H y m n a n d H isto ry in Ex

15
Observations on the Relationship between Temple Theology
and Exodus N arrative in the Song of the Sea
Anja Klein
U n iversität G e t in g e n ; n j k l e i n @ t h e o l o g . u n i - g o e t t i n g e n . d e ((

‫ل‬. Introduction
-The Exodus has undergone a wide reception in the poetic texts of the He
-brew Bible. The best-known example is the Song of the Sea in Ex 15. Fol
-lowing the narrative account in Ex 14, the song praises the divine deliver
ance of Israel at the Red Sea. However, the divine deeds that are glorified
go far beyond the literary setting and extend to the biblical period of the
entry into the land. Yhwh is depicted as a warrior god who leads his
.people to his holy mountain, the place from where he rules as divine king
As such, the Song of the Sea has long been acknowledged as an old piece
of tradition that truthfully preserved the history of Israel1.
However, it catches one’s eye that the Song contains not only a
number of links to the Hexateuchal narrative, but that it is also influenced
by the Canaanite myth, traces of which are frequently encountered in the
salms. Though the various parallels both to the Hexateuchal storyline ?
and the Book of Psalms have been widely acknowledged, scholarship has
not yet undertaken a full investigation of the character of the relationship

On the €lassification as an originally independent piece 1 ‫ ه‬,tradition

‫ﺀ‬ cf. F. M. Cross
Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic. Essays in the History of the Religion of 1973Israel,,
124-‫ ؛‬Noth, Das 2. Buch Mose. Exodus, ATD 5, 1984, 98, and w. H. c. Fropp
121,M.
Exodus 1-18: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary, 1999
AB
2,,
-Recently, M. Leuchter, Eisodus as Exodus: The Song of the Sea (Exod 15) Re .562-568
considered. Bib 92 (2011), 321-346, 329-333, suggests that an antique textual version
of the Song originating from the period of the early monarchy under David and Salomon
was later utilised by the scribe who incorporated it into the Exodus narrative. Though
he assumes that the oral origins antedate its textualisation (cf. Leuchter, Eisodus
333(,,
he argues that the poem does not contain »any references to an actual Exodus from
-Egyt«, but that it »conceives of the >Exodus< as a metaphorical and mythic represen
«tation of the settlement and defense of Israelite land holdings in the central highlands
Leuchter, Eisodus, 344f (.(.

ZAW124. Bd., S. 516-527 DOI 1 0 . 1 5 1 5 / z a w 0 0 3 6 ‫־‬2012 ‫־‬

© Walter de Gruyter 2012
 Hymn and History in Ex 15 517

between hymn and hist©ry in Ex 15.2 This will be attempted in the fol-
lowing contribution. Starting point ٠‫ ؛‬my observations is a literary critical
and redaction historical analysis o£ Ex 15, demonstrating that the song
is not a unified composition, but rather the product o£ a longer literary
growth. The second part o£ this article investigates the extent to which the
literary genesis has been influenced by re£erences to poetic and narrative
texts epectively. Einally, the results will allow £or some concluding re-
marks on the idea o£ history in the Song o£ the Sea and its importance for
the reformulation o£ biblical history in the Old Testament poetic texts.

2. Textual Observations

2.1 Eiterary Critical Analysis

Strictly speaking, the poetic account o£ the events at the Red Sea in
Ex 15,1-21 comprises two poems praising Yhwh’s act, namely the Song
o£ the Sea in vv. lb-18 that is originally initiated by Moses alone^ and the
Song o£ Miriam in vv. 20£. Here, the hymnic praise o£ the song in V. 21b
(‫ )ש יר ו ^ יה וה כ י גאה גאה ס וס ורכב ו ר מ ה ב ים‬has a close paral l el in the
‫؛‬P roduction o£ the Song of the Sea V. l b (‫אש ירה ^ יה וה כ י גאה גאה ס וס‬
‫ ) ור כב ו ר מ ה ב ים‬and thus frames foe combination o£ both texts. The short
hymn glorifies Yhwh who is exceedingly glorious and has thrown horse
and its rider into the sea. A prose transition in V. 19 links the two songs,
while foe similar prose introduction in V. l a provides a joint to the
preceding narrative account in Ex 14.
©bviously, the literary relationship between the Song o£ the Sea and
the Song o£ Miriam represents foe crucial literary problem. As is clearly
demonstrated by the identical wording o£ the glorification, one o£ the
songs should be given literary priority. Here foe evidence suggests that
V. l b has to be understood as a resumption o£ V. 21b in order to place the
Song o£ the Sea before the Song o£ Miriam. Apparently, a later author did

2 However, some fruitful contributions should be mentioned here: s. Norin has already
been well aware of the links with other texts from the ?salms or the Hexateuchal
narrative (cf. s. Norin, £٢ spaltete das Meer. Die Aszugsüberlieferung in Psalmen und
Kult des Alten Israel, CB.OT 9, 1977, 77-107); more recently the study by B. D. Russell
should be mentioned (B. D. Russell, The Song of the Sea: The Date and Composition and
Influence of £xodus 15‫ ت‬21- 1‫ ر‬Studies in Biblical Literature 101, 2007). c. Berner, Die
£xoduserzählung. Das literarische Werden einer Ursprungslegende Israels, £AT 73,
2010, 389-400, though, concentrates on the various literary links with the £xodus nar-
rative-
3 The additional mention of the Israelites in V. la represents a secondary insertion, cf. in
the following.
518 ٨٠ Klein

not want Moses to be inferior to Miriam and thus attributed to him a

similar praise of Yhwh, relegating the Song of Miriam to second place .4
However, the literary unity of the Song of the Sea as a whole also has
to be questioned. The main corpus of the song in vv. lb-18 consists
of two parts: The first part in vv. l b -1 2 praises the supremacy of Yhwh
over the enemy and draws heavily on the events at the Red Sea. Its basic
literary layer can be found in vv. l - 3.6 ‫ ־‬-l l a * and has later been supple
-mented by V. 4, V. 5 and minor additions in V. 8aß and V. l lb - 1 2 .5 M ore
over, the mentioning of the Israelites )‫ ( ובני ישראל‬-next to Moses in the in
troduction V. l a is a secondary insertion, which explains why the plural
subject disagrees with the introductory singular verbal form ‫ישיר‬. The
first part of the song can be divided further into a hymnic introduction
vv. l b ‫־‬-and a poetic unit in vv. 6 - l l a * that is mainly composed of regu 3
lar bicola, w hile the hymnic inttodu^ion invokes the praise of Yhwh and
introduces him as a mighty warrior )‫איש מ ל ח מ ה‬, V. 3), the poetry further
dwells on this topic and describes the u prem acy of Yhwh over the foe
culminating in stating his supremacy over other gods (v. 11a). The second
-part of the song in vv. 13-18 deals with leading the people to the sane
tuary, where Yhwh will reign as king forever. The basic layer comprises
V. 13 and vv. 17f., while vv. 14-16 represent a later addition . 6
The clear bisection of the Song of the Sea raises the question as to the
literary relationship between vv. 1 - 3 .6 - l la * and vv. 13.17f. There is no
-denying the fact that the two parts deal with different events in the his
tory of the people, which points to a redactional unity rather than an
original unity. N ot only exceed vv. 13.17f. with the topic of entry into the
-land the exposition of V. lb in a thematic way, but the verses also repre
sent a surplus in view of the self-contained part vv. 6 - l l a * . Therefore, it

Furthermore, the differing 4 ‫ ه‬-the ‫ ؛‬introductory verbal forms points to this direction of lit
erary dependency: While the Song of Miriam is opened with the summons ‫ ש י ר ו‬that fits
well into the literary setting, V. lb starts with the liturgical formula ‫ ؛ א ש י ר ה‬this shows an
acquisition of the literary preceding hymn by the language of prayer. Scholarship takes a
.nearly unanimous point of view in this question; only H. Spieckermann, Heilsgegenwart
Eine Theologie der Psalmen, FRLANT 148, 1989, 99f., opts for the literary priority of
the Song of the Sea. However, he maintains the primacy of the Song of Miriam in terms
.).of a tradition historical dependency (cf. Spieckermann, Heilsgegenwart, lOOf
V. 4 represents a doublet to V. lb varying the assertion that Yhwh has cast his enemies 5
into the sea, while v. 5 anticipates the sinking of the foe from V. 8 and V. 10 (similarly
Norin, Er spaltete, 93-95; 98-100, and j. Jeremias, Das Königtum Gottes in den
Psalmen, FRLANT 141, 1987, 98). V. 8aß and V. l i b can mainly be discarded metri
causa , whereas V. 12 seems to be redundant, as it reports a second time the downfall of
-the enemies. However, the addition of V. 12 can be seen in connection with the supple
.mentation of V. l i b , as both form a parallelismus m em brorum
6 Vv. 14-16 disrupt the connection between the arrival at the Zion in V. 13 and ٧٠ that 17
further dwells on the Zion topic (cf. spieckermann, Heilsgegenwart, 105-107 (.
 Hymn and History in Ex 15 519

can be assumed that the original Song of the Sea in ٧٧٠ 1 - 3 .6 - l la * has
been secondarily supplemented with vv. 13.17f.7
Finally, the prose joint in V. 19 has to be considered. While V. 20-21a
represent the original introduction to the hymnic praise of ٧٠ 21b,8 V. 19
seems to be rather redundant. The verse does not introduce anything new,
but rather recalls the events at the Red Sea, thus providing a literary set-
ting for the following Song of Miriam in V. 20f. Hence it has to be seen in
connection with the continuation in ٧٧. 13.17Í., as only the addition of
the Zion topic necessitates the back reference in V. 19 in order to shift
back Miriam’s praise to the banks of the Red Sea. At last, the collective
reworking that shaped the introduction in V. l a has also left its trac‫ ؟‬s in
the exposition of the Song of Miriam: The masculine pronoun ‫ ל ה ם‬in
V. 21a only makes sense as secondary reference to the group of Israelites
from V. la , whose praise is answered by M iriam’s song.
After having established sufficient evidence for a longer literary
growth, the following account will describe the literary genesis of
Fx 15,1-21 as a whole.

2.2 Tradition and Redaction

The nucleus of Ex 15,1-21 is the Song of Miriam in 15,20f.* (without
15,21 ,‫ ל ה ם‬a) praising the might of Yhwh, who has thrown horse and
rider into the sea (15, 21 ,٥٦ ‫ ס ו ס ו ר כ בו^ ר מ ה‬b). Its prose introduction in
15,20-21a* depicts the women as meeting the victorious men and initi-
ating the glorification. However, though the divine praise fits well with
the preceding victory over the Egyptian enemy, the setting as a victory
procession does not correspond to the scenery at the Red Sea, where the
people as a whole (men and women alike) have been the subject of rescue.
Eurthermore, the description of Yhwh’s action lacks specific reference to
the narrative account; even more so as horses (٥٦٥) are only mentioned

7 Scholarship is ‫؛‬ar from a communis opinio in this question. While Norin, Er spaltete,
10 ‫ ﻪ‬Spieckermann,
‫ﺛ‬ Heilsgegenwart, 1‫ ه‬7 ‫ﺀ‬.‫ث‬Jeremias, Königtum, 98-101, and Berner,
Exoduserzählung, 389-400.401.405, assume an original unity with minor additions,
E. Zenger, Tradition und Interpretation in Exodus XV 1-21, in: j. A. Emerton (Hg.),
Congress Volume Vienna 1980, VT.Sup 32, 1981, 4 5 2 4 8 3 , 469, sees vv. 13ff. as a
secondary supplementation ‫ ه‬vv.‫ ﺀ‬lbff.‫ ؛‬cf. also R. G. Kratz, Die Komposition der er-
zählenden Bücher des Alten Testaments. Grundwissen der Bibelkritik, 2000, 290 EH 81,
who suggests an original core of the Song of the Sea in vv. 6-12. Finally, the literary unity
of Ex 15 as a whole is assumed by E M. Cross (jun.) und D. N. Freedman, The Song
of Miriam, JNES 14 (1955), 237-250, 238, and M. E. Brenner, The Song of the Sea.
Ex 15:1-21, BZAW 195, 1991, 30-34.
8 The apposition ‫ אחות אהרן‬in V. 20 represents a secondary bonding that makes the Ex-
odus a family affair.
520 Anja Klein

in p©st‫־‬priestly a d d i t i f s within Ex 14 (14,9.23).9 Thus, E^ 14 and its

p©etic counterpart in Ex 15 do not share any literary links in their
respective earliest literary layers. It can therefore be suggested that
Ex 15,21b represents an older tradition that has been combined with the
narrative account of Ex 14 at a later stage. Praising the glorification of
Yhwh (‫ גאה גאה‬٦^), a Sitz im Leben in the temple theology can be as-
sumed.10 Such a setting, however, is by no means an indication of the an-
tiquity of the Exodus creed. W hat is praised here is not the concrete ac-
tion of Yhwh at the Red Sea, but his divine kingship that is manifested in
his supremacy over his enemies. The horses and their riders are mere
wild-card characters, whose identification has long since slipped into the
obscurity of tradition.
Supplemented with its prose inttoduction, the cultic hymn is given
the context of a victory scene and attributed to Miriam. Later on, the
tradition piece Ex 15,20f.* has been used by the author of the Exodus
narrative and was placed at the end of the pre-priestly account, thus giv-
ing the cultic praise a life setting at the Red Sea. In the next step, the orig-
inal Song of the Sea in 1 5 ,l-3 .6 ‫ ־‬l l a * is set before the Song of Miriam by
using the actual hymn of 15,21b as means of introduction in 15,1b. Ap-
parently, the short hymn by Miriam provided the reason to insert a longer
poetic praise at precisely this place. However, the Song of the Sea clearly
outlines different priorities: First of all, the praise of Yhwh is now
attributed to Moses, the leading man of the Exodus narrative, while
Miriam’s song becomes a mere anfiphon. Moreover, the praise is trans-
formed into a hymn of an individual (15, 1 ,‫ ) אש י ר ה‬with elements of a
thanksgiving (cf. 15,2). Thus, the poetry is shaped as a psalm that can be
re-used over and over again. In view of the content of praise, Yhwh’s vie-
tory over his enemies undergoes a substantial embellishment and is inter-
preted in terms of his supremacy over the other gods.
Considering the major continuation in 15,13.17-19 and the further
additions in 15,4.5.8aß.lib -1 2 .1 4 -1 6 , the relative chronology is diffi-
cult to establish. As the trail to M ount Zion in 15,13.17-19 is presup-

‫ و‬The literary layering in the narrative aeeount ‫ ه‬£ the sea miraele in Ex 14,15-31 is well es-
tablished. Since Nöldeke, the demarcatinn of the priestly parts 14,15-18*.21*.22Í.26.
27*.28f. is virtually certain (cf. T. Nöldeke, Untersuchungen zur Kritik des Alten Testa-
ments, 1869, 45). The remaining text is divided into the pre-priestly account of the sea
miracle and post-priestly additions.
To the convincing argument that the mention of the horses in Ex 14,9aß (‫ ) כ ל סוס‬and
horses, chariots and riders in 14,23aßy respectively (‫סוס دפ ר ע הألר כ כו‬ ) represent post-
priestly assimilations cf. Berner, Exoduserzählung, 376f.403.
10 Cf. Noth, ATD 5, 97; E. Crüsemann, Studien zur Formgeschichte von Hymnus und
Danklied in Israel, WMANT 32, 1969, 19-24; Spieckermann, Heilsgegenwart,
100-102; C. Eevin, Der Jahwist, FRLANT 157, 1993, 343.
 Hymn and History in Ex 15 521

posed by the majority ٠‫ ؛‬the other additions, these verses presumably

form the first supplement to the Song of the Sea. Their insertion creates
a historical account that goes beyond the literary setting of the original
song. While the people are still on the banks of the sea according to
-Ex 14,30; 15,22, the continuation already knows of their successful arri
val at M ount Zion. Close in time to this insertion (or even as part of
it), 15,4 was added. Like 15,19, the verse has a number of references to
-Ex 14, thus paving the way for an understanding that identifies the name
less foe in the Song of the Sea as the Egyptian adversary. A later author
inserted 1 5 , l l b ‫ ־‬in order to supplement the historical account with an 12
allusion to the D ^n/A biram -E pisode. By again referring a new to the
right hand« of Yhwh » )‫ימינך‬, the extermination of the rioter ,)15,12
comes to be paralleled with the victory over the Egyptians, who have
similarly been destroyed by the divine right hand )‫ימינך‬, As .)15,6 15,5
prepares for the parallélisation of Yhwh’s punishment, the verse might
also be assigned to this redactional reworking. The synonym parallelism
sets the covering with floods (15,5a) next to the going down into the
depths (15,5b) and thus prepares for the fate of Datan and Abiram who
also go down as they are swallowed up by the earth ) 15,12 (.
The last major reworking was done by inserting 15,14-16 into the
second part of the Song of the Sea. These verses complement the reaction
of the nations in view of Israel’s entry into the land and display various
links with the preceding literary version of the song.11 In this way, the
nations are shaped in great similarity to the foe of the first part of the
song and additionally, the march of the Israelites through the nations
.takes features of their march through the divided waters of the Red Sea
Similarly, the insertion of 15,8aß uses the term »standing up in a heap »
)‫ (נצבו כ מו נד‬to describe the floods when destroying the enemy. The
-phrase represents a fixed literary term that is normally used for the cross
ing of the Jordan (cf. Jos 3,13.16) so that the march through the waters of
the Red Sea becomes transparent for the crossing of the Jordan. To sum
up, vv. 8aß.14-16 as a whole belong to a redaction that uses the divine
praise o f E x l 5 a s a paradigm extending to the events of the entry into the
.land
Finally, the collective inter^etation in 15,1 )^‫ (ובני ישרא‬21 .)‫ (^הם‬has
to be considered. It seems safe to assume that this reworking presupposes
the I^st-priestly ending of the Red Sea episode in Ex 14,31, where the
people are said to believe in Yhwh and his servant Moses. Turning the

For example, the ver 1‫؛؟‬es are inserted into the context by the resumption of ‫עם זו גא^ת‬
)«the people whom you redeemed«, 15,13) in form of ٨٦^ ‫«) עם זו‬the people whom you
acquired«, 15,16). Furthermore, while in 15,5 the enemies sink like a stone )‫(כמו אבן‬, in
the nations become still as a stone 15,16 )‫(ידמו כאבן‬, thus taking the place of the foe
from the first part of the song ,
522 Anja Klein

Song of Moses into a thanksgiving song of the people following their res-
ene at the Red Sea, foe colleetive reworking can he understood as a re-
daetional answer to the creed in Ex 14,31.
The preceding account of foe literary genesis has clearly demon-
strated that the understanding of history and the reception of existing lit-
erary tradition plays an important part in foe literary growth of the song.
The following part will investigate further the different pretexts that are
referred to during foe process.

3. Temple Theology and Exodus Narrative

In view of foe Song of Miriam, it has already been demonstrated that the
hymn has a cultic Sitz im Leben in the temple theology. Praising Yhwh as
being glorious (‫ ג א ה גאה‬, Ex 15,21) is an integral part of this theology and
strongly recalls Ps 93, in which the divine king Yhwh is characterised by
being robed in glory (93, 1 ,‫) ג או ת ל בש‬. Thus, the author who integrate¿
the hymn into the Exodus narrative not only created a perfect ending for
the events at the Red Sea, but he also glorified the victory as deed of the
mighty god-king.
As far as the original Song of foe Sea in Ex 1 5 ,1 - 3 .6 -lla * is
concerned, foe influence of two different backgrounds can be noticed.
Firstly, motifs and coined issues from foe Psalms are referred to, whereby
the influence of Canaanite mythology clearly prevails. Secondly, foe Ex-
odus narrative and especially the account of foe events at the Red Sea in
Ex 13,17-14,31 had a considerable impact on the poetic praise in Ex 15.
Already foe introductory statement of faith in 15,2 shows foe double in-
fluence, as textual linkages both to Ps 118 and Ex 14 exist. Apparently,
the designation of foe events at foe Red Sea as »deliverance« (‫ )י שו ע ה‬in
Ex 14,13 recalled associations to the thanksgiving Ps 118 that was sub-
sequently quoted in Ex 15,2a (‫ = ע ך וזמרת יה ויהי לי לי שו ע ה‬Ps 118,14) and
15,2b (‫ ז ה א לי ואגוהו א ל הי א בי ו א ר מ מנ הו‬, cf . ‫ א ל י א ת ה ו או ד ך א ל הי אר וממ ך‬,
Ps 118,28 ) ‫ م‬How ‫ ؟‬ver, the address of God in Ex 15,2 in terms of »God of
my father« (‫ ) א ל ה י א בי‬differs from the pretext in Ps 118. Here, another
background comes into play: The address can be explained as a reference
to the narrative of Moses’ appointment in Ex 3,6, where God introduces
himself as »God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac
and the God of ] a c ob«(‫) א ל ה י א בי ך א ל הי א ב ר ה ם א ל הי י צ ח ק ו א ל הי יעקב‬.
This scene is further allu¿ed to when Ex 15,3 stresses the divine name:
»Yhwh is his name« (‫) י ה ו ה שמו‬. The statement reminds us of Ex 3,13,
where Moses asks the question: »fr I come to the Israelites and say to

12 The use ٠‫ ؛‬the short form ‫ י יה‬which is singular in Ex 15,2, while it occurs frequently in
?s 118 (vv. 5.14.17-19), shows that the dependency runs from Ps 118 to Ex 15 and not
the other way round.
 Hymn and History in Ex 15 523

them, >The God of your ancestors has sent me to you<, and they ask me,
>what is his name?< what shall I say to them?« By giving the innerbibli-
cal answer to this question. Ex 15,3 once and for all closes the discussion
about the divine name.13 These linkages to the beginning of the Exodus
narrative demonstrate that the god who is praised in the original Song of
the Sea was supposed to be identified with the god who had already in-
troduced himself to both the ?atriarchs and Moses. However, the divine
image is further complemented with c^m cteristics that describe God as
divine king and mighty chaos fighter in the Psalms. As an example. Ex 15,3
might suffice, where the praise of Yhwh as »warrior« (‫ ) א י ^ מ ל ח מ ה‬com-
plements the references to Ex 3 in the context. This c^m cterisation is bor-
rowed from Ps 24,8, according to which Yhwh’s fighting str‫؟‬ngth estab-
lishes his kingship (14.(‫מ י זה מ ל ך ה כ ב ו ד יהוה עזוז וגבור י הו ה גמור מ ל ח מ ה‬
In the same manner, the description of Yhwh’s victory over the foe in
Ex 15,8-10 is clearly shaped by elements of the chaos fight. Yet a decisive
change has taken place. The floods are no longer the antagonist of Yhwh
as for example in Ps 93, but they are a device in conquering the enemies.
The mythical cloak cannot be misunderstood, since the waters are de-
scribed as »mighty waters« (‫ מ י ם א רי רי ם‬, Ex 15,10), thus using the same
adjective that usually characterises divine kingship (cf. ‫ א ד י ר ב מ רו ם י הוה‬,
Ps 93,4). Despite these mythical allusions, the description is also in-
fluenced by the narrative account in Ex 14. In the pre-priestly version
a strong east wind (14, 21 ,‫ ב ר ו ח ק ד ים‬a a 2b) serves Yhwh when pushing
back the sea, while the priestly parts add the notion that Moses made the
waters part (14, 21 ,‫ ו יבקע ו‬aa!b). Evidently the meteorological event is in
the background of the description of 15,8*, according to which Yhwh
turns the waters up in a heap by ways of his scornful blast (‫) ב ר ו ח א פ י ך‬.
While the east wind was transformed into the image of the divine blast,
the heaping up of the waters clearly refers to the priestly idea of dividing
the waters.15 Furthermore, the quotation of the foe in 15,9, that he wants
to pursue (‫ ) ר ד ף‬them, reworks the priestly motif that the Egyptians pur-
sued the Israelites into the divided sea (14, 23 ,‫) ר ד ף‬. Finally, the notion
that the waters covered (15, 10 ,‫ ) כ ם ה‬the enemies succinctly summarises
the events described in 14,24-28 (14, 28 ,‫) כ ס ה‬. The fate of the Egyptian
thus becomes transparent for the fate of the nameless foe of the Song of

The tradition historical and literary background demonstrates that

the original Song of the Sea in Ex 1 5 ,1 - 3 .6 -lla * is an exegesis of the
preceding Song of Miriam that had been composed for its current literary

13 Concerning the linkages between Ex 15 and Ex 3 c£. Berner, Exoduserzählung, 393 f.

14 The linkage between the two verses is also demonstrated by the textual witnesses that
partly adjust the text in Ex 15,3 to ?s 24,8 (cf. the Samaritanus and the Syriaca).
15 Cf. Berner, Exoduserzählung, 395.
524 Anja Klein

-context.16 While the Song of Miriam can only he connected to Ex 14 he

cause of its position directly after the narrative account, the original Song
of the Sea displays a number of literary links with and allusions to Ex 14
in its priestly reworked version. These connections clarify that the horses
and rider thrown into the waters )‫ סו ס ו ר כ בו ר מ ה בים‬, ‫ل‬5 ‫و‬1‫ ﻂ‬21 ‫ر ط ﻣ‬can
only allude to the army of the Egyptians, while the explanatory statement
of the cultic hymn )‫ כיג א ה גאה‬, lb.21b) is mainly referred to in those , 15
-sections that borrow from the imagery found in the ?salms. As the mir
acle of the Red Sea is merged with elements of Canaanite mythology, it
receives a mythical elevation as a mighty deed of the god-king. speaking
-of the »myth«, however, it should be noted that the author of the orig
inal Song of the Sea only used mythological ideas as existent in the psalm
.compositions.!? That is clearly demonstrated by the various literary links
Therefore, it seems to be much more ^ r o p r i a t e to speak of a temple
theological interpretation of the Exodus narrative. This, however, has not
,been without consequences. When merged with the narrative tradition
the temple theological issues underwent a historical i n f o r m a t i o n : The
-god-king was identified with Yhwh, who has proven his kingship in act
ing to the benefit for his people in history; from the time of the ?atriarchs
.until the E xod u s
-This literary and theological historical development has also af
fected the subsequent literary genesis of Ex 15, which will be only
briefly sketched in the following. As far as the subsequent expansion in
is concerned, the dual background again prevails 15,4.13.17-19 . 15,4
and 15,19 serve as a frame and enforce the existing links with Ex 14
by referring to the single units of the Egyptian forces.18 The main body
,of the addition, however, is dominated by influence of temple theology
While the guiding statement in 15,13 )‫ (נחה‬is encountered in passages of
the ?salms that compare the people to a flock (cf. Ps 77,21; 78,52), it is

This excludes the suggestion

the Sea represents
that the original
a tradition
Songpiece
o 16‫؛‬
see also Brenner, Song, 80, and Berner,
ferently
£xoduserzählung
Noth, ATD‫؛‬
393
di
5 ,(‫؛‬,
Propp, AB 2, 562-568, and Leuchter, Eisodus, 329-333 [see FN 1]). One argument ;98
that figures prominently in the argumentation in favour of an old tradition piece are
the archaic verbal forms in a number of verses (Ex 15,5.7.8.9bisA0.12.17bis). Some
exegetes argue for this as being sufficient evidence for the antiquity of the Song of the
Sea (cf. Cross / Freedman, Song, 245, and Norin, Er spaltete, 82-84, referring to the
.study of D. A. Robertson, Linguistic Evidence in Dating Early Hebrew Poetry, SBL Diss
Series
1972,3the
‫؛‬, phenomenon is discussed more balanced by Leuchter, Eisodus
However, these distinctive features should rather be interpreted as a stylistic .)321-333
w. Gesenius / E. device
Kautzsch,
(cf. Hebräische Grammatik 281909]
71995
911, § [,,
C. Houtman, Exodus. Vol. 2: Chapters 7:14-19:25, HCOT 1996
244(.,,
,See in general R. G. Kratz, Reste hebräischen Heidentums am Beispiel der Psalmen 17
NAWG.PH 2 ‫ه‬, 5 3 -62
04.,
On this see Zenger, Tradition, 462, and Berner, Exoduserzählung, 394.397Í 18.
 Hymn and History in Ex 15 525

especially the idea ٠‫ ؛‬Yhwh dwelling on his holy mountain that belongs
into the realm of the c ‫؛‬maanite myth and has left its traces in the ?salms
(cf. Ps 46; 48; 76; 84; 87; 122). All three designations that are used
for the sanctuary in Ex 15,17 have close parallels referring to this back-
ground. While »mountain of your ow^ possession« (‫ ) ה ר ו ה ל ת ך‬has
a near parallel in the ugaritic Baal cycle (»mountain of my possession«
b qds . b gr . nhlty, KTU 1.3 111,3‫ وره‬the second designation »the place
th‫^؛‬t you made your abode« (‫ ) מ ב ו ן ל ש ב ת ך‬has a close parallel in Ps 3,14 ‫ق‬
‫)) מ ב ו ן שבתו‬, where it refers to Yhwh’s dwelling place in the skies. Finally,
»sanctuary« (‫ ) מ ק ד ש‬is the designation for the holy dwelling place mainly
used in the Priestly Writing and the Book of E z e k ie l.C o m p ara b le to the
Baal myth, the holy dwelling place is a prerequisite for the royal reign.
Consequently, Ex 15,8‫ أ‬ends with the proclamation of Yhwh’s ever last-
ing kingship (‫ל ע ל ם ו ע ד‬ ٠٦٦^‫ ;) י ה ו ה‬a frequently encountered topic in the
kingship psalms (cf. Ps 10,16; 29,10; 93,1; 96,10; 97,1; ‫وو‬, 1 (‫ ﻣﻢ‬Appar-
ently, only with the arrival at the holy mountain can Yhwh’s king-
ship adequately be proclaimed, though it is presupposed throughout the
events described in Ex 15.
The remaining two insertions in Ex 15 fit this picture well. As men-
tioned above, 1 5 ,llb -1 2 refer to the Datan/Abiram-episode in Num 16.21
This seems safe to suggest as the combination of the terms ‫ ב ל ע‬and ‫א ר ץ‬
in the Hebrew Bible only occurs in the context of punishment of the two
rioting men (Num 16,32.34; cf. Dtn 11,6; Ps 106,17) and in Ex 15,12. As
Datan and Abiram are swallowed up by the earth (Num 16,32), so the
foe in Ex 15,12 is swallowed up. By referring to this episode, the image of
the foe in Ex 15 receives a decisive expansion: Not only will Yhwh prove
his supremacy over enemies from the outside, but also riots within his
chosen people will be punished accordingly. Furthermore, the existing
historical account in Ex 15 is supplemented with another station and the
‫ة‬
enumeration of Yhwh’s deeds ‫ ؛‬labelled as »wonders« (15, 11 ,‫ פ ל א‬b).
Finally, there remains the last major insertion in Ex 15,8aß. 14-16.
As * above, the addition of 15,8aß refers to the crossing of
the Jordan and makes the march through the divided sea transparent for
the entry into the land. Thus, the time distance between the two events is
annulled and Exodus and entry merge into one event of salvation history.

‫ ل‬Though
‫و‬ the dependency on the Canaanite myth is not so dominant in the last two
examples, parallels in the Ugaritic texts also exist (on this cf. Norin, Er spaltete, 8 9 ‫ﺀ‬ . ‫أ‬
Cross / Ereedman, Song, 240).
20 The differing use of the preformative conjugation in Ex 15,18 should not be given too
much importance in view of a starting point of Yhwh’s kingship (differently Jeremias,
Königtum, lOOf., and ^ieckermann, Heilsgegenwart, 110).
21 Cpposed to this, Noth, ATD 5, 99, and Propp, AB 2, 529f., link Ex 15,12 with the
demolition of Egypt.
526 Anja Klein

Comparable to tbis fusion, the guidance through the land in 15,14-16

also receives elements of the crossing of both the Red Sea and the Jordan
(cf. the use of the verb ‫ ע ב ר‬in 15,16). However, the foreign nations take
the place of the Egyptians and while they are not destroyed, they are
seized by tremor in view of Yhwh’s might (15,14f.). The motif of tremb-
ling is also known from the idea of Yhwh’s kingship (cf. e.g. Ps 4 8 ,5 f.),
though the wording in Ex 15,14-16 recalls two texts from the context of
the entry into the land (Dtn 2,25; Jos 2,9 ‫م‬24 ‫ ﻣ ﺮ‬Firstly, Ex 15,14 refers to
Dtn 2,25 where Yhwh announces that he will put dread and fear unto the
people, when they hear report of the Israelites (‫אשר ^ מ ע ו ן ש מ עך ורגזו‬
‫מ פני ך‬ ٨٦).٦^The author of Ex 15,14 re-uses the verb ‫ ש מ ע‬, which now
refers, though, to the report of Yhwh’s rescue of his people at the Red
Se^. It also leads to dread and fear amongst the nations (‫שמעו ע מי ם‬
15,14 , ‫חי ל אחז ישבי פ ל ש ת‬ ٦٦
٦٦). Similarly, Ex 15,15f. quotes from the
٢^
speech of Rahab in Jos 2, who tells the Israelite scouts that her people are
in fear of the Israelites (Jos 2,9.24). Again, the quotation in Ex 15,15f.
interprets the reference along the line that not the people give reason to
fear, but Yhwh and his mighty arm instigate the dread of the nations. To
sum up, the quotations from the Hexateuchal narrative are used to em-
phasise the mighty action of Yhwh and continue to build up the import-
ance of the Exodus as a paradigm for Y h w h ’s action in general.

4. H ym n and History
On the whole, the fusion of hymn and history in Ex 15,1-21 proves to
be a fruitful merger of the literary traditions found in the Book of Psalms
and in foe Exodus narrative. Its starting point is the insertion of the Song
of Miriam that gives the events at the Red Sea a cultic interpretation.
Temple theology in all its aspects continues to influence the further lit-
erary growth of the poetry in Ex 15, while the references to the literary
preceding context in Ex 14 are also strengthened.
Consequently, a twofold development has to be noted: On the one
hand, the myth undergoes a historiographical imerpretation as the Ex-
odus narrative is interpreted with regard to the image of Yhwh as divine
king and chaos fighter. On the other hand, the narrative account is at-
tributed a deeper meaning as the alliance with the temple theology tran-
scends the episode beyond the narrative frame and ascribes to it a para-
digmatic impact. A concept of history of salvation emerges that makes
the Exodus a key event in the history of Israel with its God. History does

22 The dependency clearly runs £rom Dtn 2,25 and Jos 2,9.24 to Ex 15 as the Song displays
literary links to both texts, while the two passages are not linked with each other. Fur-
thermore, the verses Ex 15,14-16 show a clear exegetical intention in view of Dtn 2,25
and Jos 2,9.24‫ ؛‬cf. in the following.
 Hymn and History in Ex 15 527

not arise as the aecurate replay of events long gone, hut as a means of es-
tablishing the timeless relationship between God and his people.
Though the insertion of the Song of Miriam into the Exodus nar-
rative dates back to the pre-exilic formation of the Exodus narrative, the
main part of the exegetical development presupposes the ?riestly Writing.
This makes Ex 15 a literary product from the ?ersian period. This was a
time when the literary shaping of the biblical history was intensified and
re-used in the poetic writing. In this development. Ex 15 plays an im-
portant role in two respects. Firstly, it has left its traces in the historical
psalms that clearly know the Song of the Sea and make ample use of the
text. While ?s 78 and Ps 114 closely follow the outline of Ex 15 »From
Exodus to the holy mountain«, Ps 105 and Ps 106 amplify the timeline
by adding the epoch of the Patriarchs (Ps 105) and the time of Exile and
Diaspora respectively (Ps 106). The twin psalms Ps 135 and Ps 136, how-
ever, include the creation and seem rather distant from the outline of
Ex 15, though single allusions to the Exodus poetry occur. Secondly, the
praise of Yhwh at the banks of the Red Sea in Ex 15 is caused by a con-
Crete occasion, thus offering an - albeit fictional - Sitz im Leben for the
merge of hymn and history. This points to the conclusion that Ex 15 fig-
ured as the literary birth place of the alliance of hymn and history and
might have triggered the further reception of biblical history in the poetic
texts.

Contrary to the long-held opinion, this eontribution argues that the Song of the Sea in Ex 15
does not represent an old tradition, but is rather an example of exegetical writing in the Per-
sian period. The different authors of Ex 15 drew on both temple theology and the Exodus
narrative and merged them fruitfully. Thus, the poem became a paradigm for the combi-
nation of hymn and history that had a great impact on the further literary and theological de-
velopment in the Hebrew Bible.
Contrairement à une opinion longtemps défendue, je soutiens dans cet article que le »Chant
de la Mer« en Ex. 15 ne représente pas une tradition ancienne, mais est plutôt un exemple
d,écrit exégétique de la période perse. Les différents auteurs d’Ex. 15 ont pris en compte tant
la théologie du temple que le récit de l’Exode et les ont fusionnés. Ainsi, le poème est devenu
un paradigme, par une combinaison d’hymne et d’histoire, qui a eu un grand impact sur le
développement littéraire et théologique dans la Bible hébrai'que.
Entgegen der Einschätzung, dass es sich beim Schilfmeerlied von Ex 15 um ein altes Tradi-
tionsstück handelt, wird in diesem Beitrag die These vertreten, dass hier ein schriftgelehrtes
Produkt aus der Perserzeit vorliegt. Hie verschiedenen Autoren von Ex 15 rezipierten Texte
und Motive der Tempeltheologie aus den Psalmen sowie Erzählzüge der Exodusüherlieferung
und reformulierten sie auf den unterschiedlichen literarischen Wachstumsstufen von Ex 15.
Hies legt den Schluss nahe, dass die Einschreibung der Crundfassung des Kapitels in die Exo-
duserzählung die Geburtsstunde der Vereinigung von Geschichte und Poesie darstellt und
Ex 15 als Nukleus der heilsgeschichtlichen üherheferung in den poetischen Texten gelten
kann.
 ‫آلﻣﺂورلم؛‬

Copyright and Use:

As an ATLAS user, you may priut, dow nload, or send artieles for individual use
according to fair use as defined by U.S. and international eopyright law and as
otherwise authorized under your respective ATT,AS subscriber agreem ent.

No eontent may be copied or emailed to multiple sites or publicly posted without the
copyright holder(s)’ express written permission. Any use, decompiling,
reproduction, or distribution of this journal in excess of fair use provisions may be a
violation of copyright law.

This journal is made available to you through the ATLAS eollection with permission
from the eopyright holder(s). The eopyright holder for an entire issue ٥ ۴ ajourna!
typieally is the journal owner, who also may own the copyright in each article. However,
for certain articles, tbe author o fth e article may maintain the copyright in the article.
Please contact the copyright holder(s) to request permission to use an article or specific
work for any use ‫ آس‬covered by the fair use provisions o f tbe copyright laws or covered
by your respective ATLAS subscriber agreement. For information regarding the
copyright hoider(s), please refer to the copyright iaformatioa in the journal, if available,
or contact ATLA to request contact information for the copyright holder(s).

About ATLAS:

The ATLA Serials (ATLAS®) collection contains electronic versions of previously

published religion and theology journals reproduced with permission. The ATLAS
collection is owned and managed by the American Theological Library Association
(ATLA) and received initia‫ ؛‬funding from Liiiy Endowment !)٦٥.

The design and final form ofthis electronic document is the property ofthe American
Theological Library Association.