Exodus 12c-13a: Echoes of Exodus
You may have noticed in this week’s text (Exodus 12:43-13:16) that there were a lot of familiar-sounding verses. Exodus 12:1-14 covers the Passover, 12:15-20 the Feast of Unleavened Bread, then 12:21-27 once again covers Passover. 12:43-49 once again cover the Passover, and 13:3-10 looks once again to the Feast of Unleavened Bread. So we could outline the two chapters like this:
A) Passover, Part 1 (12:1-14)
B) Feast of Unleavened Bread, Part 1 (12:15-20)
C) Passover, Part 2 (12:21-27)
X) Passover and Exodus (12:28-42)
C1) Passover, Part 3 (12:43-49)
B1) Feast of Unleavened Bread, Part 2 (13:3-10)
A1) Redemption of Firstborn (13:11-16)
This kind of X-shaped pattern is called a chiasm, which tends to focus on the middle element. In this case, the middle element would be the actual Passover and exodus event itself.
There are various reasons for all this repetition. I suppose Moses could have just lumped all the Passover passages together, then the Feast of Unleavened Bread, then went right to the event itself. But he didn’t. He chose to give them to us in layers, revealing a bit at a time, with some overlap and some new information in each new section.
Part of the effect that this type of structuring has on us is to reinforce through an echo technique the importance of remembering and keeping these stipulations. Sometimes it is helpful to put similar commands side by side (by side) to see how they are changed or shaped in their new contextual literary environment.
For instance, many times in Scripture when a command is repeated in near context, it can be summarized and abbreviated. Take, for example, 13:9 // 13:16:
Exodus 13:9
Exodus 13:16
And it shall be to you as a sign on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the law of the LORD may be in your mouth. For with a strong hand the LORD has brought you out of Egypt.
It shall be as a mark on your hand or frontlets between your eyes,
for by a strong hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt.”
There is some minor difference in wording on the phrases that are similar, but here we see much of the same phraseology between these two verses, only “that the law of Yahweh may be in your mouth” is deleted in verse 16. Also the “to you” is deleted from verse 9 to verse 16 in the first line. The general sense of the text is the same, even with the variation of wording, but verse 16 is summarized and abbreviated. The “it” in both cases (“it shall be a sign/mark”) refers to the commands of the Lord to be carried out in Canaan (the first referring specifically to the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the second to the redemption of the firstborn).
There are other times when a text is both summarized and elaborated on. Take, for example, 13:5 // 13:11-12a:
Exodus 13:5
Exodus 13:11-12a
And when the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, you shall keep this service in this month.
When the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites,
as he swore to you and your fathers, and shall give it to you,
12 you shall set apart to the LORD all that first opens the womb.
Notice that five of the “ites” are dropped from verse 5 when verses 11-12a echo it. “Canaanites” effectively summarizes all the other “ites.” “A land flowing with milk and honey” is also dropped. But on the other hand, verse 5’s “you shall keep this service in this month” turns into the more specific “you shall set apart to Yahweh all that first opens the womb” in verse 12 (which is then further elaborated in 12b-16). So while some of the details are dropped, others are expanded upon.
Let’s take another example, this one which uses three different parallel echoes:
Exodus 12:26-27a
Exodus 13:8
Exodus 13:14
And when your children
say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ 27 you shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of the LORD’s Passover, for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses.’”
You shall tell your son on that day, ‘It is because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.’
And when in time to come your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you shall say to him, ‘By a strong hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery.
The theme of all three of these texts are clearly the same: the parents are instructed to use these festival events to pass down their faith to their children. 12:26-27a occurs in a Passover context, 13:8 is Feast of Unleavened Bread, and 13:14 is the redemption of the firstborn. The exact phraseology is not as closely echoed as the other examples above, but the thrust of each is the same. In all of these seminal feasts and stipulations for Israel, there is a clear family dynamic that should be taking place with an eye towards the next generation.
Each of these three texts emphasizes it slightly different. The first and third assume that the traditions enacted are so strangely played out that the natural curiosity of the child will overcome him and he will ask what is the meaning of the ritual. The second, Exodus 13:8, emphasizes a bit more the initiative of the parent in the ritual feast. Taking all these together, we see that familial biblical education should reflect both the initiative of the parent and the curious approach of the child. In other words, theology is passed down both strategically/actively and opportunistically/passively.
Let’s look at one final echo, this one that is fourfold:
Exodus 13:3
Exodus 13:9
Exodus 13:14
Exodus 13:16
Then Moses said to the people, “Remember this day in which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of slavery, for by a strong hand the LORD brought you out from this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten.
And it shall be to you as a sign on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the law of the LORD may be in your mouth. For with a strong hand the LORD has brought you out of Egypt.
And when in time to come your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you shall say to him, ‘By a strong hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery.
It shall be as a mark on your hand or frontlets between your eyes, for by a strong hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt.”
At this point, maybe the word “echo” doesn’t quite cover the phenomenon that is occurring here. It’s more of a repeated phrase, or mantra, that is heralded throughout the text. The mantra here is “for by a strong hand Yahweh brought you out of Egypt.” We see the phrase twice in the context of Unleavened Bread and twice in the redemption of the firstborn. In 13:3, 9 and 16 it is connected to the remembrance that the Israelites are supposed to have of the exodus. In other words, when reflecting back on the exodus events, the strong hand of God (evidenced primarily by the plagues) should be a major part of the story and its meaning. 13:14 connects the phrase with the explanation given to the children when they ask for the meaning. So we cannot divorce the strong hand of Yahweh from the exodus event itself (which, I believe, many liberal critics do of Exodus – trying to give naturalistic explanations for the plagues, or for why the Red Sea parted, etc. But that is another topic for another blog!).
What is perhaps even more significant about this, though, is that these phrases used here are echoes of God’s original statement to Moses back in Exodus 6:6 – “I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment” (ESV). It is not coincidence that the “strong hand” continually comes up in context of the redemption of the Israelites and the redemption of the firstborn. “By a strong hand Yahweh brought you out” is a summary and explanation of the outstretched arm and great acts of judgment in Ex 6:6. The powerful judgment of God and the redemption of God’s people are two inextricable acts that are both developed in the narrative of the exodus event.
But overall, the point of all this is to recognize that echoes in Scripture are not to be ignored. It is easy in our devotions or study to skip over text that looks familiar, but it’s there for a reason and the structure informs the purpose and message of the text. If you hear it, then hear it again, listen more closely, and study more sharply, for there is good reason for the echo. You just have to know what to listen for.
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