Moses as “Prophet”
One specific characteristic of Exodus
3–4 is that Moses (like Abraham in Genesis 15 and Joshua in Joshua 24, as we
shall see) is depicted as a “prophet.” This is clearly recognizable in the
threefold use of שלח in
Exod 3:13–15, in the commissioning of Moses as God’s messenger in Exod 3:16–17,
in the subsequent events being made known to Moses in 3:19–22 (see Amos 3:7),
and also in the closeness of the setting in Exodus 3–4 to the so-called
prophetic call narratives. Specifically, a whole series of relationships to
Jeremiah 1 can be detected (particularly noticeable is the reference to their
own unsuitability for the task), but also to the call narratives of Isaiah and
Ezekiel, with their theophanic motifs. It is hardly accidental that in Exodus
3–4 the liberation from Egypt must first be promised, along with the explicit
announcement of the plagues (3:19–22), before it can occur (Exodus 7–14, [15]).
Apparently, Exodus 3–4 first inserts the fundamental promise and fulfillment
scheme into the narrative presentation of the book of Exodus and thus
establishes in Genesis–Joshua a double correspondence of promise and
fulfillment: the promises to the ancestors in Genesis correspond to the
conquest in Joshua, and the promises of the leading out of Egypt in Exodus 3–4
correspond to their execution in Exodus 7–14, (15).
The
intention behind this structuring is clear. The salvation history of God does
not simply emerge by itself. Rather, it has been revealed in advance to
authoritative figures in order to make clear that the events are no accident
but are linked to God’s history for the sake of his people. The patriarchs of
Genesis already know of Israel’s future land occupation, and the deliverance
from Egypt about which Abraham already had knowledge (Genesis 15) is revealed
in advance to Moses in Exodus 3. This historical prophecy has particular
relevance in the places where events have not yet been confirmed. That is
especially true in the corpus propheticum toward which the context of
Genesis–Joshua/Judges–Kings is directed. From the perspective of the prophetic
books, Genesis and the beginning of Exodus function prefiguratively to a
certain degree. The forefathers of Israel in the time of the ancestors, as well
as the people in Egypt were made aware they should rely on the prophetic
announcement of God rather than the historical evidence. Therefore, the concept
of “faith” (האמין) plays an important role, with the difference being that
Genesis 15 deals with the “faith” of Abraham and Exodus 4 with the “faith” of
Israel.147 This difference especially has to do with the fact that Israel exists
as a people and is no longer (as in Genesis) represented or prefigured by
individual figures
Source:
Konrad
Schmid, Genesis and the Moses Story: Israel's Dual Origins in the Hebrew
Bible (trans. James D. Nogalski; Siphrut: Literature and Theology of the
Hebrew Scriptures 3; Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 2010), 181-82
