Marc Sims posted: " The Exodus represents the archetypical act of Israel's deliverance in the Old Testament. It is through the triumph of Yahweh over the powers of Egypt (represented by Pharaoh) that all future generations would see and remember the mighty right hand of Yah" Marc SimsRead on blog or Reader
The Exodus represents the archetypical act of Israel's deliverance in the Old Testament. It is through the triumph of Yahweh over the powers of Egypt (represented by Pharaoh) that all future generations would see and remember the mighty right hand of Yahweh working salvation for their people (Ex 15). However, prior to the fantastic signs and wonders worked at the Reed Sea, before the Passover, and before any of the plagues devastated the land, there is an interesting interaction between Yahweh and Pharaoh. Pharaoh, unaware that his kingdom is teetering on the brink of destruction, enters into a duel of sorts with Moses and Aaron. Both Aaron and the magicians of Pharaoh throw down their staffs and they immediately turn into serpents, but Aaron's staff/serpent then devours the magicians' staffs/serpents. Despite this miraculous encounter, Pharaoh's heart is hardened and the ten plagues commence. How should one interpret this story? It appears to be straightforward enough, falling in line with the other spectacular acts of judgment throughout the Exodus narrative. However, there are a few features that make this story unique.
This paper will argue that the main point of the confrontation is the demonstration of Yahweh's superiority over the gods of Egypt through the superiority of Aaron's staff over the magicians' staffs. This display of Yahweh's superiority and strength will serve as a portent of the rest of the acts of judgment against Pharaoh. This will be demonstrated by a close examination of the word used to describe the transformation of Aaron's staff, תַּנִּין, both in the Bible and in comparative ancient Near Eastern literature.
Exodus 7:8-13
After Moses and Aaron initially fail to secure the respite that Israel was hoping for (Ex 5), Yahweh commands them to return again to Pharaoh (7:2), but this time he tells them to be prepared to prove themselves by working a miracle (7:9). When Yahweh initially called Moses, he was given three different signs to validate his authenticity as a spokesmen for Yahweh: a staff turning into a serpent and back into a staff, leprosy appearing and disappearing suddenly, and water from the Nile turning into blood once poured onto dry ground—each sign being practiced only if the previous sign did not produce belief in the audience (4:1-9; cf. 4:21). However, here Yahweh only commands the first sign to be practiced: the staff becoming a serpent (7:9). Moses and Aaron dutifully obey, and Aaron casts down his staff before, "Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a serpent," (7:10). Immediately, Pharaoh summons his, "wise men and the sorcerers and…the magicians of Egypt," (7:11) and they are able to replicate this miracle by their "secret arts." But, shockingly, Aaron's staff proceeds to devour all of theirs (7:12). Pharaoh, nonetheless, is unmoved, precisely as Yahweh had said (7:13; cf. 7:1-5). The fact that the next plague is the Nile turning into blood (7:14-25)—mirroring the third and final sign given to Moses back in 4:9—may be a subtle indication of the depth of Pharaoh's unbelief; the intermediate sign of leprosy was unnecessary due to the hardness of Pharaoh's heart.
The Staff of God
The Exodus narrative places an unusual focus on the staff that Moses and Aaron use. When Moses is commissioned by Yahweh, the first miraculous sign given to him is the transmogrification of his staff into a serpent (4:1-4). However, the staff appears to be intended for more than just this one sign, for as Moses leaves the burning bush, Yahweh reminds him to, "take in your hand this staff, with which you shall do the signs," (4:17, note the plural: signs). Even more surprising, in 4:20 Moses' staff not only is given a divine significance ("staff of God"), it is labeled alongside his family as he returns to Egypt, "So Moses took his wife and his sons and had them ride on a donkey, and went back to the land of Egypt. And Moses took the staff of God in his hand," (cf. 17:9). The staff is then used repeatedly throughout the plagues (7:15, 17, 19-20; 8:5; 8:16-17; 9:23; 10:13; cf. 17:5) and climactically at the parting of the Reed Sea (14:16). Of the 63 appearances of this word for "staff" in the Hebrew Bible, over half appear describing Israel's relationship with the Pharaoh's.[1]
John Currid has delved deeply into the specific Hebrew term for staff (מַטֶּה), and its Egyptian etymology (originally from mdw).[2] While certain Egyptian words for "staff" were used exclusively for deities and royalties (hket, nhhw)the mdw, "was the simple ordinary tool of everyday fieldwork; in fact, a variation of mdw was used in ancient Egypt to identify the guard or attendant of herds of cattle (mdw ke-hd)."[3] Thus, the identification of Moses' staff in Exodus 4:2 as the staff he was using while tending his father-in-law's flock (3:1) would identify his staff as a mdw. But while mdw could refer to a humble walking-stick or shepherd's crook, the term also began to take on cultic and royal overtones in Egyptian culture. The idea of a "holy staff" (mdw spsy), a staff held by priests to represent the deities, and the "rod of God" (mdw ntr), a staff held by the Pharaoh to represent his divine authority and power, was popular from 1550-1070 BC.[4] Sarcophagi, hieroglyphics, and statues featuring Pharaohs and priests wielding rods/staffs abound. Magicians in Egypt likewise carried staffs, believed to be endowed with magical powers from the gods. Archaeology has even uncovered documentation of, "scenes of magicians holding rods in their hands that could instantly be turned into snakes."[5]
The emphasis on Moses' staff in the Exodus account now becomes clearer—and why it receives a divine appellation, "the staff of God," (4:20). It appears that Yahweh is employing dramatic irony in his confrontation with deities of Egypt, represented by Pharaoh and his magicians. Yahweh takes Egypt's own symbol of authority, power, and divinity (the staff) and turns it on its head, using it to confront their religious claims of superiority. Even the transformation of the staff into a snake itself appears to fall in line with this divine mockery. The Egyptians both loved and feared snakes, and often associated them with the gods. Pharaoh's very crown, similarly believed to possess and represent the power of the gods, was a dilated hood (meant to represent a cobra) with twin snakes wrapped around, facing forward. The serpent goddess, Wadjet, and the vulture-goddess, Nekhbet, manifested their power and sovereignty in the front of the king's crown where a figure of an enraged cobra sat.[6] Sometimes, Pharaoh's staff itself took a serpentine form.[7] That a Hebrew (the slaves of Egypt) representing a God Pharaoh had never heard of, would present itself in the very form the Egyptians loved and feared so much—only to devour the staffs/serpents of the magicians—would have been a severe blow to Pharaoh's pride and apparent divine rule. It was, in sum, a means of divine mockery—taking the gods of Egypt head on and beating them at their own game. This is why in the confrontation with the magicians in Exodus 7:8-13, rather than saying that Aaron's snake devoured the magicians' snakes, the text states that Aaron's staff devoured the magicians' staffs (Ex 7:12b). The author is conveying that the God of Moses and Aaron is superior to the gods of Egypt; Yahweh alone possess ultimate sovereignty.
A Paradigm for Interpretation
This duel of the rods in 7:8-13 provides a paradigm by which we are to interpret and understand the rest of the Exodus account (7-15). Both through the staff-confrontation and the ten plagues, Yahweh is directly challenging the Egyptian deities' (and by extension, Pharaoh's) claim to sovereignty. Just as the staff-confrontation relied on a polemical irony—Yahweh mocking the custom of a staff being imbued with divine power—so too do the ten plagues carry a polemical edge, with each plague aimed at undermining and mocking a specific Egyptian deity.[8] This is why the narrative moves immediately from the staff-confrontation (7:8-13) to the first plague (7:14-25).[9] Lastly, one can see an inclusio of sorts bookending the whole account from chapters 7-15 by noting that Aaron's staff swallows (בָּלַע) the magicians' staffs (7:12b), and the earth swallows (בָּלַע) Pharaoh and his armies in the Reed Sea (15:12, the only other occurrence of בָּלַע in Exodus). Egyptians believed that to "swallow" something had deep magical importance; to swallow something didn't mean merely to destroy it, but to absorb its power, authority, and knowledge.[10] Thus, Yahweh's "swallowing" of Egypt's magical rods, armies, and even Pharaoh himself, would have been interpreted to other Egyptians as the Hebrew God's total domination of Egyptian deities.
Currid and Kitchen explain, "Exodus 7:8-13 is paradigmatic in that it defines for the reader the true issue at stake in the entire Exodus struggle…What the serpent contest portrays is a heavenly combat—a war between the God of the Hebrews and the deities of Egypt. For the biblical writer the episode was a matter of theology."[11]
The תַּנִּין
The arguments laid out above, the polemical significance of the rod and the interpretive role 7:8-13 plays for the rest of the Exodus account, now provide the foundation for a closer examination of the specific word used to describe what Aaron and the magicians' staffs turn into:תַּנִּין. This term is noteworthy for a number of reasons: (1) it is not the usual word used for snake (נָחָשׁ); (2) in 4:3 when Moses initially throws his staff on the ground we are told it turns into a נָחָשׁ, and in 7:15, when looking back on the confrontation with the Egyptian magicians, Yahweh tells Moses to grab his staff which turned into a נָחָשׁ, thus the switch to תַּנִּין seems intentional; (3) this term is most frequently used in the Bible to refer to a gigantic, reptilian monster (dragon), usually associated with the sea (Gen 1:21; Job 7:13; Ps 74:13; Isa 27:1); (4) this term is associated with the ancient chaos-monster in ancient near Eastern culture. Below an examination for various options of interpretation of תַּנִּין will be laid out, unique problems with each translation, and then finally a look at the Ancient Near Eastern context for this word.
A Serpent
What are some of the major arguments for translating תַּנִּין simply as "serpent"? The fact that every major English translation of Exodus 7:8-13 translates תַּנִּין as "serpent" is in of itself a strong argument to consider viewing the תַּנִּין as nothing more than a synonym for "serpent." Further, the immediate context seems to understand that Moses' staff is to turn into a snake, not a dragon or sea monster (cf. Ex 4:3; 7:15). Also, the term תַּנִּין appears in parallel constructions elsewhere in the Old Testament with venomous snakes, lending itself to possibly being understood as a synonym for "serpent." For example, in Deuteronomy we read, "their wine is the poison of serpents (תַּנִּין) and the cruel venom of asps (פֶּ֫תֶן),"(32:33). Interestingly, the KJV translates this as, "their wine is the poison of dragons," but its parallel structure with "asps" implies thatתַּנִּין here likely refers to a serpent. Similarly, Psalm 91 states, "You will tread on the lion and the adder (פֶּ֫תֶן); the young lion and the serpent (תַּנִּין) you will trample underfoot," (91:13). A word's definition should be governed by its usage and its context, not an illegitimate transfer of all its possible meanings. Thus, since the parallel passages above (Ex 4:3; 7:15) refer to the event in 7:8-13 as the staff clearly turning into a serpent (נָחָשׁ), not a dragon, and the term תַּנִּין can lexically mean "serpent," there is good reason to think that the term here simply refers to a snake.[12]
A Dragon
That being said, there is still good reason to read תַּנִּין here as referring to something much more than a serpent, if not an actual dragon/sea-monster. First, it can be said that despite all major English translations choosing "serpent," this is not the consensus among commentaries: Alexander, Brueggman, Cassuto, Frethem, Durham, Bruckner, Enns, and Johnstone all admit that the תַּנִּין here means something more than a mere serpent.[13] It is true that a word must be defined by how it is used and by its context, but this does not exclude understanding תַּנִּין to mean "dragon/sea-monster" here. First, the LXX translates תַּנִּין as δράκων, "dragon" (cf. Rev 12:3). Also, the term תַּנִּין appears only 15 times in the Old Testament (three of them occurring here in Exodus 7), with the majority of these uses clearly referring to something other than a mere serpent. In Genesis 1:21, Job 7:12(?) and Psalm 148:7 the term refers to unspecified, giant sea creatures of the deep. In Isaiah 27:1, 51:9, Jeremiah 51:34, Ezekiel 29:3, 32:2, and Psalm 74:13 the term refers to an enormous sea-dragon.[14] If the contested passages from Exodus 7 are removed, that leaves only two occurrences of תַּנִּין being used to refer to snakes (Deut 32:33; Ps 91:13).[15] What makes this argument most compelling, however, is the way later prophets use the word תַּנִּין unambiguously as a dragon-like monster and then apply it to Pharaoh/Egypt. In Ezekiel 29:3 and 32:2 equate the Pharaoh of Egypt with the תַּנִּין,
"Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon (תַּנִּין) that lies in the midst of his streams, that says, 'My Nile is my own; I made it for myself.'…Son of man, raise a lamentation over Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him: "You consider yourself a lion of the nations, but you are like a dragon (תַּנִּין) in the seas; you burst forth in your rivers, trouble the waters with your feet, and foul their rivers."
In both of these passages Yahweh swiftly executes judgment on this dragon, snaring him with his hook and net, then flinging his massive carcass on the countryside, covering the mountain ranges with his flesh, filling whole valleys with his blood (Ez 29:4-5; 32:3-6). Obviously, the poetic image the prophet is employing is imagining a creature much larger than a typical serpent. Even further, Isaiah 51:9-10 recalls the Exodus event and stylizes Pharaoh as a sea-dragon, "Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord; awake, as in days of old, the generations of long ago. Was it not you who cut Rahab in pieces, who pierced the dragon (תַּנִּין)? Was it not you who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep, who made the depths of the sea a way for the redeemed to pass over?" Rahab, a proper name for the תַּנִּין,[16] is equated elsewhere with Egypt by the prophet Isaiah, "Egypt's help is worthless and empty; therefore I have called her "Rahab who sits still," (30:7; cf. Ps 87:4). Further, if it is granted that Rahab and Leviathan are synonyms in the Bible (as will be argued below), then perhaps the תַּנִּין of the sea in Isaiah 27:1 likewise is an allusion to Pharaoh as a typological figure of Yahweh's enemies.[17] Lastly, in Psalm 74:12-14, the term may be used to describe Yahweh's battle with Pharaoh since it is a recollection of Yahweh's "salvation" where he "divided the sea" by his might and crushed the heads of Leviathan, the תַּנִּין.[18] Though Jeremiah 51:34 identifies Nebuchadnezzar as the sea-monster, he is described as swallowing Israel like a dragon (בְּלָעָנוּ כַּתַּנִּ֔ין), which mirrors the language of the staff of Aaron devouring the staffs of the Egyptian magicians in Exodus 7:12:
Why do so many of the later Biblical authors associate Egypt/Pharaoh with the תַּנִּין? It appears that the appearance of this rare term (3x) at the critical juncture of Exodus 7:8-13 may have caused it to stick in the minds of the later prophets. The association with the תַּנִּין and Pharaoh may also have to do with the important role water plays in both of them. The תַּנִּין is clearly a denizen of water—found both in lakes and rivers, but also in the primordial deep (Gen 1:21; Ps 148:7). Excluding Exodus 7:8-13, the only places where תַּנִּין is used without reference to water it appears to be the limited use of the word to refer merely to "serpent" (Deut 32:33; Ps 91:13). The role of water in Exodus begins with it representing a place of death—the Hebrew boys are being hurled into the river Nile by the command of Pharaoh (1:22). Moses, beloved by his mother, is rescued from the waters of death by being placed in a basket and found among the reeds (סוּף) by Pharaoh's daughter (2:1-6). What was meant to be a positive sign to inspire belief (water into blood, 4:9) becomes the first of the ten plagues, turning all water, even water in jars and containers, into blood (7:14-25). Then, climactically, the Israelites appear again to be facing waters of death, wedged between the Reed Sea and Pharaoh's army, only to find that they, like baby Moses, are rescued from the waters of death; the Reed (סוּף) Sea parts, and becomes their means of salvation. When Pharaoh and his army charge in, apparently assuming they can take advantage of the parted waters, they are crushed by the collapsing torrents (14). However, this isn't the end of the water theme: after Moses' song, the people of Israel quickly complain about a lack of water to drink. They find the waters of Marah, but find it to be poisonous to drink; Moses is commanded by Yahweh to throw a log into the water and it becomes sweet and drinkable, and then leads them to Elim, where each tribe of Israel can have their own spring of water (15:22-27).[19]
The recurring theme here is reversal: waters intended for the death of Israel, become their means of life; waters that appear to be advantageous for Egypt, become their demise. The first water narrative and the final water narrative belie an interesting contrast of Pharaoh and Yahweh: Pharaoh commands his servants to cast (שָׁלַךְ) the Hebrew boys into the river Nile to bring death (1:22), and Yahweh commands Moses to cast (שָׁלַךְ) a log into the waters to bring life (15:25). What Pharaoh sought to accomplish by watery means is foiled (through Moses' rescue), whereas Yahweh is successful. Interestingly, the only other place that this verb (שָׁלַךְ) appears in Exodus 1-15 is in the accounts of Moses/Aaron casting their staffs on the ground to turn into serpents (4:3; 7:9-12). Thus, the understanding of the word תַּנִּין as sea-dragons fits in nicely with the theme of water, life and death; the תַּנִּין are sea creatures, one devours the others, foretelling the destruction of Egypt and the salvation of Israel. What appears to be a miraculous sign to demonstrate Moses/Aaron's prophetic credentials to Pharaoh (7:8-9), becomes the means by which Pharaoh's heart is hardened and the destruction of his kingdom is foretold (7:12b-13)—lifedeath. Perhaps this emphasis on water and destruction was why later authors so often depicted Egypt as a (conquered) dragon of the sea. However, this connection appears to be severed if one chooses to interpret תַּנִּין as a typical serpent, not a sea-dragon.
Interpretive Problems
Next, why do so many translators and commentators feel reluctant to identify the staffs as turning into sea-monsters, and prefer serpents? The parallels of Exodus 4:3 and 7:15 are a strong argument for seeing the תַּנִּין and the נָחָשׁ as synonyms. However, this argument cuts both ways. If Moses uses identical words to identify the name of the creature the staff turned into before and after the event, why does he intentionally chose a different word in 7:8-13? Also, why choose a word that has connotations associated with mythic sea-creatures of the deep?[20] If this is just poetic license looking for variation, why not use something less ambiguous, likeפֶּ֫תֶן? It seems that most commentators would be inclined to view this as simply a serpent because the idea of a staff erupting into an enormous sea monster (not to mention that staffs of all the magicians) is difficult to conceive. Niehr admits, "The mention of a staff suggests to exegetes a tannîn conceived of as a serpent, although the motif of swallowing up the other staffs also evokes the image of a dragon."[21] Admittedly, one would think that Pharaoh would have made some remark upon seeing such a fantastical sight if the staffs did indeed turn into dragons. Hard-hearted Pharaoh later at least feigns repentance under the weight of the more severe plagues; surely, the sight of Leviathans battling in his court would have produced some response. The absence of any comment suggests that regular serpents, not dragons, were present. On the other hand, the fact that Aaron's staff devours all of the staffs of the "wise men and the sorcerers and…the magicians" seems to imply at least that Aaron's staff had to turn into a much larger than average serpent.
It appears that there are three interpretive options here: (1) Aaron and the magicians' staffs turned into literal sea-dragons/monsters; (2) Aaron and the magicians' staffs turned into serpents; (3) Aaron and the magicians' staffs turned into serpentine creatures, but Moses used a particular word with connotations that implied more than just a serpent as a figurative/theological interpretation of the event. Based on the arguments above, it appears that the first two options are not wholly satisfying. However, does the third option imply that Moses is being deceptive about the historical nature of the events he is describing? If he exaggerates here, where else may he not be wholly truthful? This is not as problematic as it initially seems. As has been argued above, a תַּנִּין is similar enough to serpents that it can semantically pair with other common words for snakes. Also, a dragon and an asp are both serpentine creatures, just like a werewolf and a Labrador are both canine creatures—if I describe a dog as a "werewolf," I am using figurative language to imply that this particular canine possesses some beastly, terrifying characteristics (this Labrador is more than just a dog—he is a monster!). I can do this without others thinking I am lying or have confused the word "werewolf" with the word "dog"; I have intentionally chosen a word that is related to "dog" but is an escalated, intensified form of it. The context and shared understanding of the words would prevent misunderstandings.
Revelation 20:2, where an angel seizes Satan and binds him, provides a helpful illustration of this point, "And he seized the dragon (τὸν δράκοντα), that ancient serpent (ὁ ὄφις), who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years," (cf. Rev 12:9 for an identical construction). Here ὄφις, (in Ex 4:3 and 7:15 LXX) can stand in parallel with δράκων (in Ex 7:9-12 LXX) without flattening both words into the exact same meaning, for John clearly intends for his δράκων to be much more than a mere serpent—it possess seven heads and its tail sweeps down a third of the stars (Rev 12:3-4, 9)! But still he can refer to it as an ὄφις. Therefore, it is possible for Moses to refer to the serpents in Exodus 4:3 and 7:15 as נָחָשׁ (ὄφις), but then call the serpents "dragons" with תַּנִּין (δράκων) in 7:8-13 without being charged as being deceptive or flattening the two words into identical meanings. A dragon is certainly not less than a serpent, but much more. Thus, Moses could describe a common serpent as a "dragon" if the context of the event and the characteristics of the serpents necessitated the comparison with this super-serpent of the sea. [22] He is using an intensified form of "serpent" to convey a specific theological point; a point dependent on a wider cultural assumption of what this word means.
The Chaos Monster
The theme of gods bringing order out of chaos through conquering the primordial sea, or a sea-monster (representatives of chaos) is a common one in the ancient world.[23] In Mesopotamian myths, such as the Enuma Elish, Marduk, king of the gods, slays the primordial chaos monster, Tiamat, the goddess of the sea. Marduk then uses her slain body to create the cosmos. In Egyptian cosmogonies, the god Re entered into the world out of the primordial waters (Nun) through self-creation and brought order out of chaos by seizing control from the eight other chaotic gods.[24] This Egyptian concept of order that is established out of the conquering of chaos was called ma'at; George Posener defines ma'at as, "the equilibrium of the whole universe, the harmonious co-existence of its elements, and the essential cohesion, indispensable for maintaining the created forms."[25] Other mythologies could be recounted,[26] but this widely popularized myth is picked up and used repeatedly in the Bible. The Hebrew word תַּנִּין apparently comes from an Ugaritic word tunnanu, a mythical sea-dragon defeated by the storm-god, Baal.[27] The tunnanu is associated with the rebellious sea-god, Yam, whom Baal defeats alongside the tunnanu and is enthroned as king.[28] Elsewhere in Ugaritic mythology, the tunnanu is called Leviathan (ltn), whom possesses seven heads (cf. Ps 74:14; Rev 12:3), and is called not only the 'twisting serpent' (cf. Job 26:13; Isa 27:1) but also the 'crooked serpent' (cf. Isa 27:1).[29]
In the Bible the תַּנִּין is parallel with Leviathan (Isa 27:1; Ps 74:13-14) and Rahab (Isa 51:9). This is interesting because Leviathan and tunnanu have been found in Ugaritic works (Canaanite), while rahab comes from Mesopotamian (Babylonian) mythology.[30] Rahab, of Akkadian origins, originally was an expression referring to the surging of water, but began to be associated with Tiamat, the chaotic goddess of the sea against whom Marduk battles.[31]The fact that these three terms are used repeatedly in parallel structure with one another (Isa 27:1, 51:9-10; Job 26:12-13; Ps 74:13-14) likely proves that these various mythological creatures have been combined into one figure in the Hebrew Bible. Added to this, תַּנִּין often stands in parallel with תְּהוֹם, the subterranean primeval waters of the deep that represent chaos, darkness, and disorder, an idea ubiquitous in ancient Near Eastern cosmogonies (Ps. 148:7; cf. Gen 1:2).[32] The תְּהוֹם is the dwelling place of Rahab, the dragon (תַּנִּין) in Isa 51:9-10.[33]
Interestingly, the location that Yahweh commands Israel to march towards just before the Reed Sea and the location Pharaoh's pursuing armies encamp at is described as לִפְנֵי֙ בַּ֣עַל צְפֹ֔ן "in front/before the face of Baal-zephon," (Ex 14:2, 9). Baal-zephon appears to be an unknown location near the Reed Sea (cf. Num 33:7). However, in Ugaritic mythology, Baal-zephon is the abode of the divine council and the location of Baal's palace.[34] Thus, one could interpret Yahweh's victory over the Reed Sea as taking place on Baal and his council's front door, demonstrating that it is Yahweh, not Baal, who is the true conqueror of Yam (יָם), the Sea. Therefore, the Bible appears to be intentionally employing the ancient pagan mythological concepts of the chaotic waters and sea-monsters to depict the entropic and wicked forces that Yahweh has and will conquer.[35]
Now, fully furnished with an understanding of the significance of the staff of Moses, the hermeneutical significance of Ex 7:8-13, the translation of תַּנִּין as "dragon" and its mythological connotation of chaos/chaotic waters, we are prepared to return to the text and see what new exegetical insights can be gleaned.
Controlling Chaos
When Moses and Aaron return to Pharaoh, Yahweh explains that Pharaoh will ask for a sign (7:8-9). The term here (מוֹפֵת)can simply mean "miracle" but also could be translated "portent" (eg. 1 Kings 13:3; LXX translates it as both σημεῖον ἢ τέρας in Ex 7:9). The sign given to Pharaoh, Aaron's rod turning into a sea-monster and devouring the staffs of the magicians, certainly is a portent of what is to come: Pharaoh will be devoured by the sea.
The self-stylized god of Egypt, Pharaoh, was responsible for ensuring that ma'at reigned in Egypt. Currid explains:
In ancient Egypt, the king had the duty to maintain ma'at; he was considered the personification of universal order…The importance of ma'at for Egyptian kingship should not be underestimated. The idea of ma'at played a central role in the king's identification with the god Horus…Restoring and maintaining this harmony were imperatives for the Egyptian king, expectations that befit his office as the son of Re and the god-king.[36]
Not only does Pharaoh have his very symbol of authority (his staff and the serpent god of his crown) challenged by an unknown Jewish shepherd and an unknown God, but his very claim to have mastery over chaos and ma'at is being undermined. The fact that the staffs turn into תַּנִּין is critical here. In the ancient world, the one who has power over chaos is the most powerful of all the gods, the king of the gods. The fact that the staffs turn into monsters representative of the very chaotic forces Pharaoh is supposed to have power over is an outright challenge to Pharaoh's divine claim: can you control the תַּנִּין? For Aaron's staff to proceed to devour the other staffs is a not so subtle way of demonstrating that it is Yahweh, not Pharaoh, who is the master over chaos; Yahweh is God, Pharaoh isn't. This theme of Yahweh being the sovereign Lord over creation and chaos is interwoven throughout the rest of the narrative. The ten plagues, while aimed at specific Egyptian deities—a further polemic meant to undermine Egypt's gods—also appear to be a reversal of Genesis 1, a de-creation; a plunge back into chaos. Instead of light being given, darkness covers the land; instead of the organization of waters, water turns into blood; instead of green trees being given for food, locusts devour the vegetation, and so on.[37] The delicately balanced order of ma'at is being unraveled before Pharaoh's eyes.
Simultaneously, Yahweh is demonstrating his own ma'at-like power by making repeated allusions to Genesis 1. In Exodus 1, Israel is collectively stylized as an Adamic figure, being fruitful and multiplying (Ex 1:7; cf. Gen 1:28). Moses similarly is stylized as a Noahic figure (himself presented as a new Adam, Gen 8:17), since he is delivered from a watery death by being placed in a basket (תֵּבָה), the same word used for the ark in Genesis 6-8. Further, the basket is sealed with tar and pitch, just like Noah's ark (Ex 2:3; Gen 6:14). Of course, Yahweh unleashes the forces of chaos to destroy the world by opening the "fountains of the deep" (תְּהוֹם) in Genesis 7, but preserves Noah and his family. In Exodus 15:8, Moses describes the Israelites path as being through the primordial waters, the תְּהוֹם, which are conquered by the breath (רוּחַ) of Yahweh, reminiscent of creation (Gen 1:2) and the flood (Gen 8:1; cf. Ps 77:16-20). However, when Pharaoh and his armies attempted to pass through the תְּהוֹם, they are utterly annihilated (15:5). Pharaoh lacks the power of Yahweh over the chaos-waters, the power to bring order to creation, as Yahweh does in Genesis and again to his people in the Exodus. [38] This, of course, is all proleptically announced at the magicians' duel; only Yahweh has mastery over the תַּנִּין (cf. Ps 148:7; Job 41).
Conclusion
The main idea of Exodus 7:8-13 is Yahweh's superior divine power over Pharaoh demonstrated through the confrontation between the magicians' and Aaron's rods. The rods represented the authority and power of the gods in the Egyptian culture, so Yahweh accommodates to this custom to demonstrate his superiority in a palpable way to the Egyptians. By the transformation of the staffs into sea-monsters, Yahweh is employing common mythic imagery for the primordial chaotic forces that threaten to undue the order of creation. By Aaron's staff devouring Pharaoh's (represented by his magicians in the same way Moses is represented by Aaron, Ex 7:1), Yahweh is asserting that he alone possess power over the forces of chaos (and order), that he alone is truly God. This sign was a proleptic foretelling of the chaotic forces that Yahweh will unleash on Egypt through the ten plagues and parting of the Reed Sea. The themes of Yahweh's power over the tumultuous sea (Gen 1:1-2; Job 9:8; Prov 8:29; Ps 69; 77; 89:9; 104:6-9; Hab 3:8-10; Matt 14:22-27; Rev 4:6), his mockery of false gods (1 Kings 18:20-40; Isaiah 44:9-20), the sea as the location of terrifying, wicked monsters (Job 41; Isa 27:1; 51:9-10; Dan 7:1-8; Rev 12:17; 13:1), and Yahweh's ultimate victory over the ancient serpent, the dragon (Gen 3:15; Isa 51:9-10; Ps 74:14; 89:10; Rev 20:2, 7-10) are replete across the whole of Scripture and strengthen this interpretation. After casting the great dragon into the burning lake of fire, John can summarily describe the peace of the New Heavens and New Earth simply by stating: "the sea was no more," (Rev 21:1).
Bibliography
Alexander, T. Desmond. Exodus. Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2017.
Botterweck, G. Johannes, Helmer Ringgren, and Heinz-Josef Fabry. Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, Vol. 13. Annotated edition edition. Grand Rapids, Mich: Eerdmans, 2004.
———, eds. Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, Vol 15. Translated by David E. Green. Grand Rapids, Mich: Eerdmans, 2006.
Bruckner, James K. Exodus: New International Bible Commentary, Old Testament (New International Bib. Hendrickson Publishers, 2008.
Cassuto;, Umberto Moshe David. A Commentary on the Book of Exodus. Publisher\'s Row / Varda Books, 2005.
Currid, John D. Against the Gods: The Polemical Theology of the Old Testament. Wheaton: Crossway, 2013.
Currid, John D., and Kenneth Kitchen. Ancient Egypt and the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, Mich: Baker Academic, 1997.
Day, John. God's Conflict with the Dragon and the Sea: Echoes of a Canaanite Myth in the Old Testament. 1St Edition edition. Cambridge Cambridgeshire ; New York: Cambridge University Press, 1985.
Durham, John I. Word Biblical Commentary Vol. 3, Exodus. Waco, Texas: Thomas Nelson Inc, 1987.
Enns, Peter E. Exodus. First Edition edition. Grand Rapids, Mich: Zondervan Academic, 2000.
Fretheim, Terence E. Exodus: Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1991.
Fyall, Robert, and D. A. Carson. Now My Eyes Have Seen You: Images of Creation and Evil in the Book of Job. Leicester, England : Downers Grove, Ill: IVP Academic, 2002.
Gage, Warren. The Gospel of Genesis: Studies in Protology and Eschatology. Wipf & Stock Pub, 2001.
Joines, Karen Randolph. Serpent Symbolism in the Old Testament: A Linguistic, Archaeological, and Literary Study. Haddonfield, N.J: Haddonfield House, 1974.
Keck, Leander E., ed. The New Interpreter's® Bible Commentary Volume I: Introduction to the Pentateuch, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2015.
Keel, Othmar. Symbolism of the Biblical World: Ancient Near Eastern Iconography and the Book of Psalms. Translated by Timothy J. Hallett. Winona Lake, Ind: Eisenbrauns, 1997.
Sakenfeld, Katharine Doob, ed. New Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible Volume 1: A-C. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2006.
Wilson, Leslie S. The Serpent Symbol in the Ancient Near East: Nahash and Asherah: Death, Life, and Healing. English ed. edition. Lanham, MD: UPA, 2001.
[1] John D. Currid, Against the Gods: The Polemical Theology of the Old Testament (Wheaton: Crossway, 2013), 112.
[6] John D. Currid and Kenneth Kitchen, Ancient Egypt and the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, Mich: Baker Academic, 1997), 87-92.
[7] Karen Randolph Joines, Serpent Symbolism in the Old Testament: A Linguistic, Archaeological, and Literary Study (Haddonfield, N.J: Haddonfield House, 1974), 85.
[8] See John D. Currid and Kenneth Kitchen, Ancient Egypt and the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, Mich: Baker Academic, 1997), 113-18 for a detailed list of the different Egyptian deities each plague was directed towards.
[9] It is worth noting that the majority of commentaries lump the staff-confrontation in the with the ten plagues as a prologue to the rest of the judgment against Egypt.
[12] See Currid and Kitchen, 86-87; Leslie S. Wilson, The Serpent Symbol in the Ancient Near East: Nahash and Asherah: Death, Life, and Healing, English ed. edition (Lanham, MD: UPA, 2001), 74, for arguments against interpreting the term as anything other than "serpent".
[13] T. Desmond Alexander, Exodus (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2017), 158-59; Walter Brueggman in Leander E. Keck, ed., The New Interpreter's® Bible Commentary Volume I: Introduction to the Pentateuch, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2015), 739; William Johnstone, Exodus 1-19: Smyth & Helwys Bible Commentary, 1st edition (Macon, Georgia: Smyth & Helwys Publishing Inc., 2014), 158; Peter E. Enns, NIV Application Commentary: Exodus, First Edition (Grand Rapids, Mich: Zondervan Academic, 2000), 196-97; Terence E. Fretheim, Exodus: Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1991), 113; John I. Durham, Word Biblical Commentary Vol. 3, Exodus (Waco, Texas: Thomas Nelson Inc, 1987), 91; James K. Bruckner, Exodus: New International Bible Commentary, Old Testament (New International Bib (Hendrickson Publishers, 2008), 75-76; Umberto Moshe David Cassuto;, A Commentary on the Book of Exodus (Publisher\'s Row / Varda Books, 2005), 94.
[14] The final occurrence is in Nehemiah 2:13 where it is used as a proper noun to refer to a well called the "Dragon Spring."
[15] Although, the translation in these passages as "dragon" is not impossible given the argument for similarities between dragons and snakes generally.
[16] See Robert Fyall and D. A. Carson, Now My Eyes Have Seen You: Images of Creation and Evil in the Book of Job (Leicester, England : Downers Grove, Ill: IVP Academic, 2002), 88 for an argument that Rahab is simply the sea personified.
[17] Rahab, called "the fleeing serpent" who is in the sea in Job 26:12-13, appears to by synonymous with Leviathan, also called "the fleeing serpent" from the sea in Isaiah 27:1.
[18] G. Johannes Botterweck, Helmer Ringgren, and Heinz-Josef Fabry, eds., Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, Vol 15, trans. David E. Green (Grand Rapids, Mich: Eerdmans, 2006), 730, argues that Psalm 74:12-14 is referring to Yahweh's primordial battle with chaos in creation due to vv. 16-17.
[19] The oscillating theme of life and death in relation to water can be demonstrated as such:
Water of death (1:22)
Water of life (2:1-6)
Water of life (4:9)
Water of death (7:14-25)
Water of death (14:1-12)
Water of life (14:13-22)
Water of life (14:22; 15:9)
Water of death (14:23-31)
Water of death (15:22-24)
Water of life (15:25, 27)
[20] This argument is strengthened if one concedes that Moses also wrote Genesis, where he uses תַּנִּין to describe the giant sea creatures found in the primordial waters.
[21] G. Johannes Botterweck, Helmer Ringgren, and Heinz-Josef Fabry, eds., Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, Vol 15, trans. David E. Green (Grand Rapids, Mich: Eerdmans, 2006), 730.
[22] For support of my interpretation here, see Enns, Exodus, 196-97, "While the alternation in words for "snake" does not indicate that their historical referents are different, the writer may be making a theological point."
[23] Othmar Keel, Symbolism of the Biblical World: Ancient Near Eastern Iconography and the Book of Psalms, trans. Timothy J. Hallett (Winona Lake, Ind: Eisenbrauns, 1997), 47-56.
[24] Currid and Kitchen, Ancient Egypt and the Old Testament, 36.
[25] Cited in Currid and Kitchen, Ancient Egypt and the Old Testament, 118-119.
[26] Hesiod recounts of Zeus' great battle with the horrendous serpent-monster, Typhon. Norse mythology tells of the terrifying sea-serpent, Jörmungandr, who is defeated by Thor at Ragnarok.
[27] Botterweck, Ringgren, and Fabry, Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, Vol 15, 727.
[28] Day, God's Conflict with the Dragon and the Sea, 4.
[29] Day, 4-5; Joines, Serpent Symbolism in the Old Testament, 9.
[30] Botterweck, Ringgren, and Fabry, Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, Vol 15, 729.
[31] G. Johannes Botterweck, Helmer Ringgren, and Heinz-Josef Fabry, Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, Vol. 13, Annotated edition edition (Grand Rapids, Mich: Eerdmans, 2004), 354-55.
[32] Botterweck, Ringgren, and Fabry, 575-78. While the Babylonian sea goddess' name, Tiamat, is not the source of the Hebrew word tehōm, the words appear to be lexically related.
[33] In Genesis 1, Yahweh creates order out of the chaotic waters, and in Genesis 7 he unleashes the great fountains of the תְּהוֹם on the earth as an act of de-creation.
[34] Katharine Doob Sakenfeld, ed., New Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible Volume 1: A-C (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2006), 374.
[36] Currid and Kitchen, Ancient Egypt and the Old Testament, 118.
[37] Currid and Kitchen, 113-17. "It may be argued that a weakness of this interpretation is that the plagues do not follow the sequence of the days of creation. But that is the point—chaos, nor order, reigned in Egypt."
[38] The actual Exodus itself depicts Yahweh working a second act of creation: "The pillar of divine presence brings light into darkness (Ex 13:21, cf. the first creative day), the waters are divided (Ex 14:21, cf. the second creative day), and the dry land emerges (Ex 14:29; cf. the third creative day)." Warren Gage, The Gospel of Genesis: Studies in Protology and Eschatology (Wipf & Stock Pub, 2001), 20-21.
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