III. ISRAEL AT SINAI ( XIX.- XL.). The division Num 19- 40 presents difficulties due to its very importance, _see_ introduction to Ex. (last paragraph). But Num 25- 31, 35- 40 readily fall apart from the rest, as containing P's account of the Tabernacle (_see_ on Exodus 25:1), the introduction to wh... [ Continue Reading ]
EXODUS 23:1 R. JUSTICE. Form and substance also separate _this_ group from the Judgments and ally it with the Words of Yahweh in the Covenant Book. Circulating groundless reports (Exodus 23:1_ a_), conspiring with him that is in the wrong (_cf. Exodus 2:13_) to be a malicious witness (Exodus 23:1_ b... [ Continue Reading ]
EXODUS 23:10 E. CALENDAR AND RULES FOR WORSHIP. This passage may originally have followed Exodus 23-26 in the Covenant Book. It has been expanded, Exodus 23:13 being a conclusion (perhaps displaced from after Exodus 23:19), and Exodus 23:15 b, Exodus 23:17, and Exodus 23:19 copied by a harmonist fro... [ Continue Reading ]
EXODUS 23:20 E. CLOSING DISCOURSE (Exodus 23:23 a, Exodus 23:27, and Exodus 23:31 b - Exodus 23:33 Rd). This passage is highly complex. The verses just noted bear marks of the school of D; they condemn pillare, which E approves (Exodus 24:4 and elsewhere); their warning tone is inconsistent with the... [ Continue Reading ]