Exodus Sh'mot

Sh’mot
Exodus 1:1−6:1

I. Summary

A. Sh’mot = (These are the) “names” (of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob …). Sh’mot also Hebrew name for second book of the Torah (v. Greek-derived title, Exodus).

B. Israelites multiplied and prospered until the new Pharaoh ("who knew not Joseph"), fearing that the Israelites would oppose him in war, imposes (four) increasingly oppressive measures on Israelites: 1. forced labor, 2. full slavery, 3. secret attempt to make Hebrew mid-wives murder Hebrew newborns (though Shiphrah and Puah refuse to do so because they “fear God”) and 4. public efforts to murder Hebrew newborns. (1:1-22)

C. A Levite woman, Yocheved (wife of Amram) gives birth to a son and hides him for three months. When hiding the infant is no longer feasible, she places the baby, Moses, in a basket on the Nile. The baby's sister (assumed to be Miriam) stations herself at a distance to see what will happen. Soon the (unnamed) daughter of Pharaoh comes down to bathe in the Nile and discovers the infant. Although she realizes that the baby must be "a Hebrew child," she decides to adopt him. She asks the baby’s sister (Miriam?) to find a Hebrew wet nurse for him. The sister brings back Yocheved, Moses' mother, who is given the child to nurse and is able to raise Moses until he has grown. Yocheved then brings the youth back to Pharaoh's daughter who names him Mosheh (associated with mashah, “to draw out” i.e. Moses drawn out of water v. Moses draws Israelites out of Egypt). Moses is raised in Pharaoh's house. (2:1-10)

D. Moses kills an Egyptian who is beating a Hebrew (after first checking that no one is looking). The next day, Moses tries to stop a fight between two Hebrews who ask Moses if he will kill them as he killed Egyptian. With Moses’ crime known, Pharoah seeks to kill Moses. Moses flees to Midian. (2:11-15)

E. Moses marries Zipporah, daughter of Reuel, the priest of Midian. They have a son named Gershom. (2:16-22)

F. After the Pharoah dies, Israelites continue to suffer under Egyptian bondage and cry to God for help. God “took notice of them”. God calls to Moses from an unconsumed, burning bush in Horeb where Moses is tending flock of Jethro/Reuel (his father-in-law). God commissions Moses to free the Israelites from Egypt. Moses balks (first of Moses’ five objections … 3:11, 3:13, 4:1, 4:10 and 4:13) and needs convincing. Moses asks God what answer Moses should give Israelites when they ask him for God’s name. God says Moses should give them the name Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh, "I will be what I will be". (2:23-3:15)

G. God tells Moses 1) to approach elders, 2) with elders, go to Pharoah to request three days in wilderness for sacrifice, 3) Pharoah will say no so God will smite Egypt with various wonders, 4) Egyptians will be favorably disposed so Israelites won’t leave empty-handed and 5) each (Israelite) woman shall borrow silver, gold and clothing from her favorably disposed neighbors and lodgers. (3:16-22)

H. Moses still needs convincing that God is real deal so God makes 1) rod into snake and back into rod and 2) Moses’ hand scaly (but God then makes scales go away). God says to Moses that if Egyptians need convincing, that Moses should take water from Nile and God will turn it into blood. (4:1-4:9)

I. Moses needs convincing that Moses is right person to do this even if God is real deal (“I’m slow of speech and slow of tongue”). God gets angry and says Aaron (Moses’ brother) will speak to the people for Moses. Moses asks Jethro for permission to leave Midian to go back to Egypt. Jethro agrees. (4:10-18)

J. Moses goes back to Egypt with his wife and son. God speaks to Moses and lays out rest of script (“perform before Pharoah all the marvels ... I will stiffen Pharoah’s heart … I will slay your (Pharoah’s) first born”). God seeks to kill Moses (his son? why?) but Zipporah saves him (Moses or his son?) by cutting off foreskin of her son and placing it on leg of Moses (his son?). God “let him (who?) alone” (reminiscent of Jacob’s struggle with divine entity when Jacob becomes Israel). Moses tells Aaron about Moses’ conversations with God. Aaron repeats all words to elders of Israel and performs the signs (“in sight of the people”). 4:19-31)

K. After Moses and Aaron convince Israelites of God’s intent, Moses and Aaron request permission from Pharaoh for the Israelites to celebrate a festival in the wilderness. Pharaoh refuses and makes life even harder for the Israelites (by depriving them of straw for making bricks without reducing brick quota). Moses and Aaron question God for telling them to antagonize Pharoah. Moses, in turn, asks God why God sent Moses on this mission and why God brought harm on Israelites. (5:1-23)

L. God tells Moses to hold the course and assures Moses that Pharoah will eventually let Israelites go because of “a greater might”. (6:1)

II. Commentary (Plaut, various websites and prior Hevreh discussions)

A. Humility of Moses - Neither too little nor too much humility is a necessary quality of leadership. Moses’ question to God ("Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?" at 3:11) suggests contrast, i.e. Moses was modest yet retained requisite strength as a leader, whereas Aaron the priest was of overly modest spirit, and this trait caused "softness and fear", the result of which was his inability to prevent the sin of the Golden Calf.

B. God’s names – 1) Elohim = basic generic name for any god. 2) YHVH = God’s unchanging and personal name by which Israelites call their god. 3) Ehyeh = name not translated by English text. When Moses asks God, "When I come to the Israelites ask me, 'What is His Name?' what shall I say to them?" (Exod. 3:13), God says Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh ("I will be what I will be"). Many scholars deem this name to mean "I will be what tomorrow demands," stressing God's ability and readiness to respond to and interact with human beings. Suggests that God is what you need when you need it.

C. Moses questioning God – Not only is this an instance of negotiation with God but also could be reason (per Rashi) Moses later denied access to Promised Land.

D. Burning bush – Moses’ seeing burning bush suggests his evolution reflected in his capacity to experience wonder. Could also reflect his ability to see and connect to God.

E. Attributes of a leader – Different attributes for different leaders needed at different times. Moses story suggests 1) humility, 2) willingness to question authority (Pharoah and even God), 3) strength, 4) willingness to delegate (to Aaron), 5) empathy/connection with the people (they complained to Moses about increased oppression), 6) respect of people and 7) strong faith (did what God asked). Contrast attributes of Noah, Abraham, Isaac and Joseph.

F. Hardening of Pharoah’s heart – Torah cites hardening of heart ten times! If God hardened Pharoah’s heart, why punish Pharoah? At least two possible reasons: 1) Pharoah already sinned by killing infants. 2) Continuously wicked acts of Pharoah make his wickedness irreversible and God merely informing Moses of what is bound to happen (man has free will but God knows what all people will decide to do).

G. Role of women in Torah – 1) Shiphrah and Puah (defied Pharoah’s order to kill newborn Hebrew boys), 2) Yocheved (Moses’ mother who hides Moses for three months), 3) Pharoah’s unnamed daughter (pulls Moses from Nile and gives him back to Yocheved for wet nursing … later adopts Moses) and 4) Zipporah (Moses’ wife) protects Moses (his son?) from God’s attempt to kill him. Interesting that they are not punished for their bravery by either Pharoah. One gets the sense that Pharoah doesn't want to mess with the idea that Israelite women are so strong in their childbirth that they don't need the midwives. Consider also the fact that Genesis has many women of significance (Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, Leah, Dinah and Tamar); however, the future significance of these women (and other women) was minimized and even written out of Torah by biblical authors/redactors who had political agendas, e.g. Leviticus has a distinctly male orientation to exclusion of any real sensitivity to women.

H. Value of being raised among strangers - Does fact that both Joseph and Moses were raised as Egyptians reflect a deep admiration for Egyptian society and its leadership capacities? Does this tell us something about leaders who succeed because they know the culture of their enemies? Does it tell us that our "enemies" are not actually always our enemies but can be sound cultures that go astray and that within the enemy there are good people? Lessons applied to the diaspora?

I. Lessons for us today
1. Pursuit of justice can come with a price (Moses’ possibly accidental murder of Egyptian tags him as an ill-intentioned murderer and forces him to flee).
2. Silence of God (e.g. in face of 400 years of brutal slavery) does not mean absence of God.
3. We hear/see God in different ways (Moses’ connection was through burning bush).
4. Having faith doesn’t exclude possibility of doubting God (Moses questioning God’s order to approach Pharoah on behalf of Israelites).
5. It is too easy to ignore past realities if they get in the way of what you want to do now (the new Pharaoh "who knew not Joseph” brutally enslaved the Israelites). The challenge is to learn from the past and act accordingly.

(Revised 1/9/10)