출애굽기 33:7-11의 정경적 읽기 - 회막(אהל מועך)과 성막(משׁכן)의 구분을 위한 제언 -

Abstract

This is a paper to delve into the canonical significance of Exodus 33:7-11 in order to make a distinction between the tent of meeting (אהל מועך) and the tabernacle(משׁכן). I have wrestled with two problems, i.e. translation of the tent of meeting and integral reading of Exodus 33:7-11 in the present canonical context. Scholars had discussed the text in question as a later insertion redacted by the so-called Priestly Historian. Without it, the preceeding text of 33:1-6 would flow smoothly into the following 33:12-23. Both texts consist of a successive dialogue between God and Moses regarding the judgment of God in the face of Israelites’ idolatry worship of the Golden Calf. Why does the text of the tent of meeting interrupt the divine-human dialogue in the chapter of 33? Moreover, the verb forms of yiqtol and weqatel indicate that the tent of meeting in 33:7-11 had been installed occasionally even before the construction of the tabernacle. What is the relationship between those two tents?BR Several canonical readers have suggested their own interpretations on the meaning of the text in the context of chapters 32-34. Some of them regard the function of the text as a focal point of change from the judgment to restoration. Others argue that the role of Moses as an intercessor is highlighted. This claim is strengthened by the expression of “face to face” encounter between Yahweh and Moses. Still others notice that the theme of the presence of God is the main issue that is consummated by the inauguration of the tabernacle in chapter 40. However, structural analysis of chapters 32-34 has revealed that the tent of meeting is situated at the heart of a series of divine-human dialogues. Also, the structure of chapter 33 itself shows a chiasmus whose focus is placed on the conversation of Moses with God. Furthermore, the extended context of chapters 19-40, which contain the legal codes such as the Ten Commandments, Covenant Code, the Law of Tabernacle, displays that the legal provisions and regulations are the result of personal conversation between God and human.BR Through these observations, I have asserted that Exodus 33:7-11 conveys a theological remedy to misunderstandings of Israelites who had considered the meaning of the tabernacle as an experience of divine presence by seeing the clouds and fire. When the P placed the text at the center of chapters 32-34, they must have intended to emphasize the experience of ‘listening’ to the divine words that transpire in the tent of meeting. I have found, in agreement with Menahem Haran, that the tradition of tabernacle represents the priestly experience of seeing while the tent of meeting’s tradition represents the prophetic experience of listening. In conclusion, I have proposed that the tent of meeting should be translated as ‘tent of Words’ or ‘tent of listening.’