TRIBAL AND NATIONAL SONGS I. TRIUMPHAL ODES Gen. 423b, 24, Ex. 151b-18, Judg. 52-31, I Sam. 187 II. TRADITIONAL ORACLES Gen. 314b-19, 925b-27, 122, 3, 492-27, Dt. 33, Nu. 243b-9, 15b-19, 237b-10, 18b-22, 24, II Sam. 710-16, 231-7 TRIBAL AND NATIONAL SONGS I TRIUMPHAL ODES Gen. 423b, 24, Ex. 151b-18, Judg. 52-31, I Sam. 187 § 1. Lamech's Song of Vengeance, Gen. 423b, 24 Gen. 4 23 Adah and Zillah, hearken to my voice A man I slay for wounding me, Yea, a youth for bruising me. 24If Cain be avenged seven-fold, Lamech shall be seventy and seven! § 2. Jehovah's Deliverance and Leadership of His People, Ex. 151b-18 Ex. 15 1bI will sing a to Jehovah for he is greatly exalted; Triumphal Odes. Of all the varied sentiments which gave rise to lyric poetry among the ancient Hebrews, that of exultation over some warlike achievement was probably the first to find expression in song. Each important victory was apparently commemorated by a triumphal ode. Most of these ancient songs appear to have been composed at the time when the events which they record transpired, and to have been first sung by the women, as the Hebrew warriors came back laden with the spoils of victory. Cf. Ex. 1521 and §§ 3 and 4. From Ex. 1521 and I Sam. 187 it is evident that they were accompanied with joyful music and dance. Many of them, like the majestic triumphal ode in Judg. 5, were probably preserved on the lips of the people and possibly sung by the warriors as they later went out to battle. Some, as, for example, the ode commemorating the victory over the Moabites, Nu. 2127, were treasured and recited on festal occasions by the bards or professional singers. In later times some, and possibly all, of them were collected and embodied in one of Israel's great song-books, the Book of the Wars of Jehovah or the Book of the Righteous One. Cf. Introd., p. 12. Undoubtedly, the early Israelites possessed many more of these triumphal songs than have been preserved in the O.T. Those which we now have were quoted incidentally by the early prophetic historians, who evidently depended largely upon these and similar songs for the data which they have incorporated in their prose histories. The quotations suffice, however, to give an idea of the simplicity, freshness, variety, and rare dramatic power of these ancient songs. They also reveal clearly the aspirations and spirit and faith of the early Hebrews. No later historian acts as interpreter; but instead the primitive Israelite through them sets forth his innermost feelings and motives. § 1 In this very ancient fragment, perhaps the oldest in the O.T., the spirit of revenge, which the early man shares with the child, is forcibly expressed. It likewise voices the principle of blood vengeance underlying the ancient law of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, which is the basis of many regulations in the Code of Hammurabi as well as in the O.T. codes. Cf. Vol. IV, p. 117. It is also the dominant law of the Arab to-day. The original occasion of this so-called Song of Lamech was probably a successful act of retaliation against an offending clan or tribe. The Cain alluded to in the song is evidently not the one mentioned in the much later and more familiar story of Cain and Abel in the same chapter, cf. Vol. I, § 6, but possibly the ancient hero of the genealogical list, 417, who built the city of Enoch (Uruk) and who performed an act recorded in a tradition which has been lost. The first two lines are in the four-beat and the last four in the characteristic three-beat measure. For the setting of the poem, ef. Vol. I, § 4. §2 In beauty of diction, vigor of movement, and variety of figure this poem ranks as one of the noblest in the O.T. Its spirit of praise and adoration connects it closely with the oldest pss. 8 151b Gk., Syr., and Targ., Let us sing. Intro duction Praise to Jeho vah for the great deliver ance His overthrow of the Egyptians Jehovah's omnipotent might His miraculous destruction of the proud Egyptians "Jehovah is my strength and my song, My fathers' God, him I extol. 3Jehovah is indeed a warrior, Jehovah is his name:d "The chariots of Pharaoh and his host hath he cast into the sea, "Thy right hand, O Jehovah, is glorious in power, "By the wealth of thy might thou rendest thine opponents; 8By the blast of thy nostrils were the waters heaped up, The deeps were congealed in the heart of the sea. I will divide spoil, on them shall my desire be satisfied, in the Psalter, and yet the note of triumph and exultation that runs through it justifies its classification with the still older triumphal odes. Its main theme is the deliverance from the Egyptians at the Red Sea. To this event the first half of the poem is devoted, but the remainder, 11-17, traces rapidly the experiences of the Hebrews in the wilderness, east of the Jordan, in the conquest of Canaan to the building of Solomon's temple and even to the days of Josiah and the rule of the Deuteronomic law, when Jerusalem came to be regarded as the place which Jehovah alone had chosen as his abode, 17. The point of view of at least the latter part of the song is the period after the Babylonian exile had cast its deep pall upon the Israelitish race, for in 17 there is an implied hope that Jehovah will again restore his people to Jerusalem. The two opening lines appear to have come down from the days of the exodus itself, for both the early Judean and Ephraimite narratives have retained them, although the one puts it in the mouth of Moses and the other of Miriam. Cf. Vol. I, p. 176. The older version is probably that of 2, Sing ye to Jehovah, the first person in 1 being due to attraction. Some scholars have also been inclined to see in 2. 3 and others in 1-11, 18 a Mosaic kernel. While this is not impossible, the evidence that 2-18 constitute a literary unit is strong. The parallelism of the succeeding stanzas is very marked, and this corresponds to the changes in metre: the first, a stanza of four lines of three beats each, contains an ascription of praise to Jehovah. This is followed by a stanza of four lines of five beats each, describing vividly the deliverance at the exodus. Vss. 6. 7, with lines of four beats, repeat in different language the ascription of praise to Jehovah, and then 8-10 give another picture of the exodus. Then 11-13 repeat the ascription and the rest of the poem cites other illustrations of Jehovah's power to deliver his people. The idea of Jehovah as a warrior, 3, is a characteristic Deuteronomic figure. Cf. Dt. 130, 322. Also there are several peculiar words and grammatical forms running through the entire poem which are found elsewhere only in exilic or post-exilic writings. Both the early Judean prophetic, 10, and the late priestly versions, 8, of the exodus are in the mind of the poet, indicating that he was familiar with them in their popular, if not in their later written composite form. Cf. Vol. I, § 74. Hence the poem in its final form probably comes from the earlier part or middle of the Persian period. While the original couplet, 15, 21, probably began, Sing ye to Jehovah, vs. 2 is, like many of the national pss., in the first person. This opening couplet is quoted in Is. 122 and Ps. 11814 (with the same peculiar designation, Jah, for Jehovah), as if it were the opening words of an earlier song. Vss. 8. 17 are also quoted in Ps. 7813, 54; vs. 5 in Neh. 911. All these quotations are in passages later than 400 B.C., suggesting strongly that 2-18 was once an independent and yet well-known song, possibly sung, as it is by the Jews to-day, in connection with the Passover feast. A later editor very naturally and appropriately assigned it to its present place, giving it the prominent position that it really deserves. b152 So three codices. Through a common error the Heb. has lost the sign of the pronominal suffix. 152 Lit., has become my deliverance. d153 This vs. may be joined to the preceding, but it seems more naturally to introduce Jehovah's deeds as a warrior fighting in behalf of his people. 15 This follows the late priestly version of the deliverance at the exodus. An attempt has been made to reproduce the alliteration of the Heb. JEHOVAH'S DELIVERANCE OF HIS PEOPLE I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them!' 10 Thou didst blow with thy breath, the sea covered him, Into the mighty waters they sank like lead. 11 Who is like thee, O Jehovah, among the gods? Who is like thee, glorious in holiness, Inspiring awe by thy deeds, a worker of wonders? 12Thou stretchest out thy right hand, the earth swallowed them." Jeho vah's incom parable power 14The peoples heard it, in terror they tremble, Pain hath seized the dwellers in Philistia; 15Then the chiefs of the clans of Edom were dismayed, Through the greatness of thy arm they are dumb as stone; Yea, until thy people that thou hast purchased pass over. 17Thou bringest them and plantest them in the mountains of thine in- In the place, O Jehovah, which thou hast prepared for thy abode, 18 Jehovah reigneth as king forever. § 3. The Great Victory over the Canaanites, Judg. 52-31 Judg. 5 That the leaders took the lead in Israel, That the people volunteered readily, Bless Jehovah! 3Hear, O kings, Give ear, O rulers, 1511 Or majesty; the Heb. idea of holiness and majesty were very closely related. Cf. Isaiah's vision, Is. 6. 1512 Cf. the fate of the rebels, Dathan and Abiram, Nu. 1631, 32, 33a, Dt. 116, Vol. I, § 92, who were swallowed up by the opening earth. h1515 Lit., reins, the leaders of the flock. i1516 The reference is not primarily to the crossing of the Red Sea but to passing through Edom and the borders of Moab to the Jordan. i1516 Cf. Ps. 742. k1517 So Gk. and Lat. and certain Syr. MSS. Heb., Lord. §3 The authorship, date, literary characteristics, and translation of this ancient song have already been discussed in Vol. I, § 139. It is the longest and noblest example of the triumphal ode in the O.T. In a series of dramatic scenes it presents the feelings of the actors and the important stages in the decisive battle which determined the mastery of Canaan and the fate of Jehovah's people. The prominence of Deborah and Jael and the tragic interest in the mother of Sisera, as she sits anxiously awaiting the arrival of her son, strongly suggest the feminine point of view and favor the conclusion that the author was a woman who voiced the impassioned feelings of the women as they witnessed the battle, and then, like Miriam and the women of Israel at an earlier time, or the daughters of Israel in the days of David, celebrated the victory as the conquering warriors returned. The poem is so old and has suffered so much in transmission that it is impossible to determine the exact metre. Apparently the two and three beat measures were both used. As in David's lament over Saul and Jonathan, the variations are frequent and the metrical structure untrammelled. For fragments of still older triumphant odes, cf. the song sung to commemorate the victory over the Moabites in Nu. 2127b-20, Vol. I, § 66, and over the Amorites, Josh. 1012, 13, Vol. I, § 114. Illustrated by the way he established his people in Canaan, over coming all their foes Exordium: the theme of the song |