Israel am Gottesberg: Eine Untersuchung zur Literargeschichte der vorderen Sinaiperkope Ex 19-24 und deren historischem Hintergrund

Abstract

Israel am Gottesberg: Eine Untersuchung zur Literargeschichte der vorderen Sinaiperikope Ex 19-24 und deren historischem Hintergrund, by Wolfgang Oswald. OBO 159. Freiburg: Universitatsverlag; Gottingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1998. Pp. x + 286. S.Fr. 89.00. The book is a dissertation written under Thomas Kruger for the University of Zurich. Oswald's aim is to reassess the literary-historical development of Exodus 19-24 and the social circumstances giving rise to the text. In chapter I Oswald eschews source criticism in favor of a supplemental or redaction approach. Current research (e.g., Blum, Dozeman, Renaud, Van Seters) from this perspective, however, has left important questions unresolved: the relationship of literary criticism and tradition history, the role of theology and theory in the interpretation of literature, and the need for clearer description of social setting to account for the formation of Exodus 19-24. These questions provide the central impetus for Oswald's study. Chapter 2 is a synchronic reading of Exodus 19-24 in the larger context of Exodus-Numbers. The itinerary structure of the exodus and the wilderness journey, the varieties of law codes (six), and the many trips by Moses up and down the mountain (nine) create degrees of literary incoherence. Close reading indicates points of tension with regard to textual topography (e.g., distinct names, locations, actions, and deitic elements surrounding Moses' trips to and from God on the mountain). Thus God lives permanently on the mountain, dwells in heaven, approaches in a cloud, and descends to the summit, while theophany also changes in location. Textual topographies provide a window into distinctive epistemologies (e.g., verbs of perception, knowledge, and communication), with the result that the content of theophany shifts between visual and auditory experiences. The synchronic study yields a variety of textual typologies in chapter 3 (YHWH-Yarad; YHWH-Mountain; YHWH-Approach; YHWH-Heaven; People-- Ascend; Visio-Dei). The process by which these typologies are interwoven and the social context out of which there were created are described in chapter 4. Oswald seeks to demonstrate in chapters 3 and 4 that incoherence in the present form of the text must be read in light of its formation, and that the process of growth must be grounded in concrete social and political contexts. The results can be summarized in three phases. Law is essential throughout the development of the literature. There is no theophany independent of law. First, a deuteronomistic perspective evolves through four stages (1) A Mountain of God Pericope (Exod 19:2b, 3a, loa-11a, 14a-15b, 16-17, 18b, 19a; 20:18b-d, 21be, 22a; 21:2-23:19; 24:3, 12-13 18be) is part of a larger narrative beginning with the exodus, the Exodus-Gottesberg-Narrative (EG). The Book of the Covenant is central to the EG, as the legal charter for an exilic community located at Mizpeh and led by Gedaliah. It indicates a break with the Davidic monarchy-the exodus and the premonarchical period become the paradigmatic time in history, law is from God independent of the king, and worship is modeled without priests. (2) Redactors, most likely from Mizpeh, add a democratizing element with the Decalogue (Exod 20:1, 2-17, 19, 21a)-Moses is now with the people in hearing the divine word. (3) The theme of covenant (Exod 19:3b-7a, 7c-8, 9f., 13f.; 20:22b-23; 21: 1; 24:48) is woven into the EG in the early postexilic (Persian) period as a result of conflicts between residents in the land and the Gola returnees from Babylon (i.e., land possession, urban vs. rural life, Mizpeh vs. Jerusalem as the religious and social center, the nature of political organization in relationship to Persia). The covenant texts emphasize an exclusive allegiance with YHWH to express opposition to Persian influence. (4) The role of the elders (Exod 24:13a-14), the messenger texts (Exod 23:20-33), and the command for Israel to ascend the mountain (Exod 19:13f. …