Exodus and Asylum: Uncovering the Relationship between Biblical Law and Narrative
This article argues that there is a close relationship between biblical law and narrative regarding the subject of asylum. It contends that the narrative of Moses finding refuge from Pharaoh in Exod. 2.11-22 is repeated on a much larger scale in Exodus 14—15 and that Israel’s flight from Egypt into...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2010
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| In: |
Journal for the study of the Old Testament
Year: 2010, Volume: 34, Issue: 3, Pages: 243-266 |
| Further subjects: | B
Cities of Refuge
B Homicide B Asylum B Social Knowledge B narrative stereotype B Biblical Law B Exodus |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Electronic
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| Summary: | This article argues that there is a close relationship between biblical law and narrative regarding the subject of asylum. It contends that the narrative of Moses finding refuge from Pharaoh in Exod. 2.11-22 is repeated on a much larger scale in Exodus 14—15 and that Israel’s flight from Egypt into the desert of Sinai can be seen, inter alia, as a large-scale example of asylum-seeking. It also argues that there are key structural similarities between these two narratives of asylum and the biblical laws of asylum (Exod. 21.12-14; Num. 35.9-34; Deut. 19.1-13). This finding has several implications for the study of biblical law. It suggests that the biblical laws of asylum are best understood as ‘paradigm cases’ that draw on the Exodus narratives as part of their social construction. It also helps to explain why the biblical laws of asylum are typically concerned with flight from accusations of homicide, rather than other forms of asylum-seeking commonly found in the ancient Near East. Israel saw itself, not simply as a nation of escaped slaves, but also as a nation of successful asylum-seekers. |
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| ISSN: | 1476-6728 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal for the study of the Old Testament
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1177/0309089210363028 |