vii. Reconstruction of the History.— We can take as our starting-point certain facts as to which the ancient sources and most modern critics agree —(a) That Moses was the leader under whom Israel was delivered from bondage in Egypt and
* Probably RP, but based on JE.
t Driver, Steuernagel, etc., prefer to refer ‘the king’ to Jahweh.
? Perhaps written in the reign of Manasseh.
§ Omitted by the LXX. In view of the general attitude of E to Aaron, the words ‘and Aaron’ are probably R, if the clause belongs to the text at all.
MOSES
from peril of annihilation by the Red Sea, and was governed during its sojourn in the wilderness ; (δ) that through him Israel received a revelation, which was a new departure in the national re- ligion, and the foundation of Judaism and Chris- tianity ; and (c)—practically another aspect of the last point—that he originated or formulated many customs and institutions from which the later national system was developed; that thus (d) Israel owed to Moses its existence as a nation ; and (6) Moses is a unique personality of supreme anno in OT history.
he following quotations will show the extent to which the general historicity of the Mosaic narra- tive is accepted; in (A) are placed those which minimize the historical element ; the rest in (B) :—
(A) Stade, who in his GVI was more sceptical about the sojourn of the people in Egypt than in more recent utterances, accepts Moses as a real person, thus: ‘Like all founders of religions, he brought to his people a new, creative idea, which moulded their national life. This new idea was the worship of Yahwe as national God’ (Stammgottes), p. 130. Of. Akad. Reden, 105 ff.
Renan, Hist. du Peuple d’Ier. i. p. 161: ‘Mais ce qui est possible aussi, c’est que tous ces récits de l’Exode, od la fable a pénétré pour une si large part, soient plus mythiques encore qu’on ne le suppose d’ordinaire, et quil ne faille, de tous ces récits, conserver que le fait méme de la sortie d’Israél de V'Egypte et de son entrée dans la péninsule du Sinai.’ Of Moses he says ; ‘La légende a enti¢rement recouvert Moise . . . quoique son existence soit trés probable,’ p. 159.
(B) In Ewuld’s treatment of this period, Hist. of Isr. (Eng. ur.) ii. 16-225, his own view of the history is partly subordinated to an exposition of the narratives in the various sources ; but he clearly accepted the historicity of the leading events. Thus, of the peer of the Red Sea, he wrote : ‘ Whatever may have been the exact course of this event, whose historical certainty is well established, its momentous results, the nearer as well as the more remote, were sure to be experienced, and are even to us most distinctly visible,’ p. 75.
Wellhausen, Hist. of Isr. pp. 429-488: ‘Moses... saw a favourable opportunity of deliverance. ... At a time when Egypt was scourged by a grievous plague, the Hebrews broke up their settlement in Goshen one night in spring . . . on the shore... of the Red Sea. . . they were overtaken by Pharaoh's army....A ras, wind laa 2 the night left the shallow sea so low that it became possible to ford it. Moses eagerly accepted the suggestion, and made the venture with success. The Egyptians, rushing after, came up with them on the further shore, and a struggle ensued. But the assailants fought at a disadvantage: the found being ill suited for their chariots and horsemen, they fell into confusion and attempted a retreat. Meanwhile the wind had changed; the waters re- turned, and the pursuers were annihila’ After turning to visit Sinai. . . the emigrants settled at Kadesh.’ ‘A certain inner unity actually subsisted long before it had found any outward political expression ; it goes back to the time of Moses, who is to be regarded as its author, The foundation upon which, at all periods, [srael’s sense of its national unity rested was religious in its character. It was the faith which may be summed up in the formula, Jehovah is the God of Israel, and Israel is the people of Jehovah. Moses was not the first dis- coverer of this faith, but it was through him that it came to be the fundamental basis of the national existence and history.’ ‘From the historical tradition . . . it is certain that Moses was the founder of the Torah.’
The late W. Robertson Smith wrote, OT/JC?: ‘Moses. . . is the father of the priests as well as the father of the prophets,’
. 808, ‘He was a prophet as well as a judge. As such, he ἘΣ ΑΣΑ in Israel the great principles of the moral religion of the righteous Jehovah,’ p. 305.
Smend, 4. 7᾽ Religionsgeschichte®, writes: ‘The narrative of the Mosaic period contains certain leading features, the historicity ct which there is no reason to doubt, viz. the sojourn in Egypt of the Israelites, or at any rate of a part of them; their flight trom Egypt; their connexion with the tribes of the Sinaitic peainsula and with the holy mountain ; their stay at Kadesh, and finally the conquest of the Amorite kingdom east of the Jordan. . . . Moses was not the lawgiver of Israel, but he was much more than that. By leading the Israelites out of Egypt, by unifying them in the wilderness, by conquering the land E, of Jordan, thus giving the Israelites a settled abode, and en- abling them to ome agriculturists instead of nomads, he created Israel. . . . Through him Yahwe became the God of Israel,’ pp. 15-17.