as a lawyer, one of my most exhilarating moment was a special hearing i did on behalf of a friend who was a client. the hearing was essentially a trial and appellate argument combined. all of my lawyering skills were taxed. it represented a culmination of years of study, practice and research. it was my legal triathlon.
richard elliott friedman’s book the exodus represents the great professor’s academic triathlon. in order to tackle proving that the exodus happened, he musters all of their pieces of his long and distinguished career as a scholar. essentially, the the exodus taps into professor friedman’s entire career to make a most persuasive case that “yes, virginia, there was an exodus.”
professor friedman’s voice on this topic came at an important time. his opinion resonated at a time when important religious leaders within the jewish community were willing to use their pulpits to express doubt as whether one of the jewish people’s foundational events. these individuals appeared to be willing to move forward with a fiction. this willingness to accept fiction arguable has caused much of present day society’s rot. thus, dr. friedman’s opinion was offered at a time where there was a crisis of faith.
friedman’s the exodus‘ greatness is that he makes the the quite complicated case simple. he musters the data and -midway through his text- lays it out a convincing case that there was an exodus.
for example, some of his case is that, hidden in the torah, there is much indicia proving an egyptian-israelite connection. professor friedman points out the big obvious. many members of the levite tribe- which moses came from- have egyptian names. moses- himself- actually has one of the most egyptian names imaginable. the torah, ironically, feels uncomfortable with the notion that its greatest leader possesses a foreign name. the torah actually argues that moses is a name of hebrew origin. further, professor friedman points to the tabernacle bares its similarity to egyptian architecture.
the middle of the book is perhaps the text’s climax. professor friedman lays out convincing facts which lead to the conclusion that there was an exodus. the exodus, however, was not of the magnitude as presented in either the torah or cecil b. demille’s ten commandments. rather, it was a smaller event which brought which brought forth the ground breaking thoughts concerning both monotheism and the treatment of strangers. as mr. friedman posits, there was likely a fusion between the canaanite god and the one which moses encountered at mt. sinai.
for those familiar with professor friedman’s work, the exodus covers familiar territory as he lays the foundation to make his case. the exodus is an easy read and which most important serves to dispel a sad moment of jewish history. the time in which the story of the exodus was dismissed at being an act of fiction.
be well!!
The Ten Commandments Project 