FOUNDING GOD’S NATION

Expansive commentary on the book of Exodus.

Humanist scholar Kass, who has spent much of his life studying the Hebrew Bible, follows up The Beginning of Wisdom: Reading Genesis (2003) with this exploration of Exodus. In these massively important scriptural passages, Kass sees a primary document about “people formation, freedom and order, law and morality, the leader and the led.” The story follows the Hebrew slaves as they are led out of Egypt, under the leadership of Moses, to Mount Sinai, where they received the law that, in many ways, formed the basis of Judaism as we know it. As such, Exodus is not merely a foundational book of history and ethics, but also a work of political philosophy. Indeed, Kass argues that the text must be read “philosophically,” meaning with a view toward gaining wisdom, as one would read any other prominent work of antiquity. His commentary, therefore, is not an academic study exploring the text line by line, nor a religious investigation seeking divine revelation. Instead, Kass meticulously examines the text with the goal of discovering new truths; these may or may not be religious, but they have lessons for any society as it develops. Throughout, the author uncovers intriguingly political angles to age-old biblical tales. For instance, as Moses and Aaron first approach Pharaoh with their demands, Kass sees the encounter as a moment of failed diplomacy. Kass also offers lesser-known or even radical interpretations of Scripture. For instance, he reads the story of the golden calf not as a simple example of disobedience but as a moment orchestrated by God, allowing an opportunity for collective sin. “The Israelites’ first true act of national freedom,” he writes, “was their disobedient demand that Aaron make them gods.” This act, writes Kass, helped shape a formally servile peoples’ sense of freedom of will.

Kass delivers another thought-provoking volume about a seminal work of Scripture.