On the one hand, the commentary interprets the final form of the traditional Hebrew text "synchronically" by means of form criticism and modern literary methods. On the other hand, it "diachronically" reconstructs the predecessors of the final form, from its origins in an exodus composition that opposes political domination to the text's final form as a dramatic narrative about the transfer of sovereignty from the Pharaoh to the God of Israel. Concluding syntheses examine the relationship between these two interpretive approaches while adding reflections on traditional and contemporary concerns.

Dr. Helmut Utzschneider is professor emeritus of Old Testament at the Augustana Hochschule Neuendettelsau. Dr. Wolfgang Oswald is associate professor of Old Testament at the University of Tübingen.

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