The OE Exodus – A Heroic Epic and the Bible
1. Introduction
2. In General
3. The Heroic Character
4. The Epical Poem
5. Conclusion
Sources
1. Introduction
Exodus is the second book of the Old Testament. It is also called the Second Book of Moses. [Footnote 1: Moses is supposed to have written Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deutoronomy; the first five books in the bible. (Authorized King James version and New International version.) In the Lutheran bible they are called the First to Fifth Book of Moses.] In this paper, I will compare the Old English Exodus and that in the King James version of the Holy Bible with regard to differences in their respective contents. Also, I am going to point out how the Old English Exodus is contrasted against the Bible Exodus through its narrative style and vocabulary. For references to the Old English Exodus, I will use the Old English text with its translations in Modern English by Bradley and Tolkien, and the German translation by Busse. [Footnote 2: Bradley (transl.). Exodus. http://app.phil-fak.uni-duesseldorf.de/ilias/ilias.php?baseClass=ilPersonalDesktopGUI [31.01.2008]. (Quoted as Bradley in following footnotes.)
Tolkien, J.R.R. (1981). The Old English ‘Exodus’. Text, Translation, and Commentary. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Busse (transl.). The Old English Exodus. http://www.phil-fak.uni-duesseldorf.de/anglist1/html/exodus.html [24.11.2007]] As Bible reference, I will use the Authorized King James version, as mentioned above. [Footnote 3: The Holy Bible. King James Version. World Bible Publishers, Iowa Falls, USA. (Quoted as King James in following footnotes.)] The Bible was translated under King James and published in 1611. The Old Testament was translated from the Masoretic Hebrew text.
2. In General
Concerning the content, or the story-line, the OE Exodus represents only a small fraction of what is told in the Bible Exodus. The OE Exodus basically leaves out everything save the actual exodus – the Israelites’ leaving of Egypt. Instead, it recounts the near-encounter between Pharaoh’s army and the fleeing Israelites on the coast of the Red Sea with great vigour. This part contains vivid descriptions of the advancing Egyptians and the Israelites’ reaction, and a long speech Moses delivers to his frightened followers. Towards the end, in the course of the Hebrews’ triumph over Pharaoh, the OE Exodus also recounts several parts of Genesis.
Overall, it is written in the distinct style of a heroic epic poem. It addresses an audience directly and has attributes that are characteristic for heroic epics. The long introductory part, in which the audience is addressed first, and the two adversaries; Moses and Pharaoh, are introduced, strongly suggests that the text was meant to be delivered orally. In lines 1-7, the audience is hailed, and in the following lines up to line 22 Moses and Pharaoh are introduced as the champions for the forces of good and evil:
“Hwæt! We feor and neah gefrigen habað “Listen! far and near throughout the world we have heard
ofer middangeard Moyses domas, worthies tell of the decrees of Moses
wræclico wordriht, wera cneorissum,- and of exilic promises to the generations of mortals–
in uprodor eadigra gehwam of the reward of life in heaven for each of the blessed
æfter bealusiðe bote lifes, after the hazardous journey,
lifigendra gehwam langsumne ræd,- and of everlasting profit for each living soul.
hæleðum secgan. Gehyre se ðe wille! Let him who will, give heed.
þone on westenne weroda drihten, Him the Lord of the heavenly hosts, the King
soðfæst cyning, mid his sylfes miht steadfast in truth, distinguished in the desert
gewyrðode, and him wundra fela, with his own authority, and the eternal Ruler
ece alwalda, in æht forgeaf. of all put many miraculous powers at his disposal.
He wæs leof gode, leoda aldor, He was loved by God, a shrewd and wise elder of his people,
horsc and hreðergleaw, herges wisa, leader of the army and a bold commander.
freom folctoga. Faraones cyn, He curbed the nation of Pharaoh,
godes andsacan, gyrdwite band, God’s adversary, by chastisement with the rod,
þær him gesealde sigora waldend, when the Lord of victories vouchsafed to him,
modgum magoræswan, his maga feorh, their courageous mentor. the life of his compatriots,
onwist eðles, Abrahames sunum. and to the sons of Abraham the habitation of a homeland.
Heah wæs þæt handlean and him hold frea, Divine was the retribution of his hand and loyal his Lord:
gesealde wæpna geweald wið wraðra gryre, he granted him supremacy of arms against the violence of raging foes,
ofercom mid þy campe cneomaga fela, and by this means he vanquished in battle the sovereignty of many tribes,
feonda folcriht.” his enemies.” [Footnote 4: ll. 1-22 in Bradley.]
It is not evident at which point the introductory part of the narrative ends. The introduction of the figures of Moses and his antagonist seem to give way fluently to a short summarising notice of what will happen in the following story, or else a general description of Moses’ role. Because this half-line seems to pose a transition to the narration of the story, I decided on the 22nd line as the ending of the introductory part. After the part quoted above, the text continues:
“feonda folcriht. ða wæs forma sið “his enemies. That was the first time
þæt hine weroda god wordum nægde,” that the God of the heavenly hosts spoke words to him,” [Footnote 5: l. 22 f. in Bradley.]
which recounts Moses’ and Jehovah’s first encounter, in which Moses is assigned the task of leading the Israelites. This point marks the beginning of the account of the Exodus.
3. The Heroic Character
As for Moses, the main character in this poem, he is presented as a heroic chief and warrior – as opposed to the humble servant to God he is in the Bible. He is morphed into a courageous leader of people, presumably to appeal to the audience who might not have been too impressed by a figure such as the Moses of the Bible. The Moses of the OE Exodus is closer to figures like Beowulf or Weland [Footnote 6: Weland is a character in the poem Deor.] than to his own biblical prototype.
“Fyrd wæs gefysed, from se ðe lædde, “The army was filled with anticipation, and intrepid was the one
modig magoræswa, mægburh heora.” who led their nation, a courageous mentor.” [Footnote 7: l. 54 f. in Bradley.]
The presentation of the protagonist in the OE version is probably what the audience of before 1000 A.D. on the British Isles would have been most used to listening to.
Moses is described as “siððan hie feondum” (l. 64; translated as “the man of assured glory” by Bradley).
While the biblical version of him acts with the help of his brother-in-law, Aaron, as speaker because he does not deem himself eloquent enough to speak to all the tribes to follow him, there is no mention in the OE Exodus whatsoever of Moses second-guessing himself or not being entirely certain about something.
“10 And Moses said unto the LORD, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, [...] but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.” [Footnote 8:Exodus 4:10 in King James.]
The Moses of the Bible is in continual counsel with Jehovah over every move he and the Israelites should undertake.
The OE version Moses on the other hand delivers a fourty lines long pep talk to the Israelites at the prospect of the Egyptians advancing on them. In lines 259-298 he encourages the frightened people camping on the coast of the Red Sea to trust in his and their god’s powers:
“‘Hwæt, ge nu eagum to on lociað, “’Behold! now shall you, the most cherished of nations,
folca leofost, færwundra sum, gaze with your own eyes upon an instant miracle,
hu ic sylfa sloh and þeos swiðre how I myself and this stronger hand have struck
grene tacne garsecges deop.” with a living emblem the ocean deep.” [Footnote 9: ll. 287 ff. in Bradley.]
This Moses does not have to be reassured, instead he is the one who consoles his followers. He does this in God’s name, but seemingly on his own accord, since no counsel by “this stronger hand” is recounted.
Even though the fleeing Israelites are intimidated by their pursuers, they never question Moses’ authority or the rightfulness of his decisions, let alone threaten his person in the OE Exodus. All of this happens in the Bible Exodus.
“11 And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt? [...] For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.” [Footnote 10: Exodus 14:11,12 in King James.]
They hold Moses responsible for the hardships they endure since leaving Egypt. Everytime they meet an obstacle they cannot seem to overcome, they accuse Moses of having mislead them. In Exodus 17:3 the people “murmur against” him for being thirsty in the desert, and in 17:4 Moses “cried unto the LORD, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me.” None of this occurs in the OE Exodus. There Moses is the undisputed, trusted leader of “modigra mægen” (l. 300; translated as “an army of spirited men” by Bradley).
This characterisation of a heroic protagonist is one of the properties that make this poem a heroic epic.
4. The Epical Poem
Another attribute of a heroic epic this poem features is its epical and martial content. In the Old English Exodus matters are presented spectacular and dramatic.
When the Egyptians advance on the Israelites’ encampment on the coast of the Red Sea, their military set-up is described in a detailed, but poetic manner:
“Hwilum of þam werode wlance þegnas “At intervals haughty officers from among the army
mæton milpaðas meara bogum. ranged the highways on horseback.
Him þær segncyning wið þone segn foran, There before them, by the banner, rode the bannered king,
manna þengel, mearcþreate rad; the ruler over men, with the ensign contingent.
guðweard gumena grimhelm gespeon, The warriors’ warlord fastened his visored helmet,
cyning cinberge, (cumbol lixton), the king his cheek-guard, in anticipation of fighting;
wiges on wenum, wælhlencan sceoc, the ensigns shone forth. He shook his mail-coat
het his hereciste healdan georne and commanded his troop of picked men zealously to hold
fæst fyrdgetrum. Freond onsegon fast their battle array. With eyes full of hate
laðum eagan landmanna cyme. the friends watched the advance of the landlubbers.
Ymb hine wægon wigend unforhte, About him moved unfearing soldiers,
hare heorowulfas hilde gretton, hoary sword-wolves; they welcomed warfare,
þurstige þræcwiges, þeodenholde. thirsting for the violence of battle, loyal to their leader.
Hæfde him alesen leoda dugeðe He had picked himself a force of two thousand people,
tireadigra twa þusendo, gloriously privileged according to the right of wealth,
þæt wæron cyningas and cneowmagas, who were kings and kinsfolk
on þæt eade riht, æðelum deore. esteemed for their lineage.
Forðon anra gehwilc ut alædde Each one consequently led out
wæpnedcynnes, wigan æghwilcne every male, every soldier
þara þe he on ðam fyrste findan mihte. he could find on that occasion.
Wæron ingemen ealle ætgædere, All the kings, those belonging to that land,
cyningas on corðre. Cuð oft gebad were gathered in his retinue. Repeatedly a familiar trumpet
horn on heape to hwæs hægstealdmen, made its proclamation among the horde, as to where the young warriors,
guðþreat gumena, gearwe bæron.” a belligerent troop of men, should carry their war-gear.” [Footnote 11: ll. 170-193 in Bradley.]
Although the Egyptian forces are described as a worthy army, rather than with strong contempt, there are words in this part which may mark them as the antagonists here. Assuming a negative connotation of each, the words “haughty” (l. 170), “zealously” (l. 177), and “horde” (l. 192) in the translation, along with stressing that Pharaoh’s army is eager for battle strongly several times, it should be unmistakable for the listener that they are not to be sympathised with.
Like this issue, which takes up a single verse in the Bible, [Footnote 12: Exodus 14:9 in King James.] others have been exploited similarly for their potentially exciting content. Others have been left out. For example the verses in which Jehovah speaks – not only in the 14th chapter, but in all of Exodus – have been ignored entirely.
Instead, the parts that were picked out to be told in more detail are enhanced, and their spectacular parts stressed particularly through a distinctive choice of words.
“þa þær folcmægen for æfter oðrum, “Then there advanced one tribal power after the other
isernhergum.” in iron-clad squadrons.” [Footnote 13: ll. 347,348 in Bradley. See also ll. 170-193: “grimhelm,” “cinberge,” “wælhlencan,” or l. 164: “Wulfas sungon.” Due to the volume of the OE Exodus and the limited space I am allowed for this paper, I quoted only a few examples.]
To provide a means for the audience to be able to relate to the story, it has been equipped with a vocabulary that somewhat distorts the original setting.
This terminology allows the medieval audience to be familiarised with this story, which was originally set in the entirely foreign north-east Africa. It accommodates the customs of an entertaining story, rather than a primarily religious text made to instruct.
5. Conclusion
The OE Exodus alters the original plot and setting to a large extent. Were it not for the names and the recounts of the first chapters of Exodus in the beginning of the Old English version, it would be changed almost beyond recognition.
This text probably never served any serious liturgical purpose. It bears a strong religious message, but it has been adjusted so as to appeal to an audience that wants to be entertained, not taught religion. Regarding the age of its oldest manuscript however, it might very well have been used in the course of Christianisation. [Footnote 14: C. 960-990 A.D. (See Leslie Lockett The dating of Oxford, Bodleian Library, Junius 11, Anglo-Saxon England 31 (2002), 144.)]
Sources
Primary
Old English text and Modern English translation:
Bradley (transl.). Exodus. http://app.phil-fak.uni-duesseldorf.de/ilias/ilias.php?baseClass=ilPersonalDesktopGUI [31.01.2008]
Old English text and German translation:
Busse (transl.). The Old English Exodus. http://www.phil-fak.uni-duesseldorf.de/anglist1/html/exodus.html [24.11.2007]
Tolkien, J.R.R. (1981). The Old English ‘Exodus’. Text, Translation, and Commentary. Oxford: Oxford University Press
The Holy Bible. King James Version. World Bible Publishers, Iowa Falls, USA.
Secondary
Tolkien, J.R.R. (1981). The Old English ‘Exodus’. Text, Translation, and Commentary. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Gordon, R.K. (1970). Anglo-Saxon Poetry. Everyman’s Library 794. Letchworth, Herts: Aldine Press
Remley, Paul G. (1996). Old English Biblical Verse. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Leslie Lockett The dating of Oxford, Bodleian Library, Junius 11, Anglo-Saxon England 31 (2002), 144
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