Exo 1-2 in Patristic and Rabbinic Interpretation

The project will deal with patristic and rabbinic interpretations of Exo 1-2, the narrative of the birth, youth, and twofold salvation of Moses (Exo 2:1-22), and the events immediately bringing forth this situation (Exo 1). The book of Exodus is the foundation narrative of both Jews and Christians. Thus its interpretation was important for the discussion over Jewish and Christian identity in the first centuries of the Common Era. Exo 1-2 are the opening chapters of the whole Exodus story and therefore important for the introduction of Moses, who is the books central character as the saviour of Gods people. Biblical interpretation was made a strong marker of Christian and Jewish self-definition, alongside other factors, such as religious practice, circumcision etc. This discourse over the Bible led to dialogue on the one hand and sometimes acrid polemics on the other hand. Traces thereof can be found in patristic and rabbinic biblical interpretation. The project will focus on three main texts, which are the most elaborate rabbinic and patristic interpretations of Exodus 1-2: the Midrash Shemot Rabbah and its earlier sources, Origens first two homilies on the Book of Exodus and Ephrem the Syrians Exodus commentary. First, the texts will be analysed according to their specific interpretations of Exo 1-2. This examination will be guided by the following topics, which are important for the biblical text as well as for its interpretations: empowerment and disempowerment, structures of power and gender, defining identity and otherness, metaphorical interpretation and its implications, space and time as structuring elements. The second step is the exploration of the texts social, cultural, and religious contexts. After that, a careful comparative evaluation shall be attempted. As a last step, hypothetical considerations on possible dependencies can be made. The primary aim of the project is to evaluate the different texts in their respective contexts and then compare them. The specific interpretations will be related to the respective hermeneutical as well as the authors socio-cultural and theological background. The focus will be on the different interpretations of certain topics of the biblical text. The project will contribute to a more complete image of early Jewish and Christian Bible interpretation as well as Christian-Jewish relations in the first centuries, which were the foundation for later positive and negative developments of this relationship.

This project examined important patristic and rabbinic interpretations of Exodus 12, the biblical narrative about the Israelites' oppression in Egypt and Moses's birth, salvation, youth and his time in Midian. The main Christian (patristic) sources analysed were Origen's first two homilies on Exodus (3rd century) and Ephrem the Syrian's commentary on Exodus (4th century). Origen's interpretation owes much to Philo of Alexandria and his allegorical interpretation of the Bible. Ephrem the Syrian is part of an interpretative tradition that is manifest in later Midrashim. Another important source of Ephrem's commentary is Philo's Life of Moses. Thus, both Christian interpreters know and use Jewish interpretations and adapt them to their Christian context. Origen's interpretation of Exodus was the basis of a good part of later Christian interpretations. The primary Jewish (rabbinic) sources used in this project were an exegetical passage in the Babylonian Talmud (bSota 11a13a; 6th century, but including earlier material), the Midrash Tanhuma (5th7th century) and the Mekilta (3rd century). There are common Jewish traditions found in several rabbinic texts. Yet there are also differences within the rabbinic tradition. For instance, whereas the Talmud introduces specific traditions about women and considerably enhances their importance, the Midrash Tanhuma neglects the women of Exodus 12 almost completely and concentrates on the patriarchs and the tribes of Israel. Rabbinic texts largely lack direct polemics against Christians. Nevertheless, there are some issues in the interpretations of Exodus 12 which may be interpreted as reactions to Christian doctrinal developments: the growing emphasis on circumcision, the decreasing role of the holy spirit and the tradition about Moses's mother's painless pregnancy and birth in the Talmud (as a response to Christian traditions about Mary and Jesus). Additional sources were consulted to complement the picture of the interpretation of Exodus 12. The texts were first examined individually. Then the results were compared to look for possible contacts between Jewish and Christian interpreters, which could have been personal, through literary dependence or through oral tradition. This comparison revealed parallels and differences between the texts as well as certain directions of development in the course of time. Jewish and Christian interpreters of the Bible were part of the late ancient Mediterranean culture. With this culture, they share the same techniques of textual interpretation, certain hermeneutical features and a number of ideas concerning their view of the world and human society. There were issues common to Jewish and Christian writers, especially regarding religion and the Bible. Finally, there were notions specific to Jewish and to Christian communities respectively. All these elements contributed to the variety of patristic and rabbinic interpretations of Exodus 12.