{"id":6263,"date":"2017-07-16T13:05:08","date_gmt":"2017-07-16T12:05:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/areopage.net\/blog\/?p=6263"},"modified":"2017-07-16T13:05:08","modified_gmt":"2017-07-16T12:05:08","slug":"making-sense-of-the-divine-name-in-the-book-of-exodus-surls-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/areopage.net\/blog\/2017\/07\/16\/making-sense-of-the-divine-name-in-the-book-of-exodus-surls-2017\/","title":{"rendered":"Making Sense of the Divine Name in the Book of Exodus (Surls, 2017)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

The obvious riddles and difficulties in Exod 3:13\u201315 and Exod 6:2\u20138 have attracted an overwhelming amount of attention and comment. These texts make important theological statements about the divine name YHWH and the contours of the divine character. From the enigmatic statements in Exod 3:13\u201315, most scholars reconstruct the original form of the name as \u201cYahweh,\u201d which is thought to describe YHWH\u2019s creative power or self-existence. Similarly, Exod 6:3 has become a classic proof-text for the Documentary Hypothesis and an indication of different aspects of God\u2019s character as shown in history. Despite their seeming importance for \u201cdefining\u201d the divine name, these texts are ancillary to and preparatory for the true revelation of the divine name in the book of Exodus.<\/p>\n

This book attempts to move beyond atomistic readings of individual texts and etymological studies of the divine name toward a holistic reading of the book of Exodus. Surls centers his argument around in-depth analyses of Exod 3:13\u201315, 6:2\u20138 and Exod 33:12\u201323 and 34:5\u20138. Consequently, the definitive proclamation of YHWH\u2019s character is not given at the burning bush but in response to Moses\u2019 later intercession (Exod 33:12\u201323). YHWH proclaimed his name in a formulaic manner that Israel could appropriate (Exod 34:6\u20137), and the Hebrew Bible quotes or alludes to this text in many genres. This demonstrates the centrality of Exod 34:6\u20137 to Old Testament Theology. The character of God cannot be discerned from an etymological analysis of the word\u00a0yhwh<\/i>\u00a0but from a close study of YHWH\u2019s deliberate ascriptions made progressively in the book of Exodus.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

J’ai d\u00e9j\u00e0 eu l’occasion de parler de la th\u00e8se de doctorat d’Austin Surls<\/a> sur le sens du nom divin d’apr\u00e8s le livre de l’Exode : un propos bien document\u00e9, pas toujours attendu, et r\u00e9jouissant \u00e0 bien des \u00e9gards en ce qu’il ne sombre pas dans les clich\u00e9s ordinaires, ou comme il dirait,\u00a0parce qu’il tente d’aller \u00ab\u00a0beyond atomistic readings\u00a0\u00bb. On ne peut donc que se r\u00e9jouir d’apprendre la parution r\u00e9cente de ce travail chez Eisenbrauns. J’ignore pour l’heure s’il y a du nouveau ou s’il a op\u00e9r\u00e9 des changements, mais j’y reviendrai le cas \u00e9ch\u00e9ant.<\/p>\n

Je profite de l’occasion pour signaler deux faits nouveaux sur\u00a0des sujets diff\u00e9rents :<\/p>\n