The Sin of Moses and the Staff of God: A Narrative Approach

JOHNSON LIM TENG KOK, The Sin of Moses and the Staff of God: A Narrative Approach (SSN 35; Assen: Van Gorcum, 1997). Pp. xv + 185. Paper 58.

This monograph is based on Lim's M.Phil. thesis at the University of Edinburgh. L. focuses on a central question: What is the transgression which Moses is supposed to have committed whereby he is discredited and disqualified from entering Canaan? L. reviews the history of interpretation of this sin but on the whole finds a lack of textual evidence and compelling argument. Interpretations include the following: silence or deliberate ambiguity in the text, anger or abdication of leadership by Moses, the failure to pray, speaking during the performance of the miracle.

In response to the question, L. examines the nexus between Exod 17:1-7 and Num 20:1-13. Utilizing the tools of contemporary literary analysis, especially narrative criticism, he strives to flesh out the exegetical relationship between these two pericopes. Central to this section of his investigation is the importance of the staff. For L. the sin of Moses is closely bound to his abuse of the "staff of God"...