth stone fao-jrtj it adds dpyrjpiou Kal xpvfflov (' silver and
gold'). The former is a corrupt doublet of the following \iyipiov, and the latter —
which appears also in the M.T. 3nt1 — is apparently a gloss on Xiyvpiov, perhaps
describing its golden colour. The later name of Xty^pLov appears, indeed, to have
been xp^'^'^^'pacros.

12—2

180 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xxviii. 18-27

sapphire, and a ^diamond ; 19 and the third row a ^jacinth, an P
agate, and an amethyst ; 20 and the fourth row a ^ beryl, and
an *onyx, and a jasper : they shall be inclosed in gold in their
settings. 21 And the stones shall be according to the names of
the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names ; like
the engravings of a signet, every one according to his name,
they shall be for the twelve tribes. 22 And thou shalt make
upon the breastplate chains like cords, of wreathen work of
pure gold. 23 And thou shalt make upon the breastplate two
rings of gold, and shalt put the two rings on the two ends of the
breastplate. 24 And thou shalt put the two wreathen chains
of gold on the two rings at the ends of the breastplate. 25 And
the other two ends of the two wreathen chains thou shalt put
on the two ouches, and put them on the shoulderpieces of the
ephod, in the forepart thereof | 26 And thou shalt make two Pt
rings of gold, and thou shalt put them upon the two ends of the
breastplate, upon the edge thereof, which is toward the side
of the ephod inward. 27 And thou shalt make two rings of

' Or, sardonyx ^ Or, amber ^ Or, chalcedony * Or, beryl

xxi. 19 f. the foundations of the wall of the heavenly city are twelve
stones ; the names are based upon the lxx of the Exodus list, eight
being identical. The 1st row corresponds to the 2nd in the hoshen,
and the 2nd row to the 1st in the koshen, but both in the inverse
order ; the 3rd row corresponds to the 4th in the hosken, and the 4th
to the 3rd in the koshen, both in the direct order. This order is due
to the fact that the seer starting at the S.E. corner of the city
describes the E. and N. sides, and then starting again at the same
point describes the S. and W. sides. The thought intended by the
writer of the Apocalypse in enumerating the stones is partly that
'of connecting the New Jerusalem with the symbols of the Twelve
Tribes,' but partly also of symbolizing the beauties of the pure and
holy spirituality of the saints. See Clem. Al. Paed. ii. 12, § 119,
quoted by Prof Swete on Rev. xxi. 20. The whole note should be
read ; it ends with the beautiful remark ' The TroXvirotKiXos (To<f>ia 6^ov
(Eph. iii. 10) reflects itself in the Saints, but not wholly in any one
Saint. The High Priest alone wears all the colours on His breast ; of
the rest it is said Statpeo-cts xapia-fiaruiv ei(rlv...Siaip€(rei<i SiaKovtcSv...
Siaipcorcts ivepyrjfjiaTwv.

26 — 28 appear to give a second account of the two rings and their
fastening to the shoulder-straps. The vv. are omitted in the lxx.

26. toward the side of the ephod inwards. On the inside fold of
the pouch, the side which touches the ephod.

27, 28. If the emendation adopted in «. 7 be correct, it is

XXVIII. 27-3o] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 181

gold, and shalt put them on the two shoulderpieces of theP,
ephod underneath, in the forepart thereof, close by the coupling
thereof, above the cunningly woven band of the ephod. 28 And
they shall bind the breastplate by the rings thereof unto the
rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it may be upon the
cunningly woven band of the ephod, and that the breastplate
be not loosed from the ephod. | 29 And Aaron shall bear the P
names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgement
upon his heart, when he goeth in unto the holy place, for a
memorial before the Lord continually. 30 And thou shalt put
in the breastplate of judgement Hhe Urim and the Thummim ;
and they shall be upon Aaron's heart, when he goeth in before
the Lord : and Aaron shall bear the judgement of the children
of Israel upon his heart before the Lord continually.

1 That is, the Lights and the Perfections.

uncertain where the shoulder-straps were fastened to the ephod ;
but it was probably immediately behind the two lower corners of the
hoshen, so that the rings on the ephod and on the hoshen coincided,
and only needed to be tied together by the blue thread. The thread
was thus out of sight, which explains why such a common material
was used, as compared with the gold chains which fastened the upper
end to the onyx jewels. The hoshen was by these means firmly secured,
with its lower edge resting upon, i.e. immediately above, the artistic
band.

29, 30. These verses describe a two-sided function of the priest-
hood which dated from primitive times and was of the utmost
importance, but was at a later time somewhat thrown into the shade
by the growing prominence of the sacrificial functions. Aaron is to
represent man to God — to keep men before God's ' memory.' And by
means of the ' tlrlm and Tummim he is to represent God to man — to
keep men acquainted with God's will ; see Num. xxvii. 21. In Christ,
the * High Priest of the good things to come,' the two-fold representa-
tion became a concrete fact. Further, Aaron, as man's representative,
wore the symbols ' on his heart ' ; in which w^e may see a token of
a ready will to obey. And so with the Son of Man ; * when He cometh
into the world He saith, Lo I am come to do Thy will, 0 God.'

30. the 'Urim and the Thummim (^&tt&t Tummim). Whatever
may be the derivation of the two words, it is extremely probable that
they were employed to describe two objects (probably stones), which
were cast as lots for the purpose of obtaining a divine decision. See
addit. note below.

The Ephod ; and the Urim, and Tummim. The derivation of the word
' ephod ' is doubtful. Lagarde connects it with a root waphad, which appears

182 THE BOOK OF EXODUS

in Arabic as wafada 'to come as an envoy' to a ruler or chief; and he
explains the ephod as the garment of approach to God. This is ingenious
but not convincing. Others point to the Syr. pedta which denotes a long
robe. The various usages of the word suggest that its root-meaning is 'to
enclose ' or ' encase.'

(a) Apart from the Aaronic robe, there is no clear evidence that an
ephod was a garment. In one passage at least it was composed of metal.
Gideon made a golden ephod, weighing 700 shekels, which he set up in his
town, and ' all Israel went a whoring after it ' (Jud. viii. 26 f.) ; it seems to have
been a large golden figure of the well-known object. Ahimelech's words to
David that Goliath's sword was 'wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod'
(1 S. xxi. 1) perhaps imply that the ephod was a solid object. Is. xxx. 22
speaks of ' the aphudddh of thy molten images of gold,' where the parallelism
of the preceding clause has suggested to some writers that the term denotes
the metal casing which surrounded the wooden core of an image ; but this
is quite uncertain, as is also the supposition that idols were at one time clothed
in an ephod, and that this became later a casing of metal.

(&) The ephod was sometimes made of linen. Samuel ministered before
Yahweh 'girded with a linen ephod' (1 S. ii. 18), and similarly David, when he
danced before Yahweh (2 8. vi. 14). But the word 'girded ' (lUn) can be used
in the case of a sword or other weapon (e.g. Jud. iii. 16, 1 S, xxv. 13), and need
not necessarily imply that the ephod was a garment. David's nakedness, as
he danced in a state of reUgious frenzy, excited Michal's contempt, but there
is nothing to shew that the nakedness consisted in his being clothed only with
an ephod.

(c) Besides these passages there are some which shew that the ephod
was a sacred object, but do not decide its form or material. It was a
prerogative of priests in early days to ' carry the ephod ' ; see 1 S. xiv. 3 (and
18 Lxx ; cf. KV. marg.), xxii. 18. The verb nko in these passages does not
mean ' to wear.' Ahimelech fled to David from Nob ' with an ephod in his
hand' (1 S. xxiii. 6); and in v. 9 David said, 'Bring hither the ephod.'
Further, it is sometimes found in close conjunction with teraphlm, which were
images and were employed in divination^ (Ez. xxL 21 (26), Zech. x. 2). Micah's
sacred objects included an ephod and teraphim (Jud. xvii. 4 f, xviii. 17). It
is not, however, clear from these passages that the ephod was an image.

The evidence is not enough to enable us to form a decision ; but if the root-
meaning of the word denoted 'to encase' or 'enclose,' the ephod may well
have been merely a receptacle — made either of metal or linen — which enclosed
the sacred lots employed for obtaining oracular answers from God (see below).
(See Driver, art 'Ephod' in DB L ; Moore, in Enc. B. 1306—9, and on Jud.
xvii. 5 ; Foote, JBL xxi. (1902) ; Sellin, Oriental. Studien ii. 699—717.)

For obtaining an oracle the 'Urlm (Q'*1;1N) and the Tummim (Q^???))
were employed, (a) The passages in which they are mentioned are as
follows: Dt. xxxiii. 8 ('thy T. and thy i/".'), 1 S. xiv. 41 f. (lxx 'give f.-.-give
7!'), xxviiL 6 (the Urim alone). In post-exilic writings : Ex. xxviii. 30, Lev.
viiL 8 ('the V. and the T'\ Num. xxvii. 21 (the Urim alone), Ezr. ii 63

^ See Addenda.

THE URIM AND TUMMIM 183

= Neh. vii. 65 (' a priest for JJ. and for TJ). It is possible that Ps. xliii. 3
(' thy light and thy truth ') refers to them. Some would even read ' thy U.
and thy T.' In the Apocrypha : 1 Es. v. 40 (' wearing the U. and the T.'),
Sir. xxxiii. [lxx sA xxxvi.] 3 (epwTTj/xa gjjXtoi'), xlv. 10 (lxx SifXots aiXridfias,
Heb. 'ephod and girdle')-

(&) The derivation of the two words is a matter of conjecture. The
Masoretic interpreters considered 'Urim as a plural word connected with
"YIN ('or) ' light,' and Tummlm as the plural of n'n (torn) ' perfection,' ' com-
pleteness,' 'innocence,' and they probably thought of them as intensive
plurals, not, as R. V. marg., ' Lights ' and ' Perfections.' But these meanings
are quite unsuitable in most of the passages where the words occur. The
ancient translators afford no help, lxx has variously: for 'Urim, St^Xoxtis
'manifestation,' 8^Xot [sc. Xidoi] 'clear,' 'transparent' [sc. stones], <^63rifa) 'to
give light' (Ezr.-Neh.); Aq. Sym. Theod. (jiwria-fjioi, didaxij: for Tummim,
LXX aKri6ti.a, oo-iorrjs, riXeia ('perfect things'); Aq. Sym. Theod. Tf^tiorrjTft.
O.L. and Jer. similarly vary; for 'Urim, doctrina, demonstratio, ostensio,
doctus : for Tummim, Veritas, perfectio, sanctitas, perfectus, eruditus.

Various derivations have been suggested, of which two are worthy of
notice. Moore {Enc. B. 5237) derives Tummim from the root Dt^n ' be
without fault ' ; and ' its opposite might well be a derivative of TlS " cui-se,"
the one signifying that a proposed action was satisfactory to God, the other
that it provoked his wrath.' In this case the words should probably be
pronounced 'orlm and tdmlm. Muss-Arnolt {AJSL, July 1900, p. 218) con-
nects ' Urim with an Ass. verb a'aru [piel u'uru] ' to send forth ' (an edict),
from which are formed urtu and tertu 'a [divine] decision'; and Tummim
with an Ass. verb tamu [piel tummu], from which is formed tamitu 'an
oracle.' The two words would thus be practically synonymoxis in meaning.

(c) Dt. xxxiii, 8 (which probably belongs to a date somewhere between
Jeroboam I and II) makes it clear that the possession and use of these sacred
objects was the prerogative of the priest. It is also noteworthy that the
subst. tordh 'direction,' 'instruction,' 'law,' is derived from a root (m^) which
denotes both ' to teach ' and ' to cast.' And many writers maintain with much
probability that the latter is the original significance (see JBL xxv. 1 — 16). A
priest, when asked for a divine tordh, would learn it by casting lots. 1 S. xxviii.
6 mentions thi'ce ways in which a message from God might normally be received,
'by dreams, by Urim, by prophets.' After the time of David the importance of
prophets as the declarers of the divine will became paramount ; Israel attained
to more spiritual conceptions of God's nature and relation to the world, and
the use of the sacred lots appears to have ceased. But the narratives of Saul
and David are the principal sources of information with regard to them. It is
unfortunate that the locus classicus, 1 S. xiv. 41 f., is mutilated in the Hebrew.
In the Lucianic recension of the lxx the passage runs : 'And Saul said, 0 Lord,
the God of Israel, why hast thou not answered thy servant this day ? If the
iniquity be in me or in Jonathan my son, give St/Xou? ['clear stones'
= ' Urim] ; and if thou sayest thus. The iniquity is in the people, give oo-torr^ra
[= Tummim, M.T. D''pn T]^r\, R.V. 'shew the right,' A.V. 'Give a perfect
lot']. And the lot fell upon Saul and Jonathan, and the people escaped.'
Jerome apparently knew the full text, which he renders 'if in me or in

184 THE BOOK OF EXODUS

Jonathan my son is this iniquity, give ostensionem ; or if this iniquity is in
my people give sanctitatem' (see Driver in loc.). Here we learn '(1) that the
Urim and Thummim were the recognised medium for discovering the guilt or
innocence of suspected parties, a species of divine ordeal ; (2) that as the lots
were only two in number, only one question could be put at a time, and that in
a way admitting only of two alternative answers ; (3) that where these
answers, from the nature of the case, could not be given by a mere " yes "
or " no," it was necessary to agree beforehand on the way in which the issuing
lot was to be interpreted.' (Kennedy.)

Further it is to be noted that while the sacred lots were employed to
obtain an answer, the ephod also was employed for the same purpose on three
occasions. Ahijah the priest — who came to Saul's camp ' carrying the ephod *
(1 S. xiv. 3), and who advised him to enquire of God (». 36)— was bidden by
the king to 'bring near the ephod' {v. 18, following lxx, as in R.V. marg.);
but as he was about to manipulate it, Saul said, ' Withdraw thy hand ' {v. 19).
Thus the ephod, which required some manual action, and the sacred lots,
were used for the same purpose by the same king and priest in the same
campaign ; and it may safely be concluded that they were closely connected.
Similarly in 1 S. xxiii. 6, 9 flF., xxx. 7 ff. David said to the priest, ' bring near the
ephod,' and then enquired of God by submitting direct questions requiring the
answer Yes or No. After the exile the ' Urim and Tummim were thought of
as old-world mysteries ; it was known that they had been a means of enquiring
the divine will, but their nature and method of use were evidently little under-
stood (Bzr. ii. 63 = Neh. vii. 65). But the priestly traditions also preserved
the memory of the fact that the ' Urim and Tummim were closely connected
with the ephod. What the connexion was they probably knew as little as we
do ; but they interpreted it to mean that they were attached to the ephod,
and hence came the description of the hoshen in which they were placed^.

At a later time ideas were influenced by P's description of the hoshen.
The LXX translators in 1 S. xiv. 41 appear to have identified the 'Urim, and
Tum,mim with the jewels, rendering bos hrfKovs 'give clear [stones]^.' And
Josephus {Ant. in. viii. 9) says that God gave premonitions of victory in battle
by the miraculous shining of the stones ; and adds that the jewels had ceased
to shine two hundred years before he wrote. The Rabbis improved on this,
by saying that answers to enquiries were spelt out by the shining of particular
letters in the engraved names of the tribes.

What the 'Urim, and Tummim actually were can only be conjectured.
But since they were employed for casting lots it is natural to suppose that
they were stones (not dice), perhaps distinguished from each other by their
colour or markings. And this might conceivably have given rise to the jewels
on the priestly hoshen. That stones were commonly used as lots is clear from
the Heb. gordl 'lot,' the root of which appears in Arabic words denoting
' stone,' ' stony ' and the like ; cf. Grk. ylrrjcfios, and Ass. pdru.

^ It is just possible that the placing of the U. and T. on the breast of the High
Priest is an idea derived from Babylonian mythology (Muss-Arnolt, op. cit.), but
certainly not their original meaning and use.

2 This may also be implied in the reading of lxx and Sam. in Ex. xxviii. 30,
Lev. viii. 8, ' thou shalt place upon the Jjashen of judgement the U. and the T.'

xxviii. 31-35] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 186

31 And thou shalt make the robe of the ephod all of blue. P

32 And Ht shall have a hole for the head in the midst thereof:
it shall have a binding of woven work round about the hole of
it, as it were the hole of a coat of mail, that it be not rent.

33 And upon the skirts of it thou shalt make pomegranates of
blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, round about the skirts
thereof ; and bells of gold between them round about : 34 a
golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pome-
granate, upon the skirts of the robe round about. 35 And it
shall be upon Aaron to minister : and the sound thereof shall
be heard when he goeth in unto the holy place before the Lord,
and when he cometh out, that he die not.

1 Or, there shall he a hole in the top of it

XXVIII. 31—35.
The Violet Robe.

31. the robe of the ephod, i.e. always worn with the ephod.

all of violet. In Asia Minor and ancient Rome, and in the
Christian Church, purple, the sign of royalty, has always been also
the sign of ecclesiastical dignity.

a coat of mail, xxxix. 23 t ; cf. XivoOdipr}^, ' linen cuirass,' //. ii.
529, 830.

33. pomegranates. This fruit, frequently represented in Egyptian
and Assyrian sculpture, was a symbol widely connected with religious
worship. It may have been a survival of nature- worship derived in
early days from the Phoenicians, There were pomegranates on the
capitals of the two bronze pillars of Solomon's temple (1 K. vii, 20, 42,
2 K. XXV. 17) ; see note on xxv. 31 ff.

bells. Their number is not stated ; the Rabbinic writers made
them 72, and Clem. Al. 365. Various suggestions have been made as
to their meaning and purpose. In Sir. xlv. 9 they are ' to make his
sound to be heard in the shrine for a memorial for the children of
his people,' i.e, they were to call God's attention to Aaron as the
representative of his people, as in the case of the tribal names on the
jewels (w. 12, 29). Others have thought that they were to let the
people know when Aaron arrived in the Holy Place, that they might
join in worship. But they could not have been large enough for the
sound to carry so far. It is not impossible that they were a survival,
Hke the gargoyles in our churches, of the primitive practice of the
employment of charms to frighten away demons and evil spirits,
Petrie {DB i. 158, 269) suggests that they, with the pomegranates,
were merely a developed form of the lotus and bud ornament which
was common in Egjrptian art.

186 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xxviii. 36-39

36 And thou shalt make a plate of pure gold, and grave P
upon it, like the engravings of a signet, holy to the lord.

37 And thou shalt put it on a lace of blue, and it shall be
upon the ^ mitre ; upon the forefront of the ^ mitre it shall be.

38 And it shall be upon Aaron's forehead, and Aaron shall bear
the iniquity of the holy things, which the children of Israel shall
hallow in all their holy gifts ; and it shall be always upon his
forehead, that they may be accepted before the Lord. 39 And

* Or, turban

36—38.
The Gold Diadem.

36. plate. Probably 'shining thing,' i.e. a diadem (cf. xxix. 6,
xxxix. 30, Lev. viii. 9). The corresponding verb is applied to a crown
in Ps. cxxxii. 18 (R.v. 'flourish'). Like the violet robe it gave to
the high priest a regal dignity. It reveals the beginnings of the
tendency to exalt the high priest to a civil supremacy which reached
its height in the Hasmonean period. See 1 Mac. x. 20.

Holy to Yahweh. Cf. Zech. xiv. 20. Neither 'holy' or 'holiness'
(A.V.) exactly expresses the original, which denotes something concrete
— 'A sacred object belonging to Yahweh.' It sums up the position
which Israel, in the person of their representative, occupied in relation
to God. Had the Hasmonean high priests acted up to the spirit of
the words, they would not have deteriorated, as they did, into grasping,
worldly rulers. For us, it sums up the ideal character of the Christian
Church, in union with our great High Priest. The motto upon the
Divine seal in 2 Tim. ii. 19 expresses the same truth.

37. the mitre ; the turban. The word is used of the head-dress
of the civil prince (Ez. xxi. 26 [Heb. 31]) ; and, in a different form, for
that of the high priest (Zech. iii. 5), a royal turban (Is. Ixii. 3), and
those of women (Is. iii. 23). See on v. 40.

38. hear the iniquity of the holy things. Since Aaron is marked
out, by the golden diadem, as the ' holy one to Yahweh,' summing up
all the holy things in his own person, he is also ideally responsible for
guarding all the holy things from profanation ; and therefore upon him
must come the guilt, and the punishment for the guilt, if any of them
are profaned. Cf Num. xviii. 1. It is a splendid foreshadowing of
Him who 'bore our sins.' The expression 'bear the iniquity' is also
used frequently in P of bearing the consequences of one's own guilt,
V. 43, Lev. V. 1, 17, vii. 18, Num. v. 31 &c. ; cf Ez. xiv. 10, xliv.
10, 12.

that they may be accepted. Not the gifts, but the children of
Israel.

XXVIII. 39-xxix.i] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 187

thou shalt weave the coat in chequer work of ^fine linen, and P
thou shalt make a ^ mitre of ^fine linen, and thou shalt make
a girdle, the work of the embroiderer. 40 And for Aaron's
sons thou shalt make coats, and thou shalt make for them
girdles, and headtires shalt thou make for them, for glory and
for beauty. | 41 And thou shalt put them upon Aaron thy Pg
brother, and upon his sons with him ; and shalt anoint them,
and ^consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister
unto me in the priest's office. | 42 And thou shalt make them P
linen breeches to cover the flesh of their nakedness ; from the
loins even unto the thighs they shall reach : 43 and they shall
be upon Aaron, and upon his sons, when they go in unto the
tent of meeting, or when they come near unto the altar to
minister in the holy place ; that they bear not iniquity, and
die : it shall be a statute for ever unto him and unto his seed
after him.

XXIX. 1 And this is the thing that thou shalt do unto
them to hallow them, to minister unto me in the priest's office :

1 Or, silk "^ Or, turban ^ Heb. fill their hand.

39—43.
Th£, rest of Aaron's robes, and those of his sons.

39. the coat ; the tunic. The ordinary private outer garment of
the oriental, somewhat like a cassock or dressing-gown in shape.

a girdle ; a sash. It was passed several times round the breast,
the end hanging down to the feet (Jos. Ant. ni. viL 2).

40. headtires. xxix. 9, xxxix. 28, Lev. viii. 13 t. Distinct from
the turban of the high priest. The root signifies 'to sweU up,' or
' project,' and is seen in the word gibh'dh, ' a hill ' ; hence some think
that the priestly turban was conical, being worked up to an elevated
point.

41. The verse is probably a later addition ; see on xxix. 7.
consecrate them. Lit. ' fill their hand ' ; see on xxxii. 29.

g: Chapter XXIX.

The Consecration of Aaron and his sons.
The daily Burnt-offering.

The ceremony of consecration consists of (1) washing, (2) clothing, (3) anoint-
ing of Aaron, (4) a sin-offering of a bullock, (5) a burnt-offering of a ram, (6) the
offering of a 'ram of installation,' followed by the 'wave-offering' and the

188 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xxix. 1-9

take one young bullock and two rams without blemish, 2 and P
unleavened bread, and cakes unleavened mingled with oil, and
wafers unleavened anointed with oil : of fine wheaten flour shalt
thou make them. 3 And thou shalt put them into one basket,
and bring them in the basket, with the bullock and the two
rams. 4 And Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto the
door of the tent of meeting, and shalt wash them with water.
5 And thou shalt take the garments, and put upon Aaron the
coat, and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breast-
plate, and gird him with the cunningly woven band of the
ephod : 6 and thou shalt set the ^ mitre upon his head, and put
the holy crown upon the ^ mitre. 7 Then shalt thou take the
anointing oil, and pour it upon his head, and anoint him.

8 And thou shalt bring his sons, and put coats upon them.

9 And thou shalt gird them with girdles, Aaron and his sons,
and bind headtires on them : and they shall have the priest-
hood by a perpetual statute : and thou shalt consecrate Aaron

^ Or, turban

'contribution.' And this ceremony is to be repeated for seven days. The
chapter should be studied in connexion with Lev. viii., in which Moses is
related to have fulfilled the commands in detail. The ceremony for Levites
was different; see Num. viii. 5 — 12.

XXIX. 4. A comparison with xxx. 19 — 21 shews that the
washing at the initial consecration extended to the whole person.
Afterwards the priests needed only to wash their hands and feet
when they approached the sanctuary. There is a spiritual counter-
part to this in the Christian Hfe, Jn. xiii. 10. And see Heb, x. 22
with Westcott's note.

7. In Ps. cxxxiii. 2 the oil poured upon Aaron is employed as
a simile for the joy of brethren dwelling together : all the members
participate in the same blessing. See Perowne's note.

and anoint him. There appears to have been a later development
in the practice of anointing. In the earlier usage (here, v. 29,
Lev. viii. 12) the high priest alone is anointed, and his successors
after him (cf. Lev. xvi. 32, xxi. 10) ; hence the expression ' the
anointed priest' (Lev. iv. 3, 5, vi, 22). On the other hand the
anointing of Aaron's sons (i.e. the ordinary priests) is enjoined or
presupposed in several passages, which must therefore belong to
secondary strata of P (enjoined in Ex. xxviii. 41, xxx. 30, xl. 15,
presupposed in Lev. vii. 36, x. 7, Num. iii. 3).

9. consecrate. Lit. ' fill the hand of See note on xxxii. 29.

XXIX. 9-1 5] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 189

and his sons. 10 And thou shalt bring the bullock before the P
tent of meeting : and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands
upon the head of the bullock. 11 And thou shalt kill the
bullock before the Lord, at the door of the tent of meeting.
12 And thou shalt take of the blood of the bullock, and put it
upon the horns of the altar with thy finger ; and thou shalt
pour out all the blood at the base of the altar. 13 And thou
shalt take all the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul
upon the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon
them, and burn them upon the altar. 14 But the flesh of the
bullock, and its skin, and its dung, shalt thou burn with fire
without the camp : it is a ^sin ofiering. 15 Thou shalt also

1 Heb. sin.

10. lay their hands. This formed part of the ritual in all kinds
of animal sacrifice. It was a formal declaration on the part of the
offerer that he was the person concerned in the sacrifice.

12. the horns. See on xxvii. 2.

all the blood. See on xii. 9. The pouring at the base of the altar
is explained in Lev. viii. 15 ; it was to consecrate the altar and 'make
atonement for it/ i.e. to free it from uncleanness and make it a fitting
place to receive the offerings ; see v. 36.

13. A more precise description of the fat pieces is given in
Lev. iii. 3 f , 14 f., iv. 8 f , vii. 3 f. See Driver- White, Leviticus,
p. 65 ; Moore, Oriental. Studien, ii. 761 — 9.

14. The flesh of the sin-offering could only be given to the priests
when the sacrifice did not concern themselves ; cf. Lev. v. 13, vi. 26.

a sin-offering. Before the exile this form of offering is mentioned
only in 2 K. xii. 16 (17), where it is a fine levied by the priests at the
sanctuary. While the nation were undergoing the discipline of exile
they began to realise more fully the sinfulness of sin, according as they
gained a truer conception of God's * holiness.' The sin-offering may
be regarded as a propitiatory gift, the efficacy of which consisted in
separating the person or thing concerned in the offering from all that
was not 'holy.' Thus a prominent aspect of it is its use at the
consecration of places (Ez. xliii. 18 — 27, xlv. 18 — 20, Ex. xxix. 36,
Lev. viii. 14 f ), and of persons — priests (here, Lev. iv. 3, viii. 2, 14,
ix. 2, 7, 8, 10) and Levites (Num. viii. 8, 12). But its use was also
extended to the atoning of inadvertent transgressions (Lev. iv. 2, 13,
22, 27, Num. xv. 24, 27), minor offences (Lev. v. 1 — 9, 11—13^), and
ceremonial uncleanness (Lev. xii. 6, 8, xiv. 19, xv. 15, Num. vi. 11, 14).
For capital offences no sacrifice could be provided.

^ A poor man's offering might consist of two birds, or even of flour.

190 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xxix. r5-«

take the one ram ; and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands P
upon the head of the ram. 16 And thou shalt slay the ram,
and thou shalt take its blood, and sprinkle it round about upon
the altar. 17 And thou shalt cut the ram into its pieces, and
wash its inwards, and its legs, and put them ^with its pieces,
and ^with its head. 18 And thou shalt bum the whole ram
upon the altar : it is a burnt offering unto the Lord : it is a
sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the Lord. 19 And
thou shalt take the other ram ; and Aaron and his sons shall
lay their hands upon the head of the ram. 20 Then shalt thou
kill the ram, and take of its blood, and put it upon the tip of
the right ear of Aaron, and upon the tip of the right ear of his
sons, and upon the thumb of their right hand, and upon the
great toe of their right foot, and sprinkle the blood upon the
altar round about. | 21 And thou shalt take of the blood that is Pj
upon the altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it upon
Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon the
garments of his sons with him : and he shall be hallowed, and
his garments, and his sons, and his sons' garments with him. |
22 Also thou shalt take of the ram the fat, and the fat tail, and P
the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul of the liver, and

^ Or, upon

15 — 18. In contradistinction to the bullock of the sin-offering,
the ram was offered entire. The burnt-offering, unlike the sin-offering,
was a relic of antiquity ; see on xx. 24.

18. a sweet savour ; a soothing odour. The expression had its
origin in far-off days when the deity was supposed to be soothed or
placated by the actual smell of the sacrificial smoke. In Gen, viii. 21
(J), the only Biblical occurrence of the words earlier than Ezekiel,
there is a trace of the primitive conception ; see Driver, Genesis,
p. 105.

20. ' The priest must have consecrated ears to listen at all times
to God's holy voice, consecrated hands continually to do holy works,
and consecrated feet always to walk in holy ways' (Dillmann). The
three members of the body are symbolical of the whole. The ritual is
an elaborated development of the ceremony described in xxiv. 6, 8.
It is performed also, both with blood and oil, in the case of the
recovered leper (Lev. xiv. 14, 17).

21. The sprinkling with blood and oil is not equivalent to the
anointing of Aaron's sons ; cf the case of the leper just cited. The
verse seems to be a late addition (see analysis).

XXIX. 22-»7] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 191

the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and the right P
^ thigh ; for it is a ram of consecration : 23 and one loaf of
bread, and one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer, out of the
basket of unleavened bread that is before the Lord : 24 and
thou shalt put the whole upon the hands of Aaron, and upon
the hands of his sons ; and shalt wave them for a wave oflfering
before the Lord. 25 And thou shalt take them from their
hands, and burn them on the altar upon the burnt offering, for
a sweet savour before the Lord : it is an offering made by fire
unto the Lord. 26 And thou shalt take the breast of Aaron's
ram of consecration, and wave it for a wave offering before the
Lord : and it shall be thy portion. 27 And thou shalt sanctify
the breast of the wave offering, and the ^ thigh of the heave

^ Or, shoulder

22. it is a ram o/" installation. Lit. ' of fillings ' ; vv. 26, 31, 34,
Lev. vii. 37, viii. 22, 28, 31, 33 t. The expression is connected with
'fill the hand' (v. 9).

22 — 28. The ram of installation was a ' peace-offering ' (v 28),
of which the distribution of the material was as follows : the fat
portions, here combined with a part of the cereal offering {v. 23 a),
were given to Yahweh by being burnt {v. 25) ; the breast and the
right shoulder went to the priest^ (v. 27, Lev. vii. 34, x. 12 — 15) ;
and the remainder went to the worshipper. The participation by the
worshipper was an integral part of the ceremony, and was derived from
the very ancient custom of the sacrificial meal in which the deity and
the worshipper both partook. Moses, and not Aaron, here receives the
breast, because Aaron and his sons were not yet priests until the
ceremony was complete ; Moses himself acts as priest, and Aaron and
his sons are in the position of the ordinary worshipper, and eat the
remainder of the flesh (v. 32), together with the remainder of the cereal
offering. On the other hand, Moses does not receive the shoulder ;
that was to be a priestly due in future, but until the priests were
consecrated, it was given to God together with the fat portions (v. 22) ;
see Lev. vii. 31 f.

24. The verse shews the meaning which the priestly writer
attached to the expression 'fill the hand.'

wave them &c. The strict force of the term is here lost, and
it denotes simply 'offer them as an offering.' See foil, note.

27. the breast of the wave-offering. The portions of the peace-
offering which fell to the priest were not appropriated by him till a
peculiar ritual had been performed. The breast was waved, or swung,

1 In earlier times (Dt. xviii. 3) the priest's due consisted of the shoulder, the two
cheeks and the maw.

192 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xxix .7-33

offering, which is waved, and which is heaved up, of the ram of P
consecration, even of that which is for Aaron, and of that which
is for his sons : 28 and it shaD be for Aaron and his sons as
a due for ever from the children of Israel : for it is an heave
offering : and it shall be an heave offering from the children of
Israel of the sacrifices of their peace offerings, even their heave
offering unto the Lord. 29 And the holy garments of Aaron
shaU be for his sons after him, to be anointed in them, and to
be consecrated in them. 30 Seven days shall the son that is
priest in his stead put them on, when he cometh into the tent
of meeting to minister in the holy place. 31 And thou shalt
take the ram of consecration, and seethe its flesh in a holy
place. 32 And Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the
ram, and the bread that is in the basket, at the door of the tent
of meeting. 33 And they shall eat those things wherewith
atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them : but

i.e. moved towards the altar and back, as a symbol that the priest first
gave it to God, and that God then gave it back to him for his own use.
It is a striking outward act, expressive of the truth that not only those
things which we hand over for the service of God belong to Him, but
also that that which we keep for ourselves — our property, our time, our
very food — must be first dedicated to Him in order that our use of it
may please Him. The term ' wave-offering' is applied (Num. viii. 11,
13, 15, 21) to the dedication of the Levites, whom God gave back for
service to the priests. In some passages {v. 24, xxxv. 22, Lev. viii. 27,
xiv. 12, 24) the term is employed more loosely for an offering which is
not given back for the priest's use.

the shoulder of the contribution, i.e. the shoulder which is
contributed to the priest. The ordinary rendering implies that it
was consecrated by a rite of elevation. But the word, which is
derived from a root signifying ' to lift up, or off,' denotes that which
is lifted off from a larger mass, and separated for sacred purposes.
Lxx in the Pent, has a^aipeyu,a. It is used of gifts taken from the
produce of the earth (Dt. xii. 6, 11, Ez. xx. 40, Mai. iii. 8,
Num. XV. 19 — 21 (P)), money, spoils &c., offered for sacred purposes
(xxv. 2, xxxv. 5, Num. xxxi. 29, 41 (P), Ez. xlv. 13, 16), and even
of land reserved for the priests and Levites (Ez. xlv. 1, 6 &c.). As
applied to animal sacrifices, the term is employed only of the shoulder
of the peace-offering. See Driver on Dt. xii. 6, and his article ' Offer,'
BB iii.

29, 30. These w. are concerned with the consecration of Aaron's
successors, and should probably follow v. 35. They interrupt the
ritual of the ram of installation, which is continued in w. 31 — 34.

XXIX. 33-38] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 193

a stranger shall not eat thereof, because they are holy. 34 And P
if aught of the flesh of the consecration, or of the bread, remain
unto the morning, then thou shalt burn the remainder with
fire : it shall not be eaten, because it is holy. 35 And thus
shalt thou do unto Aaron, and to his sons, according to all that
I have commanded thee : seven days shalt thou consecrate
them. 36 And every day shalt thou offer the bullock of sin
offering for atonement : and thou shalt ^cleanse the altar, when
thou makest atonement for it ; and thou shalt anoint it, to
sanctify it. 37 Seven days thou shalt make atonement for the
altar, and sanctify it : and the altar shall be most holy ; ^what-
soever toucheth the altar shall be holy.

38 Now this is that which thou shalt ofifer upon the altar ; P^

^ Or, purge the altar, by thy making atonement ^ Or, whosoever

33. a stranger. In H and P this means one who was not a
member of the priestly or Levitical families ; cf. xxx. 33.

34. ^A<?7?e5^ o/ installation. See i;. 22.

36. cleanse the altar; make a sin-offering upon the altar.
Each of the seven days the ritual oi v. 12 is to be repeated. The
altar had been made by human hands, and needed the ceremonial
guilt attaching to it to be taken away, before it could be sanctified by
anointing.

37. shall he holy. Cf. xxx. 29. In the priestly conception of
holiness there is a survival from ancient Semitic heathenism ; it is
' a quality transmissible by contact, and constituting, in certain cases,
a danger to be scrupulously avoided' (Ez. xliv. 19, xlvi. 20, Lev. vi. 27 ;
cf. Hag. ii. 12 f, Is. Ixv. 5). The custom of refraining from the use of,
or contact with, certain objects from fear of supernatural penalties,
commonly known as taboo, was spiritualised in O.T. religion to the
extent of distinguishing between 'things whose use is prohibited
because they are appropriated to Yahwen, and things that may not
be touched because they are hateful to Him. The latter belong to
the category of the "unclean," while the term "holy" is, as a rule,
reserved for the former ' ; cf Lev. x. 10, Ez. xliv. 23. (See Gray,
Numbers, 209 fif., and article 'Holiness' in DB ii.)

38—42.
The daily Burnt-offering.

These verses (interrupting the connexion between vc. 37 and 43) are part
of a systematic table of the amounts of the public offerings required on
periodical occasions. Such a table is found in Num. xxviii. — xxx. ; and the
use there of the singular ' thou ' shews that these injimctions are similarly
addressed to the priests in general, not to Moses. A later writer (in v. 42)
reverts to the plural ' your,' ' you,' and employs the singular ' thee ' in reference
to Moses.

M. 13

194 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xxix. 38-46

two lambs of the first year day by day continually. 39 ThePj
one lamb thou shalt ofier in the morning ; and the other lamb
thou shalt offer ^at even : 40 and with the one lamb a tenth
part of an epliah of fine flour mingled with the fourth part of
an hin of beaten oil ; and the fourth part of an hin of wine for
a drink offering. 41 And the other lamb thou shalt offer ^at
even, and shalt do thereto according to the meal offering of the
morning, and according to the drink offering thereof, for a sweet
savour, an offering made by fire unto the Lord. | 42 It shall be P,
a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the
door of the tent of meeting before the Lord : where I will meet
with you, to speak there unto thee. | 43 And there I will meet P
with the children of Israel ; and the Tent shall be sanctified by
my glory. 44 And I will sanctify the tent of meeting, and the
altar : Aaron also and his sons will I sanctify, to minister to
me in the priest's office. 45 And I will dwell among the
children of Israel, and will be their God. 46 And they shall
know that I am the Lord their God, that brought them forth

^ Heb. between the two evenings.

38. two lambs. Before the exile there was a burnt-offering Q6ldh)
in the morning and a minhdh, or cereal (R. V. ' meal ') offering, in the
evening^ (2 K. xvi. 15 ; cf. 1 K. xviii. 29, 36). Ezekiel requires one 'oldk
and one minhdh, but both in the morning (xlvi. 13 — 15). Neh. x. 33
speaks of the continual minhdh and 'olah, but it is not clear whether
one or two of each is intended. The present law, however, and
Num. xxviii. 3 — 8, first speak clearly of an ^oldh both in the
morning and the evening, and make the minhdh a subordinate
offering.

39. at even. See on xii. 6.

40. The amounts of flour, oil and wine are in accordance with
the fixed scale of cereal offerings to accompany different animals in all
sacrifices given in Num. xv. 2 — 16. An earher scale in Ez. xlvi. 5 — 7,
11 — 14 applies only to public offerings.

42. to speak there unto thee. See on xxv. 22.

43, 44 are the natural continuation of v. 37. The altar is
Yahweh's 'place of tryst' with His people.

and it shall be sanctified. The subject of the verb is ' the altar ' in
v. 37. Vulg. 'sanctificabitur altare.'

45, 46. A solemn ending to the whole body of directions in
xxv. — xxix., in a style formed after that of the Law of Holiness.

1 ' The time of the minfyah ' continued till a late date as a term for 'the evening':
cf. Ezr. ix. 41, Dan, ix. 21. And in the Mishna 'morning prayer' is set over
against ' minl},ah [i.e. evening] prayer.'

XXIX. 46-xxx. 6] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 195

out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them : I am P
the Lord their God.

XXX. 1 And thou shalt make an altar to bum incense Pa
upon : of acacia wood shalt thou make it. 2 A cubit shall be
the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof ; foursquare
shall it be : and two cubits shall be the height thereof : the
horns thereof shall be of one piece with it. 3 And thou shalt
overlay it with pure gold, the ^top thereof, and the ^sides
thereof round about, and the horns thereof; and thou shalt
make unto it a ^ crown of gold round about. 4 And two golden
rings shalt thou make for it under the crown thereof, upon the
two ribs thereof, upon the two sides of it shalt thou make them ;
and they shall be for places for staves to bear it withal. 5 And
thou shalt make the staves of acacia wood, and overlay them
with gold. 6 And thou shalt put it before the veil that is by

^ Heb. roof. ^ Heb. walls. ^ Or, rim Or, moulding

Chapter XXX.

The InceTise Altar. The Poll-tax. The Laver.
The Anointing Oil. The Incense.

XXX. 1 — 10. The Incense Altar. After the impressive close to
the description of the tabernacle &c. in xxix. 45 f., further commands
for the making of furniture are unexpected^. There are indications
that the tabernacle, as pictured in the earliest stratum of P, did not
contain the incense altar. F. 10 refers to the Day of Atonement, but
in the directions in Lev. xvi. the incense altar is not mentioned.
In Lev. X. and Num. xvi. incense is offered, not on an altar, but on
censers or pans. The expression ' the altar ' in xxvii. 1 implies that no
second altar was contemplated. And in the recapitulation in ch. xxxvii.
the incense altar is absent in the lxx. Moreover neither Solomon's
temple (1 K. vi.) nor the ideal temple of Ezekiel (ch. xli.) contained
any altar but that for burnt-offerings. The present passage describes
the incense altar as it probably was when the second temple was
sacked by Antiochus IV. See 1 Mac. i. 21, where it is described as
' the golden altar' ; cf. Ex. xxxix. 38, xl. 26, 2 Ch. iv. 19. On the use
of incense see w. 34 — 38 (below).

3 — 5. Like the ark and the table it has a moulding, rings and
bars ; like the altar of burnt-offering it has horns of one piece with it.

6. before the veil. In the Holy Place, with the veil, which cut off

^ The Sam. consequently transposes vv. 1 — 10 to follow xxvi. 35.

13—2

196 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xxx. 6-.«

the ark of the testimony, before the mercy-seat that is over the Pa
testimony, where I will meet with thee. 7 And Aaron shall
burn thereon incense of sweet spices : every morning, when he
dresseth the lamps, he shall burn it. 8 And when Aaron
^lighteth the lamps ^at even, he shall burn it, a perpetual
incense before the Lord throughout your generations. 9 Ye
shall offer no strange incense thereon, nor burnt offering, nor
meal offering ; and ye shall pour no drink offering thereon.
10 And Aaron shall make atonement ^upon the horns of it
once in the year : with the blood of the sin offering of atone-
ment once in the year shall he make atonement *for it through-
out your generations : it is most holy unto the Lord.

11 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 12 When thou
takest the sum of the children of Israel, according to those that

^ Or, setteth up Heb. causeth to ascend. ^ Heb. between the two evenings.
3 Or, for * Or, upon

the innermost shrine, hanging behind it. This, the clear meaning of
the words, seems to be at variance with the following clause.

before the propitiatory. This appears to imply that the altar was
within the veil, in front of the ark ; but it may be an explanation
of the preceding clause, defining the position of the altar more exactly
— in front of the veil, in such a position that it was in front of (in a
line with) the propitiatory \ The ambiguity may have been the cause
of the late addition in 1 K. vi. 22, which speaks of 'the altar that
belonged to the shrine.' And this is reproduced in Heb. ix. 4 — 'the
[part of the] tabernacle which is called Holy of HoHes, having a
golden incense-altar ' ; see Westcott ad loc.

8. lighteth the lamps at even. See on xxv. 37.

9. strange incense. Not made according to the sacred prescrip-
tion. The prescription is supplied in v. 34.

11 — 16. The Poll-tax. It is not clear that the writer here intends
the half shekel to be an annual due ; it is based upon the census in
Num. i., which, again, is not represented as undertaken annually.
Nevertheless upon the present passage was based the annual temple
tax of half a shekel (c. Is. 4|d), which was paid by our Lord and
S. Peter (Mat. xvii. 24 — 27), and was enforced, until the destruction of
Jerusalem, from aU Jews whether in Palestine or of the Dispersion.
In 2 Ch. xxiv. 6 (cf v. 9) it is referred to as 'the tax of Moses the
servant of Yahweh.' But it was apparently not in force as early as
Nehemiah. In Neh. x. 32 [Heb. 33] the Jews determined to pay
one third of a shekel. This must have been the official Perso-

^ The absence of the clause from the lxx and Sam. suggests that it was a later
gloss.

XXX. I2-I6] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 197

are numbered of them, then shall they give every man a ransom P^
for his soul unto the Lord, when thou numberest them ; that
there be no plague among them, when thou numberest them.
13 This they shall give, every one that passeth over unto them
that are numbered, half a shekel after the shekel of the sanc-
tuary : (the shekel is twenty gerahs :) half a shekel for an
oflfering to the Lord. 14 Every one that passeth over unto
them that are numbered, from twenty years old and upward,
shall give the offering of the Lord. 15 The rich shall not give
more, and the poor shall not give less, than the half shekel,
when they give the oflfering of the Lord, to make atonement
for your souls. 16 And thou shalt take the atonement money
fi'om the children of Israel, and shalt appoint it for the service
of the tent of meeting ; that it may be a memorial for the

Babylonian shekel, for the sacred Hebrew shekel (see on xxv. 39)
was never divided otherwise than into halves and quarters. The
one-third of the official shekel was equivalent to c. 8|^., so that the
exacting demands of the later priesthood raised the tax to nearly double
its original amount. The present passage is later than P, which was
accepted by the community under Nehemiah. And, since it assumes
that the tabernacle is already completed, it should stand after the
census in Num. i. See on xxxviii. 21 — 31.

12. a ransom. Heb. kopher ; see xxi. 30. The root is the same
as that of 'atonement' in vv. 15 f. The fact of numbering the people
made them all sacred to Yahweh, and they must therefore be redeemed,
or more strictly the 'holiness' which they have acquired must be
removed as though it were a sort of pollution ; see xxix. 37. It is
this primitive conception of 'holiness' which perhaps underlies the
narrative in 2 S. xxiv., to which the present passage, 'that there be
no plague among them,' seems to refer'.

13. passeth over. Each man as he is counted is pictured as
crossing over to join those already counted; cf Lev. xxvii. 32,
Jqy. xxxiii. 13, and perhaps 2 S. ii. 15.

the shekel of the sanctuary ; the sacred shekel. V. 24, xxxviii.
24—26, Lev. v. 15, xxvii. 3, 25, Num. iii. 47, 50, vii. 13—86
(14 times), xviii. 16 (all P).

15. The value of every human life in the sight of God is the
same ; it is unaffected by worldly wealth or poverty.

16. for the service. This appears to mean for the continual up-
keep of the services during all future years. See note above. It is an
ideal which the Christian Church at present is far from reaching, that

1 The superstitious avoidance of numbering persons or cattle from fear of
plague is illustrated by Frazer in Anthropol. Essays, p. 174.

198 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xxx. 16-22

children of Israel before the Lord, to make atonement for your P^
souls.

17 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 18 Thou shalt
also make a laver of brass, and the base thereof of brass, to
wash withal : and thou shalt put it between the tent of meeting
and the altar, and thou shalt put water therein. 19 And Aaron
and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat :

20 when they go into the tent of meeting, they shall wash with
water, that they die not ; or when they come near to the altar
to minister, to burn an offering made by fire unto the Lord :

21 so they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they die
not : and it shall be a statute for ever to them, even to him and
to his seed throughout their generations.

22 Moreover the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 23 Take

every adult member of the Church should contribute with regularity to
the expenses of worship.

17 — 21. The Laver. This, like the incense-altar, is not mentioned
in the original writing of P, otherwise the directions for its manu-
facture would naturally have been given in ch. xxvii., together with
the altar of burnt-offering, the other article of furniture in the court.
The laver is not mentioned in the arrangements for the march in
Num. iv.

It is doubtful if it was suggested by the laver in Solomon's temple.
In the latter there were ten basons raised on high stands and furnished
with wheels' (1 K. vii. 27 — 39, 43\ and a 'molten sea' supported on
twelve figures of oxen (23 — 26, 44; ; but these were raised much too
high (the bases alone stood five cubits in height) to be employed for
washing, which is apparently the only use for which the laver in the
tabernacle was designed. The present passage, however, is so frag-
mentary (see below) that nothing can be said with certainty.

18. Thou shalt also make ; and thou shalt make. The passage
appears to be only a fragment ; and this explains the complete lack
of detailed directions as to the size and design of the laver, such as are
given for all the other articles of furniture.

19. See note on xxix. 4.

22—33. The holy Oil. The section is later than P, for v. 28
assumes the existence of the incense-altar and the laver, and v. 30
commands the anointing of Aaron's sons (see on xxix. 7).

1 Neither wheels nor moltea sea appear in Ezekiel's and Zerubbabel's temples.
Bnt it is suggested in art. 'Laver' (DB iii. 64) that Ezekiel's vision of living
creatures and wheels associated with them (Ez. i. 16 — 21) may have had some con-
nexion with the ten lavers ; and that the latter symbolically represented rolling
Btorm-cloads, and the molten sea represented the abyss.

XXX. 22-34] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 199

thou also unto thee the chief spices, of flowing myrrh five Pa
hundred sheJcels, and of sweet cinnamon half so much, even two
hundred and fifty, and of sweet calamus two hundred and fifty,
24 and of ^cassia five hundred, after the shekel of the sanctuary,
and of olive oil an hin : 25 and thou shalt make it an holy
anointing oil, a perfume compounded after the art of the per-
fumer : it shall be an holy anointing oil. 26 And thou shalt
anoint therewith the tent of meeting, and the ark of the
testimony, 27 and the table and all the vessels thereof, and the
candlestick and the vessels thereof, and the altar of incense,
28 and the altar of burnt offering with all the vessels thereof,
and the laver and the base thereof. 29 And thou shalt sanctify
them, that they may be most holy : ^ whatsoever toucheth them
shall be holy. 30 And thou shalt anoint Aaron and his sons,
and sanctify them, that they may minister unto me in the
priest's office. 31 And thou shalt speak unto the children of
Israel, saying. This shall be an holy anointing oil unto me
throughout your generations. 32 Upon the flesh of man shall
it not be poured, neither shall ye make any like it, according
to the composition thereof : it is holy, and it shall be holy unto
you. 33 Whosoever compoundeth any like it, or whosoever
putteth any of it upon a stranger, he shall be cut off" from his
people.

34 And the Lord said unto Moses, Take unto thee sweet

^ Or, costiis 2 Or, whosoever

23, 24. The sweetness and costliness of the oil afford a beautiful
simile in Ps. cxxxiii. 2 ; see note on xxix. 7.

29, 30. In the N.T. the oil is not a simile, but a symbol. The
anointing of the priesthood and the sanctuary finds its counterpart in
the anointing of our High Priest who is par excellence o Xpto-ro's, and
of His Church (2 Cor. i. 21, 1 Jn. ii. 20, 27).

shall be holy. See on xxix. 37.

33. from his people ; from his father's kin. See Driver on
Gen. xvii. 14.

34 — 38. The Incense. This section, like the rest of the chapter,
is probably later than P; v. 36 connects it with the incense-altar
{v. 6, q.v.).

It is uncertain at what period the ceremonial use of incense was
introduced into Palestine. The root kdtar signifies ' to exhale a
sweet odour.' In Arab, this is applied to the odour of roasted meat
(Driver on Am. iv. 5) ; and the word was employed in Heb. of the

200 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xxx. 34-36

spices, ^stacte, and onycha, and galbanum ; sweet spices with Pg
pure frankincense : of each shall there be a like weight ; 35 and
thou shalt make of it incense, a perfume after the art of the
perfumer, ^seasoned with salt, pure and holy : 36 and thou
shalt beat some of it very small, and put of it before the testi-
mony in the tent of meeting, where I will meet with thee : it

^ Or, opobalgamum ^ Or, tempered together

sweet smoke which rose from sacrifices (cf. Kvicrr), II. i. 317). But at
a later time it gained the specific meaning 'incense.' The use of
fragrant odours produced by burning barks and gums is ancient and
wide-spread. It is found in early times in Eg3rpt and Babylon. In
Greece it was a refinement of later luxury. Orientals are fond of
perfumes (Ps. xlv. 8 (9), Prov. vii. 17, Cant. iii. 6), and therefore ofi"er
them to honoured guests (cf Mat. ii. 11); and being pleasing to men
it was natural that perfumes should be offered to gods. That this
thought was present in Hebrew worship is shewn by the expression
*a soothing odour' applied to sacrificial smoke (see xxix. 18)\ And
when foreign commerce introduced rare and costly ingredients which
produced sweet scents, these were added to the odours of animal
sacrifice. It is not improbable that incense was introduced into
Palestine in the reign of Manasseh, who imitated foreign cults. The
earlier prophets who condemn ritual without holiness of heart make
no mention of it (see e.g. Am. iv. 4 f , v. 21 ff., Mic. vi. 6 f ), nor is
it referred to in the older historical books or laws. The references
in Dt. xxxiii. 10, Is. i. 13 are doubtfuP ; many writers maintain
that these passages speak only of sacrificial smoke. The earliest
certain instance is in Jer. vi. 20, where frankincense and sweet calamus
are spoken of as rare foreign products which are not pleasing to
Yahweh, When, however, the use of incense was established in
priestly worship, it could become a spiritual symbol of prayer
(Ps. cxli. 2), a thought which finds beautiful expression in Rev. v. 8,
viii. 3, 4.

35. seasoned with salt. The original significance of salt in con-
nexion with sacrifices is expressed in Lev. ii. 13. Sacrifice, in one of
its aspects, provided a meal for the deity; and that which was a
necessary accompaniment of a human meal must not be omitted. Salt
is therefore a symbol of a covenant relation with God ; cf. Num.
xviii. 19, 2 Gh. xiii. 5. 'In the case of every disciple of Christ the
salt of the covenant is a Divine Fire which purifies, preserves and
consummates sacrifice — the alternative to the Fire which consumes'
(Swete on Mk. ix. 49 ; see the whole note).

36. before the testimony. Similar expressions are used of the
incense-altar in v. 6, xl. 5, 26 f A small quantity of the whole store

1 Tob. vi. 7, viii. 2 f. perhaps reflect a primitive belief in the magical virtue of
fumigation for driving away demons.
"IS. ii. 28 is certainly late.

XXX. 36-xxxi. 6] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 201

shall be unto you most holy. 37 And the incense which thou P^
shalt make, according to the composition thereof ye shall not
make for yourselves : it shall be unto thee holy for the Lord.
38 Whosoever shall make like unto that, to smell thereto, he
shall be cut off from his people.

XXXI. 1 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 2 See,
I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur,
of the tribe of Judah : 3 and I have filled him with the spirit of
God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and
in all manner of workmanship, 4 to devise cunning works, to
work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, 5 and in cutting of
stones for setting, and in carving of wood, to work in all manner
of workmanship. 6 And I, behold, I have appointed with him
Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan ; and in the

of incense spices is to be pulverised and kept ready upon the altar for
daily use.

37. the composition. See on v. 8.

Chapter XXXL

Bezalel and Oholiab. The Sabbath.

XXXI. 1 — 11. The summary is later than P, since it includes
the incense-altar, the laver, the anointing oil and the incense.

2. Bezal'el. xxxv. 30, xxxvi. 1, xxxvii. 1, xxxviii. 22. His
genealogy is traced in 1 Ch. ii. 18 — 20, 50, where the tradition is
recorded that he was of the clan of the Calebites (cf. Jud. i. 11 — 15,
20), who became absorbed, and in late days were identified, with
Judah. The_name appears to signify ' In the shadow (i.e. the pro-
tection) of EL' Names thus compounded with a preposition are
rare, and, among the Hebrews, confined to a late date ; cf. La'el (Num.
iii. 24), Lemu'el (Prov. xxxi. 1), Besodhyah (Neh. iii. 6). See Gray,
Ifeb. Proper Names, 206 ff. An Assyrian name Ina-silli-BeV is cited
in Gesen. Lea;. 12, Sili-Ishtar in Hommel, Ancient Heb. Trad. 302,
and Sil-Bel was a king of Gaza in the time of Sennacherib {GOT Jos.
xi. 22).

3. See note on xxviii. 3.

6. 'Ohdli'db. xxxv. 34, xxxvi. 1 f., xxxviii. 23. The name, which
signifies 'Father's tent,' is foreign; cf. Oliolah (Ez. xxiii. 4f., 36, 44),
Ohohbah (Ez. xxiii. 4, 11, 22, 36, 44), Oholibamah (Gen. xxxvi. 2, 5,

1 An abbreviation of Ina-silli-Bel-alak ' In the protection of B§1 1 walk ' ; and
Sil-Bel is an abbreviation of Tdb-silli-Beli ' Good ia the protection of Bel.'

202 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xxxl 6-15

hearts of all that are wise hearted I have put wisdom, that they P^
may make all that I have commanded thee : 7 the tent of
meeting, and the ark of the testimony, and the mercy-seat that
is thereupon, and all the furniture of the Tent ; 8 and the table
and its vessels, and the pure candlestick with all its vessels,
and the altar of incense ; 9 and the altar of burnt offering with
all its vessels, and the laver and its base ; 10 and the ^finely
wrought garments, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest,
and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest's office ;
11 and the anointing oil, and the incense of sweet spices for the
holy place : according to all that I have commanded thee shall
they do.

12 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 13 Speak thou P
also unto the children of Israel, saying. Verily ye shall keep my
sabbaths : for it is a sign between me and you throughout your
generations ; that ye may know that I am the Lord which
sanctify you. 14 Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore ; for it
is holy unto you : every one that profaneth it shall surely be
put to death : for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul
shall be cut off from among his people. 15 Six days shall work
be done ; but on the seventh day is a sabbath of solemn rest,

1 Some ancient versions render, garments of service.

14, 18, 25, 41). Similar Phoenician and Sabaean names have been
found. See Gray, op. cit. 246. Oholiab was of the tribe of Dan.
His conjunction with a Calebite perhaps reveals the existence of a very
obscure circle of traditions in which the Danites were at one time in
contact with Judah and the Calebites and other clans in the S. of
Palestine.

10. finely wrought garments. Lit. ' garments of sewing ' ; a
doubtful expression. The marg. rendering is that of Lxx, Pesh.
Targ., perhaps reading mcrb for TiKTi.

12 — 17. The Sabbath. These verses may in some sense be
regarded as the locus classicus on Sabbath observance in the O.T.
The references collected on p. xliii. shew that the command in E
(xxiii. 12) ^humanitarian; in J) (Dt. v. 12 — 15) it is humanitarian
and commemorative of the exodus ; in H (Lev. xxiii. 2 f.) it merely
forms part of a calendar of religious observances ; and in scattered
fragments QiJP_ it is enjoined mainly from the point of view of ritual
and of penalties for its non-observance. But the present passage is on
a higher plane than any of them. Like the fourth ' Word ' it com-
memorates God's rest from creation, and emphasizes the humanitarian

XXXI. I5-I8] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 203

holy to the Lord : whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath P
day, he shall surely be put to death. 16 Wherefore the children
of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath through-
out their generations, for a perpetual covenant. 17 It is a sign
between me and the children of Israel for ever : for in six days
the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he
rested, and was refreshed.

18 And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of
communing with him upon mount Sinai, the two tables of the
testimony, | tables of stone, written with the finger of God. E^ f ^ ka

principle ; as in H it lays stress on the sacredness of the day, and as
in Num. xv. 35 f. it sternly threatens death for infringement of the
command. But beyond all this it supplies a deep spiritual raison
d'etre (an echo of Ez. xx. 12, 20). The separation of one day in seven
is a symbol of the separation of the entire people ; it isa sign and a
coyenant between them and Yahweh who sanctifies "them. ~ And the
same principle holds good whether the consecrated day be the seventh
or the first day of the week.

It seems probable that w. 12 — 14a (to 'holy unto you ') have been
taken up by the priestly writer from an earlier law, and emphasized by
him with the addition of iJ-y. 14b — 17. In w. 12 — 14a there are affinities
with H ; ' keep my Sabbaths ' (Lev. xix. 3, 30, xxvi. 2) ; ' I am Yahweh
which sanctify you' (Lev. xx. 8, xxi. 8, 15, 23, xxii. 9, 16, 32);
' profane,' which is used of the Sabbath only here in the Hexat., is
frequent in H in other applications.

18. The transition to the narratives in xxxii. — xxxiv. The con-
tinuation of the narrative in E2 (xxiv. 12 — 15 a) must have contained
a statement to the eff"ect that Moses received the tablets ' written with
the finger of God ' ; but this is taken up by P.

Chapter XXXIL

TTie golden bvll The zeal of the Levites and their
consecration. Moses' intercession.

The religious value of this chapter is great and obvious. It pictures
grievous sin against God, committed by those who had just received from Him
marvellous lovingkindness. When ' they exchanged their glory for the like-
ness of an ox that eateth grass, they forgat God their Saviour, who had done
great things in Egypt' (Ps. evi. 20 f.). And all men must take it as a warning
(as S. Paul did in 1 Cor. x. 7) that those who have been redeemed from slavery
to sin may fall deeply if they fail to keep in memory God's love and holiness.
Aaron, again, is typical of the weak man who cannot stand up for the right
from fear of popular opinion, and who will oflFer the feeblest excuses for his

204 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xxxii. 1-3

wrongdoing ; and if he is a leader of men, the results will be terrible. And
Moses presents to us the two complementary aspects of a true priestly spirit — '^
a white-hot righteous indignation against sin, and a tender self-abnegating
intercession for sinners; 'a man beloved of God and men' (Ecclus. xlv. 1).

From an historical point of view the nan-ative raises considerable diffi-
culties. It is certain that images were widely used in the worship of Yahweh
at least till the eighth century (see p. Ix.), which renders it improbable that
the second of the Ten Words was delivered by Moses, or that the erection of
an image would be condemned in his day, as is here related. Moreover the
words uttered by Aaron in v. 4 are practically identical with those uttered by
Jeroboam I in 1 K. xii. 28. In the latter passage the plural ' thy gods which
brought thee ' refers to the two bulls, but in Exodus there is only one image.
It is far from improbable that Jeroboam was believed to have been the first
to employ images of bulls in Yahweh-worship, and that his words were
ascribed to Aaron when there was a desire — on the part either of those priests
who traced their ancestry to him or of their opponents in Jerusalem — to claim
Aaron as the founder of image-worship (see further on pp. Ixviii. f.). By that
time the second of the Ten Words had become part of Israelite religious law,
and Aaron's sin was therefore a violation of that law.

It is unceiiain whence the Israelites derived their bull-worship. It is
improbable that they imitated the worship of Apis in Egypt ; the animal
itself was not sacred to them as it was to the Egj'ptians; and until they
arrived in Canaan it is doubtful if they possessed cattle (the need for manna
and quails implies a lack of flocks and herds ; see Gray on Num. xi. 4). It is
easier to suppose that the practice was learnt from the Canaanites. The
Phoenicians worshipped Astarte under the form of a cow, and Baal under
that of a bull, as symbols of strength. Bulls figured in the laver in Solomon's
temple, in which Phoenician workmen were employed ; and it is possible that
the ' horns of the altar ' were a relic of the ancient worship of buUs (see on
xxvii, 2).

XXXII. 1 And when the people saw that Moses delayed B^
to come down from the mount, the people gathered themselves
together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us ^gods,
which shall go before us ; for as for this Moses, the man that
brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we know not what is
become of him. 2 And Aaron said unto them, Break off the
golden rings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons,
and of your daughters, and bring them unto me. 3 And all
the people brake off the golden rings which were in their ears,

1 Or, a god

XXXII. 1—24. The golden bull

XXXII. 1. gods. The narrator uses the plural under the in-
fluence of Aaron's words in v. 4 (see note).

XXXII. 3-8] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 205

and brought them unto Aaron. 4 And he received it at their E^
hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, and made it a
molten calf: and they said, ^ These be thy gods, O Israel, which
brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. 5 And when Aaron
saw this, he built an altar before it ; and Aaron made proclama-
tion, and said. To-morrow shall be a feast to the Lord. 6 And
they rose up early on the morrow, and oifered burnt offerings,
and brought peace offerings ; and the people sat do^vn to eat
and to drink, and rose up to play.

7 And the Lord spake unto Moses, Go, get thee down ; for R^
thy people, which thou broughtest up out of the land of Egypt,
have corrupted themselves : 8 they have turned aside quickly
out of the way which I commanded them : they have made

1 Or, This is thy god

4. graving tool. The word is used of a pointed stilus in
Is. viii. It. It is probable that the image was thought of as made of
wood, overlaid with gold ; for v. 20 seems to imply that the wood was
burnt and the metal crushed. Cf Dt vii. 25, Is. xxx. 22, xl. 19.

a molten bull. The word ^egel (fem. ^egldh) is not confined to
animals as young as a calf ; it is used of an animal three years old
(Gen. XV. 9), it gives milk (Is. vii. 21), ploughs (Jud. xiv. 18),
is broken in for the plough (Jer. xxxi. 18), treads the com
(Hos. x. 11, Jer. 1. 11). It is not a calf, but a young animal just
arrived at maturity. In Ps. cvi. 20 Aaron's image is called shor,
* an ox.' It is quite improbable that the word was employed here and
in 1 K. xii. as a term expressing contempt, or that it implies the
diminutive size of the image (Bacon al.).

These be thy gods. The marg. rendering treats the word 'eloKim
as a plural of dignity, as it is whenever it is applied to the one God.
But the plural verb 'brought,' and more certainly still the plural
pronoun 'these,' forbid this explanation. See the preliminary note
above.

5. And when Aaron saw [thisj. The word this is absent from
the Hebrew, and what Aaron saw is not explained. There is some
confusion in the text, perhaps due to later manipulation of the
narrative.

a feast to Yahweh. This clearly shews that the worship of the vi
image was not thought of as an act of heathen idolatry ; the bull was ^)s.
a symbol of Yahweh.

7 — 14. Yahweh tells Moses of the action of the people, and
declares His intention of consuming them all, but repents at Moses'
intercession. The passage is closely similar in thought and style to
Dt. ix. 12 — 14, and appears to be a Deuteronomic expansion (see
analysis, p. xxxv.).

206 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xxxii. 8-18

them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed R^
unto it, and said, These be thy gods, 0 Israel, which brought
thee up out of the land of Egypt. 9 And the Lord said unto
Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stifihecked
people : 10 now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax
hot against them, and that I may consume them : and I will
make of thee a great nation. 11 And Moses besought the
Lord his God, and said, Lord, why doth thy wrath wax hot
against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the
land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?
12 Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, saying, For evil did
he bring them forth, to slay them in the mountains, and to
consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy
fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people. 13 Re-
member Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou
swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply
your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have
spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it
for ever. 14 And the Lord repented of the evil which he said
he would do unto his people.

15 And Moses tunied, and went down from the mount, I with ^
the two tables of the testimony in his hand ; tables that were
written on both their sides ; on the one side and on the other
were they written. | 16 And the tables were the work of God, E^
and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables.
17 And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they
shouted, he said unto Moses, There is a noise of war in the
camp. 18 And he said, It is not the voice of them that shout
for mastery, neither is it the voice of them that cry for being

12. jPbr evil ; with evil (i.e. at grievous cost) did he bi'ing them
forth, slaying them... and consuming them &c. The Egyptians
would not suppose that the God of the Israelites had brought them
forth with the intention to do them evil ; they would charge Him with
failure to protect His people and to keep their worship and obedience.

13. Abraham, Gen. xv. 5, 18. Isaac, xxvi. 3 f. Jacob, xxxv. 12.
15 — 24. Moses anger and Aaron's excuse.

18. Render : ' It is not the sound of the cry of might, and it is
not the sound of the cry of defeat ; [it is] the sound of singing [that]
I hear.' The Heb. is terse, and makes use of poetical words. The

XXXII. 18-25] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 207

overcome : but the noise of them that sing do I hear. 19 And E^
it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that
he saw the calf and the dancing : and Moses' anger waxed hot,
and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath
the mount. 20 And he took the calf which they had made, and
burnt it with fire, and ground it to powder, and strewed it upon
the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it. 21 And
Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people unto thee, that
thou hast brought a great sin upon them ? 22 And Aaron said,
Let not the anger of my lord wax hot : thou knowest the
people, that they are set on evil. 23 For they said unto me,
Make us gods, which shall go before us : for as for this Moses,
the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we know
not what is become of him. 24 And I said unto them, Whoso-
ever hath any gold, let them break it off ; so they gave it me :
and I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf | 25 And J

word for ' singing ' is the intensive' (piel) voice of the verb ' cry.'
In R.V. ' noise ' and ' voice,' ' shout ' and ' cry ' are respectively
renderings of the same Heb. words.

20. The wooden core of the image was apparently burnt, and the
metal covering ground to powder ; see v. 4.

24. No part of the narrative casts more scornful discredit upon
Aaron than this ' truly Oriental apology ' which the writer ascribes to
him. See the fine sermon by Phillips Brooks, The Fire and the Calf
(Sermons preached in English Churches, pp. 43 — 64).

25 — 29. The zeal of the sons of Levi, and their consecration.

This passage, when carefully examined, appears to have no con-
nexion with the preceding narrative. The sin of the people is
different, and the punishment is different. It is a narrative from J -^
which fulfils a double purpose. It describes a sin on the part of the
people, for which Moses' intercession is related in parts of the two
following chapters ; and at the same time it seems to be an attempt to -''
explain the existence of the Levites as a recognised body, consecrated
for divine service.

25. the people were let loose ; allowed to get out of hand. Prov.
xxix. 18, 2 Ch. xxviii. 19. The nature of the sin is obscure ; it may
have been, as Bacon suggests, of the form of a rebellion against
authority (cf Num. xiv. 4), or of internal discord and fighting among
themselves. The latter is the more suitable in view of the following
words.

a derision. Lit. ' a whispering,' as in marg. This shews that the
passage cannot refer to the bull-worship ; the erection of an image
would be, to the surrounding tribes, a normal and pious action.

208 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xxxii, 25-39

when Moses saw that the people were broken loose ; for Aaron J
had let them loose for a ^derision among their enemies : 26 then
Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Whoso is on the
Lord's side, let him, come unto me. And all the sons of Levi
gathered themselves together unto him. 27 And he said unto
them. Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, Put ye every man
his sword upon his thigh, and go to and fro from ga,te to gate
throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every
man his companion, and every man his neighbour. 28 And the
sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses : and there fell
of the people that day about three thousand men. 29 And
Moses said, ^Consecrate yourselves to-day to the Lord, ^yea,
every man ^against his son, and ^against his brother ; that he

* Heb. whispering. ^ Heb. Fill your hand.

8 Or, for every man hath been against his son and against his brother * Or, wpon

26. Whoso is for Yahweh, to me ! This rousing summons can-
not refer to the bull- worship. Not only is there no evidence that the
Levites had abstained from it, but the bull itself was made for the
worship of Yahweh, so that even if the best of the people had felt it to
be an unworthy form of worship every worshipper could have responded
to Moses' call.

29. Consecrate yourselves. Lit. 'fill your hand,' as in marg.
The expression occurs in Jud. xvii. 5, 12, 1 K. xiii. 33, Ez. xliii. 26,
and ten times in P. In Assjt. it meant simply ' give,' ' appoint,'
'enfeoflf,' and it is uncertain whether it originally meant more than
this in Hebrew. In the O.T., however, it is employed only in con-
nexion with consecration to priesthood, except in Ez. I.e. WeUhausen
suggested that it referred to the payment of earnest-money. But it is
more probable that it denoted the placing on the hands of the ordinand
some sacred object, as a sign that he was now authorised to perform
sacerdotal functions. When sacrifice became the special function of
the priest, it was perhaps a portion of the sacrificial flesh, as a sign
that he was henceforth entitled to offer it on the altar or to take it as
his perquisite. In Ez. xliii. 26 the original force of the expression is
quite lost, and it is applied to the consecration of the altar. But
Ex. xxix. 24 shews the meaning which the priestly writer attached to
the words. The ceremony finds a counterpart to this day in the
Christian Church, when a bishop places a Bible in the hands of a
newly ordained priest, with the words ' Take thou authority to preach
the Word of God &c '

yea, every man &c. The clause is obscure. It may be rendered
as in the margin, or, treating it as a parenthesis by the narrator,
' because every man was against his son &c.' But it is more probable
that the words mean ' yea, every mem with his son &c.,' i.e. they are to

XXXII. 29-33] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 209

may bestow upon you a blessing this day. | 30 And it came to ^^^
pass on the morrow, that Moses said unto the people, Ye have
sinned a great sin : and now I will go up unto the Lord ; per-
adventure I shall make atonement for your sin. 31 And Moses
returned unto the Lord, and said, Oh, this people have sinned
a great sin, and have made them gods of gold. 32 Yet now, if
thou wilt forgive their sin — ; and if not, blot me, I pray thee,
out of thy book which thou hast written. 33 And the Lord
said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will

fill their hand with son and brother whom they have slaughtered, as
■with a sacrificial oflering. This seems to be suggested in lxx and
Pesh., which omit 'yea' C?).

30 — 34. Moses' intercession. This seems to be a redactor's
account both of the intercession and of the promise gained from
Yahweh that He w^ould go with His people. As it stands it antici-
pates J's account which is given in parts of the two following chapters.

30. make atonement. The meaning of the root laa is discussed
in the note on xxv. 17. The earliest usage of the verb kipper was 'to
conciliate,' ' appease' a person ; cf Gen. xxxii. 20 (21). In the present
passage and 2 S. xxi. 3 it is used absolutely, so that it cannot be
determined whether God or the sin was the object in the writer's
mind. But in later writings the word is never used of appeasing
God ; its object is always the sin or the sinner, expressed or
implied, the subject being either the priest (Lev. xvi. 6, 11, 17, 24,
Ez. xHii. 20, 26, xlv. 20 al.) or the ofi"ering (Ex. xxix. 33, xxx. 15 f ,
Lev. i. 4, xvii. 11 al). Also in priestly and other writings, but not
earlier than Deuteronomy, the subject is God, who pardons the sinner
(Dt. xxi. 8 a, xxxii. 43, Ez. xvi. 63, 2 Ch. xxx. 19) or the sin (Jer.
xviii. 23, Ps. Ixv. 3 (4), Ixxviii. 38, Ixxix. 9, Dan. ix. 24).

32. if thou wilt forgive their sin — ; scil. ' forgive ' (which is added
in LXX, Sam. Targ-Jer.^. Cf Gen. xxx. 27 (KV. adds 'tarry'),
xxxviii. 17 'if thou wilt (R.V. wilt thou) give me a pledge — ,'
Lk. xiii. 9 (R.V. adds 'well').

thy book. It is sometimes thought that Moses here rose to a great
spiritual height of self-renunciation, in asking God to erase his name
from His book rather than leave His people unforgiven ; his words are
understood in a sense analogous to Rom. ix. 3. But the higher ideas
of the N.T. must not be read into the Old, If God will not grant
his request, Moses despairingly asks that he may die; cf Num. xi. 15.
In the O.T. God punishes the wicked with death, while the righteous
are allowed to remain among the ' register of the living ' ; cf Ps.
Ixix. 28, Is. iv. 3, Mai. iii. 16, Dan. xii. 1. The latter passage, with
its apocalyptic reference to a resurrection to unending life or unending
shame, is a connecting link between the ideas of the 0. and N.T. la
the N.T. the 'book' is the register of those who have attained ta

M. 14

210 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xxxii. 33-35

I blot out of my book. 34 And now go, lead the people unto R^
the place of which I have spoken unto thee : behold, mine
angel shall go before thee : nevertheless in the day when I visit,
I will visit their sin upon them. | 35 And the Lord smote the Ei
people, because they made the calf, which Aaron made.

spiritual life, both before and after the death of the body ; cf Lk. x.
20, Phil. iv. 3, Heb. xii. 23, Rev. iii. 5, xiii. 8, xvii. 8, xx. 12, 15,
xxi. 27. (See Swete on Rev. iii. 5.)

34. mine angel, i.e. Yahweh Himself See note on xxiii. 20.

in the day when I visit. The words are the more ominous from
their intentional ambiguity. It is impossible to determine to what
event they refer. Vv. 30 — 34 are themselves of uncertain date. If
they are rightly assigned (anal, p. xxxv.) to a redactor later than JE,
the present passage may be an ex post facto reference to the fall of the
northern kingdom under Hoshea (b.c. 722), or, indeed, to the fall of the
southern kingdom under Jehoiachin (597) or to its final collapse under
Zedekiah (587).

35. The verse appears to be the conclusion of the narrative in
vv. lb — 24. The strange expression 'because they made the calf,
which Aaron made' indicates that it is composite.

Chapter XXXIII.

YahweKs refusal to go with His people. The ' Tent of
Meeting! Moses' intercession.

This and the following chapter have undergone transpositions and inter-
polations which render them more complicated than perhaps any other
portion of the O.T. of equal length. But the rearrangement suggested in the
analysis yields an intelligible, and very beautiful, result. The more that
Moses obtains from God, the more, like Abraham (Gen. xviii. 22 — 33), he is
emboldened to ask; but, unlike Abraham, he does not cease till ho has so
wrestled and prevailed as to obtain the highest possible blessing which God
could bestow. The passages being read in the following order, xxxiii. 1, 3,
Num. xi. llf., 14f., Ex. xxxiii. 17, 12 f., 18—23, xxxiv. 6—9, xxxiii. 14—16,
Moses, having been told that Yahweh will not go with His people, asks for
help in leading them to Canaan, which is granted ; then for a knowledge of
him who is to help them, and of Yahweh's ways, and a sight of His glory,
which is granted in the form of a partial revelation ; lastly for Yahweh's
abiding presence with His people, which is granted. As a matter of fact when
Yahweh made His first reply (xxxiii. 17) He implicitly gave Moses all that he
wanted, but with fine artistic power the narrator represents Moses as not
understanding that Yahweh meant that He would go with them Himself. The
climax is reached when Moses, having experienced the marvellous glories of
His presence, gains the explicit assurance 'My presence shall go ' (xxxiii. 14).

XXXIII. 1-6] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 211

XXXIII. 1 And the Lord spake unto Moses, Depart, go J
up hence, thou and the people which thou hast brought up out
of the land of Egypt, unto the land of which I sware unto
Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying. Unto thy seed will
I give it : I 2 and I will send an angel before thee ; and I will BP
drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the
Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite : | 3 unto a land flowing J
with milk and honey : for I will not go up in the midst of thee ;
for thou art a stiffiiecked people : lest I consume thee in the
way. 4 And when the people heard these evil tidings, they
mourned : | and no man did put on him his ornaments. | 5 And „,
the Lord said unto Moses, Say unto the children of Israel, Ye
are a stifihecked people : if I go up into the midst of thee
for one moment, I shall consume thee : therefore now put oflf
thy ornaments from thee, that I may know what to do unto
thee. I 6 And the children of Israel stripped themselves of ^2
their ornaments from mount Horeb onward.

XXXIII. 2. Since the 'angel' is Yahweh Himself (see on
xxiii. 20), this verse, which is a Deuteronomic addition, anticipates (like
xxxii. 34) the whole course of Moses' successful intercession. With-
out this explanation we should be confronted by two serious difficulties
— (1) how Moses could say what he does in v. 12, if Yahweh had just
told him whom He would send with him, (2) in what sense Yahweh's
angel could be said to lead the people to Canaan when Yahweh
Himself did not go.

3. / will 7U)t go up. He would stay at Sinai where He had His
abode.

5. This redactional verse had, apparently, not reached a fixed form
by the time of the lxx, which runs : ' And the Lord said unto the
children of Israel, Ye are a stifi'-necked people ; see that I bring not
upon you another plague^ and destroy you ; now therefore take off
your beautiful garments and your adornment, and I will shew thee
what I will do to thee.'

7 — 11. The Tent of Meeting.

This is a valuable fragment of the work of E, derived from very early
traditions. It is so short, and lies embedded in a context whose subject-
matter is so diflferent, that to many even earnest readers of the Bible it is

^ This is clearly shewn by the next words ' and I will drive out &c.' Pesh. and
some LXX mss read ' and he will diive out ' — a correction due to the difficulty of
reconciling it with the foil, verse.

« Apparently reading n^r« "inS Vl\ for nb>l?K nnfil yJT.

14--2

212 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xxxiii. 7

practically unknown. It is read in the evening lesson for Feb. 22, and w.
9 — 11 occur, with a beautiful significance, in the morning lesson for the Feast
of S. John the Evangelist Its real meaning is obscured in the A.V., partly by
the use of the word ' tabernacle ' (see on v. 7) and partly by its rendering of
the verbs as perfects instead of imperfects. R. V. in ». 7 ' Moses ttsed to take '
is accurate, and all the following verbs must be understood similarly as having
a frequentative force. The verses describe Moses' usual practice with regard
to a certain tent, which possessed a sacredness attaching to no other Israelite
tent, because in it Moses performed the priestly office of obtaining answers
from God for any inquirer. The verbs imply, as clearly as anything can, that
this tent was in use throughout the whole of the wanderings. "Whenever an
encampment was formed, Moses placed the tent ' outside the camp, far from
the camp,' just as the local sanctuaries, after the settlement in Canaan, stood
outside each town and important village. It is impossible to reconcile the
account of this tent with that of the great priestly tabernacle described in
XXV. — xxxi., XXXV. — xl.. Num. i. — iv. Three points of contrast are to be
noticed : (1) E : it is a tent which Moses could carry (perhaps with Joshua's
help), and pitch at some distance from the camp. P : a tent c. 45 x 15 x 15
feet, surrounded by pillars and hangings which formed a court c. 150x75 feet,
and which, together with its articles of sacred funiiture, required several
wagons for its transport and a large body of Levites (Num. iv.). (2) E : a
tent which stood outside the camp. P : a tent of which the entire signi-
ficance was bound up with the fact that it stood in the centre of the camp
(Num. i 50— ii. 34). This is perhaps based upon earlier tradition ; see
Num. xiv. 44 (J). (3) E : a tent whose sole minister, apart from Moses, was
a young man of the tribe of Bphraim. P : a tent whose ministers were all of
the tribe of Levi, and which no member of another tribe could enter on pain
of death (Nimi. iii. 5 — 10). Some have tried to harmonize the two by sup-
posing that the small tent was a temporary expedient, in use only until the
larger tent was erected ^ But this disregards not only the frequentative force
of the verbs in the present passage, but also the fact that the small tent
appears in use after the erection of the large tent has been related (Num.
xi. 16, 24 b — 26, 30, xii. 4 £ ; cf Dt. xxxi. 14 f.). It would appear, however, that
the editor who allowed E's fragment to stand, in face of the priestly Taber-
nacle chapters, must himself have adopted some such explanation for the
harmonizing of the two accounts.

7 Now Moses used to take the tent and to pitch it without E
the camp, afar off from the camp ; and he called it, The tent

7. the tent. The use of the definite article shews that the
passage is fragmentary. The tent is aheady known, and E must
have contained some account of its manufacture. The considerations

1 The supposition that it was Moses' own private tent is found in the lxx
(Xa/3i»' MwiJo-T/s ttjv (rKr)VT)v a^roO) and Pesh. Eashi also speaks of it as ' Moses'
tent,' and he is followed by many commentators. But this, though not in itself
improbable, seems to be negatived by v. 11, which says that Moses used to return
to the camp, leaving Joshua alone in the tent.

XXXIII. 7-1 1] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 213

of meeting. And it came to pass, that every one which sought E
the Lord went out unto the tent of meeting, which was without
the camp. 8 And it came to pass, when Moses went out unto
the Tent, that all the people rose up, and stood, every man
at his tent door, and looked after Moses, until he was gone into
the Tent. 9 And it came to pass, when Moses entered into the
Tent, the pillar of cloud descended, and stood at the door of
the Tent : and the Lord spake with Moses. 10 And all the
people saw the pillar of cloud stand at the door of the Tent :
and all the people rose up and worshipped, every man at his
tent door. 11 And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face,
as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into

noticed above forbid the possibility that ^the tent' refers to the
priestly tabernacle, which, indeed, is not erected till ch. xl.

The tent of meeting. Heb. 'ohel m&ed. A. V. ' the Tabernacle of
the congregation' is misleading^; the contents of the whole section
shew that the tent was not for congregational gatherings of the people.
In xxix. 42 a priestly writer shews the meaning which he attached to
the name — ' where I will meet with you to speak there unto thee.' The
root of the word mo^ed signifies ' to appoint ' or ' fix ' a time or place,
so that the name was understood to mean 'the tent where Yahweh
will meet his people by appointment' — the 'tent of tryst' (W. K
Smith, OTJC^ 246) ; and since He meets them to speak with them
and declare His will, it becomes an Offenbarungszelt (Ewald), a ' tent
of revelation ' (Driver on Dt. xxxi. 14 f, the only passage in Dt. in
which the tent is mentioned). It is probable, however, that in the
much earlier days of which E here preserves a record, a more primitive
meaning attached to the name. The Heb, word mo^ed denotes a ' fixed
time,' a 'sacred season.' One of the functions of Babylonian priests
was to determine the right or auspicious time for an undertaking, which
was described by the word dddnu, from the same root as mo'ed. And
Zimmern (Beitr. z. Kenntnis d. bah. Religion, p. 88, n. 2) suggests
that the Hebrew expression may originally have denoted 'the tent
where the proper time for an undertaking was determined,' i.e. the
' oracle-tent.' Either derivation expresses the thought that the tent
was a place where men could learn the divine will.

9. and He spake with Moses. The piUar of cloud being a mani-
festation of the divine presence, it was unnecessary to express the
subject of the verb. On the pillar of cloud see xiii. 21.

11. Joshua is here introduced to the reader as though his name
had not been previously mentioned ; see note on xvii. 9.

^ It treats *T1?1D as synonymous with the cognate iTTj^.

214 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xxxiii. 11-16

the camp : but his minister Joshua, the son of Nun, a young E
man, departed not out of the Tent.

12 And Moses said unto the Lord, See, thou say est unto me, J
Bring up this people : and thou hast not let me know ^whom
thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, I know thee by
name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight. 13 Now
therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew
me now thy ways, that I may know thee, to the end that I may
find grace in thy sight : and consider that this nation is thy
people. 14 And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and
I will give thee rest. 15 And he said unto him. If thy presence
go not with me, carry us not up hence. 16 For wherein now
shall it be known that I have found grace in thy sight, I and
thy people? is it not in that thou goest with us, so that we
be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are
upon the face of the earth ?

^ Or, him whom

Nun. The word means 'a fish.' It is perhaps a relic of early
totemism, and is probably not a personal name, but the name of a
clan ; ' son of Nun ' will then denote a member of the clan. See Gray,
Hebr. Proper Names, 96, 102,

12 — 16. Moses^ intercession. See the note at the beginning of
the chapter.

12. thou hast said &c. These words of Yahweh are found in
-y. 17. 'A great king knows not all those who are attached to him ;
he with whom this is the case has the preference in being more
intimately known to his master ' (KnobeD. This thought appears in
the Lxx otSot ere Trapa Travras (and in V. 17). Yahweh 'knew' him as
His agent for a particular purpose. See Sanday and Headlam on
Rom. viii. 29.

13. Moses' prayer rises in boldness and importunity. He has
apparently asked Yahweh to forgive His people ; he now asks Him to
reveal His way, His method of working ; he longs for an insight into
His Being and Character (cf Ps. xviii. 30 (31), Job xxi. 31). In v. 18
he asks for more ; ' shew me thy ghry^ — the full sight of thy majesty
and perfection. This was impossible under the Old Dispensation
{v. 20), but an accomplished fact under the New (Jn. i. 14).

14. My presence shall go [om. ' with thee ']. Lit. ' My Face.'
This is not a manifestation of His presence, but the very Person

Himself; lxx avVo? TrpoTropiva-ofiai aoi. (Cf. Is. Ixiii. 9.) It is

the complete and final response, exhibiting full forgiveness and
reconcihation.

xxxiii. 17-^^3] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 215

17 And the Lord said unto Moses, I will do this thing also J
that thou hast spoken : for thou hast found grace in my sight,
and I know thee by name. 18 And he said, Shew me, I pray
thee, thy glory. 19 And he said, I will make all my goodness
pass before thee, and will proclaim the name of the Lord before
thee ; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and
will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy. 20 And he said.
Thou canst not see my face : for man shall not see me and live.
21 And the Lord said. Behold, there is a place by me, and thou
shalt stand upon the rock : 22 and it shall come to pass, while
my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a cleft of the rock,
and will cover thee with my hand until I have passed by : 23 and
I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back : but
my face shall not be seen.

17. this thing also. See analysis, p. xxxvi.

19. my goodness. Rather my goodliness, my beauty. It is to
be a spectacle of outward beauty as a visible sign of His moral
perfection. A similar vision was vouchsafed before the people had
sinned (xxiv. 10), and its repetition is a sign of forgiveness.

the name of Yahweh. The full description of the character
implied in the name ; see on iii. 14, Under the present circumstances
the aspect of the name which was of importance to Moses is revealed
in the following words, and in xxxiv. 6 f ; Yahweh is one who can
of His own sovereign will be gracious and merciful even to those who
have sinned against Him. See S. Paul's use of the passage in
Rom. ix. 15.

22. a cleft of the rock. The allegorical explanation of the cleft
rock, familiar to Englishmen from Toplady's hymn ' Rock of ages,' is
frequent in patristic writings, occurring as early as Irenaeus (iv. xx. 9)
— ' in altitudine petrae, hoc est in eo qui est secundum hommem ejus
adventu.' And the thought is iinely expressed by Canon Mason (on
Greg. Naz. Theol. Orat. ii. 3) : ' The Incarnation gives an assured
point from which we may observe and study God without being over-
whelmed by the greatness of the revelation. The glories of the Divine
Nature are tempered for us, as it were, by the Human Life which
encompasses us as we look out from it to the Divine. By the Incar-
nation our field of contemplation is at once restricted and made
clear.'

23. my hack. Lit. ' my hinder parts.' It is impossible to express
in English the force of the word without unduly suggesting an
anthropomorphic conception. The vision of Yahweh's glory — His
fuU Personality — was impossible for Moses ; but he might catch
a glimpse of the 'afterglow' — a partial suggestion of what the

216 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xxxiv. i

XXXIV. 1 And the Lord said unto Moses, Hew thee J"
two tables of stone | like unto the first : and I wiU write upon BP
the tables the words that were on the first tables, which thou

whole radiance must be. Greg. Naz. explains it as 'all the indi-
cations of Himself which He has left behind Him.' See Wisd. xiii.
1—9, Rom. i. 20.

Chapter XXXIV.

The tablets of stone. The Theophany and Moses' intercession.
The covenant laws. The shining on Moses' face.

XXXIV. 1—5, 10—28. The sin of the people has been for-
given, and Yahweh has promised that His presence shall go with
them. More than this Israel could not need. We do not expect to
find after this a fi'esh body of laws given to Moses (vv. 11 — 26) ; and
it is still more extraordinary that these laws should be made the basis
of a covenant {w. 10, 27). A covenant having been formed, and
based upon laws which are given earlier in the book, and then having
been broken by sin, all that can conceivably be required is repentance
and forgiveness. The original covenant laws must unalterably hold
good. If then w. 1, 4a, 286 are to be natural and intelligible, and
the chapter relates, not the laying down of fresh laws as the renewal
of the covenant but, merely the re-writing of the original laws upon
fresh tablets, the laws in w. 11 — 26 should be an exact repetition of
the Decalogue (xx. 1 — 17). On the other hand, if the original cove-
nant laws were not those of the Decalogue but were certain commands
relating to worship, partly preserved and embedded in xx. 23 — xxiii. 19,
and largely parallel to those in xxxiv. 11 — 26, then they were not 'the
words which were on the first tablets ' which Moses broke. The
solution which appears best to account for the difficulties is that
the laws on worship embedded in xx, 23 — xxiii. 19 are E's recension,
and those in xxxiv. are J's recension, of the original covenant laws,
the latter placed in their present position by the compiler of JE (so
that they have the appearance of being a renewal of the broken
covenant) ; and that a subsequent redactor, for whom the Decalogue
(xx. 1 — 17) had become the sole basis of the covenant, added two
harmonistic glosses in the present chapter, in w. 1 and 4, and perhaps
also the expression ' the ten words ' in v. 28. The whole question is
more fully discussed in the analysis, pp. xxviii. — xxxi. If this is the
true solution. J brings to a close his narrative of the Sinai covenant
with the impressive scene related in ch. xxxiii., and ends on a high
spiritual note.

1. like unto the first... which thou brakest. These words, and ' like
unto the first ' (v. 4) are the two Deuteronomic glosses spoken of in the
above note.

/ will write. Contrast v. 27 ' Write thou these words.'

XXXIV. 1-9] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 217

brakest. | 2 And be ready by the morning, and come up in the R^J
morning unto mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me on
the top of the mount. 3 And no man shall come up with thee,
neither let any man be seen throughout all the mount ; neither
let the flocks nor herds feed before that mount. 4 And he
hewed two tables of stone | like unto the first ; | and Moses R^J
rose up early in the morning, and went up unto mount Sinai,
as the Lord had commanded him, and took in his hand two
tables of stone. 5 And the Lord descended in the cloud, ^and
stood with him there, and proclaimed ^the name of the Lord.
6 And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed. The
Lord, the Lord, a God full of compassion and gracious, slow to
anger, and plenteous in mercy and truth ; 7 ^keeping mercy for
thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin : and
that will by no means clear the guilty ; visiting the iniquity of
the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children,
upon the third and upon the fourth generation. 8 And Moses
made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and wor-
shipped. 9 And he said, If now I have found grace in thy sight,

^ Or, and he stood with him there, and called upon (&c.
' Or, Jehovah by name ' See ch. xx. 5, 6.

5. and proclaimed the name of the Lord ; and he [Moses]
called with the name of Yahweh. The rendering of the R.V. (and
A.V.) was due to the following verse. But w. 6 — 9 are quite uncon-
nected with the present passage ; their insertion at this point was
probably due to the recurrence of ^1P*.3 ' and he called.'

The expression ' called with the name ' means employed the name
in invocation; R.V. elsewhere 'call on, or upon.' Cf. Gen. iv. 26,
xii. 8, xiii. 4, xxi, 33, xxvi. 25 (all J), 2 K. v. 11, Jer. x. 25 ; see also
1 K. xviii. 24 if.

6 — 9. Part of the narrative in the preceding chapter ; the verses
should probably stand before xxxiii. 14 — 16. See the note at the
beginning of that chapter.

This description of the divine character, with its correlation of
mercy and justice, is unsurpassed in literature. It finds echoes in
several later passages — 2 Ch. xxx. 9, Neh. ix. 17, 31, Ps. Ixxxvi. 15,
ciii. 8, cxi. 4, cxii. 4, cxlv, 8, Joel ii. 13, Jon. iv. 2, Nah. i. 3 ; it is
explicitly quoted in Num. xiv. 18 ; and the Deuteronomic writer who
expands the second Word in the Decalogue (xx. 5, 6) borrows from it
(see note there).

9. 0 Lord, let my Lord &c. The word is Adonai in each case,
not Yahweh.

218 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xxxiv. 9-14

0 Lord, let the Lord, I pray thee, go in the midst of us ; for J
it is a stiffiiecked people ; and pardon our iniquity and our sin,
and take us for thine inheritance. 10 And he said. Behold,

1 make a covenant : | before all thy people I will do marvels, -B^
such as have not been ^wrought in all the earth, nor in any
nation : and all the people among which thou art shall see the
work of the Lord, for it is a terrible thing that I do with thee.

11 Observe thou that which I command thee this day : behold,
I drive out before thee the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the
Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite.

12 Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the
inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest it be for a
snare in the midst of thee : 13 but ye shall break down their
altars, and dash in pieces their ^pillars, and ye shall cut down
their ^Asherim : 14 for thou shalt worship no other god : for

^ Heb. created. ^ Or, obelisks

2 Probably the wooden symbols of a goddess Asherah.

take lis for thine inheritance ; possess us, make us thy property.
The verb, in this connexion, is found only in Zech. ii. 12 (16), but the
thought is very frequent. The ideal of the Hebrew prophets is the
ideal of every Christian ; he cannot be possessed by two owners, just
as he cannot serve two masters.

10 — 28. Ths covenant laws. These have been expanded since
the time of J. The original contents of the code appear to have con-
sisted ofm. 17, 18a (to ' keep'), 21—23, 25, 26. The additions were
derived from two sources — (1) w. 18 b — 20 (except the last clause)
were carried over from xiii. 3 — 16, to which reference is made in the
words ' as I commanded thee ' ; in that passage is noted the connexion
which the F. of Mazzoth, and the offering of firsthngs and firstborn,
had acquired with the events of the Exodus (see note preceding
ch. xii.) ; here the interpolated verses interrupt the series of the three
annual festivals summed up in v. 23. (The series is further interrupted
by tbe last clause of v. 20 and v. 21. The former would more
naturally follow v. 23, the position which it occupies in Dt. xvi. 16.
The latter also must originally have stood in another position in the
code — of which only fragments have been preserved ; it may have been
drawn into connexion with the three agrarian festivals owing to its
reference to ploughing and harvest.) (2) ■iw. 10 (from 'before all thy
people') — 16 and v. 24 are additions of a characteristically Deutero-
nomic type. Besides the references given below to previous notes, the
whole section should be studied in connexion with pp. xxxix. — xlvi.

13. pillars. See xxiii. 24.

'Asherim. There seems to have been a Canaanite goddess of fortune

XXXIV. 14-17] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 219

the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God : 15 lest thou R^
make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they go
a whoring after their gods, and do sacrifice unto their gods,
and one call thee and thou eat of his sacrifice ; 16 and thou
take of their daughters unto thy sons, and their daughters go
a whoring after their gods, and make thy sons go a whoring
after their gods. ( 17 Thou shalt make thee no molten gods. J

and happiness who was styled 'the Asherah^' 'the gracious one.'
This goddess had an image (1 K. xv. 13, 2 K. xxi, 7), sacred vessels
(2 K, xxiii. 4), 'houses' {v. 7) and prophets (1 K. xviii. 19). She is
mentioned not infrequently in conjunction with Baal. Many writers,
however, doubt the existence of such a goddess, holding that whenever
the name appears to denote a goddess it has been confused with the
name Ashtoreth or Ashtart^ (who was the principal goddess of the
Zidonians, and whose name was connected with the Assyrian name
Ishtar). Whether, however, there was a goddess of that name or not,
the word ^asherdh is employed with great frequency to denote a sacred
tree or pole, which stood, together with a mazzebhdh (* pillar '), beside
the altar on every Canaanite high place. It could be artificially made
(1 K. xiv. 15, xvi. 33, Is. xvii. 8), and might be of image form
(1 K. XV. 13). It was not improbably a survival of primitive tree-
worship, while the mazzebhdh was a survival of stone-worship. (See
Driver on Dt. xvi. 21 f) The plural is always 'asherlm except in
Jud. iii. 7, 2 Ch. xix. 3, xxxiii. 3. The rendering ' grove ' in the A.V.
is due to the lxx aAo-os, but is in many passages quite inappropriate.

14. whose name is Jealous. The name presents another aspect of
the divine character (see xxxiii. 19). His ardent zeal shews itself
sometimes in the protection of His people against their enemies
(Is. xlii. 13, Zech. i. 14 a/.), sometimes in the protection of His own
supreme prerogatives (as here, xx. 5, Dt. iv. 24, v. 9, vi. 15) ; cf.
Jos. xxiv. 19, Nah. i. 2.

15. go a whoring. Israel is the bride of Yahweh ; see on xx. 5 f
In 2 Cor. xi. 2 the divine jealousy for the bride is reflected in the heart
of the Christian apostle.

17. Prophetic feeling seems to have condemned molten images
at an earlier date than graven images. The use of the latter had
probably been long established among the Israelites, the art of cutting
in stone being simple and primitive, while that of the former, involving
some advance in civilisation, may have been distinctively Canaanite.

^ The name Asratu occurs in the Tel-el-Amarna tablets as part of an Ass.
proper name. It is said to occur also in two Phoenician inscriptions (see ZDMG
XXXV. 424, Revue Archeol. 1885, 380).

"^ In Jud. iii. 7, the plur. 'Asheroth is written by mistake for 'Ashtaroth (the plur.
of 'Ashtart).

220 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xxxiv. 18-24

18 The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep. | Seven days *Ljg
thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, at the
time appointed in the month Abib : for in the month Abib
thou earnest out from Egypt. 19 All that openeth the womb
is mine ; and all thy cattle that is male, the firstlings of ox and
sheep. 20 And the firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with
a 4amb : and if thou wilt not redeem it, then thou shalt break
its neck. All the firstborn of thy sons thou shalt redeem. | And J
none shall appear before me empty. 21 Six days thou shalt
work, but on Jhe seventh day thou shalt rest : in plowing time
and in harvest thou shalt rest. 22 And thou shalt observe the
feast of weeks, even of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the
feast of ingathering at the year's ^end. 23 Tliree times in the
year shall all thy males appear before the Lord God, the God
of Israel. | 24 For I will cast out nations before thee, and ^^
enlarge thy borders : neither shall any man desire thy land,
when thou goest up to appear before the Lord thy God three

^ Or, kid * Heb. revolution.

18. The festival of Mazzoth. See on xxiii. 14 — 17 and xiii. 4.

19, 20a. Firstlings and Firstborn. See on xxiii. 29 and xiii.
11—16.

19. even all thy cattle that is male. The rendering 'that is
male ' adopts a necessary emendation "i?-jn for the impossible "'???' of
the M.T.

206. And none shall appear, &c. See on xxiii. 15 6.

21. The weekly Sahhath. Even at the busy times when it was
important to finish the ploughing and harvesting as quickly as possible,
the Sabbath rest must not be violated \ It is a fine illustration of the
principle 'Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.'
See addit. note following xx. 17.

22. The festivals of Weeks and of Ingathering. See on xxiii. 16.

at the yearns end ; at the revolution of the year, i.e. at the com-
pletion of its circuit. 1 S. i. 20, 2 Ch. xxiv. 23. Of the sun,
rs. xix. 6 (7); of the moon, B. Sira xliii. 7t.

24. A sublime faith in God's protecting care is shewn in this
ideal picture by a Deuteronomic writer. Since the three festivals,
accordmg to the Deuteronomic standpoint, could be held only at the
central sanctuary at Jerusalem, the whole country would be deprived
of aU its males, and open to hostile attacks. In the earlier legislation,

1 God's law enjoins what is a physical necessity for man. See art. ' The Law
of Rest ' in the Guardian, Dec. 24, 1907.

XXXIV. 24-29] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 221

times in the year. | 25 Thou shalt not offer the blood of my R^J
sacrifice with leavened bread ; neither shall the sacrifice of the
feast of the passover be left unto the morning. 26 The first of
the firstfruits of thy ground thou shalt bring unto the house
of the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in its
mother's milk. 27 And the Lord said unto Moses, Write thou
these words : for after the tenor of these words I have made
a covenant with thee and with Israel. 28 And he was there
with'' the Lord forty days and forty nights ; he did neither eat
bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the
words of the covenant, | the ten ^commandments. RP

29 And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount p
Sinai with the two tables of the testimony in Moses' hand, when
he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the

* Heb. words.

when every man could go to the local sanctuary outside his town or
village, no such danger is contemplated.

25. of the passover. These words are probably a later insertion ;
see p. 63.

26 a. The Jvrst of the firstfruits. It is unlikely that while emery
firstborn of man and beast was to be offered {m>. 19 f., xiii. 12 f.), only
a portion of the vegetable firstfruits was to be sacred (contrast xxii. 29)
' The first ' {reshUK) cannot mean either ' the earliest ' or ' the best.'
If the word is not a later addition it must be understood as in
apposition to the following word : ' the first — [namely] the firstfruits
of thy ground.' Cf. Dt. xviii. 4, Ez. xliv. 30 ; and see the careful note
in Gray, Numbers, pp. 224 — 9.

266. See on xxiii. 19.

28. forty days and forty nights. See on xxiv. 18.

And he wrote. If the subject of the verb is Yahweh, the whole
of this half- verse is a later insertion, and ' the words of the covenant,
the ten words' refers to the Decalogue of ch. xx. Otherwise the
subject is Moses, in accordance with the command in v. 27, and ' the
words of the covenant ' (with or without * the ten words ') refers to the
foregoing laws in tyo. 11 — 26^.

29 — 35. The shining on Moses' face.

29. shone. The verb kdran, a denominative from keren, ' a horn,'

1 Prof. Barnes {JThS, July 1900) thinks that the laws in vv. 11—26 are J's
version, not of the laws in xx. 23 &c., but of the Decalogue (xx. 1 — 17). He points
out that ' words ' may include utterances which are not commands, and that ' ten '
may be merely a round number. At the same time he adheres to the exact figure.
But his arrangement of the present passage, by which vv. 11 — 16, 18 — 20 and 23 — 24
must each be considered as one ' word,' does not appear very probable.

222 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xxxiv. 29-34

skin of his face ^shone ^by reason of his speaking with him. P
30 And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses,
behold, the skin of his face shone ; and they were afraid to
come nigh him. 31 And Moses called unto them ; and Aaron
and all the rulers of the congregation returned unto him : and
Moses spake to them. 32 And afterward all the children of
Israel came nigh : and he gave them in commandment all that
the Lord had spoken with him in mount Sinai. 33 And when
Moses had done speaking with them, he put a veil on his face.
34 But when Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him,
he took the veil off, until he came out ; and he came out, and

^ Or, sent forth beams (Heb. horns) ^ Or, while he talked with him

occurs only in this passage, and, in the causative (hiphil) form, in
Ps. Ixix. 31 (32). In the latter it is used literally of a buUock
displaying or growing horns. In Job iii. 4 ' horns ' denotes rays
of light or lightning flashes. The Vulg. rendering cornuta gave rise to
the conventional representations of Moses with two horns protruding
from his head. A well-known instance is Michael Angelo's statue in
the church of S. Pietro in Vincoli at Rome.

33. a veil. The word {masweh) occurs only in these verses.

34. when Moses went in. See on xxv. 22.

he used to take the veil off. The verbs in this and the foil, verse
are frequentative, describing his usual practice. On the other hand
t). 33 describes a single action. When Moses had finished speaking
with the people the first time, he put on the veil ; afterwards, when-
ever he went in to the divine presence, he used to take off the veil ;
and whenever he came out, the people used to catch a glimpse of the
light on his face, but he always put on the veil until he returned
to speak with Yahweh. No reason is assigned for the wearing of the
veil, but the natural supposition is that such a reflexion of Yahweh's
'glory' was too sacred to be gazed at constantly by human eyes.
S. Paul, however, in the passage cited below, gives a different interpre-
tation. The depth of spiritual meaning attaching to the narrative is not
lessened if we hesitate to accept it as an historical fact. Man is
influenced, spiritually no less than intellectually and _ physically, by
his environment. And those who abide incessantly in the presence of
the Lord are gradually, but surely, 'transformed into the same image
from glory to glory.' A human being' of any race or religion can be, m
his own person, a revelation of the Divine exactly in proportion as he
is in living union with the Divine. For a Christian this possibility has
been increased to an infinite degree, because he is in living union with
Him who is the perfect revelation of the Divine in Manhood, This
is the thought which S. Paul works out in 2 Cor. iii. 7 — 18, iv. 3 — 6
(see further on p. cxxx.).

XXXIV. 34, 35] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 223

spake unto the children of Israel that which he was commanded ; P
35 and the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the
skin of Moses' face shone : and Moses put the veil upon his
face again, until he went in to speak with him.

Chapters XXXV.— XL.
The erection of the Tent.

These chapters are based upon chs, xxv. — xxxi. From a literary and
artistic point of view they appear cumbrous and superfluous, since they
follow practically verbatim the commands given by God to Moses, in order
to dwell on their detailed fulfilment. But the priestly school made little
pretensions to artistic skill. Their minds were set on the minutiae of
worship, and the religious truths embodied in them ; and their devotion to
the holy things was not the less real because the expression of it took
a form which does not appeal to our modern hterary sense of proportion.
It is probable that the original writing of P or Pj contained some state-
ment of the fulfilment of the divine injunctions, perhaps in the form of
a short summary similar to that in xxxi. 7—11 ; and this would be gradually
expanded into closer uniformity with the foregoing commands. That the
account of the fulfilment of the commands was not composed as a complete
whole by one writer is shewn by the relation between the Hebrew text
of the original commands and of the fulfilment, and between the Hebrew
and Lxx texts of the latter — a study of which suggests that the account
of the fulfilment had not reached its final form by the time that the lxx
translation was taken in hand. The following phenomena are noticeable :
(1) the order of the contents of chs. xxxv. — xl. diff'ers from that of chs.
xxv. — xxxi. ; (2) the order of the contents in the Hebrew and lxx of chs.
XXXV.— xl. is diflferent ; (3) fresh material in the Hebrew of xxxix. 32 and
onwards is partly curtailed in the lxx ; (4) the lxx of the commands diflfers
from that of the fulfilment in the translation of several technical terms,
making it probable that the translators of chs. xxxv. — xl. were not the
same as those of xxv. — xxxi. These phenomena can be made clear by a
tabular statement. Nos. 1 and 2 are exhibited in the first table, which
shews that the differences of order do not merely involve occasional
details, but that varying traditions existed as to the order of large groups
of subjects.

224

THE BOOK OF EXODUS

73 -^

o a>

S^^J^

Ephod
Onyx ston
' Breastpla
Robe of E
Linen Ves
Gold FiUe

!i?i

(M ■* 05 ■* t^ O

■-H rH (M eo 00 ■*

1 - 1 1 1 1

CT) eo U5 o ic 00

i-H fH CO CO CO

s g © ^

O Pm t> JB

I— I CO o

o
O

tj <j H 1-:!

rt 00 (M t^

<5 :a

fee

-J.

p-t

6 ;5 ^ '^

1
g

o
J. .

b
O

7 Onyx stones
1 ' Breastplate '
6 Robe of Ephod
9 Linen Vestment
1 Gold Fillet

PLh

a
2

-4^

^ 3 s

o a

u 'So

1> o

d
=8

iZi

1
>

o
00

^ 03 c3

05 in -*

1—1

rH (N

(N <M (N 00

1— 1 1— 1

^<i

«
^

c!,

^11 1 1

CO 00 (N t: o

(N IN 00

1
«
M

!«1

«
■s

M
K

;«!

H^J

a W

c6 tl

-1-3

-id 3 S
*3 ^ ^
<1 H h5

(N O O
(M CO ■*

A ' '

O CO i-H

•-s ?>

o »o l>.

CO CO 00

I I »

m F-i CO

1— I CO CO

-B

. © Qd

ft a CQ o o

00 (N O lO 00

t-H CO CO CO

I I I I I

CO 05 CO "-H CD

I— I CO CO

P-i

•<

i-:i

l>4

THE BOOK OF EXODUS

225

a
o

II
= 1

-5 «

^ ^ GO

^ Co

o rt

^':3

•J .jj ec

*> '> >

X X i<

XXX

« r5 ©

13 O ^

«»H r3 -S3
O .2

c o

^ S

00 -H

to o

<1 ^

o ^

§1f

i5 «s

s -

'><

<1 W

" Q

O CO

1— 1 r-H
1 1

^ -^

1— ( 1— (

O Tl

■"*

'o -^
c §

oS c ©

h^j <!i m

^ 00 rt
(N ep —I

l-H (N

W ffi

X
X

t«1

-4^

-t-iT

00
e<3

l-H

i-T

l-H

e<3

■*3

X
'x

X
X

'ft

•5

-§

«3

-»:>

S H

■*

ec
1

CO
1

l-H

»«

226

THE BOOK OF EXODUS

[XXXV. I, 2

These phenomena, together with the numerous cases in which the
Lxx diverges from the Hebrew in details of language, make it diflBcult
to suppose that the lxx translators had before them the present Hebrew
text of chs. XXXV. — xl. Prof. Swete (Intr. to O.T. in Greek, 235 f) says,
'the diflference of sequence is due to a deliberate rearrangement of the
groups. Either the Alexandrian translator has purposely changed their
relative order, giving precedence to the ornaments of the priesthood which
are subordinated in the M.T. of cc. xxxv. — xl, as well as in both texts of
cc. XXV. — XXX. ; or he had before him in c. xxxv. fF. another Hebrew text in
which the present Greek order was observed. Many O.T. scholars (e.g.
Kuenen, Wellhausen, Dillmann) regard cc. xxxv. — xl. as belonging to a
" secondary and posterior stratum of P." Thus it is permissible to suppose
that the Hebrew text before the original translators of Exodus did not
contain this section, and that it was supplied afterwards from a longer
Hebrew recension of the book in which the last six chapters had not yet
reached their final form.'

The following are some of the technical terms in which the lxx rendering
of chs. xxxv. — xl. diflfers from that of xxv. — xxxi. :

XXV. 12(11) (kd<Tfis (R.V. 'cast')

14(13), 27(26) dm^o/jfiff ('staves')

17 (16) iKa<TTr]piov iirlBtfia ('mercy-seat')

18 (17) xP^^'^'^^P^^'^^ ('of gold')
19(18) (cXjVoy ('end')

37 Xvxvoi ('lamps')

38 eirapvaTTip (' tongs')
inroBffiara (' snuff-dishes ')

xxvii. 4 ea-xnpa ('grating')
xxviii. 11 y\vp,p.a ('gi-aving')

15 epyov ttoikcXtov ('the WOrk of

the cunning workman')

17 Kudvcfiavels ('set')

22 epyov a.\vari8a>Tov ('wreathen

work ')
32 tva /X17 payj} ('that it be not rent')
36 dyiaa-fia Kupi'ou ('Holy to the
Lord')
xxxi. 3 TTPevfia Beiov ('Spirit of God')
4 epyd^fcrdai ('to work')

XXXV. 1 And Moses assembled all the congregation of P,
the children of Israel, and said unto them, These are the words
which the Lord hath commanded, that ye should do them.
2 ^Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there
shall be to you an holy day, a sabbath of solemn rest to the
Lord : whosoever doeth any work therein shall be put to death.

1 See ch. xxxi. 15.

xxxviii.

€;^a)i'euo-ei'

diaxjTfjpes

iKaa-T^piov

Xpvarovi

aKpov

Xafirrdbia

Xa^ides
errapva-Tpides

irapddtfia

xxxvi

e KKoXafifxa

epyov v(f)avT6v
TToiKiXia

(Tvvv<j)dvdr}

epyov efinXoKiov

ddidXvTov

dyia(Tp.a Kvpia

xxxv.

irvtvp.a

TTOietv

XXXV. 3-19] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 227

3 Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the P$
sabbath day.

4 And Moses spake unto all the congregation of the children
of Israel, saying, This is the thing which the Lord commanded,
saying, 5 ^Take ye from among you an offering unto the Lord :
whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it, the Lord's
offering ; gold, and silver, and brass ; 6 and blue, and purple, and
scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' hair ; 7 and rams' skins dyed
red, and sealskins, and acacia wood ; 8 and oil for the light,
and spices for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense ;
9 and onyx stones, and stones to be set, for the ephod, and
for the breastplate. 10 And let every wise hearted man among
you come, and make all that the Lord hath commanded ; 11 the
tabernacle, its tent, and its covering, its clasps, and its boards,
its bars, its pillars, and its sockets ; 12 the ark, and the staves
thereof, the mercy-seat, and the veil of the screen ; 13 the
table, and its staves, and all its vessels, and the ^shewbread ;
14 the candlestick also for the light, and its vessels, and its
lamps, and the oil for the light; 15 and the altar of incense, and
its staves, and the anointing oil, and the sweet incense, and the
screen for the door, at the door of the tabernacle ; 16 the altar
of burnt offering, with its grating of brass, its staves, and all its
vessels, the laver and its base ; 17 the hangings of the court,
the pillars thereof, and their sockets, and the screen for the
gate of the court ; 18 the pins of the tabernacle, and the pins of
the court, and their cords ; 19 the ^finely wrought garments,
for ministering in the holy place, the holy garments for Aaron
the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the
priest's office.

1 See ch. xxv. 2 — 7. ^ Or, Presence-bread ^ See ch. xxxi. 10.

XXXV. 3. This is the most stringent form of Sabbath law in
the O.T. ; it shews the beginnings of the temper of mind which
prompted the Mishnic regulations of later times. Cf. xvi. 23.

12. the veil of the screen, xxxix. 24, xl. 21, Num. iv. 5. It is
explained by xl. 3, 21 to mean the veil which acts as a screen for
the ark.

18. their cwds. xxxix. 40, Num. iii. 26, 37, iv. 26, 32. They
are not mentioned in the commands for the Tent.

15—2

228 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xxxv. .0-33

20 And all the congregation of the children of Israel Pz
departed from the presence of Moses. 21 And they came,
every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom
his spirit made willing, and brought the Lord's ofiering, for
the work of the tent of meeting, and for all the service
thereof, and for the holy garments. 22 And they came, both
men and women, as many as were willing hearted, and
brought brooches, and ^earrings, and signet-rings, and ^ arm-
lets, all jewels of gold ; even every man that offered an offering
of gold unto the Lord. 23 And every man, with whom was
found blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats*
hair, and rams' skins dyed red, and sealskins, brought them.

24 Every one that did offer an offering of silver and brass
brought the Lord's offering : and every man, with whom was
found acacia wood for any work of the service, brought it.

25 And all the women that were wise hearted did spin with
their hands, and brought that which they had spun, the blue,
and the purple, the scarlet, and the fine linen. 26 And all
the women whose heart stirred them up in wisdom spmi the
goats' Jiair. 27 And the rulers brought the ^onyx stones, and
the stones to be set, for the ephod, and for the breastplate ;
28 and the spice, and the oil ; for the light, and for the
anointing oil, and for the sweet incense. 29 The children of
Israel brought a freewill offering unto the Lord ; every man
and woman, whose heart made them willing to bring for all the
work, which the Lord had commanded to be made by the hand
of Moses.

30 ^And Moses said unto the children of Israel, See, the
Lord hath called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of
Hur, of the tribe of Judah ; 31 and he hath filled him with the
spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge,
and in all manner of workmanship ; 32 and to devise cunning
works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, 33 and in
cutting of stones for setting, and in carving of wood, to work

^ Or, nose-rings ^ Or, necklaces ^ Or, heryl * See ch. xxxi. 1 — 6.

21. offering ; contribution. In the foil, verse * offering ' is lit.
'wave-offering.' On both words see xxix. 27.

XXXV. 33-xxxvi. 7] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 229

in all manner of cunning workmanship. 34 And he hath put in Pa
his heart that he may teach, both he, and Oholiab, the son
of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. 35 Them hath he filled
with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of workmanship, of
the ^engraver, and of the cunning workman, and of the em-
broiderer, in blue, and in purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen,
and of the weaver, even of them that do any workmanship,
and of those that devise cunning works. XXXVI. 1 And
Bezalel and Oholiab shall work, and every wise hearted man,
in whom the Lord hath put wisdom and understanding to know
how to work all the work for the service of the sanctuary,
according to all that the Lord hath commanded.

2 And Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab, and every wise
hearted man, in whose heart the Lord had put wisdom, even
every one whose heart stirred him up to come unto the work to
do it : 3 and they received of Moses all the offering, which the
children of Israel had brought for the work of the service of
the sanctuary, to make it withal. And they brought yet unto
him freewill offerings every morning. 4 And all the wise men,
that wrought all the work of the sanctuary, came every man
from his work which they wrought ; 5 and they spake unto
Moses, saying. The people bring much more than enough for
the service of the work, which the Lord commanded to make.
6 And Moses gave commandment, and they caused it to be
proclaimed throughout the camp, saying, Let neither man nor
woman make any more work for the offering of the sanctuary.
So the people were restrained from bringing. 7 For the stuff"
they had was sufficient for all the work to make it, and too
much.

^ Or, craftsman

34. that he may teach. Not stated in the earlier account.

XXXVI. 2. to come ; to draw near. In the causative (hiphil)
the word is used technically in the priestly writings for ' bring near,'
i.e. 'offer' (e.g. xxix. 10, Lev. i. 2, 5, 14 f.) ; hence the subst. korbdn
(cf. Mk. vii. 11). Thus in the present passage the verb implies that
every man drew near in order to offer himself to God for the work.
Christianity gives to the thought a new depth of meaning. Our
spiritual service (\oyiK-q Xarpeia) is to present our bodies as a living
sacrifice (Rom. xii. 1).

230 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xxxvi. 8-24

8 ^And every wise hearted man among them that wrought Pj
the work made the tabernacle with ten curtains ; of fine twined
linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, with cherubim the
work of the cunning workman made he them, 9 The length of
each curtain was eight and twenty cubits, and the breadth of
each curtain four cubits : all the curtains had one measure.
10 And he coupled five curtains one to another : and the other
five curtains he coupled one to another. 11 And he made
loops of blue upon the edge of the one curtain ^from the
selvedge in the coupling : likewise he made in the edge of the
curtain that was outmost in the second ^coupling. 12 Fifty
loops made he in the one curtain, and fifty loops made he in
the edge of the curtain that was in the second ^coupling : the
loops were opposite one to another. 13 And he made fifty
clasps of gold, and coupled the curtains one to another with the
clasps : so the tabernacle was one. 14 And he made curtains
of goats' hair for a tent over the tabernacle : eleven curtains
he made them. 15 The length of each curtain was thirty cubits,
and four cubits the breadth of each curtain : the eleven curtains
had one measure. 16 And he coupled five curtains by them-
selves, and six curtains by themselves. 17 And he made fifty
loops on the edge of the curtain that was outmost in the
^coupling, and fifty loops made he upon the edge of the curtain
which was outmost in the second ^coupling. 18 And he made
fifty clasps of brass to couple the tent together, that it might
be one. 19 And he made a covering for the tent of rams' skins
dyed red, and a covering of ^sealskins above.

20 ^And he made the boards for the tabernacle of acacia
wood, standing up. 21 Ten cubits was the length of a board,
and a cubit and a half the breadth of each board. 22 Each
board had two tenons, ^joined one to another : thus did he
make for all the boards of the tabernacle. 23 And he made
the boards for the tabernacle ; twenty boards for the south side
southward : 24 and he made forty sockets of silver under the
twenty boards ; two sockets under one board for its two tenons,

^ See ch. xxvi. 1 — 14. ^ Or, that was outmost in the first set

3 Or, set * Or, first set ' Or, porpoise -skins

* See ch. xxvi. 15 — 29. ' Or, morticed

xxxvi. 24-xxxvii. 2] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 231

and two sockets under another board for its two tenons. 25 And P3
for the second side of the tabernacle, on the north side, he made
twenty boards, 26 and their forty sockets of silver ; two sockets
under one board, and two sockets under another board. 27 And
for the hinder part of the tabernacle westward he made six
boards. 28 And two boards made he for the corners of the
tabernacle in the hinder part. 29 And they were double
beneath, and in like manner they were entire unto the top
thereof unto ^one ring : thus he did to both of them in the
two comers. 30 And there were eight boards, and their sockets
of silver, sixteen sockets ; under every board two sockets. 31 And
he made bars of acacia wood ; five for the boards of the one
side of the tabernacle, 32 and five bars for the boards of the
other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the
tabernacle for the hinder part westward. 33 And he made the
middle bar to pass through in the midst of the boards from
the one end to the other. 34 And he overlaid the boards with
gold, and made their rings of gold for places for the bars, and
overlaid the bars with gold.

35 2 And he made the veil of blue, and purple, and scarlet,
and fine twined linen : with cherubim the work of the cunning
workman made he it. 36 And he made thereunto four pillars
of acacia, and overlaid them with gold : their hooks were of
gold ; and he cast for them four sockets of silver. 37 And he
made a screen for the door of the Tent, of blue, and purple, and
scarlet, and fine twined linen, the work of the embroiderer ;
38 and the five pillars of it with their hooks : and he overlaid
their chapiters and their fillets with gold : and their five sockets
were of brass.

XXXVII. 1 ^And Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood :
two cubits and a half was the length of it, and a cubit and a
half the breadth of it, and a cubit and a half the height of it :
2 and he overlaid it with pure gold within and without, and

1 Or, the first ^ gee ch. xxvi. 31—37. ^ See eh. xxv. 10—20,

29. The verbs are in the imperfect tense, either due to scribal
error, or (Dillmann) to mechanical repetition from xxvi. 24,

XXXVII. 1. Bezalel made the ark. It is instructive to note the
contrast of this explicit statement with that in Dt, x, 3. See p. xxxii.

232 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xxxvii. 2-19

made a ^ crown of gold to it round about. 3 And he cast for it Ps
four rings of gold, in the four feet thereof ; even two rings on
the one ^side of it, and two rings on the other ^side of it. 4 And
he made staves of acacia wood, and overlaid them with gold.
5 And he put the staves into the rings on the sides of the ark,
to bear the ark. 6 And he made a ^mercy-seat of pure gold :
two cubits and a half was the length thereof, and a cubit and
a half the breadth thereof. 7 And he made two cherubim of
gold ; of * beaten work made he them, at the two ends of the
mercy-seat ; 8 one cherub at the one end, and one cherub at
the other end : of one piece with the mercy-seat made he the
cherubim at the two ends thereof. 9 And the cherubim spread
out their wings on high, covering the mercy-seat with their
wings, with their faces one to another ; toward the mercy-seat
were the faces of the cherubim.

10 ^And he made the table of acacia wood : two cubits was
the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof, and a cubit
and a half the height thereof: 11 and he overlaid it with pure
gold, and made thereto a crown of gold round about. 12 And
he made unto it a border of an handbreadth round about, and
made a golden crown to the border thereof round about.
13 And he cast for it four rings of gold, and put the rings in
the four corners that were on the four feet thereof 14 Close
by the border were the rings, the places for the staves to bear
the table. 15 And he made the staves of acacia wood, and
overlaid them with gold, to bear the table. 16 And he made
the vessels which were upon the table, the dishes thereof, and
the spoons thereof, and the bowls thereof, and the flagons
thereof, to pour out withal, of pure gold.

17 ®And he made the candlestick of pure gold : of beaten
work made he the candlestick, even its base, and its shaft ;
its cups, its knops, and its flowers, were of one piece with it :
18 and there were six branches going out of the sides thereof ;
three branches of the candlestick out of the one side thereof,
and three branches of the candlestick out of the other side
thereof: 19 three cups made like almond-blossoms in one

^ Or, rim Or, moulding ^ Heb. rib. ' Or, covering

* Or, turned « See ch. xxv. 23—29. « See ch. xxt. 31—39.

XXXVII. I9-XXXVIII. 3] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 233

branch, a knop and a flower ; and three cups made like almond- Ps
blossoms in the other branch, a knop and a flower : so for the
six branches going out of the candlestick. 20 And in the
candlestick were four cups made like almond-blossoms, the
knops thereof, and the flowers thereof: 21 and a knop under
two branches of one piece with it, and a knop under two
branches of one piece with it, and a knop under two branches
of one piece with it, for the six branches going out of it.
22 Their knops and their branches were of one piece with it :
the whole of it was one beaten work of pure gold. 23 And he
made the lamps thereof, seven, and the tongs thereof, and the
snuffdishes thereof, of pure gold. 24 Of a talent of pure gold
made he it, and all the vessels thereof

25 ^And he made the altar of incense of acacia wood : a
cubit was the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof,
foursquare ; and two cubits was the height thereof ; the horns
thereof were of one piece with it. 26 And he overlaid it with
pure gold, the top thereof, and the sides thereof round about,
and the horns of it : and he made unto it a crown of gold round
about. 27 And he made for it two golden rings under the
crown thereof, upon the two ribs thereof, upon the two sides
of it, for places for staves to bear it withal. 28 And he made
the staves of acacia wood, and overlaid them with gold. 29 ^And
he made the holy anointing oil, and the pure incense of sweet
spices, after the art of the perfumer.

XXXVIII. 1 ^And he made the altar of burnt offering of
acacia wood : five cubits was the length thereof, and five cubits
the breadth thereof, foursquare ; and three cubits the height
thereof 2 And he made the horns thereof upon the four
corners of it ; the horns thereof were of one piece with it :
and he overlaid it with brass. 3 And he made all the vessels
of the altar, the pots, and the shovels, and the basons, the

1 See ch. xxx. 1—5. 2 gge ch. xxx. 23, 24, 34, 35.

2 See ch. xxvii 1 — 8.

XXXVIII. 2. According to Num. xvi. 36—40 (Heb. xvii. 1—5)
the bronze covering of the altar was made at a later time. And in the
Lxx of the present passage there is an attempt to harmonize the
accounts by the statement ' He made the bronze altar out of the bronze
censers which belonged to the men who rebelled with Kore's company.'

234 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xxxviii. 3-15

fleshhooks, and the firepans : all the vessels thereof made he of Pg
brass. 4 And he made for the altar a grating of network of
brass, under the ledge round it beneath, reaching halfway up.
5 And he cast four rings for the four ends of the grating of
brass, to be places for the staves. 6 And he made the staves
of acacia wood, and overlaid them with brass. 7 And he put
the staves into the rings on the sides of the altar, to bear it
withal ; he made it hollow with planks.

8 ^And he made the laver of brass, and the base thereof of
brass, of the mirrors of ^the ^serving women which served at
the door of the tent of meeting.

9 *And he made the court : for the south side southward
the hangings of the court were of fine twined linen, an hundred
cubits : 10 their pillars were twenty, and their sockets twenty,
of brass ; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver.
11 And for the north side an hundred cubits, their piUars
twenty, and their sockets twenty, of brass ; the hooks of the
piUars and their fillets of silver. 12 And for the west side
were hangings of fifty cubits, their pillars ten, and their sockets
ten ; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver. 13 And
for the east side eastward fifty cubits. 14 The hangings for
the one side of the gate were fifteen cubits ; their pillars three,
and their sockets three ; 15 and so for the other side : on this

^ See ch. xxx. 18. ^ Or, the women which assembled to minister

3 See Num. iv. 23, viii. 24 ; 1 Sam. ii. 22. < See ch. xxvii. 9—19.

8. the serving women which served. A very late meaning of
the word zdbd\ which usually means 'to fight'; 1 S. ii. 22, Num.
iv. 23 (see Gray), viii. 24 f. Such women are mentioned also in
1 S. I.e., a late gloss. What sort of service the writer intends to
describe is uncertain. Driver (1 S.) thinks that they were engaged in
menial offices ; Dillmann and Strack would add dancing and singing.
Peritz (JBL xvii. 145 f.) believes that they did more than that, and
lays stress on the fact that zdba is used (in Num.) of the service of
the Levites. He also contends that the service of women must have
been an ancient custom, and renders 'which had served &c.^'

^ The versions are very vague as to the meaning of the word. Ex. : lxx ruf
yrjffrevffcuruv al ivftorevffav. Aq. Sym. (rrparevffa/x^vuv. Vulg. quae excubabant.
1 Sam. : lxx a rdj TrapeuTuxras. Vulg. quae observabant. Num. iv. 23: lxx Xeirovpyeip.
Vulg. ministrant. viii. 24 : lxx ipepyetv. Aq. ffrpaTe'utcOai. Sym. Trapiaraffdai.
Vulg. ut ministrent. Targ. in Ex. has ' who prayed ' ; Pesh. ' who came to pray.'
Yet other renderings of unknown translators are given in Field, Hexapla, on Ex.
and Num. iv. 23.

XXXVIII. 15-22] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 235

hand and that hand by the gate of the court were hangings Pg
of fifteen cubits ; their pillars three, and their sockets three.
16 All the hangings of the court round about were of fine
twined linen. 17 And the sockets for the pillars were of brass ;
the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver ; and the over-
laying of their chapiters of silver ; and all the pillars of the
court were filleted with silver. 18 And the screen for the
gate of the court was the work of the embroiderer, of blue, and
purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen : and twenty cubits
was the length, and the height in the breadth was five cubits,
answerable to the hangings of the court. 19 And their pillars
were four, and their sockets four, of brass ; their hooks of
silver, and the overlaying of their chapiters and their fillets
of silver. 20 And all the pins of the tabernacle, and of the
court round about, were of brass.

21 This is the sum of the things for the tabernacle, even the
tabernacle of the testimony, as they were counted, according
to the commandment of Moses, for the service of the Levites,
by the hand of Ithamar, the son of Aaron the priest. 22 And
Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah,

18. answerable &c. The clause is absent from xxvii. 16.

21 — 31. These verses are an amplification which appears to be
even later than the surrounding context, for they are inserted in the
middle of the account of the making of the sacred articles. Vv. 21 — 23
are not represented in the Lxx. At the end of the reckoning the LXX
(xxxviii. 12) adds, 'And the rest of the gold of the offering they made
into vessels to minister therewith before the Lord'; and xxxix. 1 opens
in the lxx (xxxviii. 13) with the words, ' And that which remained of
the blue and purple &c.'

The application of the half-shekel to the provision of materials is
due to a misunderstanding of xxx. 11 — 16, where the money is to be
devoted to the 'service of the Tent of Meeting,' i.e. to its up-keep
(see note there).

21. These are the reckonings of the Dwelling, i.e. the
amounts of gold, silver, and bronze employed.

\^for\ the service of the Levites. The Heb. has not the preposition ;
'the service of the Levites' is loosely in apposition to 'the reckonings' ;
their service consisted, in this instance, of drawing up the reckoning.

the L&cites. This is the only passage in Ex. in which they are
mentioned, apart from iv. 14, xxxii. 25 — 29 ; it presupposes Num. i.
49 f., where they are appointed for service.

by the hand of Ithamar, i.e. under his superintendence ; cf. Num.

236 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xxxviii. 22-xxxix. i

made all that the Lord commanded Moses. 23 And with him P3
was Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, ^an
engraver, and a cunning workman, and an embroiderer in blue,
and in purple, and in scarlet, and fine linen.

24 All the gold that was used for the work in all the work
of the sanctuary, even the gold of the offering, was twenty and
nine talents, and seven hundred and thirty shekels, after the
shekel of the sanctuary. 25 And the silver of them that were
numbered of the congregation was an hundred talents, and a
thousand seven hundred and threescore and fifteen shekels,
after the shekel of the sanctuary : 26 a beka a head, that is,
half a shekel, after the shekel of the sanctuary, for every one
that passed over to them that were numbered, from twenty
years old and upward, for six hundred thousand and three
thousand and five hundred and fifty men. 27 And the hundred
talents of silver were for casting the sockets of the sanctuary,
and the sockets of the veil ; an hundred sockets for the hundred
talents, a talent for a socket. 28 And of the thousand seven
hundred seventy and five shekels he made hooks for the pillars,
and overlaid their chapiters, and made fillets for them. 29 And
the brass of the offering was seventy talents, and two thousand
and four hundred shekels. 30 And therewith he made the
sockets to the door of the tent of meeting, and the brasen
altar, and the brasen grating for it, and all the vessels of the
altar, 31 and the sockets of the court round about, and the
sockets of the gate of the court, and all the pins of the taber-
nacle, and all the pins of the court round about.

XXXIX. 1 And of the blue, and purple, and scarlet, they
made finely wrought garments, for ministering in the holy place,

^ Or, a craftsman

iv. 28, 33, vii. 8, xxxiii. 1. Ithamar was the youngest of Aaron's four
sons (see on vi. 23) ; he is mentioned only by P and the Chronicler.

25. The gold and the bronze ' of the offering ' are mentioned, but
not the silver. All the silver was derived from the payment of the
half-shekel. The value, in English money, of the metals amounts to
incredible sums : — gold, c. £12,068, silver, c. £41,494, and bronze,
c. £29,205.

26. On the number of males, 603,550, see xii. 37.

XXXIX. I-I7] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 237

and made the holy garments for Aaron ; as the Lord com- Ps
manded Moses.

2 ^And he made the ephod of gold, blue, and purple, and
scarlet, and fine twined linen. 3 And they did beat the gold
into thin plates, and cut it into wires, to work it in the blue,
and in the purple, and in the scarlet, and in the fine linen, the
work of the cunning workman. 4 They made shoulderpieces
for it, joined together : at the two ends was it joined together.
5 And the cunningly woven band, that was upon it, to gird
it on withal, was of the same piece and like the work thereof ;
of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen ;
as the Lord commanded Moses.

6 And they wrought the onyx stones, inclosed in ouches of
gold, graven with the engravings of a signet, according to the
names of the children of Israel. 7 And he put them on the
shoulderpieces of the ephod, to be stones of memorial for the
children of Israel ; as the Lord commanded Moses.

8 ^And he made the breastplate, the work of the cunning
workman, like the work of the ephod ; of gold, of blue, and
purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen. 9 It was foursquare ;
they made the breastplate double : a span was the length
thereof, and a span the breadth thereof, being double. 10 And
they set in it four rows of stones : a row of sardius, topaz,
and carbuncle was the first row. 11 And the second row, an
emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond. 12 And the third row, a
jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst. 13 And the fourth row,
a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper : they were inclosed in ouches of
gold in their settings. 14 And the stones were according to
the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their
names ; like the engravings of a signet, every one according to
his name, for the twelve tribes. 15 And they made upon the
breastplate chains like cords, of wreathen work of pure gold.

16 And they made two ouches of gold, and two gold rings ;
and put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate.

17 And they put the two wreathen chains of gold on the two

^ See ch. xxviii. 6 — 12. ^ ggg gjj xxviii. 15 — 28.

XXXIX. 1. as Yahweh cmnmanded Moses. A seven-fold refrain
(w. 1, 5, 7, 21, 26, 29, 31) ; see note preceding ch. xxv., pp. 155 f.

238 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xxxix. 17-30

rings at the ends of the breastplate. 18 And the otlwr two Pj
ends of the two wreathen chains they put on the two ouches,
and put them on the shoulderpieces of the ephod, in the fore-
part thereof. 19 And they made two rings of gold, and put
them upon the two ends of the breastplate, upon the edge
thereof, which was toward the side of the ephod inward.
20 And they made two rings of gold, and put them on the
two shoulderpieces of the ephod underneath, in the forepart
thereof, close by the coupling thereof, above the cunningly
woven band of the ephod. 21 And they did bind the breast-
plate by the rings thereof unto the rings of the ephod with a
lace of blue, that it might be upon the cunningly woven band
of the ephod, and that the breastplate might not be loosed from
the ephod ; as the Lord commanded Moses.

22 ^And he made the robe of the ephod of woven work, all
of blue ; 23 and the hole of the robe in the midst thereof, as
the hole of a coat of mail, with a binding round about the hole
of it, that it should not be rent. 24 And they made upon the
skirts of the robe pomegranates of blue, and purple, and scarlet,
and twined linen. 25 And they made bells of pure gold, and
put the bells between the pomegranates upon the skirts of the
robe round about, between the pomegranates ; 26 a bell and
a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate, upon the skirts of
the robe round about, to minister in ; as the Lord commanded
Moses.

27 ^And they made the coats of fine linen of woven work
for Aaron, and for his sons, 28 and the ^ mitre of fine linen, and
the goodly headtires of fine linen, and the linen breeches of
fine twined linen, 29 and the girdle of fine twined linen, and
blue, and purple, and scarlet, the work of the embroiderer ; as
the Lord commanded Moses.

30 *And they made the plate of the holy crown of pure
gold, and wrote upon it a writing, like the engravings of a

1 See ch. xxviii. 31—34, 2 gee ch. xxviii. 39, 40, 42. ^ Or, turhan

* See ch. xxviii. 36, 37.

19 — 21. The second account of the gold rings, as in xxviii. 26 ff.
That passage is omitted in the lxx, but these verses are included in it
(lxx xxxvi. 27 — 29).

XXXIX. 30-XL. 5] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 239

signet, HOLY to the lord. 31 And they tied unto it a lace Pa
of blue, to fasten it upon the ^ mitre above ; as the Lord
commanded Moses.

32 Thus was finished all the work of the tabernacle of the
tent of meeting : and the children of Israel did according to all
that the Lord commanded Moses, so did they.

33 And they brought the tabernacle unto Moses, the Tent,
and all its furniture, its clasps, its boards, its bars, and its
pillars, and its sockets ; 34 and the covering of rams' skins dyed
red, and the covering of ^sealskins, and the veil of the screen ;
35 the ark of the testimony, and the staves thereof, and the
mercy-seat ; 36 the table, all the vessels thereof, and the shew-
bread ; 37 the pure candlestick, the lamps thereof, even the
lamps to be set in order, and all the vessels thereof, and the
oil for the light ; 38 and the golden altar, and the anointing
oil, and the sweet incense, and the screen for the door of the
Tent ; 39 the brasen altar, and its grating of brass, its staves,
and all its vessels, the laver and its base ; 40 the hangings of
the court, its pillars, and its sockets, and the screen for the gate
of the court, the cords thereof, and the pins thereof, and all the
instruments of the service of the tabernacle, for the tent of
meeting ; 41 the finely wrought garments for ministering in the
holy place, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and
the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest's ofiice.
42 According to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so the
children of Israel did all the work. 43 And Moses saw all the
work, and, behold, they had done it ; as the Lord had com-
manded, even so had they done it : and Moses blessed them.

XL. 1 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 2 On the
first day of the first month shalt thou rear up the tabernacle
of the tent of meeting. 3 And thou shalt put therein the ark
of the testimony, and thou shalt screen the ark with the veil.
4 And thou shalt bring in the table, and set in order the things
that are upon it ; and thou shalt bring in the candlestick, and
^light the lamps thereof 5 And thou shalt set the golden altar

1 Or, turban ^ Or, porpoise-skins ' Or, set up

32, 43. Possibly the writer was influenced by Gen. ii. 1 ; i. 31 a ;
i. 28a, ii. Sa. Seep. 155.

240 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xl. 5-20

for incense before the ark of the testimony, and put the screen P,
of the door to the tabernacle. 6 And thou shalt set the altar
of burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent
of meeting. 7 And thou shalt set the laver between the tent
of meeting and the altar, and shalt put water therein. 8 And
thou shalt set up the court round about, and hang up the
screen of the gate of the court. 9 And thou shalt take the
anointing oil, and anoint the tabernacle, and all that is therein,
and shalt hallow it, and all the furniture thereof : and it shall
be holy. 10 And thou shalt anoint the altar of burnt offering,
and all its vessels, and sanctify the altar : and the altar shall be
most holy. 11 And thou shalt anoint the laver and its base,
and sanctify it. 12 And thou shalt bring Aaron and his sons
unto the door of the tent of meeting, and shalt wash them with
water. 13 And thou shalt put upon Aaron the holy garments ;
and thou shalt anoint him, and sanctify him, that he may
minister unto me in the priest's office. 14 And thou shalt bring
his sons, and put coats upon them : 15 and thou shalt anoint
them, as thou didst anoint their father, that they may minister
unto me in the priest's office : and their anointing shall be to
them for an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations.
16 Thus did Moses : according to all that the Lord commanded
him, so did he.

17 And it came to pass in the first month in the second
year, on the first day of the month, that the tabernacle was
reared up. 18 And Moses reared up the tabernacle, and laid
its sockets, and set up the boards thereof, and put in the bars
thereof, and reared up its pillai*s. 19 And he spread the tent
over the tabernacle, and put the covering of the tent above
upon it ; as the Lord commanded Moses. 20 And he took and

XL. 15. thou shalt anoint them. See on xxix. 7.

17. the first month. One year after the exodus (xii. 1), in the
ninth month after the arrival at Sinai (xix. 1), and seven months from
the end of Moses' second sojourn on the mountain. See p. 155.

19. as Yahweh commanded Moses. A second seven-fold refrain
(m 19, 21, 23, 25, 27, 29, 32).

20. The priestly writer does not state where Moses had kept the
'tablets of the Testimony' hitherto. Contrast Dt. x. 3, where he makes
the ark before ascending the mountain.

XL. .0-35] THE BOOK OF EXODUS 241

put the testimony into the ark, and set the staves on the ark, P,
and put the mercy-seat above upon the ark : 21 and he brought
the ark into the tabernacle, and set up the veil of the screen,
and screened the ark of the testimony ; as the Lord com-
manded Moses. 22 And he put the table in the tent of meeting,
upon the side of the tabernacle northward, without the veil.
23 And he set the bread in order upon it before the Lord ;
as the Lord commanded Moses. 24 And he put the candlestick
in the tent of meeting, over against the table, on the side of the
tabernacle southward. 25 And he ^lighted the lamps before
the Lord ; as the Lord commanded Moses. 26 And he put
the golden altar in the tent of meeting before the veil : 27 and
he burnt thereon incense of sweet spices ; as the Lord com-
manded Moses. 28 And he put the screen of the door to the
tabernacle. 29 And he set the altar of burnt offering at the
door of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, and offered upon
it the burnt offering and the meal offering ; as the Lord
commanded Moses. 30 And he set the laver between the
tent of meeting and the altar, and put water therein, to wash
withal. 31 ^And Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their
hands and their feet thereat ; 32 when they went into the tent
of meeting, and when they came near unto the altar, they
washed : as the Lord conunanded Moses. 33 And he reared
up the court round about the tabernacle and the altar, and set
up the screen of the gate of the court. So Moses finished the
work.

34 Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the
glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 35 And Moses was not

1 Or, set up 2 See ch. xxx. 19, 20.

34 — 38. The cloiid and the Glory. See on xiii. 21 and xxiv. 16.

34. When the Pentateuch was read in the synagogue services, a
lectionary was arranged in a three years' course of Sabbath readings
(see footnote on p. 62). And King {The Psalms in three collections)
has shewn it to be probable that a similar course was afterwards
arranged for the Psalter. The second book of the Psalter (ending
with Ps. Ixxii.), like the second book of the Pentateuch, was finished
at the close of the sixth month, Elul. It is interesting, therefore, to
notice the striking correspondence of the present verse with Ps. Ixxii. 19
— ' let the whole earth be filled with His glory.'

M. 16

242 THE BOOK OF EXODUS [xl. 35-38

able to enter into the tent of meeting, because the cloud abode Ps
thereon, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 36 And
when the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the
children of Israel went onward, throughout all their journeys :
37 but if the cloud were not taken up, then they journeyed not
till the day that it was taken up. 38 For the cloud of the
Lord was upon the tabernacle .-by day, and there was fire
therein by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, tlu-ough-
out all their journeys, i

36, 37 are based upon Num. x. 34 (J). A fuller statement is
given in Num. ix. 15—23 (P).

38. the clovd of the Lord. The original reading was probably
there was cloud {r\''7\> for nin»), making the clause parallel to the
following 'there was fire.'

there was fire therein^ i.e. in the cloud ; not in the Dwelling, for in
that case it would not be visible to the eyes of all.

34 — 38 describe the fulfilment of the divine promise in xxix. 43, 45.
The Tent was sanctified by the indwelling Presence, and the shining
cloud was the symbol that Yahweh had come to dwell among His
people. With this spiritual note of exultation in God's gracious
acknowledgement of all the self-sacrifice and labour involved in the
erection of the Tent, the book is brought to a splendid close.

One Exodus was accomplished — a triumph over earthly foes,
crowned by the advent of God to dwell among His people. But
our minds move forward to a greater triumph, crowned by a more
abiding indwelling — nyv e|o8ov lyv c/xcWc TrXr/pow kv 'lepovaahjfi.

INDEX.

Aaron : ancestor of priests Ixvii f ., cxviii,
36; representative of the nation Ixxxvi,
cxxv; not a priest but a sheikh xxxiv,
Ixviii, cxvii, 106 ; his part in the nar-
rative of the plagues xvi, cxviii, 28,
41, 50 ; of the golden bull Ixix, 203—
7

Aaron's sons xxxvii, Ixix — Ixxiii, Ixxxvi,
cxxv, 36, 176 f., 192, 198

Abib, the month xliii f., 63, 68, 78, 141,
220

Abihu cxviii, 37, 146, 177

adultery Iv, 120

altar : of burnt-offering Ixxx, Ixxxvi,
Ixxxix, cxxviii, 156, 173 ff., 233 ; of
incense Ixxx, Ixxxvi, xci, 195 f.

altars xxviii, xl, lii, Ixxxi, cxiv, 103,
124 ff., 128

Amalek, Amalekites xxiii, xcix, civ, cxi,
102

Amorite civ, cvi, 17, 144 f.

Amos vi, lix, Ixiii f.

Amram 6, 36

Angel of Elohim, or of Yahweh viii, xx,
cxxi, 16, 85 f., 144, 162 n.% 210 f.

animals, assistance to Iv, 138 f. ; injury
caused by Uii, 130, 138 f.

anointing xxxvii, Ixxi, cxxvii, 188, 198 f.

anthropomorphisms cxxi, 17, 57, 86,
110, 142, 148, 190, 215

ark, the xxxii f., Ixxx, Ixxxv, xci, cxvi,
cxxxiii, 153, 156, 158 f., 161—4

asherdh, -Im, 218 f.

ass, sacredness of the 79

asylnm, the law of lii f., 128

Baal, names compounded with 140

Baalzephon xcv f.

Babylonian influence on Israel xlvii.

If., 121—3, 166
bells on Aaron's robe 185
berlth, see covenant
• between the two evenings ' 69, 96, 194
Bezalel 201, 231

' boards ' of Tabernacle, see Tabernacle

frames
boiling kid in milk, Addend, xxviii, xlvi,

cxv, 143
boils, see plagues

book of Yahweh, the cxxii, cxxxii, 209 f.
Booths, festival of, see Festivals
breastplate, see hoshen
bull, the golden xxxiv f., Ixi, Ixix, cxxviii,

203—7
buU-worship in Israel 174, 204
burnt-offering Ixxii, 124, 147, 190,

193 f. ; altar of, see altar

Canaanites vii, xlvi f., I, Ivi, Ixv, Ixxxiii,

civ, 17, 19, 144, 204
cattle plague, see plagues
cherubim Ixxx, Ixxxiv f., xci, 159 — 162,

172 f.
chronology of Exodus 75 f.
circumcision 27, 29 f.
cloud, different conceptions of the 81 f.,

96 ; later references to the cxxvi,

cxxxi
colours, significance of Ixxxix, 157
consecrate, see 'fill the hand,' ' fillings,'

priests
contribution ('heave-offering') Ixxii, 192,

228
court of the Tabernacle 156, 175 ; and

see pillars
covenant cxxvii, cxxxi, 35, 110, 147,

150 — 4 ; the laws of the xxviii — xxxii,

cxiv, 123—5, 137—140, 153, 216,

218—221 ; the ceremony of the xxxi,

cxxvii f, , cxxxi
covetousness Iv, Ixix, 120 f.
curtains, see Tabernacle

darkness at the Bed Sea 85 — 7 ; the 9th

plague, see plagues
David Ix, Ixv, Ixxxii, 164, 166, 182
decalogue, the : date Ixii f., 114; division

into ten words Ivi f. ; ethical standard

244

INDEX

Iviii f. ; later expansions Ivii f. ; order
of the commands 119 ; a product of
the northern kingdom Ixiii f. ; pro-
hibition of images lix S., 204 ; relation
to other laws Ixi f. , 216 ; referred to
in the O.T. exxvii; the Apocr. cxxviii ;
the N.T. cxxviii f. ; text 114—121

Deuteronomic passages (R^), charac-
teristics of i, vf. ; date xii; religious
teaching cxxii f.

diadem of Aaron Ixxi, 186

Dophkah c

E, characteristics of i, viii f. ; date xii;

religious teaching cxx ff.
Edom xcv, xcix ff., ciii f., ex nJ
'El, 'Eldah, 'Etdhim 38—40
elders 19

Eleazar 37, 105, 146, 177
Eli Ixvii f., Ixxxii
Eliezer, 12 n., 105
Elim xxi, xcviii f., ci, 94; Elath, Eloth,

El-Paran xcviii ff,, ciii, 94
ephah 100

ephod Ix, Ixx, 156, 177 f., 181—4
Etham xciv f., 81, 93
Exodus, references to the: in the O.T.

cxxvi f. ; the Apocr. exxvii f. ; the

N.T. cxxviii — cxxxiii
Ezekiel, temple and ecclesiastical ideals

of xii, xhv, Ixix, Ixxv, Ixxxiii— Ixxxv,

cxxxiii, 125 f., 175, 194 f., 198 «. ;

teaches individual responsibility 1 16 f.

faDow year xxviii, xliii, cxv, 139 f.

false v?itness Iv, 117, 120, 138

fat of sacrifices xxviii, xlv f., Ixxii, cxv.
66, 70, 126, 143 n., 189

Festivals, the three annual : Unleavened
cakes or MazzOth xviii, xxviii, xliii f.,
62 f., 71, 78, 140 ff., 218, 220; Harvest,
Pentecost or Weeks xxviii, xl, xliv
109, 141 f., 220; Booths or Ingather-
ing xxviii, xliv f., 63 n.^, 141 f., 220

• fill the hand ' Ixxii, 188, 191, 208

•fillings' 191

finger of God, the cxxxi, 43, 51, 203

firstborn, death of the, see plagues;
Israel Yahweh's firstborn cxxii, cxxviii,
27 ; offering of xviii, xxviii, xii, cxxix,
62, 66, 78 f., 137, 140, 218, 220

firstfruits, offering of xxviii, xl f., cxiv f.,
62, 66, 137, 140—3, 221

firstlings, offering of xxviii, xlii, cxiv f.,
62, 66, 78 f., 137, 140, 218, 220

flies, see plagues

frames {Ttera«hlm), see Tabernacle

frogs, see plagues

frontlets 80

ger, see sojourner

Gershom xxiv, 12, 104

Gideon Ix, Ixv

'glory' iii, xxii, Ixxxiv, cxxiii, cxxv,

cxxviii, cxxx, 149, 214, 222, 241 f,
Gomer Ixiii
Goshen xcii f., 3

H, Law of Holiness xv, xxxviii, xl, xlii —

xlv, Iii— Ivi, 34, 194, 203
hag, luij xl, cxi, 30, 63
hail, see plagues
Hammurabi 76, 122; the code of xxxixn.i,

xlvii— xlix, li ra., 127, 133
hamsin wind, the 46, 60
Harvest, festival of, see Festivals
Hazeroth c, civ '
heave-offering, see contribution
Herod's temijle Ixxxv n.i, 164 f., 16G

168, 195
hetem xciv f.

Hobab viii, xxiv, 11, 107 f.
holiness, Israelite conception of iv. 111

193, 197, 199; of Yahweh Ixxxvu,

cxxv, 155
' Holiness to Yahweh ' Ixxi, exxvii, 186
homicide, the law of Iii f.
Horeb, the use of the name characteristic

of E viii, xiii, xxiii, xxxv, 16; the

locality of xcix, cii — cvi
hornet cxxviii, 145
horns of the altar 174, 189
Hosea vi, Ix f., Ixviii f., 120, 145
hoshen ('breastplate') Ixx, exxvii, 156.

178—181, 184
hothen, hathan 11, 27
Hur Ixix, cxvii f., 102, 106

images, worship of xxviii, xxxv, xl, lix—

Ixi, 115, 124, 204, 219
incense iv, 199 f. ; spices for xxx%-ii ;

altar of, see altar
infinitive forms in E ix
Ingathering, festival of, see Festivals
inspiration xxxix, li, cvi, cxix, 43, 114.

123, 177
Isaiah vi, lix, Ixiii, 120
Ithamar 37, 146, 177, 235 f.

J, characteristics of i, vi — viii; date xii;

reUgious teaching cxx — cxxii
jealousy of Yahweh Ivii, 116, 129
Jebel Musa c — cii, cv
Jeremiah Ixxxii, cxv, exxvii, 92, 116

147, 154, 164 n.\ 166
Jeroboam I Ixi, 204
Jesus Christ x f., lix, cxix, cxxv, cxxix—

cxxxiii, 1, 17, 67 f., 84, 88, 147, 172,

181, 199

INDEX

245

Jethro viii, xxiii, xxxiii, cv, cxi, cxiii f.,

11, 26, 104—108
Jochebed, see Yochebed
Joshua xxxii — xxxv, Ixviii, Ixxxi, cxvif.,

18, 163, 212 f.
jubile xliii, 112
judgements (mishpdtlm) xxvii f., xlvi —

liv, 126—134, 136
justice enjoined Iv, 138

Kadesh xcix, cii — cvi, 13, 101 f.
kappdrethlxiii, Ixxxv, xci, 159 f., 162 «.,

196
Kenites cxiii f., 10
kerdshlm, see Tabernacle
Kesem {Fiffcfi) xcii f.
kidnapping liv

kinnlm ('mosquitoes'), see plagues
kipper (' make atonement ') 160, 209
Kodhesh leYahweh, see ' Holiness to

Yahweh '
kdpher ('ransom') 130, 197

lampstand, the golden Ixxx, Ixxxv, xc,
cxxxiii, 156, 166 f.

laver, the Ixxxvi, Ixxxix f. , 198

leaven xxviii, xlv., cxv, 69 — 71, 143

Levi Ixvii, 6, 26, 36

Levites: consecrated at Sinai xxxiv, 207 f.;
substitutes for firstborn xli ; their
cattle substituted for firstlings xlii;
formed the priestly caste Ixvi, 26 ; re-
lation to Levi Ixvii, 26; relation to
Aaron and Moses Ixviii, 36 f. ; in-
ferior to the priests Ixix f., Ixxxi,
Ixxxvi, cxxv, 188, 235

lex talionis, see retaliation

locusts, see plagues

magicians cxxxii, 42 f., 48 f.
Manasseh, king Ixiii, 135, 164, 200
maima xxi f., cxi, cxxvii f., 95 — 100
Marah xxi, xcviii, ci, cxxviii, 94
marriage 134

Massah xxi, xxiii, exxvi, 101
mazzebhdh, -ath xxxi f., Ix, 126, 144 f.,

147, 219
niazzoth, see Unleavened cakes and

Festivals
meal-offering, see minhdh
mercy-seat, see kapporeth
Merenptah xciv, cix, 13 t, 83
Meribah xxiii, xcix, cii f., cxxvi, 101
Micah the Ephraimite Ix, Ixvi
Micah the prophet vi, lix, Ixiii, 120
Midian ci, cv, 10, 15
Migdol xev f.

»tini{ia/i = * meal-offering ' or cereal of-
fering 194
Miriam cxviii, cxxvi, 93

mishpafim, see judgements

monolatry xxxix f,, Ixxxiii, cviii, 110 f.,
115

months, the Hebrew 68, 78, 109

Moses : his name 8 f. ; his call xiii,
14—20, 34 f. ; his family 6, 11, 36 ;
converses with Yahweh xxxiii, Ixv, 33,
161, 213; intercedes for the people
xxxvi, cxxviii, 205 f., 209 f,, 214 ; his
personality necessary to account for
Israelite history cviii ; unites the tribes
in the worship of YaJiweh cxii — cxvi,
153 ; considered as ancestor of priests
Ixvii; as Leader cix — cxii, cxxviii;
as Lawgiver and Teacher ix, cxvi f. ;
as author of the Pentateuch ix — xi,
cxxix; as the Eepresentative of the
Old Covenant cxxix

mosquitoes, see plagues

murder liii, 120

Musri, Muzri 14

Nadab cxviii, 37, 146, 177

' name,' significance of a 117 f., 215 ;
of Yahweh 14 f., 18 f., 21—23, 144,
215

new moon 122

Nile (ye^or) 5 f. ; turned to blood, see
plagues

numbers of the Israelites, the 75, 107,
236

numbers, significance of, in the Taber-
nacle Ixxxviii f.

offer ('bring near') iv, 229
Oholiab 202

oil for the lamps xxxvii, 176; for an-
ointing xxxvii, 188, 199
'oMh, see burnt-offering
ordeals Ixv, 133
orphans, treatment of liv f., 135

P, characteristics of i — v ; date xii ;

religious teaching cxxiii ff.
Paran ciii f.

parukheth, see veil of the Tabernacle
Passover, the xviii, xxxix, xlv, cxv,

cxxvii, cxxx, 62—68, 69—73, 77, 143
peace-offering Ixxii, 124 f. , 147, 191
Pentecost, see Festivals
pesel, pesUim Ix, 115
Pharaoh, the title 3
Philistines 80; Philistia 91
Phinehas Ixvii, 37, 152
Pi-habiiroth xcv
•pile-bread,' see presence-bread
pillar of fire cxxviii, 81 f., 85 f., 96
pillars of Tabernacle court Ixxviii f.,

Ixxxvi
Pithom Addend, xciii f., 4, 13

246

INDEX

plagues : literary history xv £f. ; charae-
ter 42 ; relation to natural phenomena
ex, 43—46 ; religious teaching 46 ;
referred to in the O.T. cxxvi; the
Apocr, cxxvii; the N.T. cxxxi; Nile
water 44, 47 f.; frogs 44, 48 — 50;
mosquitoes 44 f., 50 f. ; flies 44 f.,
51 f. ; cattle plague 45, 53 ; boils 45,
53 f. ; hail 45, 54—6 ; locusts 45, 57—
9; darkness 45 f., 59 f . ; death of
firstborn 46, 61, 73

pledges, law of Iv, 136

poU-tax 196 f., 235

pomegranates on Aaron's robe 185

prayer, the power of 46, 102

pre-Mosaic religion xxxix, cxv, 64 f.,
121—3, 163, 185

presence-bread xc, 165 f.

priests : early functions Ixiv f . ; identical
with Levites Ixvi; relation to Levi
Ixvii; relation to Aaron Ixviii; vest-
ments Ixx f., Ixxxvi, cxxv, cxxvii,
156, 176 — 187; consecration Ixxi fif.,
cxxv, 187 — 193 ; sep. also Levites

prince (nos*') v, xxix, Ixxxiii, 137

'propitiatory,' the, see kappdreth

prove, see test

Putiel 37

quails xxi f., cxi, cxxviii, 95, 97

R, Redactors xii, xxiv f. ; see Deutero-

nomic passages
Raamses Addend, xciii f., 4, 13, 74
Ramses II xciii f., 2 f,, 7, 12 f., 15,

31
ransom, a {kOpher) 130, 197
redeem 35, 92
Red Sea, the crossing of the xix f.,

xcvii f., ex f., cxxvi, cxxviii, 82 — 88;

a type of Baptism cxxxi, 84
Rephidim xxi, xxiii, xxv, xcix, ciii f.,

100
rishith xli, 221
retaliation, law of xlvi, liii, cxxviii f.,

130
Reuel 11

robe, the violet, of Aaron 185
Ruskin Ixxxix, cxxiv f.

Sabbath, the xxxviii f., xliii, Ivii f., cxv,
99, 118 f., 121—3, 140, 202 f., 220,
227

salt in sacrifices 200

Samuel Ix, Ixxxii, 163

Sargon I 1, 7

Saul Ix, Ixv

screen of Tabernacle isonrt Ixxviii; of
the door Ixxxv f., 156

sealskins (dugong) 157, 170

segullah cxxvii, 110

Serbal, Mt ci

serving-women at door of Tabernacle 234

Seti I 12

Seti II xcvi

shabbathon v, 99

Shaddai, 'El Shaddai 40 f.

shav' (' vanity,' ' falseness') Ixii f., 117,

120
' shekel of the sanctuary,' sacred shekel

iv, 168, 197
shew-bread, see presence-bread
shoperim 31
Shur xcv, 93

sin-offering Ixxi f., 189, 193
Sin, wilderness of xcix, 95
Sinai, the use of the name characteristic

of J viii, xxvi, xxx, 16 ; the locality

of xcviii — civ
sirocco or S.E. wind xcviii
slaves, law of li f., cxxvii, 127 ff.,

131
sojourner (ger) liv, 72, 77, 135 f.
Solomon's temple Ixviii, Ixxv, Ixxviii f.,

Ixxxi — Ixxxiv, xc n-^, 126, 159, 162,

164, 167, 170, 172, 175, 185, 195,

198, 204
song of Moses, the xx, cxxvii, cxxxii,

88—93
sorcery liv, 135

Succoth (Thku) xciv, ex n.\ 13, 74
symbolism, see Tabernacle

Tabernacle: literary form of the descrip-
tion 155 f ., 223 — 6 ; curtains Ixxiii,
Ixxvii f., 169 f. ; frames (kerdshim)
Ixxiv ff., Ixxix f., Ixxxv, 170 — 2; mea-
surements Ixxix; names Ixxxviif., 158;
historicity Ixxix — Ixxxii, 155; place in
Israel's religious history Ixxxiii f.,
cxxiv f. , 155, 158 ; relation to temples
of Solomon andEzekiellxxxiv — Ixxxvi;
sjTTibolism Ixxxvi — xcii; referred to
in the O.T. cxxvii; the Apocr. cxxviii;
N.T. typology cxxxii f.

table of presence-bread Ixxx, Ixxxvi, xc,
156, 164 f.

Teli-el-Mashkuta xciii f.

Temple, see Tabernacle, Solomon, Eze-
kiel, Zerubbabel, Herod

temunah 115

Tent of Meeting xxxii f., Ixxxi f. , cxvi,
81, 161, 211—3

terdphivi Ix, 182

Testimony, the, see Witness

testing, or proving, of man by God ix,
xxi, 94, 95, 123

theft liii, 131 f.

theophany viii, xxv f., cxxvi, cxxviii,
16, 110—3, 123, 217

INDEX

247

Tbku, see Saccoth

Timsah Lake xcvi

tOrah, -oth Ixiii, Ixv, 106, 183

torn flesh {terephdh) xxviii, xlii, 138

tdshdbh ('sojourner') 77

transpositions in the text xiii, sxii —

xxviii, sxx f., xxxvi, 192
Tummim 179, 181—4
turban ('mitre') Ixx, 186

Unleavened cakes {mazzdth), festival of,

see Festivals ; use of 69 f.
Urim 179, 181—4
usury Iv, 136

veil: on Moses' face cxxx, 222; of the
Tabernacle Ixxxvi, 156, 172 f., 196,
227

wave-offering Ixxii, 191 f., 228
Weeks, festival of, see Festivals
widows, treatment of liv {., 135
wind as Yahweh's instrument xvii, 59,
86 f., 97

witchcraft 117

Witness or Testimony (the tablets of

the decalogue) v, xxii, Ixxxvii, 100,

200

yddhoth (arms of the frames) Ixxiv,

170 f.
Yah 90, 104
Yahweb, see name of Yahweh, Angel,

glory, holiness
Yam Suph xcvii, xcix f., 7, 81, 95; and

see Bed Sea
ydbhel xxvi, xxxii, 112
Yochebed 6, 36
young men as slayers of victims Ixv,

cxiv, 147
Ysiraal on the stele of Merenptah eix

Zadok Ixviii f.

Zerubbabel's temple Ixxxiv, Ixxxv n.^,

xc, 164, 175, 196, 198 n.
Zin, wilderness of ciii f.
Zipporah ixiv, 12, 28, 104

(JTambrtligt:

PBINTED BY JOHN CLAY, Sf.A.
AT THE UNIVEBSITY PBESB.

t/^

and poetry. All the most ancient peoples | was believed to have wrilten their most sacr-

])elievecl that their writing was of Divine origin. books and formularies "with his own han^

The old Indians ;rave the name of Devandfjari, (Wiedemann, i?t%. of Anpf. E.jyjitians, p. 2J7)

or " writing of the gods," to the Sanskrit script ^ In the ancestral home of the Hebrews Babvlouia'

aa being the gift of heaven. The Egyptians had the art of writing was attributed to Nabu (Nebo^'

a tradition that their "sacred symbols," the the god of wisdom and revelation, who iavented

" hiero-glyphs," were imparted to them by Thoth, the cuneiform characters and had the st-lus of

who was the god of letters and of religious the writer ascribed to him as his prowr symbol

learning. Indeed it is to be noted that Thoth It was ou Mount Ncbo, a^ mountain saclred to

BS 1245 .M2 SMC

Bible. Old Testament.

Exodus. English.
The book of Exodus /

AKG-8316

Internet Archive Audio

Featured

Top

Images

Featured

Top

Software

Featured

Top

Books

Featured

Top

Video

Featured

Top

Mobile Apps

Browser Extensions

Archive-It Subscription

Save Page Now

Full text of "The book of Exodus"

See other formats