Texts in Conversation
Exodus 15:1 and 15:21 uses the same language to celebrate God's deliverance, but one comes from Moses and the other from Miriam. This duplication and Miriam’s later diminished role suggest these are distinct traditions that were edited together.
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Exodus 15:1
Hebrew Bible
1 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord. They said, “I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously, the horse and its rider he has thrown into the sea. 2 The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation. This is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him. 3 The Lord is a man of war10— the Lord is his name.
Date: 5th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
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Exodus 15:21
Hebrew Bible
20 Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a hand drum in her hand, and all the women went out after her with hand drums and with dances. 21 Miriam sang in response to them, “Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and its rider he has thrown into the sea.” 22 Then Moses led Israel to journey away from the Red Sea. They went out to the wilderness of Shur, walked for three days into the wilderness, and found no water.
Date: 5th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... The names of all three great leaders of the Exodus are Egyptian. Under the 18th dynasty in Egypt it was customary to give ‘Asiatics’ (Canaanites) Egyptian names. The inclusion of Miriam as one of the leaders is remarkable because only here this is done unreservedly ... Exodus 15:1 and Exodus 15:21 contradict each other. According to Joshua 24:5 and 1 Samuel 12:8 only Moses and Aaron are sent. On 1 Chronicles 5:29, where Miriam is not ‘sent’, Japhet 1993, 149-150 writes, ‘Miriam is included among the descendants of Kohath, in what may be regarded as the final stage of her absorption into the Amramites’ ..."
* 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.
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