Journal: Tyndale Bulletin
Volume: TYNBUL 70:1 (NA 2019)
Article: Revealing The Name An Investigation Of The Divine Character Through A Conversation Analysis Of The Dialogues Between God And Moses In The Book Of Exodus
Author: Mark Arnold

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Revealing The Name
An Investigation Of The Divine Character Through A Conversation Analysis Of The Dialogues Between God And Moses In The Book Of Exodus1

Mark Arnold

([email protected])

For much of the last century scholarly discussion of Yhwh’s statement to Moses אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה has related to matters of etymology, or history of religion, or the precise grammar of the text. However, more recently there has been renewed interest in understanding the statement in its present context as part of the book of Exodus, in particular its role in the call of Moses. In this thesis I seek to deepen our understanding through a close reading of the dialogues between Moses and Yhwh.

The history of the interpretation of Exodus 3:13–15 from the early 1900s until the present day is surveyed in Chapter 1. I show that the phrase אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה is best understood as linking the meaning of the name Yhwh to the verb to be and in particular God’s promise to ‘be with’ Moses in 3:12. The phrase affirms both Yhwh’s presence with Moses and Yhwh’s freedom to be present in the manner he chooses. The indefinite nature of the phrase and its use at this point in the dialogue invites the reader to read the continuing narrative to see how this will be developed.

In Chapter 2 I review different approaches to understanding the portrayal of God in the biblical narrative and how methods derived from socio-linguistic studies, in particular conversation analysis, can assist a close reading of the narrative of dialogues. This close reading

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of individual dialogues proceeds by means of three steps: first, an investigation of the way in which the narrator portrays the actions of the characters; second, of the manner in which the narrator portrays individual speech of the characters; last, of how an analysis of the portrayal of the dialogues adds to an understanding of the characters.

In Chapter 3 I focus on Exodus 3–4, where Yhwh, through the dialogue with Moses, transforms Moses into the means by which Yhwh delivers his people from Egypt and by which Yhwh is present with his ...