Exodus–Deuteronomy

Abstract

Exodus–Deuteronomy Joel M. LeMon, Christopher T. Begg, Fred W. Guyette, John M. Halligan, and Michael W. Duggan 2049. [Exodus] Frank H. Polak, "Hidden Protest, Implied Theodicy and Secret Promise in the Opening of the Book of Exodus," Theodicy and Protest, 29-44 [see #2366]. The fundamental theological problem that the Book of Exodus seeks to solve is how the Israelites found themselves in slavery in Egypt in the first place. The problem goes largely unarticulated in Exodus, though Ezekiel 20 deals with the problem directly by suggesting that Israel's slavery was divine punishment. In response, P. argues that the narrative of Exodus aims to show that God's care for the Israelites never ceased and that Exod 2:24-25 comes as a response to this "hidden question" of why Israel had to suffer so long in bondage.—J.M.L. 2050. [Exodus 1–14] Tchavdar S. Hadjiev, "'I Have Become a Stranger in a Foreign Land': Reading the Exodus Narrative as the Villain," BibInt 26 (2018) 515-27. This article offers a reading of the beginning of the Exodus narrative (Exodus 1–2) that highlights the affinity between contemporary Western readers and the villains of the story, the Egyptians. Both groups live in prosperous places where migrants wish to come in and settle, and both have to deal with minorities living in their midst and posing apparent threats to their security. Against such a background, modern readers can choose to read against the grain of the text and construe the otherness of the Hebrews as the main reason behind the devastation that engulfs Egypt as the book unfolds. However, a more fruitful and appealing approach is to embrace the ideological stance of the narrative and place oneself in the role of the story's villain. Doing this allows us to hear the story as the voice of one who has become a stranger in a foreign land. [Adapted from published abstract—C.T.B.] 2051. [Exodus 2] Gregory Lee Cuéllar, "A Migrant-Centric Reading of Exodus 2: Tactics of Survival for Immigrant Women and Their Unaccompanied Children," BibInt 26 (2018) 499-514. From a different vantage point, stories of migration, deportation, exile, and diaspora in the Hebrew Bible have more than a didactic function; rather, they speak to and out of a set core of human experiences that, in turn, render them of relevance across the historical spectrum of human migrations. Thus, rather than survey what the HB has to say about migration, the question might be raised: how does the migrant-likeness of the HB compare to contemporary migrant-refugee tactics of survival? In this article, I focus on the story of the baby Moses's internal migration to the Pharaoh's palace in Exodus 2, in light of the more recent phenomenon of the unaccompanied migration of Central American children to [End Page 677] the United States. Via this parallel reading, my aim is to forge a migrant-centric reading of the Exodus 2 narrative that views the text not as birth story but rather as a relevant migrant-survival story that many unaccompanied Central American children are currently living. In the end, I argue that, when Exodus 2 is framed solely as a birth story, readers inevitably foreclose on an interpretation of the narrative that enables it to address the conflict, loss, and trauma of many migrant-refugees in our world today. [Adapted from published abstract—C.T.B.] 2052. [Exod 2:10] David Zucker, "She Named Him Moses … But Who Was 'She'?" JBQ 47 (1, 2019) 50–54. Question: Who named Moses? Exodus 2:1-10 relates the narrative of the parentage of Moses, his birth and early days, and concludes with his being named. Philo and Josephus both have the Egyptian princess naming Moses. But some have thought that it was unseemly for such a great prophet to be named by an outsider. Therefore, the rabbis felt compelled to bring the Egyptian princess into the house of Judaism as a convert before she named him (see Exodus Rabbah 1.23 and b. Soṭah 12b). By tradition, however, the birth mother is...