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Chapter Eight - The Exodus–Conquest Ideology
from Part III - The Conception of Israel
Nissim Amzallag, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel
Book:

Yahweh and the Origins of Ancient Israel

Published online:

18 May 2023

Print publication:

01 June 2023, pp 220-244
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Summary

The two foremost and challenging innovations of Israelite theology – the idea of divine intervention in history (evidenced by the Exodus), and the transformation of Israel into the people of YHWH (following the Sinai covenant) – are reanalyzed here. Concerning the Exodus, the Song of the Sea (Exodus 15) develops an interpretation of the miracle of the sea inspired by the purifying process of cupellation. The Sinai covenant appears as the climax of a process of metamorphosis of the Israelites beginning with the first Passover celebration, which is inspired by the rites of passage traditionally integrating the young petitioner within the esoteric society of metalworkers. In the Exodus epic, this initiation-like process culminates with the Decalogue apparently borrowed from esoteric metallurgical traditions. These findings confirm the reuse of the metallurgical traditions of ancient Yahwism in the construction of the Israelite identity and its early theology.