Exodus Interpretive Questions
Interpretation,
Significance, Application
Questions raised on the
reading of sections of T. Fretheim's
Exodus (Louisville: John Knox Press, 1990)
Developed by Ted Hildebrandt
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11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20,
21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30,
31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40,
Workbook Type Projects:
1) Trace the statements where God reveals His
motives for acting in
Exodus.
2) What parallels can be drawn between
Exodus and the gospels? (Fretheim, p. 2)
3) What texts in Exodus are difficult to
transfer from back then to post-
modern culture?
Why?
4) Find four texts in Exodus that speak to
you. Why/how did it move from
text to dialogue for you? (Fretheim, 4)
5) How do you distinguish narrative and law in
Exodus? Take three
examples and trace the transition. What are the transitional markers?
How do you interpret the texts differently? What is the significance of the
linking of law and narrative?
6) In the plague cycles, what literary
structures are repeated? What is their
significance?
7) How would you respond to the following
quote: “While a nucleus is
probably
rooted in events of the period represented, the narratives also
reflect
what thoughtful Israelites over the course of nearly a millennium
considered
their meaning(s) to be. In such an
ongoing reflective process,
the
writers no doubt used their imaginations freely (e.g., when they put
forward
the actual words of a conversation)...how important for faith is
the
historical veracity of the reported events? To
paraphrase the apostle
Paul: "If the exodus did not occur, was
8) What kind of theology is developed in the
historical narratives? How do
you
move from historical narrative to a theological statement? How
would
you respond to Fretheim’s statement: The
fundamental
purpose
of Exodus is “kerygmatic”; that is, it seeks to confront the
reader
with the word of God, not a constructive theological statement.
(Fretheim,
10) What theological statements are
actually made in the
narrative
sections?
9) How would you explain the differences in
Exod. 23:21 and 34:7? How
would
you compare Exod. 24:9-11 to 33:11 and 33:20? (Fretheim, 11)
10) Trace the legal material into the character
of God. (Fretheim, 11)
11) Compare/contrast the historical narrative of
the
the
poetic expression of it in Exodus 15. (Fretheim, 12)
12) What comparisons may be made linking Genesis
and Exodus?
[Creational
setting, anticreational activity, flood/ecological disasters,
death
and deliverance through water, covenant, and reiteration of
covenant.]
(Fretheim, 14)
13) Is God unchanged by all
the actions in the book of Exodus? What
new
things
does God Himself do in Exodus as the narrative progresses that
reveal
His becoming? Is it progressive revelation from a static being
or
can becoming actually be predicated to God? How does the text
describe
it? (Fretheim, 15)
14) How is the sovereignty of God seen in Exod.
4-15? How are God’s and
Pharaoh’s
ways of being sovereign different? (Fretheim, 17)
15) Find three cases where God describes
Himself. How does He portray
Himself
and how is that connected to the historical narrative?
(Fretheim,
16)
16) How does God depend on Moses to accomplish
His purposes?
(Fretheim,
17) How is God responsive to Moses, give two examples?
17) What is God’s relationship to nature in
Exodus 1-15? (Fretheim, 19)
18) Trace the theme: “whom will we serve” through the book of
Exodus.
What
shifts may be seen? (Fretheim, 20) How is the term (‘abad)
“service”
used in Exodus. How does it change from
the first chapters
to
the final chapters? (Fretheim, 30)
19) What is the relationship of redemption and
law? Does redemption come
as a
result of obedience to the law?
(Fretheim, 22)
Exodus 1 Back to top
1. How does the narrative move from the familial
to the national and back
(Exod.
1)? (Fretheim, 23)
2. How does Exod. 1:1-7 connect with the themes
of Genesis?
(Fretheim,
24)
*3. How many people went to
Septuagint reading of 75)? (Fretheim, 24)
4. How does the multiplication of Israelites in
Exodus link back to the
promises of Genesis (Exod. 1)? (Fretheim, 24)
5. How does God appear in the opening verses of
Exodus (1:1-7)?
(Fretheim, 25)
6. How does God’s creation and redemption work
in Exodus
fit with the great credal statements of
(cf. Deut. 26:5; Ps. 105:24; 136; Josh. 24:3)? (Fretheim,
26)
7. How are the cosmic and earthly spheres drawn
into the
narrative (Pharaoh, Joseph, Egyptians, gods, God)?
(Fretheim, 26)
8. How does Pharaoh oppose God’s multiplying
life giving
work in
9. How does “a new king over
and the sons of God in Genesis (Exod. 1)? (Fretheim, 27)
10. How does Pharaoh’s not knowing Joseph
transcend the reference
to a particular individual (Exod. 1)? (Fretheim, 27)
11. How is Pharaoh’s “not knowing”
compared/contrasted with
God’s “knowing” in Exod. 1-3? (Fretheim, 27)
12. How does the narrator view the multiplication
of
than Pharaoh (Exod. 1)?
(Fretheim, 27)
13. Who is the first one to recognize
How is that ironic? (Fretheim, 28)
14. How do Pharaoh’s words highlight the
fulfillment of God’s
promise (Exod. 1)?
Is that ironic? (Fretheim, 28)
15. How are Pharaoh’s intentions totally reversed
(Exod. 1)? With
whom does that contrast? (Fretheim, 28)
16. When Pharaoh speaks of
he speak more than he knows (cf. 13:18; 3:8, 17)?
(Fretheim, 28)
17. What symbolic value do the cities of Pithom
and Rameses have
in the narrative (Exod. 1)?
(Fretheim, 28)
18. What is ironic about Pharaoh’s tactics of
oppression and
population control (Exod. 1)? (Fretheim, 29)
19. Is it possible for those who have only
experienced prosperity
and freedom to understand oppression as described in
Exod. 1? (Fretheim, 29)
20. What is the impact of oppression on the
oppressor (Exod. 1)?
(Fretheim, 29)
21. How does slavery destroy their identity as a
people (Exod. 1)?
(Fretheim, 29)
22. How is the language of affliction, burden,
and oppression
echoed in the law (Exod. 1, cf. ch. 22)? (Fretheim, 29)
23. What is God’s response to the oppression of
his people (cf.
Exod. 3:7, 17; 4:31; 6:6-7)? (Fretheim, 30)
24. How is the repetition of language used in
Exod. 1:6ff?
(Fretheim, 30)
25. How would you support the following statement
from the text of
Exodus? “The exodus does not constitute a declaration
of
independence,
but a declaration of dependence upon God” (Fretheim,
30f). In what ways does this statement need
qualification and
development?
26. How are service and freedom connected at
Sinai? (Fretheim, 31)
27. How does God demonstrate He is a God of the
oppressed (Exod. 1)?
(Fretheim, 31)
28. What irony is seen in the story of the Hebrew
mid-wives (Exod. 1)?
(Fretheim, 31)
29. How do the mid-wives stand between two
communities (Exod. 1)?
What does their response model? (Fretheim, 31)
30. What does who is named and left unnamed in
Exod. 1 suggest?
(Fretheim, 31)
31. How are the fear of the Egyptians and the
fear of the mid-wives
both realized (Exod. 1)?
(Fretheim, 32)
32. With what is Pharaoh’s dealing in death and
oppression contrasted
(Exod. 1)?
(Fretheim, 32)
33. How did the mid-wives observe the cosmic
order and bring their
lives into harmony with it (Exod. 1)? What is ma’at
and hokmah?
(Fretheim, 32)
34. What basic creational principle did the
mid-wives understand
but Pharaoh did not (Exod. 1)? (Fretheim, 32)
35. By eliciting the mid-wives’ help Pharaoh is
attacking what
vulnerability in the cycle of life (Eoxd. 1)? (Fretheim, 33)
36. How does Pharaoh’s attempt to kill the male
children of
echo back onto his own family (Exod. 1)? (Fretheim, 33)
37. What feast does the saving of the sons
foreshadow (Exod. 1)?
(Fretheim, 33)
38. How do women fail Pharaoh’s attempt at
oppression (Exod. 1)?
What roles do women play in the liberation process (cf. ch.
1 and 2)?
(Fretheim, 33)
39. Tthe mid-wives were not powerful leaders
yet their actions
show that they are not powerless. How would that apply to
today (Exod. 1)?
(Fretheim, 33)
40. How does God use people of faith to carry out
his movement
to life and blessing (Exod. 1)? (Fretheim, 33)
41. How
does God use people of faith to carry out his movements to
life and blessing (Exod. 1)? (Fretheim, 34)
42. What risks did the mid-wives take in
protecting the Israelite
infants (Exod. 1)?
(Fretheim, 34) What does the
naming of
the mid-wives contrast with in Exod. 1? Who is not named
in that chapter?
43. How is God introduced in the narrative (Exod.
1:17, 20)?
(Fretheim, 34)
44. How are Pharaoh’s attempts at Jewish genocide
echoed in other
segments of history (Exod. 1)? (Fretheim, 35)
45. How is the
Pharaoh’s use of it with God’s (Exod. 1)? (Fretheim, 35)
Exodus 2 Back
to top
46. How do the activities of Moses in 2:11-22
foreshadow the later actions
of
God and
47 What role or function does word play have in
the birth of Moses
narrative
(Exod. 2)? (Fretheim, 36)
48. How does the issue with “sons” develop in the
early chapters of Exodus
(Exod. 1-4)? (Fretheim, 36)
49. Are Moses’ parents shown as simply trusting
God or do they take action
themselves in rejecting and opposing oppression and moving
toward life and blessing (Exod. 2)? (Fretheim, 36)
50. How are the roles of the mid-wives and
Pharaoh’s daughter similar
(Exod.
2)? How are they different? (Fretheim,
36)
51. How do three women shape Moses’ early life
(Exod. 2)? (Fretheim, 37)
52. What irony is seen in Pharaoh’s letting the
daughters live and the role
daughters play in the narrative (Exod. 2)? (Fretheim, 37)
53. What does Pharaoh’s own daughter reveal about
Pharaoh’s own family
(Exod. 2)?
(Fretheim, 37)
54. How does Pharaoh’s daughter’s naming of Moses
play itself out in
the story (Exod. 2)?
How is what she did for Moses, what Moses
would
later do for all
55. How does Exod. 2:1-10 illustrate God’s use of
the weak to confound the
strong
(Jer. 9:27; 1 Cor. 1:26-29)? (Fretheim, 37)
56. What type of people did God choose to work
through in Exod. 1-2?
(Fretheim, 37)
57. What is the relationship of irony and hope
that moves out of the Exod.
1-2
narrative to all of life? (Fretheim, 38)
58. How does Exod. 2 echo the Noah story in
Genesis 6-9? How strong are
the
links? (Fretheim, 38)
59. What paraellels are seen in the story of
Moses’ birth and the story of
Sargon of Akkad’s birth (Exod. 2)? (Fretheim, 38)
60. How does God use human beings to preserve
Moses’ life (Exod. 2)?
(Fretheim, 38)
61. Is human activity a facade to hide the
all-controlling divine activity
(Exod. 2)?
(Fretheim, 38)
62. What is the significance of the non-mention
of God in these early
chapters
of Exodus (Exod. 2)? (Fretheim, 38)
63. How does Pharaoh’s daughter’s role in the
narrative parallel God’s role
in the narrative later on (ch. 2:23-25; 3:7-8)? (Fretheim,
38)
64. In what ways are women given leadership roles
in Exod. 1-2? What
role does Moses’ father play (Exod. 2)? (Fretheim, 39)
65. How does the role of the women in the first
two chapters parallel God’s
own role of redemption?
(Fretheim, 40)
66. At what points is the narrator’s theological
perspective visible in the
narrative of the historical events (Exod. 2)? (Fretheim, 40)
67. How is Moses’ birth setting him up for his
later leadership role
(Exod.
2)? (Fretheim, 40)
68. How doe the infancy narratives of Moses and
Jesus parallel? What does
that show about how God works? (Fretheim, 40)
69. How does the parallel between Moses’ and
Jesus’ births foreshadow
the later work of both (Exod. 2)? (Fretheim, 41)
70. What three groups do the three events in
Moses’ adult life bring him
in to contact with (Exod. 2)? (Fretheim, 41)
71. How are the three events in Moses’ early
adult life described in the
narrative (Exod. 2)?
Who is speaking? (Fretheim, 41)
72. After being reared in Pharaoh’s court, how
does the narrator reconnect
Moses with the people of
73. How do the three events of Moses’ early
adulthood parallel and embody
the experience of
74. How does Moses’ labelling his first son
indicate a link both with
(Fretheim, 42)
75. Was Moses’ killing of the Egyptian justified
(Exod. 2)? (Fretheim, 42)
76. How is the word “stroke” used to show Moses
responding in kind
to what the Egyptian was doing (Exod. 2)? (Fretheim, 42)
77. Does God ever nakah (“strike”) the Egyptians
(Exod. 2)? (Fretheim, 42)
78. Was Moses just an angry and foolish young man
when he killed the
Egyptian (Exod. 2; cf. Acts 7:23-25)? (Fretheim, 42)
79. How does Moses’ striking anticipate God’s
striking (Exod. 2)?
(Fretheim, 42)
80. What does Moses’ response killing the Egyptian
anticipate (Ex. 21:12, 20)?
(Fretheim, 43)
81. Who are the first people Moses delivers
(Exod. 2)? (Fretheim, 43)
82. What moral quality is seen in the first three
events of Moses’ adult
life that would feature in his later calling and leadership
(Exod. 2)?
(Fretheim, 43)
83. How does Moses’ attempt to break up the
Hebrew’s fight foreshadow
his later work among the Hebrew community (Exod. 2)?
(Fretheim,
44)
84. How does the Hebrew’s rejection of Moses’
leadership foreshadow
what would happen later (Exod. 2)? (Fretheim, 44)
85. How does the narrative contrast the
Israelites’ reaction to Moses and
the Midianites’ (Exod. 2)?
(Fretheim, 44)
86. What does Moses’ marriage to Zipporah suggest
about the openness
of the Israelite community (Exod. 2)? (Fretheim, 44)
87. In the three events of Moses’ early
adulthood, what three types of
injustice does Moses react to? Who were the three victims and
the three oppressors?
Chart this out [injustice, victim, oppressor,
Moses’ response] (Fretheim, 44)
88. What does Moses’ reaction to oppression
suggest about our response to
injustice and our relationship to the oppressed? (Fretheim,
45)
89. What qualities are needed to combat injustice
(Exod. 2)? (Fretheim, 45)
90. How is Moses’ response to oppression echoed
in God’s own deliverance
and also in the later legal code (Exod. 2; cf.
22:21ff)? (Fretheim, 45)
91. How does the New Testament reflect on the
early events in Moses’
life (Acts 7:23-29; 35; Heb. 11:24-28)? (Fretheim, 45)
92. How is Moses’ history of rejection
similar/dissimilar to Jesus’ history
of rejection (Exod. 2)?
(Fretheim, 46)
93. When the Bible announces a new king in
reader expectations (Exod. 2)? (Fretheim, 46)
94. How did the Israelites respond to their
oppression (Exod. 2)?
(Fretheim, 46)
95. How does God’s role in the narrative change
after the announcement of
a
new king (Exod. 2)? (Fretheim, 47)
96. Does God wait for the right opportunity to
engage in human history
(Exod. 3)? What
types of things elicit that engagement?
(Fretheim,
47)
97. How well did the Israelites in
(Exod.
3)? (Fretheim, 48)
98. What fourfold response did God have to the
cry of the Israelites
(Exod. 2)? (Fretheim,
48)
99. What do the verbs (hear, see, remember, knew)
mean when applied
to God (Exod. 2)?
(Fretheim, 48)
100. After Exod. 2, what questions and expectations
are left in the reader’s
mind? (Fretheim, 49)
Exodus 3 Back
to top
101. What other “Call narratives” are found in
Scripture (Exod. 3)?
(Fretheim, 51)
102. What are the basic common elements of God’s
call (Exod. 3,
Cf.
Judge 6, Jer. 1 and Isa. 6)?
(Fretheim, 51)
103. What five objections does Moses give
concerning his call in
ch. 3 & 4? (Fretheim, 52)
104. How does God respond to Moses’ objections to
his call (Exod. 3)?
(Fretheim, 52)
105. How should we view Moses’ objections to God’s
call [sin, reticence,
wrestling, opposition, instructional, model, etc. ] (Exod.
3)?
(Fretheim, 52)
106. Based on Exod. 3-4, how would you describe
Moses’ prayer life?
(Fretheim, 52)
107. What does Moses’ extensive dialogue with God
teach us about
prayer and God’s responsiveness (Exod. 3-4)? (Fretheim, 52)
108. What do God’s responses to Moses’ objections
show about God’s
relationship with Moses (Exod. 3-4)? (Fretheim, 53)
109. Is Moses’ future dictated by divine will or
open to shaping by human
interaction (Exod. 3-4)? (Fretheim, 53)
110. What does God risk by using Moses (Exod.
3-4)? (Fretheim, 53)
111. As the objections and responses take place,
how does Moses change
(Exod. 3-4)? (Fretheim, 53)
112. How does God’s approach to Moses change as
Moses’ objections
persist (Exod. 3-4)? (Fretheim, 53)
113. What difficulties are encountered when a
perfect God uses imperfect
fiesty human beings in achieving His will (Exod. 3-4)?
(Fretheim, 53)
114. What is the significance of the name “Horeb”
for
(Fretheim, 53)
115. When Moses meets God at the bush, what does
God know that Moses
doesn’t (Exod. 3)? (Fretheim, 54)
116. How is curiosity tied to call (Exod. 3)? (Fretheim, 54)
117. How does Moses perceive this encounter at the
bush as unusual
or wonderful (Exod. 3)? (Fretheim, 54)
118. What role did sight play in Moses receiving
God’s word (Exod. 3)?
(Fretheim, 54)
119. What is the religious relationship and
function of sign and sound in
the various divine communications in Scripture (Exod. 3)?
(Fretheim, 54)
120. Is the sight of the bush burning a mere
attention getter (Exod. 3)?
What other role is played by the sight of it? (Fretheim, 55)
121. What other times is God’s encounter
accompanied with fire (Exod. 3)?
(Fretheim, 55)
122. How does Moses encounter (sight) differ from
prophetic vision (Exod.
3)? (Fretheim, 55)
123. How does God open from the outside the world
and inside of Moses’
world (Exod. 3)?
(Fretheim, 55)
124. Is Moses’ fear response appropriate (Exod.
3)? How is this terror type
of
fear of the divine related to the fear of God described elsewhere in
Scripture? I thought fearing God meant only to reverence
Him.
(Fretheim,
55)
125. Does divine holiness inhibit human response
(Exod. 3)? When is this
true/untrue?
(Fretheim, 56)
126. Does the ground become holy only because of
God’s presence or
does God’s purpose for the place also play a role (Exod.
3)?
(Fretheim, 56)
127. What does it mean for ground to be holy
(Exod. 3)? (Fretheim, 56)
Is all “ground” holy?
How is holiness related to distance in Exodus
(cf.
bush, tabernacle,
128. What is the significance of God’s identifying
himself as the “God of
your father" (Exod. 3)? (Fretheim, 57)
129. In what other contexts does this divine
self-identification come up
(Exod. 3)? What are the commonalities in these
passages?
(Fretheim,
57)
130. How does Moses respond to God non-verbally
(Exod. 3)?
(Fretheim,
57)
131. What does Moses’ struggle with the call
reveal about his character
and motivation (Exod. 3)?
(Fretheim, 58)
132. How does Moses’ call show God’s messengers
are not passive
recipients (Exod. 3)? (Fretheim, 58)
133. In Exod. 3:7-8 and 3:9-10 a doublet, while
some take that as an
indication
of multiple authorship, how does it show a single
consistent
perspective (Exod. 3)? (Fretheim,
58) Does God act
alone?
134. How does God depend on Moses in the narrative
(Exod. 3)?
(Fretheim, 58)
135. How did the Israelites later confirm the
duality of deliverance
(God and Moses cf. 14:31)? (Fretheim, 58)
136. How is deliverance seen as not just from
something but to something
(Exod. 3)? (Fretheim, 59)
137. Does God’s plan for
138. Moses is sent because God has ________ (Exod.
3)? How is God’s
response
appropriate? (Fretheim, 59)
139. How do the descriptions in 2:24-25 and 3:7-10
differ? (Fretheim, 59)
140. In Exod. 3:7-10 what pronoun is emphasized
(Exod. 3)? (Fretheim, 59)
What are the implications of this? (Fretheim, 59)
141. What does God’s knowing their suffering imply
about God’s own
experience (Exod. 3)? (Fretheim, 60)
142. Does God suffer? What does that reflect about his character
(Exod.
3)? (Fretheim, 60)
143. What activities does God’s suffering prompt
in him (Exod. 3)?
(Fretheim, 60)
144. Is Moses’ calling to ecclesiastical office or
socio-political action
(Exod. 3)?
(Fretheim, 61)
145. How do these texts show God is not
indifferent to oppression
(Exod.
3)? (Fretheim, 61)
146. How does God’s response connect with Moses
first objection “who am
I?”
(Exod. 3)? (Fretheim, 61)
147. How is God’s response to Moses’ first
objection enigmatic (Exod. 3)?
(Fretheim, 62)
148. What shift takes place from Moses’ objection
1 to 2 (Exod. 3)?
(Fretheim, 62)
149. Human questioning leads to what kind of
response from God
(Exod.
3)? (Fretheim, 62)
150. Does God’s revelation of his name demystify
him (Exod. 3)?
(Fretheim, 63)
151. Why was it important for Moses to know God’s
name when he went to
the elders of
152. What are the different ways
the name in Exodus 3:14 is understood and
translated?
(Fretheim, 63)
153. What significance did the name of God (Exod.
3:14) have for an
oppressed
154. How does the meaning of God’s name develop as
the story
develops (Exod. 3)? (Fretheim, 64)
155. How did the translation “LORD” come about
(Exod. 3:14)? Why are
feminists enraged over that translation? (Fretheim, 64)
156. How does God link his name with history? How does that linking
provide hope to
157. What does knowing some one’s name do
relationally (Exod. 3)?
(Fretheim, 65)
158. How does God’s giving his name make him
vulnerable (Exod. 3)?
(Fretheim, 65)
159. Is God’s allowing Aaron to speak a divine
“adjustment to new
developments”
(Exod. 3-4)? Does God adjust his plans
based on his
interaction
with humans? Is God static or dynamic?
(Fretheim, 66)
160. Is the future fixed or open? Could it be both (Exod. 3)? (Fretheim, 66)
161. How do the victims become the victors (Exod.
3)? (Fretheim, 67)
162. How is it ironic that
beautiful (Exod. 3)? (Fretheim, 67)
Exodus 4 Back
to top
163. How does Exodus 4:24-26 foreshadow Passover?
(Fretheim, 7)
164. How are belief and obedience stressed in
Exod. 4? (Fretheim, 67)
165. Does Moses flatly accept what God says about
the future (Exod. 4)?
(Fretheim, 68)
166. Does Moses see the future as open even after
receiving God’s
declaration about it (Exod. 4)? (Fretheim, 68)
167. Does God condemn Moses’ questioning as
unbelief (Exod. 4)?
(Fretheim, 68)
168. How does the giving of three signs to Moses
reveal God’s view about
the future as still an open possibility (Exod. 4)?
(Fretheim, 68)
169. Does Exod 4:8-9 contradict Exod. 3:18?
(Fretheim, 69)
170. What powers did the Egyptian magicians have
(Exod. 4)?
(Fretheim,
69)
172. How was magic perceived at that time (Exod.
4)? How do we see it
differently? (Fretheim, 69)
173. Do the signs given by God result in
persuading the people to
belief (Exod. 4)? (Fretheim, 70) Did Jesus' signs always lead
to belief (Lk. 16:31)?
174. What is the relationship of the three signs
and the plagues
which later come on
175. The signs are used to further belief in the
believing community
and as a harbinger of what to the unbelieving community
(Exod. 4)?
(Fretheim, 70)
176. In what two ways does God respond to Moses’
objection that
he has a speech problem (Exod. 4)? (Fretheim, 71)
177. Why does God not correct Moses’ speech
problem (Exod. 4)?
What does that show about the way God works? (Fretheim, 71)
178. How does Moses’ speech impediment fit with
God’s use of the
weak in Exodus and elsewhere (Exod. 4; cf. 1 Cor 1:26ff)?
(Fretheim, 72)
179. Does the OT see God as
the sole cause of all things (Exod. 4)?
Does it allow for secondary agency? (Fretheim, 72)
180. Was God successful in persuading Moses to
take up the call
(Exod. 4)?
(Fretheim, 73)
181. What is the cause of God’s anger with Moses (Exod.
4)?
(Fretheim, 73)
182. Is God’s use of Aaron an indication that God
switched to plan B
(Exod. 4)? (Fretheim,
73)
183. Can God have multiple plans (Exod. 4)?
(Fretheim, 73)
184. While Aaron is initially the spokeperson, how
does Moses
emerge as the sole leader by ch. 15 (Exod. 4)? (Fretheim,
73)
185. How does God work with options that are often
less than the
best (Exod. 4)? What
are other examples of such?
(Fretheim, 74)
186. How does Aaron not live up to his calling
(Exod. 4; 32-33)?
(Fretheim, 74)
187. How does God’s use of Aaron show God’s
crafting his
purposes through alternative human agency (Exod. 4)?
(Fretheim, 74)
188. How is Aaron like a prophet (cf. Jer 15:19;
Exod. 4; 7:1; Jer. 1:9)?
(Fretheim, 74)
189. Can finite human words express the infinite
(Exod. 4)?
(Fretheim, 75)
190. What is the relation of the divine and human
in prophetic
speech (Exod. 4)? In
what sense is the human engaged and in what
sense
is God engaged? (Fretheim, 75)
191. What actions of Moses transcends his problem
with speech
(Exod. 4)?
(Fretheim, 75)
192. How does Moses’ request to leave Jethro
differ from God’s call
(Exod. 4)? What does
that indicate? (Fretheim, 76)
193. How are God and Moses described as working
together (Exod. 4)?
(Fretheim, 76)
194. Does Moses speak the words of Exod. 3:18 cf.
4:18?
(Fretheim, 77)
195. When does divine hardening actually happen in
the text
(Exod. 4)? (Fretheim, 77)
196. Is divine hardening the only activity that
determines the future
(Exod. 4)? (Fretheim, 77)
197. Is the killing of the firstborn certain from
this point on (Exod. 4)?
(Fretheim, 77)
198. Is there an openness in the future described
in Exod. 4:21-23?
(Fretheim, 77)
199. What is the significance of the divine
parental image being
used (Exod. 4:22f)?
(Fretheim, 77)
200. How do the prophets use the image of God as
parent (cf. Jer. 3:19;
31:9; Hos. 11:1-9)?
(Fretheim, 77)
201. Why does the context not prepare one for
God’s assailing of
Moses (Exod. 4)?
(Fretheim, 78)
202. What was God’s motive for seeking to kill
Moses (Exod. 4)?
(Fretheim, 78)
203. Who did God seek to kill, Moses or his son
(Exod. 4)? Why?
(Fretheim, 78)
204. What does it mean God “tried” to kill him
(Exod. 4)?
Does God ever miss his mark (cf. Judg 14:4)? (Fretheim, 79)
205. How does Zipporah’s act interact with the
divine intention
(Exod. 4)? Do
actions in time and space impact God’s
course of action?
206. How does the event of God seeking to slay
Moses foreshadow
the Passover (Exod. 4)? (Fretheim, 79)
207. How is blood used here (Exod. 4) and at
Passover for the redemption
of the firstborn? (Fretheim, 80)
208. What role does Zipporah play here that is
paralleled elsewhere in
Exodus (Exod. 4)?
(Fretheim, 80)
209. Why is Zipporah the only one named in this
narrative (Exod. 4)?
(Fretheim, 80)
210. How does Zipporah’s role as mediator between
God and Moses
parallel Moses’ role as a mediator between God and
(Fretheim, 80)
211. How does Exod. 4 compare to Genesis 32
(Jacob’s wrestling) and
Numb. 22 (Balaam’s encounter with the sword angel)?
(Fretheim, 81)
212. What does this passage (Exod. 4) show about
the obedience of God’s
servants? (Fretheim, 81)
213. How do Aaron’s motives for meeting Moses
differ from God’s
purposes
for the meeting (Exod. 4)? (Fretheim, 81)
214. How does Aaron as a slave just walk off and
go to Sinai to
meet Moses (Exod. 4)?
(Fretheim, 81)
215. What moves Israelites to worship (Exod. 4)?
(Fretheim, 82)
Exodus 5 Back
to top
216. When Pharaoh rejects and persecutes the
Israerlites more, what is
Moses’ initial response (Exod. 5)? (Fretheim, 82)
217. How does the narrative progress and through
the dialogues between
which people does it progress (Exod. 5)? (Fretheim, 83)
218. Whose voice is not heard in the plague
dialogues (Exod. 5)?
(Fretheim, 83)
219. What theme is repeated seven times in 5:9-21?
(Fretheim, 83)
220. Will
221. What historical evidence is there for the
Egyptians use of slavery
(Exod. 5)?
(Fretheim, 83)
222. What does shifting the focus of oppression to a great
or heavenly purpose, do
to this narrative (Exod. 5)? (Fretheim, 84)
223. What is the nature of Pharaoh’s oppression
system? How does it fit
the pattern of oppressive regimes elsewhere (Exod. 5)? (Fretheim, 84)
224. How is the comment that they are lazy typical
of oppressors (Exod. 5)?
How does that shift the focus? (Fretheim, 84)
225. How do oppressors use collaborators (Exod.
5)? (Fretheim, 85)
226. How do oppressors use a divide and conquer
methodology (Exod. 5)?
(Fretheim, 85)
227. How could the argument “they deserve their
lot, God is behind it”
serve
oppressors in modern times (Exod. 5)? (Fretheim, 85)
228. How is Pharaoh’s question: “Who is Yahweh?”
ironically a good one
in the narrative (Exod. 5)?
(Fretheim, 86)
229. Is God going to instruct Pharaoh who He is
(Exod. 5; cf. 7:17; 8:10, 22;
9:14, 29)?
(Fretheim, 86)
230. What does Moses’ and Aaron’s response to Pharaoh
harken back
to (Exod. 5; cf. 3:18)? (Fretheim, 86)
231. What role do the leaders play as they call
for justice and judgment to
fall
on Moses and Aaron in making things worse (Exod. 5)?
(Fretheim,
87)
232. How is the foreman’s complaint echoed in
Moses’ complaint to God
(Exod. 5)? (Fretheim, 87)
233. In what sense is God responsible for the evil
that has come on the
Israelites (Exod. 5)? (Fretheim, 87)
234. How does multiple agency help resolve the
tension in the previous
question
(Exod. 5)? (Fretheim, 87)
235. Why does God delay deliverance (Exod.
5)? (Fretheim, 88)
Exodus 6 Back
to top
236. How does Exodus 6:2-7:7 parallel 3:1-12? Does that necessarily prove
multiple authorship?
What differences are seen in the two
narratives? (Fretheim,
88)
237. Why is a genealogy put here (Exod. 6-7)?
(Fretheim, 89)
238. Why is Moses’ call reaffirmed (Exod. 6)? What
things precipitated a
crisis
in Moses’ call? (Fretheim, 89)
239. How do Moses’ prior objections turn out to be
correct (Exod. 6)?
(Fretheim, 90)
240. What does “uncircumcised lips” mean (Exod.
6)? (Fretheim, 90)
241. What does the fact that God gives up the sole
right as being the
only one who speaks the word of “God” reveal (Exod. 6)?
(Fretheim, 90)
242. Why is the genealogy of Moses put in the
story at this point (Exod. 6)?
(Fretheim, 91)
243. Why are Aaron’s descendants, not Moses’,
described (Exod. 6)?
(Fretheim, 91)
244. Where else in Scripture is genealogy and
story mixed in the
background
of deliverance (Exod. 6)? (Fretheim, 91)
245. In Exod. 6:3 it says the patriarchs did not
know the name of Yahweh
but
how does that square with the patriarchs knowing the name
Yahweh
in Genesis (Gen. 15:2; ch. 49)? (Fretheim, 91)
246. What new aspect of God’s character revealed
in the name Yahweh
comes into view at this point of the text (Exod. 6)?
(Fretheim, 92)
247. How is the “gospel of exodus” spelled out in
Exod. 6:4-8?
(Fretheim, 92)
248. Where else in scripture is the “I am Yahweh”
epithet seen (Exod. 6)?
(Fretheim, 92) ... Hint: what prophet
249. How are past promises linked to present deeds
(Exod. 6)?
(Fretheim, 92)
250. What three action verbs are used to describe
God’s work in keeping
His promises (Exod. 6)?
(Fretheim, 93)
251. Are God’s actions of salvation in Exodus
personal and other-worldly
or social and political in Exodus (Exod. 6)? (Fretheim, 93)
252. How would the people come to know Yahweh
(Exod. 6)?
(Fretheim,
93)
253. What function does the future tense play in
“I will take you as my
people” play in the narrative (Exod. 6)? To what does it point
forward? Has not
(Fretheim,
93)
254. What does the fact that the phrase “my
people” occurs most frequently
when
255. How does the statement “I will be their God”
link back to the
Abrahamic
promise (Exod. 6)? (Fretheim, 94)
256. How is it the Egyptians come to know Yahweh
(Exod. 6)?
How is their “knowing” different than
257. How does the mission orientation to the whole
world reflected in the
statements
of purpose in the Exodus accounts (Exod. 6)?
(Fretheim,
95)
258. How are the plagues to be viewed in terms of
their wider public impact
(Exod. 6)?
(Fretheim, 95)
259. What does the cosmic character of the plagues
reveal about God’s rule
(Exod. 6)?
(Fretheim, 95)
260. What kind of understanding would Moses gain
from God’s prior
announcement that he would harden Pharaoh’s heart (Exod.
6)?
(Fretheim, 95)
261. In the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart is it
strict determinism by God
or does Pharaoh retain his free will and God by
foreknowledge
just describes what Pharaoh himself will choose? Are these the
only ways of thinking about this (Exod. 6)? Does foreknowledge
fix or absolutely determine the future, or are there different ways
of knowing the future? (Fretheim, 96)
262. Would the possibility of a limited
determinism account for both
determinism and free will (Exod. 6)? (Fretheim, 96)
263. What does a hard heart mean (Exod. 6)?
(Fretheim, 97)
264. How does Pharaoh’s hard heart bring God
public glory (Exod. 6)?
(Fretheim, 97)
265. Does God’s heart ever get hard or “strong”
(Exod. 6)? (Fretheim, 97)
266. How does Pharaoh’s “strength” of heart reveal
God’s power (Exod. 6)?
(Fretheim, 97)
267. How is Pharaoh’s hardness different from
God’s hardness (Exod. 6)?
(Fretheim, 97)
268. In light of what events does Pharaoh’s heart
get hardened (Exod. 6)?
(Fretheim, 97)
269. What role does hardening play in the
continuation of the narrative
(Exod. 6)?
(Fretheim, 98)
270. How is the hardening at the beginning
different than the hardening
at the end (Exod. 6)? (Fretheim, 98)
271. Can humans in thought and will become
irrevocably hard in response
to God’s word and work (Exod. 6)? (Fretheim, 98)
272. Does Pharaoh harden his own heart or does God
do it (Exod. 6)?