The emancipation from Egypt as allegory for emancipation from Persia

[rgprice]

It is hard not to read so much of the Pentateuch through the lens of the downfall of the Persian empire. But in particular we have:

Deuteronomy 4:34 Or has a god ventured to go to take for himself a nation from within another nation by trials, by signs and wonders, by war, by a mighty hand, by an outstretched arm, and by great terrors, just as the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? 35 You were shown these things so that you might know that the Lord, He is God; there is no other besides Him. 36 Out of the heavens He let you hear His voice to discipline you; and on earth He let you see His great fire, and you heard His words from the midst of the fire. 37 Because He loved your fathers, He chose their descendants after them. And He personally brought you from Egypt by His great power, 38 driving out from before you nations greater and mightier than you, to bring you in and to give you their land as an inheritance, as it is today. 39 Therefore know today, and take it to your heart, that the Lord, He is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other. 40 So you shall keep His statutes and His commandments which I am giving you today, so that it may go well for you and for your children after you, and that you may live long on the land which the Lord your God is giving you for all time.”

Now, imagine hearing this story after Alexander the Great has conquered the Persians and left a power vacuum. It seems to me that the story of the conquest of the promised land is all a backdrop to Hasmonaean desires. Is it not a plan for the conquest of the land after the fall of the Persian empire?

[andrewcriddle]

It is hard not to read so much of the Pentateuch through the lens of the downfall of the Persian empire. But in particular we have:

Deuteronomy 4:34 Or has a god ventured to go to take for himself a nation from within another nation by trials, by signs and wonders, by war, by a mighty hand, by an outstretched arm, and by great terrors, just as the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? 35 You were shown these things so that you might know that the Lord, He is God; there is no other besides Him. 36 Out of the heavens He let you hear His voice to discipline you; and on earth He let you see His great fire, and you heard His words from the midst of the fire. 37 Because He loved your fathers, He chose their descendants after them. And He personally brought you from Egypt by His great power, 38 driving out from before you nations greater and mightier than you, to bring you in and to give you their land as an inheritance, as it is today. 39 Therefore know today, and take it to your heart, that the Lord, He is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other. 40 So you shall keep His statutes and His commandments which I am giving you today, so that it may go well for you and for your children after you, and that you may live long on the land which the Lord your God is giving you for all time.”

Now, imagine hearing this story after Alexander the Great has conquered the Persians and left a power vacuum. It seems to me that the story of the conquest of the promised land is all a backdrop to Hasmonaean desires. Is it not a plan for the conquest of the land after the fall of the Persian empire?

One could at least as plausibly, see the Exodus from Egypt as an allegory of the return from Babylon after the Persian conquest.

Andrew Criddle

[rgprice]

Actually, the more I think about it, I think Exodus was written during the Ptolemaic period, with Egypt as the common "oppressor". I think there is a clear case that the story is an allegory for the situation the Jews found themselves in during the Ptolemaic era, seeking the establishment of an independent Jewish state. I can't put it all together at the moment, but I'll get there.