(see note in loc.), this marriage of Moses with a “Cushite "—the assumption of an unknown second marriage is gratuitous—is treated as a mésalliance. "Cushite" is doubtless synonymous with Midianite (cf. Hab. iii. 7), and it is certain from subsequent reference (e. g. xviii. 4) that E and J here were almost exactly parallel. Yet a difference certainly suggests itself between ii. 15ff. and the view-point of E. With this result agree (see references) the linguistic and stylistic marks of these verses, with one exception. The word denoting “strange in 22b seems to be employed only by E, and the half-verse itself is identical with xviii. 3b (E). As Rje would be obliged to bring the statement here into agreement with ch. xviii., or vice versa, it is probable that he has simply adopted E's etymology in both instances, in preference to J's. The latter may possibly have been led up to in some way by the story of vv. 16ff; in fact the Hebrew for drove them away," vs. 17, is written identically with the name Gershom.

Vv. 23b-25 have been already characterized as displaying all the marks of P2, including an unmistakable reference to Gen. xvii. Vs. 25 breaks off in the midst of a sentence. But the line of division between 23a and

23b can be drawn with a high degree of certainty. In the present form of the verse the reader is at a loss to know who the king is who died in the course of those many days." According to the unmistakeable reference of vs. 23a to the preceding, it must be the oppressor whom Moses had resisted, and from whom he has taken refuge in Midian. But if so, it is extremely unnatural that the author should take the occasion of the death of the oppressor to speak of Israel's complaint and cry to God. The LXX. version unquestionably establishes here the true connection by repeating ii. 23a before iv. 19. The death of the king is not, as would appear from the text as we have it, the occasion of Israel's groaning, but

of Moses' return. The result of this is two-fold. First, there is no real but only an artificial connection between 23a and 23b; second, since the occasion of Moses' return was according to iv. 19 (J) simply that “ Yahweh said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return into Egypt, for all the men are dead which sought thy life,” and inasmuch as this motive excludes the supposition of a previous direct, immediate and unqualified mission to Pharaoh, such as iii. 1off. (E), the story of Moses' commission to deliver Israel, if it was given at all in this document, must have been placed subsequent to his final departure from Midian. We shall find that this really agrees much better with the incident, otherwise inexplicable, of iv. 24-26 (J).

Chh. i. and ii. appear accordingly to be composite, the strands identical with those already recognized as underlying the book of Genesis, and

not appreciably harder to disentangle. The presentation of the results of this documentary analysis in different fonts of type will show them to be unexpectedly illuminating to the well-known perplexities of the present text. For detailed discussion of evidence in the critical analysis the reader is referred to Art. I. of the author's discussions.

(P) 1Now these are the names of the sons of Israel, which 1 came into Egypt; every man and his household came with Jacob. Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, and Ben-2-3 jamin, Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher. And all the souls 4-5 that came out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls: and Joseph (J) was in Egypt already. 2And Joseph died, and all his 6 (P) brethren, and all that generation. And the children 7 (J) of Israel3were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and [. . .] (P) multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them.

(J) Now there arose a new king over Egypt, which 8 knew not Joseph. And he said unto his people, Be- 9 hold the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we: "come, let us deal wisely with 10 them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they also join themselves unto our enemies, and fight against us, and get them up out of the land. Therefore they did set over 11 them 'taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh store cities, Pithom and Raamses. But the more they afflicted them, the more 12 they multiplied and the more they spread abroad. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel. [. . .]

10

(P) "And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve 13 with rigor: and they made their lives bitter with hard service, 14 (J) in 12mortar and in brick, and in all manner of ser

16: 16. Gen. 36: 10,40; 46: 8ff. Jud. 2: 10; Gen. 50: 26. Gen. 1: 22,28.

Gen. 18: 18..

26; 16; Nu. 22: 6; VV.9,20. 5Nu 22: 3-6. 6Gen. 11 3,4,7; 38: 16. 73: 7:56,0,13f. Gen. 16: 6; 31: 50; 34: 2; ch. 3: 7. Gen. 9: 19; 10: 18; 11: 9; 28: 14; 30: 30.43. etc. 10Gen. 46: 34; Nu. 22: 3. 11Lev. 25 43ff. 12Gen. II: 3.

15

(P) vice in the field, all their service, wherein they made them serve with rigor.

(E) [. . .] And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of which the name of the one was Shiphrah, and 16 the name of the other Puah: and he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the birthstool; if it be a son, then ye shall kill him ; 17 but if it be a daughter, then she shall live. But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt com18 manded them, but saved the men children alive. And the king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said unto them, Why have ye done this thing, and have saved the men chil19 dren alive? And the midwives said unto Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are lively, and are delivered ere the midwife come unto them. 20 (J)And God dealt well with the midwives: "and the people 21 (E)multiplied, and waxed very mighty [. . .]. And it

came to pass, because the midwives "feared God, that he 22 16made them houses. And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive.

2

15.

And there went a man of the house of Levi [. . .],* and 2 took to wife a [. . .] daughter of Levi [. . .]. And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him 3 that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months. And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch; and she put the child therein, and laid it in the flags 1by the riv13Gen. 2011; 42: 19. 14Vv. 7.9. 15 Gen. 2011; 22: 12; 42: 18. 161 Sam. 2:35. 17;

* In vs. I we have literally "the daughter of Levi," which must grammatically refer to some person already mentioned, though the mention is now wanting. In vs. 4 "his sister" is introduced as if already known to the reader. Later both Miriam and Aaron appear in the story in the same way without introduction, though Miriam is styled "the prophetess," (xv. 20) as if we had already been informed as to her calling. The extreme brevity and generalizing character of vs. I may therefore be attributed to Rp., with whose material in ch. vi. the data of E conflicted. Cf. 1. Sam. ii. 27f. and see Analysis, p. 7 and Part II.

er's brink. And his sister stood afar off, to know what would 4 be done to him. And the daughter of Pharaoh came down 5 to bathe at the river; and her maidens walked along by the river-side; and she saw the ark among the flags, and sent her 'handmaid to fetch it. And she opened it, and saw the child; * 6 and, behold, the babe wept And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews' children. Then said his sister to Pharaoh's daughter, Shall I go and 7 call thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee? And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Go. 8 And the maid went and called the child's mother. And 9 Pharaoh's daughter said unto her, Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the woman took the child, and nursed it. And the child grew, 10 and she brought him unto Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses, and said, Because I drew him out of the water.

And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown II up, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens: and he saw an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren. And he looked this way and that way, and 12 when he saw that there was no man, he smote the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand. And he went out the second day, 13 and behold, two men of the Hebrews strove together and he said to him that did the wrong, Wherefore smitest thou thy fellow? And he said, Who made thee a prince and a 14 judge over us? thinkest thou to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian? And Moses feared, and said, Surely the thing is known.

Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay 15 Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt (J) in the land of Midian [. . .]: and he sat down by a well. Now [...] the priest of Midian had seven 16 daughters: and they came and drew water, and filled

2Gen. 30: 3, 12, 18, etc. Gen. 24: 11ff.; 29: 3ff.

3Gen. 21: 14-16, etc. 1: 22. 4Gen. 21: 8. 5Vs. 10. 65: 4. 718:4. Ct. Nu. 12: 1.

*The clause is superfluous and appears to be a marginal gloss.

17 the troughs to water their father's flock. And the shepherds came and drove them away: but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock. 18 And when they came to "Reuel their father, he said, 19 12How is it that ye are come so soon to-day? And they said, An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and moreover he drew water for us, and 20 watered the flock. And he said unto his daughters, And where is he? why is it that ye have left the 21 man? call him, that he may eat bread. And Moses was "content to dwell with the man: and he gave 22 Moses Zipporah his daughter. And she bare him a (E) son, and he called his name Gershom [. . .]: for he said, I have been a sojourner in a strange land.

23

(J) And it came to pass in the course of those many (P) days, that the king of Egypt died:† and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their 24 cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, 25 with Isaac, and with Jacob. And God saw the children of Israel, and God took knowledge [of them].

10 Gen. 30: 38, 41. 11Ct. Nu. 10: 29; Ex. 3: 1, etc. 12Gen. 27: 20. 13 Gen. 2: 24; 24: 27; 28: 15, etc. 14 Gen. 18: 27,31; Jos. 7: 7. 15Gen, 8: 1; 30: 22. 16 Gen. 17: 7f.

"Ho

*Throughout the J document Moses' father-in-law is always known as bab the son of Reuel, the priest of Midian," cf. Num. x. 29; Jud. iv. 11; in E he is known equally without exception as Jethro (Ex. iv. 18, “Jether"). "Priest of Midian" in E occurs only in Ex. xii. 1 and xviii. 1, passages recast by Rje, and must therefore be considered doubtful. "Reuel" here is best xplained as a harmonistic insertion, Chothen (" father-in-law," i. e. wife's relation) when applied to Hobab and Jethro being rendered "brother-in-law." This is still the Rabbinic explanation; but the sense of the passage clearly is that "the priest of Midian" who is here nameless (Rje, who supplies "priest of Midian" in iii. I must have struck out the name from vs. 16) has, not seven daughters and two sons, but seven unprotected daughters. The theory of "Hobab son of " having dropped out before "Reuel" is incredible. In the original "Reuel" and 'Raguel" (Num. x. 29) are written identically.

†The LXX. repeat vs. 23a in connection with iv. 19. See Analysis, p. 130, and note on iv. 19, 24-26.