Mirages in the Desert: The Tradition-Historical Developments of the Story of Massah-Meribah

Description

The story of Massah-Meribah is a pluriform tradition within the Hebrew Bible. Part One of this book uses redaction analysis to assess diachronically the six reminiscences of this tradition within Deuteronomy (Deut 6:16; 8:15; 9:22; 32:13, 52; 33:8). The relative chronological relationship of these texts, and the tradition components they preserve, reveals a framework of five formative stages of this story's tradition-history from the perspective of the tradents responsible for the production of Deuteronomy. Part Two is a redactional study of the tradition's narratives in Exod 17:1-7 and Num 20:1-13. Special attention is devoted to the texts that anchor the Massah-Meribah narratives into the Pentateuch. In the end, Part Two not only corroborates the framework detected in Deuteronomy for the formative stages of the Massah-Meribah tradition, but it also carries broad implications for the formation of the Pentateuch in general and the Wilderness Narrative in particular. Contents List of Abbreviations Acknowledgments Chapter One: Introduction 1.1 The Texts of the Massah-Meribah Tradition 1.2 The Diversity of the Tradition in the Hebrew Bible 1.3 The Gap in Scholarship 1.3.1 Within Classic Historical-Critical Studies 1.3.2 Within Revisionist Studies 1.3.3 Summary 1.4 What to Do and Where to Begin? Part I. Deuteronomy as the Foundation Chapter Two: Preliminary Considerations 2.1 Why Begin with Deuteronomy? 2.2 Currents and Cautions in Pentateuchal Studies 2.3 The Formation of Deuteronomy 2.3.1 The Interior Prologue: Early-Deuteronomy and the Numeruswechsel 2.3.2 The Exterior Miscellaneous Epilogues 2.4 Summary: The Advantages of Beginning with Deuteronomy Chapter Three: The M-Mt’s Reminiscences within Deuteronomy’s Interior Prologue 3.1 Introduction to the Interior Reminiscences 3.2 Deuteronomy 6:16 3.2.1 Textual Criticism of Deut 6:16 3.2.2 Literary Analysis of Deut 6:4–25 3.2.3 Tradition-historical Analysis of Deut 6:16 3.3 Deuteronomy 8:15 3.3.1 Textual Criticism of Deut 8:15 3.3.2 Literary Analysis of Deut 8:1–20 3.3.3 Tradition-historical Analysis of Deut 8:15 3.4 Deuteronomy 9:22 3.4.1 Textual Criticism of Deut 9:22 3.4.2 Literary Analysis of Deut 9:1–10:11 3.4.3 Tradition-historical Analysis of Deut 9:22 3.5 Reconstructing the Framework of the M-Mt’s Tradition-historical Development (Part 1) Chapter Four: The M-Mt’s Reminiscences within Deuteronomy’s Exterior Miscellaneous Epilogues 4.1 Introduction to the Exterior Reminiscences 4.2 Deuteronomy 32:13 4.2.1 Is Deut 32:13 a M-Mt Text? 4.2.2 Text Criticism of Deut 32:13 4.2.3 Literary Analysis of Deut 32:1–43 4.2.4 Tradition-historical Analysis of Deut 32:13b 4.3 Deuteronomy 32:51 4.3.1 Text Criticism of Deut 32:51 4.3.2 Literary Analysis of Deut 32:48–52 4.3.3 Tradition-historical Analysis of Deut 32:51 4.4 Deuteronomy 33:8 4.4.1 Textual Criticism of Deut 33:8 4.4.2 Literary Analysis of Deut 33:8–11 4.4.3 Tradition-historical Analysis of Deut 33:8b 4.5 Reconstructing the Framework of the M-Mt’s Tradition-historical Development (Part 2) Part II Beyond Deuteronomy: The M-Mt in the Remainder of the Pentateuch Chapter Five: Toward Assessing the M-Mt Texts in the Remainder of the Pentateuch 5.1 Introduction to the Remaining M-Mt Texts within the Pentateuch 5.2 What is the Relationship between the M-Mt Narratives? 5.2.1 The Verbal and Conceptual Correspondence of the M-Mt Narratives 5.2.2 Additional Features Affecting the Relationship of the M-Mt Narratives 5.3 Determining the Relationship between the M-Mt Narratives 5.4 Synopsis: Four Dynamics of the Relationship between the M-Mt Narratives Chapter Six: The Non-P M-Mt Narrative in Exodus 17:1–7 and its Related Texts 6.1 An Approach toward Assessing Exodus 17:1–7 6.2 Textual Criticism of Exodus 17:1–7 6.3 Literary Analysis of Exodus 17:1–7 in Relation to its Broader Literary Contexts 6.3.1 The Travel Notice of Exod 17:1aba and the Wilderness Itinerary of Numbers 33 6.3.2 The Double Etiology of Exod 17:2, 7 and the ?? ? Elements of Num 20:3a, 13 6.3.3 The Dtr Core of Exod 17:2–7* and the Complaints of Numbers 11 6.4 Toward a Synthesis: The Literary History of Exodus 17:1–7 Aligned with Deuteronomy’s M-Mt Tradition-historical Framework Chapter Seven: The Priestly M-Mt Narrative in Numbers 20:1–13 and its Related Texts 7.1 An Approach toward Assessing Numbers 20:1–13 7.2 Textual Criticism of Numbers 20:1–13 7.3 Literary Analysis of Numbers 20:1–13 in Relation to its Broader Literary Contexts 7.3.1 The Failure of Moses and Aaron in Num 20:12 and their Deaths outside the Land in Num 20:22–29 and 27:12–23 7.3.2 The Assemblies against Moses and Aaron in Num 20:2–3 and Numbers 16–17 7.3.3 The Travel Notice of Num 20:1, the Scouts Story of Numbers 13–14, and the Wilderness Itinerary of Numbers 33 7.3.4 The ? ?? ?? Coordination of Num 20:3–5*+13a and Exod 17:2–7* 7.3.5 The Formation of the ??? Episode of Num 20:1–11*+13b in Light of Exod 17:2–7’s Formative Stages 7.4 Toward a Synthesis: The Literary History of Numbers 20:1–13 and its Relationship to Exodus 17:1–7 and Deuteronomy’s M-Mt Traditionhistorical Framework Chapter Eight: Conclusion 8.1 Summary and Implications of the Current Study 8.2 Trajectories for Further Study Appendices Appendix A. Rhythm and Translation of the Ur- ??? of Deuteronomy 32 Appendix B. Quantitative Analysis of the Verbal and Conceptual Correspondences of Exod 17:1–7 and Num 20:1–13 Appendix C Appendix D. Exodus 17:1-7 by Stages of Literary Development Appendix E. Numbers 20:1–13 by Stages of Literary Development Bibliography Index of names Index of ancient sources