Exodus 12-18 -- The institution of the Passover (more accurately translated "Sparing") ritual serves as a stark reminder of the circumstances of the Israelites' departure from Egyptian slavery. They were literally expelled from the land, and had no time to prepare the normal evening meal the night before. They were not permitted the luxury of taking the time to let their bread dough rise (to become "leavened"), which required at least a couple of hours sitting undisturbed in a warm moist place. Thus, the presence of a leavening agent became a symbol for ritual impurity, by virtue of its association with being unprepared to move at a moment's notice by Jehovah's command. This should not be mistaken for a judgment against living well, nor a commendation for what we call Spartan living. Nice, yeasty bread is not a sin in itself, nor is the crisp, unleavened matzo particularly righteous. This was one small sacrifice, a proper response for one who has been rescued from slavery. It was here also that Jehovah lays claim to every male that opens the womb of every family, including the livestock. While He later takes the entire tribe of Levi into His service in exchange for the human males, there remained a requirement to acknowledge this symbolic debt by specific ritual offerings. These two rituals are the first instituted into the Hebrew religious culture.
The text refers to the nation moving "in martial array" to describe an orderly column of people, by tribes and clans, much as an army lined up in rank and file by combat units. Here we run up against one of the longest standing debates in Bible History. If the men alone numbered 600,000 they could easily have overwhelmed Pharaoh's army, which was never larger than 20,000, by the best estimates. That many men would have meant at least two million people, counting women and children. It's not a question whether Jehovah could have increased the population from seventy to two million in 430 years, or if He could have led them and cared for them in that nearly barren wasteland for 40 years. It's a question of whether the text is properly read that way. The term translated here as "1000" ('eleph) was also translated as "family/clan" or as "company" (a military unit) in other places. Indeed, "family" would be more to the point in an Eastern mind. This would give us a body count of some fifty or sixty thousand, still a massive number for a hike in the desert. [See this footnote on Hebrew numbering.]
We know they brought along herds of domestic animals and wagons of some sort. They also carried the remains of Joseph, who confidently predicted that they should be able to bury his bones in the Promised Land at some point. There was also a large contingent of folks who were not Hebrew. The first leg of their journey was from their rallying point at Avaris (which the scribe calls by its later name, Raamses), to Succoth, a distance of some 50 miles (80km). From that point it is hard to identify any of the landmarks in the text. It is quite possible that "Red Sea" is a bad translation of Yam Suph, which is thought to be "Reed Sea". There are two bodies of water known to exist in ancient times that are likely candidates for that name. Both are in the path of today's Suez Canal. In the south are the Bitter Lakes; in the north is a lake called Timsah, at times perhaps a tidewater marsh connected to the Mediterranean. Both would have been deep swampy bogs, unsuitable for travel except by means of a small, shallow-drafting boat. Either way, the progress of this massive column was observed by the Egyptian border guards. Their route gave the impression that they had no sense of direction, first southeast, then north, most likely to Lake Timsah. Giving this impression was precisely Jehovah's announced intention, for He had determined to have one more final act of destruction to humble Pharaoh. On his part, Pharaoh could not resist one last opportunity to salvage his wounded pride.
Israel was cornered on a spot where the shore curved out into the water. Riding down on them was the pick of Pharaoh's army. At this point we begin to see the character of the Hebrew people. Various prophets would later refer to Israel as the most obstinate and contentious people on earth. In spite of all that they had seen and heard, they accused Moses of bringing them out there to die. All this time they had been following a massive vertical cloud that glowed at night. Now this cloud moved to shield them. Pharaoh was undaunted by this apparition. He encamped his troops a short distance away from his former slaves, typical of an army the night before a battle. That night, while Pharaoh's vision is obscured by this glowing cloud, a dry solid path began appearing in the swamp beneath where Moses had extended his shepherd's staff in accordance with Jehovah's instructions. By morning, the bog had become a hard-packed highway for Israel's escape. At dawn they had set out between two walls of water, and were well on their way across the lake when the cloud moved from its overwatch position. Pharaoh promptly ordered his chariots to pursue them. Upon entering the now well-trampled path, the water returned to the lake bed and quickly made it a swamp again. The chariots bogged down, trapping the entire army until the water rose to sufficient depth to drown them. The Hebrews looked back to see the bodies of dead soldiers drifting to the far shore.
What followed served the Israelis as a crash course in nomadic living. Their querulous nature was never far from the surface. While their precise route cannot be determined, their constant whining serves as a monument to Moses' patience. Even today, the route, as well as the identity of Mount Sinai, are hotly debated. While for centuries it has been taken for granted that Jebel Musa, some 50 miles (80km) inland from the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula, was the "Mountain of God," recent work has indicated a reasonable alternative just east of the Sinai, across the Gulf of Aqaba. This would have the Nation of Israel crossing the Gulf of Aqaba, instead of the Gulf of Suez. There are significant problems with either proposed route. Yet, more important to the narrative is how Jehovah never let His people down, though they clearly deserved to be left to die in the desert. They were provided a grain-like substance they called manna (from Hebrew man-hu: "what is it?"), and quail, which migrated in flocks but a few feet (1-2 meters) off the ground. Water came from various sources, including a rock. Even in the harsh slavery of Egypt, the one thing they never seemed to lack for was abundant food and water. Here they had a completely different diet, and less of it, though they were quite likely never very bad off nutritionally at any point.
Yet, the journey was not without some mortal risk. One of the tribes of Esau that never become a part of the Edomite Kingdom were the nomadic Amalekites. In the vicinity of Rephidim these began attacking the Israelites from the rear, where much of the herd animals would have been. In the process, they were gratuitously slaughtering the stragglers of Israel -- the old, the weak and ill. Moses ordered out the best fighters under Joshua's command to stand and defend against these brutal raiders. In what is universally recognized as the ancient near eastern prayer posture, Moses help his hands aloft over the battle scene. With help from a pair of assistants, Moses was able to maintain this posture until the raiders had been mowed down. Jehovah declared that the character of these raiders' people merited genocide.
Taking the advice of his father-in-law, Moses delegated leadership to various levels within the nation. The numbers should not be taken literally. They were used to estimate the authority of the position. They were representations of natural divisions in a tribal culture: tribe, clan, and family. This political structure was the rule among most Semitic cultures of that day, but would easily have atrophied under centuries Egyptian slavery. The leaders were chosen not on the basis of birth order, but on demonstrated ability and reputation; this was very much a departure from Semitic culture. It would be a bone of contention later. These leaders were vested with powers typical of Semitic sheiks, combining executive and judicial functions. The legislative function was handled by Jehovah Himself, building a whole new cultural identity.
There was much in this plan that drew resistance from the people. It's not hard to see that tribal politics were always at play when there was a dispute. They conveniently forgot, almost every day, Who it was the brought them out of slavery. Most debates were started by someone in traditional roles of power threatened with loss of prestige. Throughout Hebrew history, it is this that continually crops up. Those holding power will find all manner of excuses for keeping it, when clearly God had said it would be otherwise.
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Ed Hurst
revised 30 January 2004
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