Why Was Moses Banned From the Promised Land?: A Radical Retelling of the Rebellions of Moses (Num 20:2–13 and Exod 2:11–15)
Num. 20:2-13 has long been regarded as one of the most difficult sections of the Torah. This article shows how a structuralist approach enables us to make better sense of its problems. Although Moses is presented in both the ‘water-miracle’ text of Exod. 17:1-6 and Num. 20:2-13 as a conflicted subje...
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Harrassowitz
2016
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| In: |
Zeitschrift für altorientalische und biblische Rechtsgeschichte
Year: 2016, Volume: 22, Pages: 111-159 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
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| Summary: | Num. 20:2-13 has long been regarded as one of the most difficult sections of the Torah. This article shows how a structuralist approach enables us to make better sense of its problems. Although Moses is presented in both the ‘water-miracle’ text of Exod. 17:1-6 and Num. 20:2-13 as a conflicted subject, Num. 20 is unique in the Moses story in that Moses sends himself a message to rebel against YHWH. This runs counter to Moses' previous responses as subject. Far from being a technical offence, or no offence at all, the combined effect of Moses' words and actions in Num. 20:2-13 communicates an act of open rebellion against YHWH. This is confirmed by semiotic recognitions internal to the text. Moses' offence is structurally equivalent to Israel's rebellion against YHWH in Num. 14 and accordingly attracts the same penalty: death in the desert and exile from the Promised Land. In addition, there is a range of structural correspondences between Num. 20:2-13 (where Moses rebels against YHWH) and Exod. 2:11-15 (where Moses rebels against Pharaoh). When read as parallel texts, they amount to a radical retelling of the arc of the Moses story. |
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| ISSN: | 2747-4461 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Zeitschrift für altorientalische und biblische Rechtsgeschichte
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.13173/zeitaltobiblrech.22.2016.0111 |