초록 열기/닫기 버튼
This study is to analyze the text of the 7th plague, so-called 'Hail Plague' and to identify the conceptuality which is the ultimate concept in the text. The text of the 7th plague is pretty long and I divide it into two parts. The first part of the text is about the warning of the hail plague(Ex 9:13-21) and the second part of the text is on the result of the plague(Ex 9:22-35). This paper is to do research on the second half of the text which depicts the actual scene of the hail plague happened in Egypt. Also this study is in the line with the long research project of the ten plagues in Exodus. The initial motif in 10 plagues narrative would be to let Pharaoh know who YHWH is because he could not allow Israel to go into the wilderness for three days due to the fact that he did not know YHWH. Therefore, this study on the 7th plague is twofold. One is to find out which aspect of YHWH Pharaoh may know through the plague. The other is to identify the eventual influence that this plague aims at by pursuing the overarching concept. The hail plague is meterological plague consisted of various elements and did much harms to the servants and animals and vegetables and trees. However, the ultimate target of the plague is nothing but the land of Egypt itself. Although some servants and animals could save their lives when they were led into the houses, other servants and animals belonged to the courtiers who did not believe the words of YHWH, were killed by the hail plague. This is the first case that YHWH gave the Egyptians a chance to save their lives in the whole plague narratives. In the case of vegetables and trees, the situation is quite different because they could not be led into the house. They were supposed to live in the field, that is, in the land. The lives of those vegetables and trees seem to be very trivial at the surface level of the text. Of course, their lives is less important than those of man and animals. There is, however, other aspect to be considered in the text. The main target of the plague is not the lives of living beings, but the land of Egypt. To make the land desolate and barren is the primary goal of the plague. Therefore, vegetables and trees were killed not because they were the original target of the plague but because they were on the land of Egypt. The hail was supposed to fall on the land and when the plague stopped, the hail stopped falling down on the land. In this sense the hail plague cannot be explained from the scientific approach. It has a theological message that can move the reader to believe in YHWH and His sovereignty. In order to let Pharaoh know who YHWH is and also to enlighten him that he may realize the land of Egypt belongs to YHWH, not to himself. In conclusion, the main concept of the text depicting the result of the 7th plague has to be the land of Egypt. After Israel went out from Egypt, the conceptuality would be changed to the promised land. However, 'the land' is the unchanged main concept throughout the Old Testament as the plague narratives repeatedly indicate.
키워드열기/닫기 버튼
Exodus, Hail Plague, Land, Main Concept, Israel
