Texts in Conversation
In Exodus, Moses demands Israel’s release to celebrate a festival in the wilderness, but Pharaoh refuses and gives them more work. 1 Kings deliberately echoes this, portraying Jeroboam as a new Moses and Rehoboam as a new Pharaoh. Jeroboam leads the northern tribes seeking relief from forced service and started a festival afterward.
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Exodus 5:1
Hebrew Bible
1 Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, has said, ‘Release my people so that they may hold a pilgrim feast to me in the wilderness.’” 2 But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord that I should obey him by releasing Israel? I do not know the Lord, and I will not release Israel!” 3 And they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Let us go a three-day journey into the wilderness so that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God, so that he does not strike us with plague or the sword.” 4 The king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you cause the people to refrain from their work? Return to your labor!”
Date: 5th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
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1 Kings 12:32
Hebrew Bible
31 He built temples on the high places and appointed as priests common people who were not Levites. 32 Jeroboam inaugurated a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the festival celebrated in Judah. On the altar in Bethel he offered sacrifices to the calves he had made. In Bethel he also appointed priests for the high places he had made. 33 On the fifteenth day of the eighth month (a date he had arbitrarily chosen) Jeroboam offered sacrifices on the altar he had made in Bethel. He inaugurated a festival for the Israelites and went up to the altar to offer sacrifices.
Date: 6th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... the theme of Israelites seeking liberty to worship Yahweh in a pilgrimage, only to be rebuffed by their sovereign, recalls somewhat the circumstances surrounding the secession of Northern Israel. In 1 Kings 12, the Northerners demand relief from their corvée duties, but King Rehoboam rejects their suit. The people withdraw and, at some later point, hold a pilgrim festival. Thus Exodus 5 suits well E’s Northern patriotism ..."
Propp, William Henry
Exodus 1-18: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary
(p. 251) Doubleday, 1999
* 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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