An ironically blond European Moses discovered (Paul Delaroche 1797–1859 Moïse exposé sur le Nil)
In this post we’ll discover some humour from below. The humour of the oppressed often pokes fun at the oppressor. Those who subjugate others fear them, and this fear generates feelings of inferiority that in Exodus some oppressed women manipulate delightfully.
Please open your Bibles at Exodus 1-2.
So, here’s the link to the audio:
Humour in the Bible: Book 2 Exodus
Basalt Stele of the god Hadad on a bull with a thunderbolt in hand from Arslan Tash (Tiglath-Pileser III, c.744-727BC
This passage was probably chosen because it contains two famous “Bible stories”, the Golden Calf (in which a priest does what the people want, and becomes so successful that drunkenness, idolatry and other stupidity reigns) and the time Moses got to see God’s backside. But more troublingly it is another passage where God commands and demands killing. I can’t offer easy answers, indeed in one 5 minute podcast what did you expect 
but I will return to these passages and examine the issue in podcasts outside this E100 series.
Two stone tablets stood in the Holy of Holies of the little Judean temple at Arad. (See http://bigbible.org/israel/arad/)
This reflection focuses on two things from this reading, the significance of calling Israel (in the context of making a covenant) a priestly kingdom and a holy nation, and how we should read/understand the ten commandments. (For that part it may help to listen to some of the podcasts here, in particular Casuistic and apodictic: part 1: What the terms mean.) We’ll also end by realising what it means to say Yahweh is a jealous God, and very briefly start thinking about what that jealousy means.
Despite its title this five has little about the law, and not enough about the covenant (binding agreement) to which this law belongs. The selection of passages (the first time I have strongly differed from the choice made by the organisers) is weighted towards American Evangelical favourite Sunday School stories. Having got that gripe off my chest, we’ll notice how in these readings we learn (again) about what it does and does not mean to be God’s chosen people. And we will discover more in those Sunday School stories than they taught in my Sunday School And incidentally I will promise again that I will deal with the problem of God’s repeated orders for brutal and seemingly indiscriminate killing – but can’t do that topic justice without breaking the format of either the E100 or the 5 Minute Bible or both 
In this podcast we’ll notice just how firmly this passage tells us that the miracle at the Reed Sea* was indeed entirely a miracle. We’ll notice how good source critics were/are at spotting small discrepancies in texts, but also how little the composers of the Bible seemed to care about detail, concerned with things that matter (relationships, especially and particularly our relationship with God) rather than “facts” which are merely of secondary importance. And, watching and listening to the Israelites we’ll spot how fear and grumbling are related.
* That yam suph meant “sea of reeds” and was not (at first, necessarily) the name of the Red Sea is quite clear, Bible translations stick with Red Sea because it has been traditional since the Septuagint!
I’m torn two ways on how to respond to this reading:
There is a fascinating discussion between ardent Christians and a pained unbeliever at The Paraclete Forum. I can “see” both sides of this debate, and won’t have time in this podcast to begin to deal properly with the topic
PS: See also an interesting response on ?????: The 10th Plague and the Problem of Evil (Jonathan’s posts are alomost always worth mulling over 
E100-19: Exodus 12: A great festival, but a huge theological problem [ 5:37 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
The Great Pyramid of Giza was already an ancient monument by the time of Moses Phogto by girolame
What else could we call it? God vs. Pharaoh, it’s a foregone conclusion – except…
In reading (by which I mean understanding, making sense of) these chapters we’ll find that noticing unusual details, things that stick out, can be a real clue to what is important. Naming, and not naming, are really significant here, not least that God is not named – oh, God’s talked about, but “God” is a title or description not a name, this “God” will get a name in the next chapter…
Here, too, well find that hearing echoes of other parts of Scripture can be strong clues to meaning. I wonder if you’ll pick up the clue in these chapters before I tell you – or even if you will spot echoes I have not talked about. If you do you could write about them in the comments below, and make this even better for readers
Until Jeremy of Free Old Testament audio mentioned it the other day in his Exodus 32 – Who Brought the People out of Egypt? I had never really noticed how this text, the “Golden Calf” episode, offers three different answers to the question: Who brought Israel out of Egypt!
When there are “rough edges” like this in a text it is a critic’s job, any sort of critic worth their salt, to pick at them and hope to see more of how or why the text is constructed. That’s what I do here, encourage you to pick at the edges from a narrative, relational perspective, and to ask so what’s going on here when God ascribes it to Moses, the people to a fine new golden statue, and Moses says God dunnit?
Typescene sounds like a typical technical term scholars use make Bible stories dull In this podcast I hope to show you it’s exactly the opposite and that by spending 5 minutes learning about typescenes you can discover a livelyness you may have missed, even in a well-loved story like Ruth. (Other passage you should have ready, or look at before listening are: Genesis 24; 29 & Exodus 2:15ff..)
