The Difficulty of Ex 24: Childs’ Proposal

Ex 24 is anything but easy with regard to clear connection in and style of the text.  Even a quick read makes a person scratch his/her head, wondering why it is a bit choppy.  One example: not only is this section of Exodus out of chronological order, even this chapter is "dischronologized."  It seems as …

Theological Reflection in the Context of the Canon (Childs)

How does a student of Scripture relate the witness of Scripture to extra-biblical evidence?  In other words, how do you deal with a "tension" between an OT historical text and archaeological findings? Childs has a nice section in Exodus (p. 299-302) where he wrestles with this question.  Below are a few of his statements.  I'm …

Childs on the Difficulties of Texts (esp. Exodus 11-12)

Exodus 11-12 - the famous Passover text (including the exodus proper and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, or Matstsoth) - has some difficulties that have to do with chronology and timing.  If you read through it, it is tough to get a firm chronology of when the things are instituted and when they are actually …

Childs on Exodus 6

Brevard Childs has a great "theological reflection" on Exodus 6 - the 'sermon' Yahweh gave to doubting and mutinous Moses. Perhaps the greatest theological significance of Ex. 6 in the context of the canon is the tremendous theocentric emphasis of the Biblical author's understanding of the exodus.  Although the shape of a call narrative is …

Exodus 4.24-26: The Bloody “Bridegroom”

Though the brief and "bloody" episode of the circumcision that Zipporah performed is tucked away in the OT, there have been scores of articles and essays written on it.  It would be too tedious to list them all here, but for the record the ones I found helpful were written (in various commentaries and journals) …