Journal: Journal for Baptist Theology & Ministry
Volume: JBTM 15:2 (Fall 2018)
Article: From “Fear” Or The “Fear Of The Lord”: A Study On The Motif Of Fear In Exodus
Author: Kon Hwon Yang

JBTM 15:2 (Fall 2018) p. 19

From “Fear” Or The “Fear Of The Lord”: A Study On The Motif Of Fear In Exodus

Kon Hwon Yang

Kon Hwon Yang is associate professor of Old Testament Studies at Gateway Seminary in Ontario, California. [email protected]

Editor’s Note: This article was originally presented at the Far West Regional Meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society on April 13, 2018, at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona.

The fear of the Lord as a wisdom theme has received much attention by the scholarly community.1 This is not true about the same theme in the book of Exodus. This writer believes that the fear of the Lord motif in Exodus demands inclusion in wisdom discussion. Furthermore, understanding the other fear, the fear that threatens and paralyzes life, will help one to understand the subject more accurately. This paper will begin with a survey of the current state of scholarship on the treatment of the subject as a possible wisdom theme (or not), and how scholars treat the same subject as one of the main narrative themes in Exodus (or not). A brief introduction of all the “fear passages” (that include the root yr’) in Exodus will precede a discussion on four passages in Exodus on fear, followed by concluding observations.

Survey Of The Current Scholarship

Surveying the current state of scholarship concerning the subject of “fear” in Exodus will have two foci, the fear of the Lord as a wisdom theme and the fear of the Lord as a stand-alone theological theme in Exodus.

In his comment on the story of the two Hebrew midwives in Exodus 1:17–21, Terrence Fretheim makes a passing remark that the “fear of God” is a prominent theme in wisdom materials” without identifying the passage as wisdom material.2 B. S. Childs makes a direct connection between the two—the fear of God and wisdom material—and states, “The piety of the midwives reflects the religious ideal of the wisdom circles. Their refusal to obey Pharaoh stems from a ‘fear of God.’” For him such piety “evidences itself in cleverness and in the ability to meet the accusation of Pharaoh with rational arguments.”3

JBTM 15:2 (Fall 2018) p. 20

On the other hand, various recent works on “Introduction to [OT] Wisdom Literature” either fail to recognize the presence of wisdom material in Exodus completely,4 or give a brief mention of certain crafty (wise) behavior (