Texts in Conversation
The Wisdom of Solomon and the Rabbinic tradition in Tosefta Sotah share a similar tradition about the Exodus not found in the Hebrew Bible, describing how even the mute and infants miraculously spoke in praise at the Red Sea.
Share:
Wisdom of Solomon 10:21
Deuterocanon
18 She brought them over the Red Sea, and led them through deep waters; 19 but she drowned their enemies, and cast them up from the depth of the sea. 20 Therefore the righteous plundered the ungodly; they sang hymns, O Lord, to your holy name, and praised with one accord your defending hand; 21 for wisdom opened the mouths of those who were mute, and made the tongues of infants speak clearly.
Date: 100-50 B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
Tosefta Sotah 6:4
Tosefta
Rabbinic
The Sages taught in a baraita that Rabbi Yosei HaGelili taught: At the time that the Jewish people ascended from the sea they resolved to sing a song of gratitude to God. And how did they recite this song? If a baby was lying on his mother's lap or an infant was nursing from his mother's breasts, once they saw the Divine Presence, the baby straightened his neck and the infant dropped the breast from his mouth, and they recited 'This is my God and I will glorify Him' (Exodus 15:2). As it is stated: 'Out of the mouths of babies and sucklings You have founded strength' (Psalms 8:3). Rabbi Meir would say: From where is it derived that even fetuses in their mother's womb recited the song at the sea? As it is stated: 'In full assemblies, bless God, the Lord, you that are from the source of Israel' (Psalms 68:27), indicating that even children that are in the 'source,' i.e., their mother’s womb, blessed God when they gathered at the sea.
Date: 190-230 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
Search:
Notes and References
"... here was a problem. Granted, the Israelites might actually have seen God at the Red Sea and therefore said, 'This is my God.' But how could they tell, by looking at Him, that this was also 'the God of my father' as the rest of Exodus 15:2 maintains? Certainly there was nothing about His appearance to indicate that He was also the God of Israel's ancestors. To this question ancient interpreters apparently developed an ingenious answer: the words of the song, 'This is my God and I will glorify Him, the God of my father and I will exalt Him,' were actually sung by two different groups of singers: first the fathers in Israel sang 'This is my God ...'; then their children, down to the littlest newborn, sang in reply 'The God of my father' ..."
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
Your Feedback:
Leave a Comment
Anonymous comments are welcome. All comments are subject to moderation.